Skip to main content

Sony Enables Over-the-Top Video to TVs

Informitv reports that Sony is the latest in a line of consumer electronics companies that are attempting to connect the television screen to the internet, and in the process they are upsetting the status quo of the current broadcast network television business model.

Sony has introduced a new device that attaches to the back of its new television sets, providing access to streaming video delivered over a broadband connection. Known as over-the-top video services, because they bypass a broadband provider's pay-TV distribution services and go directly to the consumer.

Sony Electronics president and chief operating officer Stan Glasgow unveiled the 'Sony Video Link' internet video system at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"The Internet is reshaping the entertainment and technology landscape," he said "and it can’t come as any surprise that Sony is committed to creating an environment of convergence where products and content work together seamlessly, while providing consumers with new types of entertainment experiences."

"While other companies struggle with standard definition," he said, "Sony has developed a scalable internet HDTV solution with some notable partners providing content."

Those partners include AOL, Yahoo! and Grouper, now part of Sony Pictures Entertainment, as well as Sony Pictures and Sony BMG. The majority of new Sony televisions -- starting with several Bravia flat-panel LCD TVs -- will accept an attachable module that can stream broadband high-definition and other internet video content at the press of a remote control button.

The optional module will be available in the summer of 2007. It is quite a large device that is similar to a pay-TV set-top box. It will support RSS feeds and allow users to create custom channels, such as for local weather or traffic conditions.

The Sony Video Link will feature the Sony XMB Xross Media Bar interface which received an Emmy award at the CES trade show. It is similar to the icon based menus on the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation 3.

Clearly, this is more troubling news for any broadband service provider that's in the process of building a conventional pay-TV delivery business model, via IPTV, when the trend is to unravel that model by utilizing unconventional delivery. While the implications are yet to be fully determined, however, I'm confident that financial analysts will be watching this trend very closely as they assess the forward-looking viability of IPTV infrastructure investment.

Popular posts from this blog

AI-Driven Data Center Liquid Cooling Demand

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and hyperscale cloud computing is fundamentally reshaping data center infrastructure, and liquid cooling is emerging as an indispensable solution. As traditional air-cooled systems reach their physical limits, the IT industry is under pressure to adopt more efficient thermal management strategies to meet growing demands, while complying with stringent environmental regulations. Liquid Cooling Market Development The latest ABI Research analysis reveals momentum in liquid cooling adoption. Installations are forecast to quadruple between 2023 and 2030. The market will reach $3.7 billion in value by the decade's end, with a CAGR of 22 percent. The urgency behind these numbers becomes clear when examining energy metrics: liquid cooling systems demonstrate 40 percent greater energy efficiency when compared to conventional air-cooling architectures, while simultaneously enabling ~300-500 percent increases in computational density per rac...