CC Skywave SSB 2 With AM FM SW WX and Aviation Bands / Includes SW Wire Antenna Adapter

The Xbox...as a Set Top Box

Techstination feature for Monday, January 22, 2007

The Xbox…as a set top box. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today's technology. One of Microsoft's big announcements at this month's Consumer Electronics Show was a plan to turn the Xbox 360 game console….into a set top box for TV services delivered via the Internet. Microsoft's president for entertainment and devices, Robbie Bach…

"Well basically Microsoft has been delivering IPTV and working on this technology for two or three years. We now have five partners in market…AT&T, British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, SwissComm and T Online in France. Those partners are also looking for a way to connect to the rest of our entertainment experience. We're going to provide Xbox 360 basically as a set top box. And you would only need an Xbox 360 in your home and that would enable you to play Xbox as well as get great live and recorded TV experiences." So it would be a new version of the console? "Yeah. It's basically a specific version of the console designed to do this kind of functionality." Who are you talking to about partnerships, more partnerships? "Well we have the five partners who are in market, plus we have another eleven partners around the world who are in trials or various forms of discussions and negotiations. And I think you'll see that continue to grow."

It's part of Microsoft's digital home strategy. Another part….the creation of home servers…for storage and sharing digital content. The first such device is due out later this year from Hewlett Packard. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.