AT&T Upgrades IPTV Recording in Bid to Challenge Cable DVR Technology

Ramping up its Internet TV services as the technology draws more viewers and grows more acceptable among actors, AT&T (News - Alert) Inc. reportedly is upgrading its IPTV recording functions.

 

According to Reuters reporter Ritsuko Ando, the U.S. phone giant’s move is a bid to challenge cable service providers.

 

“Bundling high-speed Internet and video with phone services is a key part of AT&T’s strategy as it struggles to retain customers who are increasingly canceling landlines in favor of mobile phones and alternative services from cable companies,” Ando writes.

 

The Internet video portion of that migration is receiving more and more attention from marketers, consumers and actors.

 

As TMCnet reported just today, in a sign of how Internet TV draws actors as well as increasing numbers of viewers, the star of one online series reportedly is returning from failed mainstream TV and film outings for a 40-episode Web drama that’s sponsored by MySpace (News - Alert) and Warner Bros.

 

According to Reuters reporter Belinda Goldsmith, American-New Zealand actress Jessica Rose, of “lonelygirl15” fame, is coming back to the Internet in “Sorority Forever,” where she plays a lead female role.

 

“I have no reservations about being a Web star if that is what I am and I can make a living from it to pay my rent and feed my dog, who is the love of my life,” Rose, 21, reportedly told Goldsmith.

 

The part comes a year after Rose’s character Bree was killed off from the “lonelygirl15,” and intervening months that saw her try to crack mainstream entertainment media in the TV serial “Greek” and movie “I Know Who Killed Me,” a flop starring Lindsay Lohan.

 

“I didn’t leave the Web with the intention of not coming back and thinking it was stupid or anything,” Rose reportedly told Reuters (News - Alert). “I did think it was a great launching pad.”

 

A pad that’s gaining traction.

 

According to a new survey that TMCnet reported here, nearly one in five U.S. households who use the Web watch TV broadcasts online. The figure marks a 100 percent increase from 2006, according to a pair of Manhattan-based agencies: The Conference Board, a nonprofit organization, and market research firm TNS (News - Alert).

 

Meanwhile, according to Reuters’ Ando, AT&T’s improved “U-verse” digital video recorder, called “Total Home DVR,” will help users record and play back multiple programs on different television sets around the house.

 

“Up to eight television sets will be able to access recordings from a single DVR, compared with the limit of one TV per DVR for most cable services, AT&T said,” according to Ando.. “Total Home DVR can record up to four shows simultaneously, compared with two for cable.”

 

The free upgrade will be deployed to all customers by the end of this year, Reuters said. No technician visits will be required.

 

Vince Vittore, an analyst at technology research firm Yankee Group, reportedly told Ando that the upgrade highlighted a key advantage of IPTV.

 

“It’s the beginning of how they’re going to differentiate themselves with cable and satellite,” Vittore reportedly said. “It’s an all IP platform, so they have the opportunity to roll out applications quickly in a very nationwide way,” he said.