'Virtual cable TV' service GenosTV seeks beta testers worldwide

GenosTV, a company billing itself as the first "virtual cable TV provider" is looking for beta testers for its IPTV platform. The service will differentiate itself in three ways: by not requiring a dedicated set-top box, by offering complete à la carte pricing, and by not being an on-demand service like Hulu and its competitors.

The service aims to be a platform agnostic linear streaming service, so any connected TV, media player, or set top box will be able to access the GenosTV service.

"Customers have been unhappy for so long and the first chance they get to switch to a solid alternative, they will," said founder Rob Shambro. "Remember when Orbitz and Travelocity eliminated the travel agent? That was nothing compared to the effect of GenosTV on the media sector."

According to market research released by In-Stat Tuesday, the hybrid set top box market will be a $1.3 billion industry by 2014, so devising a pay TV strategy that will work across any of these devices is an attractive idea indeed.

"TV programs have come to the Internet. Now, the Internet is coming back to TV, and savvy software engineers and smart TV producers are finding ways to create new "hybrid" services that bring it all together," Gerry Kaufhold, Principal Analyst for In-Stat said on Tuesday. "The set top box industry is scrambling to create designs that facilitate all these new features."

GenosTV expects to launch its service at CES 2011, and is looking for beta testers in any country, on any connected device to help make this happen. To become a beta tester for GenosTV, send an email to [email protected].