Intel is developing a set-top box that delivers video on demand and live TV over the internet, a move that would place it in competition with the likes of Roku and your local cable company.
There’s no word on who’ll provide the all-important content we’d see on such a box or what we’d pay for it when it appears later this year, but Erik Huggers, Intel’s corporate vice president of media, promises a “superior experience” to what is already hooked up to your TV.
Huggers, speaking at the Dive Into Media event Tuesday, said the new device will launch under its own brand under Intel’s new media division. The service and set-top box are a huge departure for a company that has made its name supplying chipsets to just about everyone and has a less-than-stellar track record bringing products to the consumer market.
The device and web-TV service will compete directly with cable and satellite providers by delivering live TV via the internet. The box also will offer video on demand and a feature called Catch Up TV, which also is available in the BBC iPlayer. That means everything that is broadcast on network or cable TV would be available to play whenever you like, making it something like a cloud-based DVR that records everything on your TV. In that way, Intel isn’t just gunning for content providers, but also for the Apple TV and Roku box.
That’s because Intel thinks you have too many devices plugged into your TV, and it’s positioning its as yet unnamed box as “an all in one solution” to handle all your content. Huggers mentioned Netflix, suggesting we might see the streaming service as a partner.
The chipmaker had long been rumored to be working on its own streaming service and device. Tuesday’s announcement puts those rumors to rest but raises many new questions. The most pressing is how is this different than what’s already on the market. For example, how will this be different than subscribing to cable and will it save viewers money?
Current cable and satellite services package channels and sell them as bundles. These bundles have been a huge financial pain for viewers, because you’re often paying for channels you don’t watch. And while Huggers was quick to point out that bundles aren’t going away, he did say, “if bundles are done right, I think there is real value in that. An opportunity to create a more flexible environment.” A la carte programming is still a long way off, but Huggers hinted at a bundling scenario somewhere between a la carte and the current cable and satellite offerings.
Even with a smarter bundle, don’t expect to save money on your bill. The unnamed Intel box that isn’t an Intel-branded-box is “not a value play but a quality play to create a superior experience,” Huggers said. That experience includes a redesigned electronic program guide and camera that determines who is watching TV and adjusts the environment and suggestions based on who is watching. If you’re concerned about privacy and you watch TV in your underwear, you can turn it off. Other superior features and pricing were not discussed, but Intel has its work cut out for it. Winning this game is all about providing solid content.
This is a huge leap for a company known more for the silicon powering computers than selling devices directly to consumers. Intel has produced reference designs for ultrabooks, smartphones and Windows 8 device hybrids for third parties, but its own consumer products and services have been largely ignored. Most would be surprised, for example, to learn that Intel has an app store called AppUp and a small Mac mini competitor called the NUC. Intel’s problem isn’t necessarily making good products, it’s marketing them.
And while the company has been recruiting employees from Apple, Jawbone, BBC and Microsoft to create this new device and new division, it’s going to have to make sure people actually know about it. Plus it really will have to deliver a substantially superior experience to cable and other set-top boxes to end up connected to the HDMI ports of viewer’s HDTVs.
Intel Teases Set-Top Box to Compete With Cable
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Intel Teases Set-Top Box to Compete With Cable
