You’re probably not used to buying things from Intel, because, let’s face it, Intel has done a pretty terrible job in bringing items to the consumer market, in the few times they’ve tried. However, this time could be different, as Intel’s new Media division, is promising something that’s pretty intriguing.
What it’s offering, is a set-top-box, that will basically replace your television, AND allow you to watch any show On-Demand. How do they do it? They basically record every single show on television, and then upload them, so that you can watch them whenever you feel the need. Think of it like Tivo, except instead of you having to make it a point to record something you want to watch again, it just says “screw it”, and records everything on television.
On top of that, you can also watch cable television whenever you feel like, literally right on your computer.
Sick of paying $50 a month for cable? No problem. While we don’t have any idea how much this new set-top box will be, Intel said that it will offer a quote “superior experience”. As far as what that means, time will tell.
The upcoming box, comes as a serious threat to cable and satellite TV providers, as it will render them virtually useless, should the device work properly, and, should it be at a price range that’s much more affordable, and it’s fair to assume it would be. Though, the requirement for the device to run over the internet, could mean that many people will upgrade their slower internet, to high speed, which should keep the ISP’s happy.
So, this basically confirms rumors that our favorite chip-maker has been working on its own streaming service and consumer product, rumors that have been circling around the gadget world for quite some time.
This new box is going to work well as a sort of all-in-one device, that turns your computer into a TV, which is ideal for All-In-One Desktop computers, that feature large touch-screens, and are meant for watching TV shows and movies, aside from their standard desktop functions.
With the trend toward watching TV and movies on your PC, and buying large desktop “All-In-One” PC’s with huge monitors, it is possible that the age-old television, could become a thing of the past.
We’ll have to wait and find out, but right now, it’s looking to go the way of the dinosaur, as it really serves no purpose anymore, with computers becoming cheaper and cheaper, and more and more capable of streaming TV and movies, it makes us think; “What do I have this TV thing for again?”. Good question…
The big question for how successful the device will be, is the obvious one: “How much (if any) dollars is this going to save me every month?” While we don’t know yet, the answer to that question, is likely what’s going to make or break the device’s success. If it doesn’t provide a big enough discount to justify switching from cable, it’s likely that Intel will just have to add it to the list of consumer product failures, but if it does offer a significant discount, than you can bet that it will revolutionize the way we watch TV.