The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) has approved a standard for mobile digital television, which means one day you might be able to watch your local station broadcast directly to your iPhone. In the US, that should include ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC.
Would Apple ever build a TV receiver into the iPhone, given their focus on iTunes digital downloads? If they’re considering an FM Radio, why not? With live-pause and tagging technology, it just becomes a value-added feature for users and another potential gateway to iTunes content.
Plus, sports for the sport fiend!
It would not, however, provide access to cable- or satellite-only content, including premium channels like HBO (mocked up in the image above).
[Macworld via TUAW]
I remember well the days of yore when I had a whopping 5 channels to choose from for my viewing pleasure. Now before you start doing some quick math and send me Geritol for my birthday, I was just a wee lad then. Although I didn’t have much in the way of choices, I made sure to never miss an episode of “The Six Million Dollar Man”, re-runs of “Star Trek”, and a generous helping of “Sesame Street” and “Electric Company”. I also had to (gasp!) actually GET UP off the couch, WALK to the t.v., and MANUALLY change the channel! Ahhhh, those were the days.
Times have certainly changed. The average home now has about 114 channels to choose from. I switched to DirectTV recently and I get lost in the maze of menus and virtual cornucopia of channels and programming to choose from. You may be wondering what all of this may have to do with your iPhone. HARK! There is a handy AOL site designed just for the iPhone that can help you navigate the ever-expanding universe of televised entertainment!
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