BT said Tuesday that every set-top box manufactured by Philips will include a personal video recorder capable of storing up to 80 hours of programming and capable of delivering high-definition content. The set-top box will be available next spring.
“This is all about giving our customers choice, convenience and control,” BT CEO Ian Livingston said. “From next year, customers will be able to watch what they like when they like.”
The BT-Philips partnership builds on a recently announced alliance with Microsoft, which will provide Microsoft TV IPTV Edition as the software platform for BT’s TV-over-broadband service.
“With BT service, Philips set-top boxes and Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software, the integrated entertainment and communications capabilities offered to U.K. consumers will be among the richest and most advanced in the world,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said.
In the U.S., several companies, including Radium Ventures’ Interactive Television Networks and Akimbo, already have launched IPTV systems using proprietary set-top boxes.
Laguna Niguel, Calif.-based Interactive Television Networks, or ITVN, sells a $100 set-top box and charges $30 a month for a package of channels, including XTV.
San Mateo-Calif.-based Akimbo offers its set-top box for $199 and charges a $10 monthly subscription.
BT on Tuesday did not disclose pricing of the BT-Philips set-top box.