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Xbox to host BT's TV service
By siliconindia
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Friday, 11 January 2008, 21:11 IST
Las Vegas: British Telecommunications (BT) has announced that it is teaming up with Microsoft to offer its next generation TV service, BT Vision via the software major's Xbox 360 console. The service will be availabe from the middle of this year.
One will be able to receive on-demand films, high-definition gaming and sports content available through the Xbox games after subscribing to BT broadabnd. Unlike the dedicated set-top box, the Xbox will not be able to receive or record live TV.
The tie-up was announced by Microsoft at the CES show in Las Vegas.
BT is hoping that the partnership could help it expand its broadband TV service by tapping into the popularity of the Xbox.
According to the critics, sales of BT Vision have been somewhat slow with BT signing up only around 100,000 subscribers since its launch in November 2006.
Nick Thomas, a media analyst at research firm Jupiter, said, "It will definitely make its broadband service more attractive but there are challenges. People have to sign up to a 12 month broadband contract and not all Xbox owners may want to do that," he said.
The fact that it cannot offer the Freeview content or DVR (digital video recorder) functionality of the dedicated BT Vision set-top box - known as a V-box - may also prove a barrier.
"The reason for streaming only on the Xbox is because currently the console does not have the capability for live TV or enough hard drive for practical downloading of content," explained a BT spokesman.
According to BT Vision chief executive Dan Marks the Xbox could be the first of several new platforms for the service.
"Our aim is to provide BT Vision on multiple platforms - giving customers greater convenience, control and flexibility over what they watch, when they watch and how they watch TV," he said.