Just in case someone wants their own IPTV streaming entry, Move Networks has apparently moved beyond mere browser plugins, after powering the video for ABC, Fox ESPN and others, it is acquiring Inuk Networks, most notably the developer of an IPTV platform built to deliver a "TV experience" to PCs and anything else connected to the Internet. The idea is to give viewers all the features -- DVR, VOD, EPG & more -- that they expect on TV, on a PC or Mac. Of course, cable operators already seem to be building their own similar solutions, but we don't doubt we'll be seeing someone busting out this platform sooner rather than later.

NeuLion, the people behind the NFL's GamePass HD and Game Rewind online streaming video services, is launching a standalone IPTV receiver capable of decoding 720p or 1080i video. The iPTV HD TV Box not intended to be sold directly to consumers, but their partners may offer it so viewers can take their Silverlight, Flash or Move Networks encoded streams to the HDTV. No word whether any tuners are included but it can access a 7-day channel guide, output Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and serve as a DVR. A bit simpler than an HTPC and probably cheaper than a whole new HDTV, keep an eye out for the first boxes shipping in March.

The NFL's online on-demand service, Game Rewind, is live and promising every game in high definition with no commercial interruption. Football fans are expected to kick in either $4.99 for a week pass or $19.99 for a full season of access, just enough that they may want to check out Streaming Media's impressions of the service before dropping any cash. Overall results seem impressive, with PQ on the actual service far surpassing the demo available on NFL.com, with only momentary buffering and no stuttering reported using Move Networks' streaming technology that's previously powered the NFL's GamePass HD for international viewers and others like ABC.com, AT&T and the Metropolitan Opera. Future potential could take this kind of service beyond the browser window (see Netflix Instant Watch) but for now we think this would only appeal to the most hardcore football fans (or, we can't bear to watch Lions game again, it's hard to tell at this point) and as the preview points out it would be a lot more attractive in a free / ad-supported package.

The New York Times got an early peek at the Metropolitan Opera's new HD video on-demand streaming website, set to launch October 22, and came away with a few complaints. While the sound was described as clear and rich, accompanying sharp video, browser glitches and the need to download an add-on for the Move Networks based player made for a clumsy experience. If a $15 subscription month long subscription is too much, individual operas are available for $3.99 to $4.99 with 13 high definition performances available initially. Being this close to the launch makes us think back 125 years ago when you had to actually go to the Met to see an Opera or the old days of 2007, when you had to put on pants and leave the house to get a high definition show. The future, is now.

Let's say you're interested in checking out a HD performance of the Metropolitan Opera, but the idea of getting your entertainment on someone else's schedule doesn't agree with your PVR-placeshifted-virtual community sensibilities. No problem -- beginning on October 22, the Met is bringing 170 performances -- 120 audio-only, 50 with video -- including recent HD simulcast shows (promised to be in web-quality HD) to your browser. This will be a subscription service, to the tune of $15 per month, or $150 for the whole year. Having to install a dedicated Move Networks player to keep everything on the up-and-up is a niggle, but if there aren't participating theaters or PBS affiliates in your area, it's worth checking out.

[Via press]

It's still a touch unclear to us exactly what this means for end-users, but AT&T has just inked a deal with Move Networks that will enable it to "deliver Move-enabled video content to companies and their users." The release states that Move Networks technology allows "media and entertainment companies to deliver live and on-demand high-definition programming to computers over the internet in a true television-like experience," so we're wondering if AT&T won't start offering some type of HD content via the web. Then again, this whole agreement may be focused on the business sector, so we lowly consumers may never be able to take advantage. Guess we'll see in time, huh?

[Thanks, Anthony]

ABC.com was a leader out of the gate with its online HD player, and this fall it's adding new features to become more appealing in a suddenly crowded environment. "True full screen viewing", closed captioning, better navigation and search tools, plus the ability to easily send, share and embed video clips are all on the way to give things a more Web 2.0 feel. Of course, we wouldn't mind a higher bitrate but that doesn't seem to be in the works just yet. ABC.com says it has the leading online player over other networks like NBC, Fox and CBS with over 300 million episodes served - we guess someone's been using it to keep up with old Lost episodes.

[Via Reuters]

We've had plenty of TV shows hitting the web in high definition recently, now PluggedIn is bringing music videos. Its site, just launched in beta, uses the same Move plugin as ABC.com to push over 10,000 HD and broadcast quality videos from EMI, Sony BMG and other labels. We watched a few videos, and while we've usually gotten good results with ABC's web site, we couldn't seem to get the "HD" meter filled up so far. Whether its bandwidth issues or the videos we checked just weren't HD was unclear, but hopefully the site is updated so its easier to find what we're looking for. Still, audio quality was decent and the broadcast-quality video we did get was clear. For now, take a look and see if this lives up to the competition offered by the networks, Hulu, or even Youtube.