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  • Tiscali TV becomes TalkTalk TV

    Tiscali TV becomes TalkTalk TV

    With the acquisition of Tiscali by the Carphone Warehouse, they have started the process of rebranding their products. This includes dropping the Tiscali name.

    From today, all Tiscali products have been merged under the TalkTalk brand, this will see Tiscali as a name disappear from the UK. Existing customers will not notice any major changes beyond the name, but will be shifted onto the TalkTalk network to save money by merging resources.

    As part of the merge, current Tiscali customers will have their packages and tarrifs modified to fit in line with TalkTalk’s current package offerings, however they will not lose services.

    This will add the ability for TalkTalk to sell TV services using the IPTV infrastructure put in place by Tiscali. Tiscali bought this service during 2006 from Video Networks.

    In the ever changing world of broadband internet, being able to offer a triple, or quadruple play service seems to be becoming more of the norm now. With the perchase of Tiscali, TalkTalk is closer to being able to offer all services now.


  • Playstation to get 4od?

    Playstation to get 4od?

    The rumour mill has been churning that Channel 4 are currently in discussions with Sony about the possiblility of bringing 4oD to the Playstation 3. If the move goes ahead Channel 4 will be the first commercial station to have a presence on the Sony Platform.

    4oD is not afriad of being first, they were the first to bring full length programmes to Youtube in addition to already having their 4oD service, and programmes accessible via other platforms including Virgin Media’s on demand system.

    The move would give Sony an advantage when it came to positioning the Playstation 3 at the centre of a home media system, having already got the BBC’s iPlayer, this would give it another streaming system.

    Currently the Xbox 360 has the ability to play content from Sky Player (via Xbox live gold and a Sky subscription). Both the Wii and Playstation 3 have the BBC’s iPlayer, but as yet, no console has ITV Player, 4oD or Five on demand.


  • 3D TV could be coming to a screen near you soon!

    3D TV could be coming to a screen near you soon!

    Major TV manufacturers, LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony have all revealed plans to support Sky’s upcoming 3D TV channel with new ranges of 3D-ready TV sets. While 3D TV currently isn’t anywhere near ready for the masses, the technology exists and can be used now.

    With James Camerons Avatar film being such a big success at the box offices in 3D, it looks like this year could be the year for 3D uptake. Sony have already announced plans to update the Playstation 3’s firmware with support for 3D in games, this will again require a 3D-ready TV.

    Sky’s service will run over their current HD infrastructure so will already be available to a large number of subscribers who will only need to upgrade their TV to watch in full 3D. They plan to show specially produced films that have been shot in 3D along with sports and other content filmed in 3D.

    Not only is Sky looking at moving into 3D this year in the UK, over the other side of the pond they are announcing plans to start broadcsating in 3D on the TV networks there. With the broadcasters taking the first step, this should help drive 3D uptake from the start.

    Personally, I can’t wait to get my hands on it… I’ve tried gaming on 3D screens in the past and thought it worked quite well and avatar was visually impressive in 3D.