The Internet and the future of TV
Today there are ways of getting cable TV programming to our PC’s by way of an All-in-Wonder card or similar TV tuner card, but what if cable programming started to appear online, fully accessible through your broadband connection to the Internet, and on your TV rather than just on your PC monitor? It’s not all that far off, but don’t expect traditional cable TV to disappear, not by a long shot.
Instead of subscribing to a service from a cable, satellite or phone company that might offer you hundreds of channels you’ll never watch, you would be able to select what you want and watch it on your own schedule. That day might not be so far away. Slowly but surely, content that’s broadcast over cable networks and through satellite providers is being distributed through the public Internet. In terms of the technology, all the elements are falling into place to deliver high-quality video from the Net directly to viewers in their living rooms. Software has been developed to ensure the quality of video distributed over the Net. And companies such as Microsoft and Cisco Systems’ Linksys home division are developing products that enable Internet video to be viewed on TV sets instead of only on PC screens.
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