Moving in the Clouds With Sky (TV)
Have you ever has the argument with you other half over who filled up your top box so MasterChef never got recorded? Or, do you wish you can stream your top box recordings straight onto your phone or media device? Well apparently your prayers have been heard and the answer lies in Sky TV.
The media birds are aflutter, but the Telegraph was amongst the first to break the story. They tell of a soon to be released project within Sky called “Project Ethan.” This project was created as a response to the growing threats to Sky’s internet streaming presence from Amazon (Fire-TV), Apple and Google. The project was apparently originally called “Project 2016” after the targeted launch date and we can only hope that the renaming signifies a sooner launch date.
Apparently, Project Ethan has a major cloud component. As opposed to the current top-box storage for recorded shows, Sky+ recordings are going to be stored in central datacentres. This has two major ramifications, firstly, top box storage will extend beyond current capacity (meaning more space for Top Gear and ‘The Great British Bake-Off.) This also means that the recordings will be accessible via smartphones and other internet media devices. A great feature that we are most excited for it the resume. Say you are watching on your phone on the bus home from work and are still in the middle of the episode by the time you arrive home. This new feature will allow you to carry on the episode on your TV exactly where you left off, all by the power of the cloud.
BSkyB is reported to be pumping £70m into this project this year alone. Part of this investment is upgrading Sky customers to the latest Sky+HD set-top box, which connects to the internet. They are reported to already be nearly half way through this.
When called for comment however, BSkyB has refused to comment directly on the rumours, only telling the Telegraph “Innovation is at the heart of Sky’s business and we are constantly looking at ways of enhancing our service for customers.”
