Microsoft and Broadcom Team Up to Offer Internet TV Services

With a view to develop technologies that will enable their users to hook their televisions on the internet while at the same time tapping new packages and services, Microsoft and Broadcom (Broadband Communications Group) have concluded plan to join forces.

With this agreement, the two companies have decided to compliment each other in order to bring out the best. As a result, Microsoft will adapt its Mediaroom Internet television client software for use on set-top boxes powered by Broadcom's system-on-a-chip technology.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft revealed its innovative initiative whose aim is to create new, interactive television offerings piped into consumers' homes using the IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) standard.

To this effect, Richard Nelson, the VP marketing for Broadcom said "We see increased synergy between the breadth of Broadcom product offerings and what Microsoft wants to enable within the whole home DVR environment,"

The two companies are hopeful that their collaboration will result in a number of advanced digital television offerings, including easier digital video recording, interactive TV and photo and music sharing services. Broadcom has captured a healthy share of the set-top box market with its next-generation system-on-a-chip technology. Its 65-nanometer BCM7405 chip includes built in support for the digital rights management technologies included in Microsoft's Windows Media format -- including DRM 10.

It also supports new video compression standards like VC-1 and H.264.

But the biggest challenges for Microsoft and Broadcom in terms of marketing their offerings may be commercial, not technological. Most U.S. cable network operators have to date been hesitant to offer anything beyond the most rudimentary interactive services due to concerns that the bandwidth required for those services detracts from the bandwidth available to deliver programming.

The companies may have more success in Europe where interactive TV is better established. Indeed, Microsoft on Sunday said British Telecom will tap the Microsoft, Broadcom alliance for technology for BT's Vision digital television service.