the wireless TV solution, composed of a Cisco access point and wi-fi enabled receivers.
The solution is being rolled out first at AT&T Uverse customers and allows basically a centralized HD DVR operation distributed wirelessly to as many receivers and TVs in the house.
This launch is advertised as the industry's first wireless IPTV deployment. While the innovation is minor (adding wifi to a DVR is hardly exceptional), the in-home close network deployed by Cisco with the dedicated access point can have interesting developments.
Surely, as connected TVs start appearing and accessing OTT content, whoever is going to control the home gateway, including the wifi access is going to be able to manage and in some cases enforce access within a walled garden.
I might be cynical here, but i would not be surprised if the access point and the home network delivered by AT&T was somewhat restrictive in term of the content it delivers. It is probably dedicated only to the broadcasting managed services offered by AT&T and does not offer OTT access.
In that case, it would mean another box to manage in your home (the access point), and potentially interesting issues when it comes to you selecting which wifi network to connect to with your connected TV, Bluray, net box or unmanaged DVR.
It will be interesting to see how this new offering fares with AT&T customers.
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