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First off - what is IPTV? It stands for Internet Protocol TeleVision. Essentially it is television delivered over the internet, just like the web.

As usual in technology there are different definitions as to what the term really means. Some, like John Dvorak, say that IPTV will not truly be realized until your television set connects directly to your internet connection through wifi or cable. Other more popular opinions feel services like YouTube or video blogs are IPTV since it is delivered through the internet. I tend to agree with the latter opinion.

I am rarity nowadays in that I do not have cable or satellite - just HDTV over the air with old-school rabbit ears. Why? I don’t feel I’m missing anything that I can not find on the web. And I feel that services like cable and satellite practice their own form of predatory pricing forcing me to pay for content that I do not want. There are about 5 channels that I’d really want (HBO, ESPN, AMC, History Channel, Discovery Channel) on cable and the price tag simply does not warrant the value.

I wish I could do one of the following: 1) Pay for the channels I actually want at a reasonable cost ($3/mo for each channel) or 2) Pay for the shows that I actually want to watch (iTunes / subscription model).

Well this will be possible with the next generation of television in IPTV. Bill Gates, who is the pioneer in home entertainment, speaks of an a la carte’ system where you can pick and choose the content that you would like.

Let us hope this is the case. But how feasible is this? Will television networks allow their content to be distributed in this fashion? I don’t know because the current model allows them to bundle their less popular shows in a traditional ‘lineup’ to appease advertisers.

I think a subscription or a la carte’ model would benefit everyone more. We’ll see.

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