Being an Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE subscriber and
Windows 7 Media Center user I pay alot of attention to anything
involving Microsoft and TV solutions. Sure, Microsoft has tried and
failed miserably in the past with offerings like MSN TV, but they’ve got
this excellent and underappreciated product in Media Center in Windows 7
and finally the media box to deliver it (Xbox 360), so where is the
Microsoft IPTV service we’ve been hearing rumors about for so long?

Recently, Tom Warren of Winrumors.com uncovered a job posting talking about the next-gen edition of ESPN sports TV via the Xbox.

Do
you like Xbox? Are you a sports fan? Do you like watching TV? Do you
enjoy enabling a team to solve big challenges? Do you want to help
combine all of these things into Microsoft’s big bet on interactive TV
experiences, focusing on ESPN Sports?

We’ve got great content and
now we’re building interactive television experiences that will showcase
what next-generation TV can look like for sports. Personalized and
social experiences that will make watching sports on Xbox the next best
thing to being at the stadium. Build the experience that will make
people crave their sports fix on Xbox.

So Microsoft
is clearly working on the next version of something that already exists,
but what about an IPTV service? That’s where codename “Orapa” comes in.
According to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft is working on a new project that
would combine the Xbox 360 and Microsoft’s Mediaroom IPTV. This could
set Microsoft up to deliever a TV service, similar to their current ESPN
and Sky Sports options, to your TV using the Xbx console. She notes
that eventually this kind of service could make it’s way to Windows
Phone and even the Windows PC platform.

When you add the Kinect
into the mix, you have a potentially killer TV service that could be
controlled from your couch with hand gestures and voice command.

I
was recently showing the ESPN on Xbox Live service to a friend a few
days ago and he mentioned that if Microsoft could add some other
channels and the ability to pull network TV shows which is coming in
Hulu Plus for Xbox, this would be a great alternative to current cable 
and satilite subscriptions.

According to Mary Joe’s article on
ZDNet, this is all closer to reality than we think and some believe this
offering could come to consumers in time for the holiday season. How
about it Windows and Xbox users, could you use a service like this to
severe ties with your current TV subscription service?

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