When multiple corporations agree on a single issue, vowing to put aside differences and work together to see it accomplished, there's usually cause for concern. After all, decisions made by a single company - like Sony - impacts millions of people. Imagine then the implications of several corporations banding together for the common "good." In this case, a battle over the capabilities of consumers' TV sets - specifically, enhancing those capabilities to make it simpler to view more content.
Pick a side: the "AllVid Tech Company Alliance," or Big Cable. The fate of what your TV can do lies in the balance.
The alliance - comprised of multimedia heavy-hitters Sony, Google, Mitsubishi, and TiVo - sent a message to the FCC two days ago, reports ArsTechnica. In it, the group defended the AllVid plan proposed by the FCC - much to the chagrin of big cable companies which believe such a device would infringe copyrights.
AllVid is hardware that would play content from a variety of hosts, says the FCC. If the technology is implemented, owners would have access to everything from satellite to internet TV via a single box.
Forming an alliance and cheering on the FCC is an easy decision for the companies involved; it behooves them all if the standard is adopted. A single adapter that can theoretically 'do it all' makes sense for both content providers and consumers. The content providers won't have to fuss with multiple variations of the same core concept, and viewers won't have to jump through hoops just to watch what they want to watch -- they could just sit down, peruse a wealth of content and press play.
The FCC tried integrating a single universal device before: the ill-fated CableCard.
Whether AllVid fails or succeeds, it's the next step towards a fully-integrated home viewing experience. For now, it has some powerful allies eager for it to make its way into as many homes as possible. (Via ArsTechnica)
