Log in

View Full Version : Set-Top Box Market Gets Crowded With ZillionTV

Hooch Tan
03-06-2009, 03:00 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/zilliontv-another-set-top-box-with-ads/' target='_blank'>http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/...p-box-with-ads/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"A company called ZillionTV is pulling the covers off yet another set-top box Wednesday that will let you watch movies and other video from the Internet on your TV. Yawn. That&rsquo;s right, it&rsquo;s just like boxes from Apple, Roku, Vudu, 2Wire and so many more. It won&rsquo;t even be available until the fall. And at first, it will have much the same content you can get from other places &mdash; recent and old movies and some network shows starting the day after they air."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1236298242.usr20447.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>The set-top market must be seen as extremely lucrative.&nbsp; It seems as if everyone and their mother is coming out with a set-top box.&nbsp; ZillionTV's solution includes no hard drive and is intended for streaming video only.&nbsp; However, unlike the Roku and Vudu, ZillionTV intends on selling their product to ISPs only.&nbsp; To me, this seems to be the only way any company that doesn't have a big brand behind it can find any number of sales.&nbsp; The complete reliance on an Internet connection and the personal details you may have to give up for free viewing does have me worried.&nbsp; Also, no details have been given in terms of video quality.&nbsp; I suspect that techdirt's analysis will probably be correct in that this may just be another in the line of failed set-top boxes.&nbsp; Would any of you consider something like the ZillionTV over something from Apple or NetFlix?</p>
Felix Torres
03-06-2009, 02:27 PM
Here!
I'd consider it.
But you need to understand that its not a Netflix competitor, exactly.
Its going after the Hulu market; its a competitor to cable TV subscriptions.
And they seem to be offering customers an ala-carte choice of channels and payment methods; you can sign up ad-supported "free" content (which is where the personal info comes in) or just buy individual pieces of content for ad-free viewing.
Given that its a competitor to traditional cable service, it is doubtful very many cablecos will support it or the big telcos.
Which leaves the dsl resellers and independent cablecos.
However, there is a wild card; if Wimax or powerline broadband ever amount to anything but a pipe dream or if they move to direct consumer sales, by-passing isps, then they'd have a shot at a large audience.
Otherwise they'll have a hard time getting enough scale quickly enough to compete with Hulu. Especially if Hulu pops up on XBOX 360.

Their control scheme is very interesting, though. :cool: