Bell Canada to offer IPTV with Microsoft Mediaroom

MicrosoftMediaRoom

Microsoft recently launched the Microsoft Mediaroom Web site their just renamed IPTV  initiative. A video presentation of the service is available on the site.

Bell Canada has been known to test Microsoft’s IPTV solution for a while now. With Microsoft’s Mediaroom new Web site launch, we can pretty much confirm that Bell will offer the service.

One thing that excites me about the Mediaroom, is the possibility to use the XBox 360 as a set-top box for television and it becomes the ultimate entertainment convergence device. So, if you have both a XBox 360 and an HDTV decoder, you can say goodbye to the need for an HDTV decoder (I’m glad I rent these things).  The wife should be happy with the removal of one electronic device from the entertainment center (or, if you are like me, it makes more place for another device).

Presently, no information has been posted on Bell Canada’s about their support for Microsoft Mediaroom.  When contacted, a Bell Canada representative could only say that the launch date for this new service has not yet been determined.