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Deutsche Telekom puts its faith in Microsoft’s IPTV middleware; will launch with VC-1 and MPEG-4 After three-month field trials the German incumbent is satisfied Microsoft TV system will scale and puts emphasis on service-orientated, interactive and personalised TV. HDTV will be available from mid-year launch date
Deutsche Telekom has joined a long list of Tier-1 telcos in choosing the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition middleware for its IPTV deployment, which is expected in 10 cities this summer. The deal provides more fuel for over-dinner discussions at television industry events, which invariably result in the same question: “How does Microsoft do it?” Sceptics remain unconvinced that Microsoft can scale its system cost-effectively yet one major telco after another is betting that they can and Kai-Uwe Ricke, chairman of the Board of Management for Deutsche Telekom AG, provided a big clue to Microsoft’s success when pointing out the desire to “enable better, more service-orientated, more interactive and more customised television.” The fact is, major telcos are buying into the Microsoft vision of the television future, or they are at least convinced that only the software giant can provide the product differentiation they need to compete against cable and satellite. Andrew Burke, CEO of BT Entertainment Division stated that Microsoft and BT shared the same vision when explaining his company’s choice of Microsoft as middleware vendor and, as you can read elsewhere in this issue, there is growing talk in the IPTV sector of how telcos must set themselves apart through service innovation rather than relying on home-made or exclusive content to win the battle for eyeballs. Kai-Uwe Ricke says of Deutsche Telekom’s middleware choice: “Our experts at T-Online have run the Microsoft TV platform through extensive tests, and we are convinced. |
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