Pop over to the Microsoft Blog for its take on the future of TV (which is obviously very much in line with the capabilities of Microsoft Mediaroom 2.0, as unveiled by Steve Ballmer at CES this week).
Essentially the vision is the TV you want, when you want it, wherever you want it (i.e. on any device – TV, PC, mobile, etc). Makes a huge amount of sense, obviously. It does seem a bit crazy that our current television viewing is largely tied to the box in the corner of the lounge. And often specific TVs – in my house, we only have Sky+ in one room so that's where we have to watch anything we've recorded. Seems a bit daft. Of course there's the brilliant iPlayer, but the idea that you should be able to get all the TV you want across all devices whenever seems the obvious next step. Given the focus of this little project, I got all excited when I read this bit…"consumers will be able to enjoy TV experiences that combine traditional TV content with rich entertainment experiences, drawing on content sources from a variety of places including the Internet." Ah, yes…the social media/telly mash-up…my real-time Twitter stream integrated into a sidebar while live cricket plays on the screen…that sort of thing. And then, this: "Examples could include outtakes, social commentary, behind-the-scenes interviews and much more. "Social commentary"…now that's what we're talking about.
Mark Pinsent 