Matrixstream—folks who make video-on-demand and IPTV set-top boxes and PC-based player software—has announced it will be launching MyPalTV.com this week, claiming to be the first IPTV and video-on-demand service offering high-definition, 1080p content. At launch, MatrixStream says MyTVPal.com will offer ofer 700 free IPTV channels from over 70 countries, including both standard definition and high-definition content. As the service grows, the company plans to add additional TV channels and video-on-demand titles (for a monthly fee). MyTVPal.com will be run by BB Entertainment, with the ITV platform supplied by MatrixStream.
MyPalTV.com plans to offer 100,000 1080p-capable MatrixStream set-top boxes in its first year of launch. Of course, all this is hypothetical right now: since their announcement, the MatrixStream Web site has gone dark, and MyTVPal.com has yet to light up. Grains of salt, all around.
MyTVPal.com says it will support user-uploaded content in 2007, no doubt looking to cash in on the YouTube and user-generated video phenomena. The company also plans to support DVR functionality in its set-top boxes and PC viewing client in 2007.
BB Entertainment claims to offer more than 15,000 hours of content via IPTV…but we have to ask how much of that content can really be available in 1080p format? Aside from a few isolated efforts from public television and technology developers, most 1080p content available right now is restricted to a handful of next-generation DVD movie offerings. But if you’d like to find out, MyTVPal.com is—allegedly—offering free trails via its PC Player to folks who sign up. We’d like to tell you the system requirements (suspect Windows) but…gosh, their Web site is down for the fourth straight day.
