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Welcome to the evolution of television broadcasting.
Apple, Tivo, HBO, Microsoft, VuDU, Amazon and others are working hard to find the best way into your living room.
To help you see how exciting options are available to you today on your Ashland TV connection I've put together this compilation.
It wont have everything and I'll be adding more news from the NAB show later this month, so watch for that.
Because Ashland TV is Ashland's only local cable TV option, and because it's built upon the Ashland Fiber Network, you will be able to take advantage of everything I mention to you here today and jump directly into the exciting world of Digital Television.
The Hardware.
Apple's Apple TV, VuDU and xBox 360 from Microsoft are hardware boxes you buy and plug in to your cable TV connection, your TV and your internet connection.
Apple's Apple TV is a slick white and silver piece of hardware you would expect to see from Apple. The remote control is the simplest around. Click here to watch the video explaining the features.
VuDu is the Black version from a different company. It doesn't have the TV show library that Apple has available but it's very cool.
Microsoft's xBox 360 is known for playing games, but when paired with your media center edition PC it makes a formidable living room TV companion.
Expect to pay from $299 to $499 depending on which model. You will not pay for monthly service only the TV shows or Movies you download to Rent or Buy.
Click here for a comparison on the three.
The PC TV.
NETFLIX turned DVD rental on it's ear years ago with the rent as many movies as you want and use free postage to return them with no late fees. They have been so successful that they spend millions of dollars a year on postage. Because of the High Speed internet they now allow unlimited hours of viewing from over 8,000 movies. You still pay the monthly service fee and have access to an amazing library of 90,000 titles. They share on their site that you can enjoy the unlimited download hours per month for as little as $8.99 a month, although for $16.99 you get the most popular package which includes 3 DVD's at a time.
You can plug your PC into your TV especially a modern one with HDMI out, but there are PC trade offs. The hardware versions above give you a dedicated solution.
The Software TV.
HBO is testing in Wisconsin HBO for broadband. There HBO customers are allowed to access 600 movies per month online.
Amazon has UnBox. You can rent/purchase digital DVDs and play them on your PC or through your TIVO.
I'm only scratching the surface. I'll be attending NAB in Las Vegas this month and blogging daily from the show floor about all the great new ways to take control of your television.
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