Australian telco Telstra has announced the nationwide rollout of the T-Box, Netgem’s hybrid receiver that mixes broadcast and broadband content.
Telstra’s BigPond TV service is offering a combination of free-to-air HDTV, VOD and applications including the ubiquitous YouTube. The T-Box is based on the Netgem Media Centre Set Top Box and NetgemTV middleware.
“Internet connectivity is the biggest development in TV technology since the launch of cable television, it opens the door to boundless options for on-demand entertainment and Telstra’s new T-Box is the best way to access it all,” said Telstra executive director broadband products Craig Turner.
Christophe Aulnette, managing director of Netgem, added that the launch marked a significant milestone for the telecommunications market: “As operators work to understand how to best utilise the full potential of broadband services, the T-Box is a great illustration of how highly popular broadband Internet video services, such as YouTube and BigPond TV, can be optimised for TV viewing and delivered alongside high quality broadcast content within one, seamless and branded consumer experience.”
The T-Box was initially trialled to a few hundred homes in Melbourne prior to its national deployment.
