Time Warner Cable Plans to Launch Web to TV Link
Time Warner Cable Inc plans to offer subscribers an easier way to bring Internet video to their television screens as part of an overall home networking system, Chief Executive Glenn Britt said on Friday.
“We’re actually going to have equipment we make available to subscribers,” said Time Warner Chief Executive Glenn Britt. “It’s actually going to be a new wireless Cable Modem that will allow you to network everything in your house. “Within a relatively short time, it’s going to be very easy to get Internet TV on your big screen TV.”
Mr. Britt compared his system to the ease with which the Apple TV connects people to the iTunes store or their Mac or PC on a home network.
TiVo Inc lets many of its subscribers select Web video from providers such as The Onion, the New York Times and CNET Networks. The video is downloaded from the Internet to a TiVo set-top box for viewing later.
But Web-to-TV technology is still in its early days, due in part to the complexity of making Web video look good on higher resolution TVs.
Consumers may also be hesitant to navigate the thousands of web sites that offer unique video, and to buy more equipment in addition to paying monthly cable or satellite fees.
Nevertheless, technology is booming in this area and where it’s all leading is anyone’s guess. For now, options and offerings can be expected to increase until the consumers vote with their dollars and the industry backs into the best ways to achieve TV and Internet convergence without a gaggle of boxes hooked up to the HDTV.
Source: the iPod Observer