IPTV: Stuck in the middle

NXTcomm08 attendees interested in IPTV found themselves somewhere in between the glorified hype of past years and the reality of nitty-gritty network deployment. This year, IPTV middleware was the main topic of interest for its ability to enable interactivity, integrate with other devices and, most of all, offer nifty new applications cable can't duplicate.

Microsoft, which added new partners to its ecosystem of developers, admitted it is still experimenting with the best way to enable social networking via IPTV — something it unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Edwin Lau, group product manager for Microsoft's TV business, said that the current approach is still awkward and unnatural, but given widespread customer interest in converging the Web world and the TV, Microsoft continues to work at adapting the experience to the living room environment.

Many vendors at NXTcomm08 demonstrated that they are willing to put new apps out there to see if they catch on. Entone introduced a high-definition (HD) IP video gateway with a whole-home digital video recorder, which is integrated with Minerva's iTVManager middleware platform. At the show, Minerva also upgraded its middleware platform to version 3.2, which enhanced its personal video recorder functionality by adding series-recording and bandwidth-management tools to let operators choose between one- and two-stream recording functionality. For consumers who aren't ready to ditch the PC entirely, Tandberg Television debuted its MediaModeler Content Management System, a platform for operators to offer online video and search over Web portals.

It was the consumer's living room that provided the setting for most middleware discussions in panels and keynotes as well. On multiple ATIS panels throughout the show, industry analysts and executives generally agreed that while the industry is beginning to test limits with middleware apps such as gaming, social networking and Web-inspired features, the way to win and retain customers right now is with engaging electronic program guides, faster channel change times and, of course, more HD. Going forward, more advanced applications will become more important, but today, operators largely are still learning.

These middleware announcements and discussions were just the tip of the iceberg. Hardware wasn't ignored, with announcements ranging from Amino launching a fully HD set-top box to Hillcrest demonstrating the power of its Loop remote control. At least for this trade show, however, the power of IPTV was tempered by what its software could offer. Mass IPTV deployments are here, the hardware is up and running, and now it seems the industry is ready to put its money on the middle.