Sony's IPTV deal with Network Seven's Plus7 marks the next major step in the way Australians watch television.
As I said last week, I'm very impressed with Plus7 and it puts Nine and Ten's efforts to shame. I ended up calling on Plus7 this week after my TiVo skipped a beat and for some reason failed to record Lost on 7TWO. I'm taking the "28 day 7TWO Lost challenge", to see if I can tolerate time-shifting free-to-air rather than using the BT channel.
I realised about 10.30pm Wednesday that the TiVo had failed to record Lost at 8.30pm and I was about to head over to Isohunt when I thought it might be worth checking Plus7. There was Lost, ready to play. I used my Media Centre to watch it full screen on my 46-inch Bravia and the picture was shabby but watchable - certainly not as crisp or smooth as a decent BitTorrent download. Plus7 drops in one advertisement at every ad break that can't be skipped, which is annoying but bearable if you mute the sound. I'd much rather do that than pay Apple $2.99 an episode from the iTunes store.
Of course Plus7 is designed for watching on a computer, not a big television. Sony's "Bravia Internet Video" IPTV service looked much sharper on the big Bravias at this week's launch in Sydney, all but indistinguishable from an SD broadcast. I'm guessing it's encoded at a higher rate than the clips on the Plus7 website.
Shows from SBS are also available via Sony's IPTV service and negotiations are underway with the ABC's iView - which would be brilliant. The Freeview consortium is also working on its equivalent to iView, which hopefully will come to the Bravia Internet Video service as well. Sony is even working on a Movie on Demand service, which would be the icing on the cake.
Bravia Internet Video will also come to the PlayStation 3 and Sony Blu-ray players later this year - which is great news for people who don't want to buy a new television just to access what is clearly Australia's best free IPTV service. It's just one more excuse to buy a PlayStation 3, and I might finally cave in later this year (just don't tell my friend Al, a diehard PS3-fanboy, or I'll never hear the end of it).
The truth is that your average person doesn't want a computer in their lounge room, no matter what the entertainment benefits. As Sony makes IPTV available directly from its televisions, Blu-ray players and games consoles I'm certain IPTV will see mainstream adoption in Australia - perhaps turning people away from piracy. Sony and Seven have thrown down the gauntlet, let's see how the other networks and manufacturers respond.
Credit to Adam Turner, Hidrapinion
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