that are Internet-enabled and provide access to online video content directly from the living room, without the need to use a computer (source).

The service is due to launch in May, 2009 when the new V10 LCD TV range is launched and there will be no registration or subscription costs for the service, which will simply require users to plug an ethernet cable into the back of the TV.

Panasonic Viera Cast content is going to be provided through partnerships with a number of organisations including:
YouTube,
Google’s Picasa,
Eurosport and
Bloomberg (for financial news, and local weather information).

Panasonic also mention in their announcement that they will feature:

exclusive content from Eurosport for the European market

The content will vary from country to country, but 1200 sport videos will be available on Eurosport for the launch in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Russian.

To complement the exclusive content from Eurosport for the European market, Panasonic has also forged an alliance with ARD Television (a Geman network of TV stations).

The 2009 sets that will feature Viera Cast are:
Plasma:
Z1 Series
V10 Series
G15 series

LCD:
V10 Series
G15 Series

Given the BBC’s current consultation regarding the Canvas on demand TV service and various other initiatives, it’s going to be interesting to see how the on-demand TV market develops for users in the UK.

The on demand set top box would be aimed at UK homes that have not yet signed up for subscription services and don’t use a PVR (personal video recorder).

Connecting online, the boxes would enable online content to be viewed directly on their tv’s.

The BBC is hoping to bring together many broadcasters as well as ISP’s to make content accessible via the TV set top box project, known as Project Canvas.

Following the competition commissions decision in February that the joint BBC/ITV/Channel 4 venture of Kangaroo was anti competitive, the challenges are going to be bringing this number of interested parties together and satisfying the commission.

ITV’s announcement of 15% redundancies yesterday and the current economic climate may help persuade companies that they need to work together.

After a period of fact finding and consultation, the BBC is planning to deliver its findings by 24th July and, subject to approval, launch the service in 2010.

It’s good to see that the BBC hasn’t let the Kangaroo – hopefully, this will be a no subscription on demand TV service to provide users with a free alternative to Sky and Virgin services.

Making it easier for voters to view and review interviews and broadcasts may enable people to make more informed decisions when voting.

One potential downside of this may be that it could lead to even more importance being attached to the ‘TV performances’ of politicians rather than the actual parties policies.

It will be interesting to see how politicians in the UK exploit the tactics and tools being used in the US elections.

Given that these figures are during a period when the UK is experiencing an economic crunch, the increase is even more impressive.

Virgin reports that there were 16 million views of Virgin Media’s on-demand music service in August – the highest ever level since the service launched.

The launch of the BBC iPlayer on Virgin Media’s TV service has also had a big impact with Virgin Media’s TV platform now accounting for around a third of all BBC iPlayer views. According to BBC figures for May 2008, total views of BBC iPlayer online were 21.8 million (across all ISPs).

Basic system requirements for the On-Demand service are a PC running Windows XP, Internet Explorer version 6 and Abobe Flash Player version 9 or higher. Users will also need a high-speed internet connection and at least 3 GB of disk space on their computer. As far as the PSP goes, your memory stick will need at least 1 GB of free space along with a USB cable for connectivity.

The service offers monthly subscription plans for access to TV (Desperate Housewives, Battlestar Galactica Season 3 etc), comedy (Saxondale, League of Gentlemen, Red Dwarf etc) and Sporting Highlights. There are also rental options for films and TV episodes with movies from £2.50.

The site features at #6 in the Top 10 Sites moving up in the traffic rankings, as measured by the change in the number of users visiting the site.

This follows the news earlier this month of the merger of jumptv.com and NeuLion, which supplies an end-to-end IPTV service of live and on-demand sports, international and religious programming over the Internet and through set top boxes.

JumpTV.com offers 300 channels originating from more than 80 countries and claims to cover 10,000 live sports events per year from over 175 teams and leagues.

It would be interesting to know if the Euro 2008 matches or some other particular sporting events are the cause of the increase or if the increase is simply due to increased awareness on on demand tv services

I’m sure that the advantages of being able to view programs at a time that suits users coupled with increasing download speeds and reducing broadband costs is helping drive more and more interest in on demand TV services like the BBC iPlayer.

The move from a push to a pull type service enables users to pick and choose from their favourite programs rather than having to suffer whatever the schedule throws at them – according to the Beeb, they’re putting out 400 hours of programs a week. I wonder what effect it’s having on the age old tea time family debate on which program is going to be watched…