Microsoft Opens Up

Microsoft has released the Beta version of its Mediaroom Presentation Framework. The company has made it available to nearly 150 businesses worldwide enabling operators to design their own IPTV-based services applications either directly or through third parties.

Microsoft has finally realised that opening up to third party developers is important in helping to move the industry forward. The company has taken a lot of stick from industry competitors in the past regarding the closed nature of its Mediaroom IPTV solution. However, this latest move is great news for operators, vendors and content developers alike. Open standards are critical in helping service providers deliver the next wave of innovative TV applications.

ANT has been advocating the important of standards for IPTV for some time and is an active member of the Open IPTV Forum. Richard Baker, Executive VP of Sales and Marketing at ANT, talks about it at length in a recent interview with Tracy Swedlow for Interactivetvtoday.com.