McLachlan apparently only discovered this yesterday, even though it has been going on all season, and was last night trying to block it from happening. Good luck with that…

What the AFL (and the TV networks in general, really) fail to realise is that services like Justin.TV and other online P2P video streaming services are merely filling a void – if they actually bothered to offer their own IPTV solution, not only would they be able to reach a much larger audience by catering to those who don’t have access to the TV broadcasts, but also make a bit of coin through targeted, unobtrusive advertising. Sure, they’ve got an agreement with BigPond for some streaming to occur, but it’s locked to certain countries and fails to really embrace the idea of a global web.

There’s still a couple of years to go on the current AFL TV deal, but let’s hope that when the networks start negotiating the next deal, they throw in an enticing IPTV component as well…

[Sun Herald via TV Tonight]

Fortunately, Blu-ray players themselves are getting cheaper, and we can expect to see models down under the $200 mark by Christmas this year, potentially going as low as $150. But they won’t be your big-named brands like Sony, Samsung or Panasonic – they’ll be random Chinese companies.

How the big-named companies will keep selling their more expensive Blu-ray players is by expanding on what they’re doing already – IP entertainment. LG has a Blu-ray player that plays YouTube clips via a network connection. So does Panasonic with Viera Cast, which also streams Picasa web albums to your TV. In the US we’ve seen Blu-ray players with Netflix connectivity, turning the player into a IP entertainment hub, and although it will take some time, it’s inevitable that we’ll see the same services here in Australia.

Versatility is the key to success for Blu-ray. Because of BD-Live, all Profile 2.0 enabled Blu-ray players have an ethernet port, which opens up the door to IP entertainment on your home TV. And not just IP entertainment – the rumours about a TiVo box with built-in Blu-ray are extremely exciting because they bring together everything into one neat device under your TV. Panasonic’s Blu-ray recorders are close, but don’t offer the same awesome EPG functions or the ability to download movies over the internet.

But IP isn’t the only move forward for the technology. A dual-layered Bluray disc can store up to 50GB worth of data, but we’ve already seen that it’s possible to scale the technology up to 400GB. As this technology develops and the cost of Blu-ray discs and players come down, having the ability to store even more data on discs will make the format even more appealing. Imagine an entire series of your favourite TV show in HD on a single disc.

The problem Blu-ray faces, aside from the added costs from purchasing HD capable equipment to make it work, is the public perception that it will be obsolete before it really takes off. And that’s why we’re already seeing a big push to integrate IP with Blu-ray. Because no matter how easy it is to download stuff online, if you can do it from the same box that you watch Full HD movies on (and let’s be clear, it’s unlikely IP entertainment will ever match Blu-ray’s quality), that’s a more attractive proposition. Hopefully the people makeing the Blu-ray products are working on expanding that idea for the near future.

[Blu-ray on Giz]

When the TVs hit shelves next month, the only content on offer will be YouTube (without the ability to search) and a weather app. NineMSN’s content will be arriving sometime in August, so long as everything goes to plan. The deal with NineMSN also doesn’t mean that yoyu’ll never see a Flickr widget on their TVs – it’s definitely something Samsung or working on implementing.

Part of the NineMSN content planned is a location based entertainment guide, with information on local cinemas, restaurants and bars all available through your TV, including menus and restaurant types. All that’s required is for you to enter your postcode, and the NineMSN content engine will offer the rest.

Like Panasonic’s Viera Cast, all the content is aggregated on Samsung’s own servers, which means that they can implement updates without you requiring to download an update for your TV.

While it’s still very early days for this type of integrated IP technology in home entertainment hardware, it’s actually a really promising start. Sure, we’ll probably never get a Bittorrent client built in to our TVs, but simple web content is probably all that most people will use.

At CES 2009, Microsoft Mediaroom PR reps, while doing their little spin dance, did manage to let slip that “multiple carrier field trials” were, in fact, in progress. When questioned specifically about the U.S. market, PR did their thing and asked the questioner to go bug someone else. In this case, AT&T, presumably because the carrier was considering the platform or it is in the running to support it in the U.S. with U-verse.

As for the U.K., IPTV on an Xbox 360 looks a little more certain in 2009 than for other markets. BT was confirmed as the carrier for the service in that region, with deployment possibly this year, possibly not—no details were given on timing. If trials are indeed ongoing at this very moment, however, it could bode well for a 2009 rollout (E3 fodder? Perhaps!). Just find some British friends fast if you happen to live Stateside or elsewhere.

As noted by the source, that pic from the CES show floor is Mediaroom running on a Motorola set-top box. The service will look very similar when running on an Xbox 360. [Zatz Not Funny]

The Skinny: If you don’t already have some device hooked up to your TV that can access these sites, or you want to watch European news whenever you feel like it, you might want check this thing out. In addition to the video clip search and 90+ live feeds (200-300 planned for the future), the ITV 2000 can connect to cinema now, vu now, or photo services. You can also plug in a USB drive and watch or listen to your own media via USB.

The device connects over Wi-Fi or ethernet, and has composite, component and HDMI connections. The Netgear ITV2000 Internet TV Player will be available this summer for $US200.

Internet TV Player (ITV2000)

NETGEAR’s Internet TV Player (ITV2000) is a compact, easy-to-use, “plug in and go” Internet set-top
device with a simple remote control that enables viewers to catch up on the world of Internet videos
including YouTube™, live Internet TV, popular Internet video websites, premium video-on-demand and
online video searches retrieving billions of Internet videos from a place it was previously unavailable –
the TV in their living rooms. Rather than watching videos on PC screens in separate rooms, families can
watch video from a variety of Internet sources on the TV together, in the comfort of their den or family
room.

The Internet TV Player unlocks the value of new HDTVs as well as old analogue TVs. It is ideal for the
Internet families who enjoy online video, and for those who are geographically displaced from their
preferred television content, such as international sporting events and Bollywood productions. It streams
content from popular sites such as BBC.com, CNN.com, ESPN.com, EuroSport.com, NBC.com,
PGATour and TMZ.com, as well as video powerhouses YouTube, Google Videos™, Yahoo Videos™ and
MetaCafe™. NETGEAR’s Internet TV Player supports streaming of live TV broadcasts from Internet sites
around the world, and premium, paid movies on demand such as CinemaNow.com, in addition to
downloaded videos from sites such as BitTorrent®. Its superior VTap ™ video search capabilities enable
the intelligent search of Internet videos, including targeting video sites by country, topic of interest,
person or popular website. Consumers are also able to play video, music, and photos from a local USB
flash drive as well as from the NETGEAR ReadyNAS® family of storage solutions.

Slightly larger than a deck of cards, the compact Internet TV Player connects to the home network and the
Internet via Ethernet or wireless USB adaptor. It does not require a PC to play Internet video, nor does it
require installing any PC software or setting up file sharing or firewall settings.

The NETGEAR Internet TV Player (ITV2000) is expected to be available in early Summer 2009 through
leading retailers, e-commerce sites, and value-added resellers, at an MSRP in the U.S. of $199. More
information can be found at
(http://www.netgear.com/Products/Entertainment/DigitalMediaPlayers/itv2000.aspx).

For those unaware, Slingplayer lets you watch streaming video over the internet from any source connected to a slingbox. Some of these features, like the online ID system, are already present in the Slingplayer 2.0 release for Windows. But the revamped mac version, which promises HD streaming, isn’t quite ready, so this will have to do in the meantime. Download it over at [Sling].

The plans for an online store haven’t been canned completely (fortunately), but this is a real blow for online entertainment in this country, even though the service was probably going to be restricted to PC-based viewing through proprietary software. As I’ve stated before, the only options we have to legitimately download movies and TV shows in Australia are through iTunes and BigPond, which each have their own restrictions.

So, here’s a crazy idea I’d like to put forward to all the movie studios who think suing ISPs is the answer. Take the money you’re spending on lawyers and invest it in EzyDVD’s EzyDownload service. Let’s get this thing running sooner rather than later. Because no matter how many people or ISPs you sue, you’re not going to make the slightest dent in piracy until we have a few attractive, legal options on the table.

[Australian IT via Lifehacker]

If that’s not enough, according to Gus over at Lifehacker, they’re planning on taking it one step further by launching an IPTV service in the middle of next year. They announced the service at their AGM, and while details are still extremely scarce, I can’t help but applaud the ISP for sticking to its guns and standing up to the evil movie corporations and their lawyer henchmen.

I know I ranted on it the other day, but until we start getting some decent legal offerings for downloading TV shows and movies that we can watch where we want and when we want, piracy is going to remain. So kudos to iiNet for understanding and fighting the good fight.

[Lifehacker]

It’s quite a slow roll-out for video on demand in many ways, with one film being made available each week, starting with The Waterhorse and followed by Men In Black. TiVo are emphasising that the slow roll-out is intentional, so users can grow accustomed to how it effects their monthly broadband quota and speeds. And considering that for the time being, the movies are free aside from your broadband data used, they really are trying to hold users’ hands through the shift to IP-based entertainment.

Come March next year though, TiVo’s promising a multitude of movies and TV shows for download, as well as progressive downloads and better file compression. We’re waiting to hear back from TiVo about exactly how the movies are encoded, what quality you can expect and whether HD movies are on the cards for the future, and we’ll update you when we hear back from them.
UPDATE: We’ve just heard back, and we can tell you that all movies are standard-def. They’ll be encoded in MPEG2 at launch, but will eventually move to MPEG4, (we’re guessing that’ll happen around March next year).

TiVo® launches Movie of the Week with Blockbuster® in Australia

Weekly movie downloads available through TiVo media devices – starting with 2008 release, The Waterhorse

Sydney, Australia, Wednesday 19 November 2008 – Hybrid Television Services (ANZ) Pty Ltd, the exclusive licensee of TiVo® products in Australia and New Zealand, has today announced the launch of the Blockbuster® Movie of the Week download service. Launching initially to a small customer base next week, the service will be available to all TiVo users from 1 December.

Hybrid TV and Blockbuster will make one film available for download every week onto the TiVo media device. The aim is to provide TiVo customers with the ability to road test downloading video content over the internet straight to the lounge room and understand the critical role both internet speed and download quotas play in ensuring the service is a pleasurable one.

The Blockbuster Movie of the Week service is in fact an introduction to the multitude of downloadable movie and TV content launching in March next year where the service will enable progressive downloads and greater file compression.

Hybrid TV CEO, Robbee Minicola, commented: “Australians have grown up with outstanding free-to-air TV content. With the introduction of a TiVo media device – they are now liberated to enjoy even more television because the TV experience can be adapted to their individual lifestyle.

“This new service marks a significant milestone for us – aside from growing our free Games Pack and Services Pack delivered via broadband – we can now provide another benefit to having a TiVo media device…movies.

“There aren’t many products on the market today that just keep adding new services…with our product we will continue to grow the portfolio in broadband while the broadcasters grow their free-to-air digital channels. Again and again it simply proves the argument that Australians do not need to pay for television – the sponsorship model works…especially in difficult economic times such as those we are experiencing now. And with the full service on offer from March next year, viewers will have a choice of what movie they want to watch on television without subscribing each month for hundreds they’ve seen before or never want to see.”

The inaugural Blockbuster Movie of the Week will be The Waterhorse followed by Men In Black, with subsequent movies released every Monday. TiVo users will be notified in the preceding week the next film to follow. The idea is that TiVo users can take a careful exploratory look at downloading content and the impact this will have on their broadband allocation. The intention is to have effective dialogue with users about downloading content as well as recommending to them to check with their internet service provider to ensure that they have the best plan at the best price to get the most out of the full service when it launches next year.

-ends-

The IPTV service, which uses the currently disabled ethernet jack on the back of the iQ2 box, will let users download video on demand over the internet, and will be launched in the first half of next year. Of course, we’ve known that IPTV was coming to Foxtel sooner rather than later (why put an ethernet port in the back if you’re not going to use it?), but this is the first definitive timeframe we’ve heard.

The service will be available to all iQ2 subscribers, but at the moment they haven’t worked out any agreements to have content unmetered, meaning you’ll probably end up paying for the content twice.

But the more exciting news was the announcement of the iQ2Go device, which will let you take programs stored on your iQ and play them back on a portable device.The iQ2Go has been in the making for a few years now – I remember writing about it back when I was at T3 magazine – but historically it was always going to be in the form of a PMP that plugged into your iQ to copy content, and you’d take that device with you.

Now though, Foxtel have announced that instead of a dedicated PMP with a battery and screen, instead they’ll be using a 16GB USB key that’s so packed full of DRM (so you can’t copy it and to ensure you’re a Foxtel subscriber), it makes the iPod look open source.

Moving the iQ2Go concept to a USB stick will save Foxtel a heap of coin, which we’re hoping is passed on to subscribers. Of course there’s no word on pricing yet, nor specific information on what types of devices it will work with (Macs? PCs? PMPs? PSPs? iPods?), but at least we should know more withing the next six months or so.

[The Age]