IPTV Poised to Give Cable and Satellite Television a Run for their Money

IPTV, or Internet Protocol Television, is gaining a lot of interest these days, and not just from tech geeks. A recent Harris Interactive poll found that 56 percent of all U.S. adults have heard of IPTV and a large portion of those expressed interest in adopting IPTV on their TV's and home PC's.

Additionally, when those were polled were asked about what features of IPTV are they most interested in, most said it was the prospect of saving money over traditional cable and satellite.

Other features listed are:

• The ability to select the time you watch a program on demand
• The ability to receive a broader array of programming content to meet your particular interests
• High-definition viewing
• Digital video recording
• Interactive program guide with navigation and search functions

Twelve percent of adults say they would sign up and try IPTV immediately if it were only available for their PC, and 57 percent say they would wait and see how others like it. Almost one in five (18 percent) say they would try IPTV immediately if it were available for their PC and could be sent to TV's in their house using a set-top box, and 59 percent said they would wait and see how others like it. Minorities say they would ignore IPTV for their home PC (31 percent) or their TV (23 percent) as they are happy with their current service.

IPTV seems to have a bright future, especially with the freedom it gives for not only the viewer but for the producer of IPTV video content.