What exactly are they, really? Precisely why must we (free Tv viewing aficionados) be fearful of them?

Or perhaps should we? Are they the solution to the issues of commercial tv today?

IPTV - Internet Protocol Television

Promoted as the new standard for most Tv viewing, IPTV store is slated to be except by the year 2025 and beyond. Minus the details, IPTV is just a set top box attached to a broadband along with a television set.

The person will merely stuff through the high speed broadband all the huge selection of thousands of Tv shows he chose (including movies, classics, sports games, etc.) into the hard disk in the set top box. After the shows are downloaded, it is able to right now be played inside the Tv set.

Several of the primary capabilities (and promises) being bruited by IPTV promoters are the following:

- The original capability of the hard disk is 300 hours of programming time, expandable to anything you'd like once the technology becomes available.

- Download time is going to become shorter as well as shorter as broadband speeds start to be quicker and quicker, and in hd quality. (A two hour movie is downloaded in several minutes.)

- Because the plans is at the Internet, the options of vendors is much wider - broadcast, cable, satellite, video stores, dedicated video Internet sites, and so on. Coupled with the practically limitless availability of program materials will be the lack of restrictions from the typical watchdogs within the market.

- IPTV is going to assign "channels" for specific content providers who, in turn, will probably have the own guidelines of theirs for program deliveries. Many will offer content that is free to owners with a certain IPTV product. Others are going to be through subscriptions, others is purely on a pay-per-view offer and still others is a mix of all the above plans.

- There will not be cable and satellite services any longer as we understand them, but just as vendors to IPTV. Meantime, Wireless internet services and dsl will continue to exist as conduit in bringing broadband internet.

What will be left of broadcast tv is going to be time sensitive shows (news, live coverage events, etc.). Almost everything is going to be solely available on demand through IPTV.

iTV - Interactive Television

Interactive Tv may be the supreme advertiser's dream come true.

Though packed with enough choices and buttons, iTV is much more than what meets the eyes. The primary point of iTV for advertisers is the capability to track what the viewers watch and purchase.

It'd then continue demographic databases to be used by the advertisers. The advertisers might direct the advertisements of theirs on the appropriate target audience according to the recorded demographics and viewing habits developed by iTV.

For the audience, the primary attribute of iTV is the electronic programming guides (EPG). The viewer will likely have a personalized EPG which controls the television set to open and show just the applications the person wishes (or maybe hints that she or he might like). It is able to find out to anticipate the viewer 's options as well as helps in selecting the hours of programming.

The EPG is able to auto program the VCR so the person won't miss anything. It is able to also set off alarms on the showing of particular shows. In a nutshell, it customizes itself to fit the profile of yours.

Anything one does on the iTV is going to cause the device to react and respond, rendering it meet its promise of becoming the embodiment of the contemporary tv experience. This goes both ways for viewers and advertisers alike.

The one burning question free Tv show audience question is just this: Are free Tv shows still "free"?