UK to get Xbox 360 IPTV, again

British Television broadcaster Sky is reportedly working to offer both live and on-demand IPTV programming through Xbox Live in the UK. The BBC reports that it will be similar to Sky Player, a piece of PC/Mac software that allows subscribers to consume Sky IPTV anywhere they have an Internet connection.

But the project sounds much more like one presumed to still be in testing from Sky competitor BT. In 2008, British Telecom announced that its BT Vision service, based upon Microsoft Mediaroom, would bring IPTV to the Xbox 360. However, no completed product has yet been revealed. Exactly one year later at CES 2009, the trials were reported to be ongoing.

In mid-2007, Sky committed to bringing its IPTV service to the PlayStation 3 and PSP. That service later emerged as Go!View for PSP, which is subscription download shop that requires a PC for download and transfer content to the PSP. In the UK, PlayStation 3 has web-based access to the BBC's iPlayer and the ability to act as a DVR with PlayTV.

Sky's IPTV service on the 360 will reportedly include around 20 live channels, including news, sport, and entertainment. The desktop version of SkyPlayer currently offers between 18-28 channels, and demands a 1 Mbps connection for 600 Kbps (low) quality, a 2 Mbps connection for a 1200 Kbps (medium) or 1800 Kbps (high) quality stream.

General availability of Sky's Xbox 360 IPTV service is expected in the fall.