New business appointments are necessarily the most exciting read, but a recent news release from BT has also revealed a few more details about its forthcoming BT Vision service.
BT Vision's Video on Demand service will be based on Microsoft TV's IPTV Edition middleware, on custom digital terrestrial/IPTV set-top boxes from Philips with an 80Gb hard drive capacity. The boxes will contain a standard DTT receiver to enable BT to offer the Freeview service. VoD content will be pay-per-view rather than fixed subscription. The boxes will be integrated with the BT Home Hub which has seen quite an advertising push recently. BT Vision is also looking to support red-button i-ads.
BT has also partnered with Octagon CSI who produce sports programming and will see a development of content for TV, mobile, and broadband. Octagon produce and distribute content for the English FA, Coca-Cola Football League, and the England and Wales Cricket Board. It's hailed as another step towards BT becoming the heart of digital media.
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