Lifestyle, Smart Tech
IBC 2011: Smart TV Q&A with iomega’s Olivier D'Eternod
Olivier d'Eternod shows Iomega TV at IBC (click to expand)
I’ve spent much of the last week in Amsterdam, at IBC 2011, where we were showcasing the latest Intel®-based smart TV solutions. One of these was the only-just-launched Iomega® TV with Boxee and I managed to catch-up with the company’s Head of Product Marketing for EMEA, Olivier D’Eternod.
Paul: What is it about iomega TV that makes it different to the competing smart TV products already out there?
Olivier: Smart TV is a fairly new category and the market can expect new and exciting products to launch on a regular basis. iomegaTV with Boxee is definitively one of them. What makes the product unique is the combined Internet TV and Network Storage capability. Users can access Internet content directly on their TV (any TV at home) through an easy-to-navigate user interface from Boxee. And, they can centralise all their electronic files onto one single device that they can access from anywhere – locally and remotely. iomega TV with Boxee is the fusion of a Internet media centre and a network storage device. It comes with local storage in 1TB and 2TB versions.
Paul: Where will it be available, and when?
Olivier: We will make the product available in Europe by mid-October and we’re focusing launch efforts in retail and etail in Germany, UK, Sweden, Spain and France. This is where Boxee has already identified the best localised content so far. We will also offer the product in the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Switzerland and Portugal. We had great feedback from our channel partners in those countries so that we decided to extend our launch there.
Paul: What role has Intel played in helping you to bring this product to market?
Olivier: A key element of a great user experience when browsing the Internet is the performance of the chipset when reading HTML5 and Flash-based content. Today, Intel is the only company capable of bringing a powerful enough performance to CE devices. With the Intel® Atom™ processor CE4100 inside Iomega TV with Boxee, we’ve got the horsepower to provide this great experience, and to stay future-proof. On top of that, Intel has been very excited about the product concept from the beginning and supportive throughout all the different stages of development.
Paul: What’s next from iomega in smart TV?
Olivier: It’s a bit too early to talk about future products – we need to bring this one to market first. But if I can talk about one thing, I would say: access to premium content. This is what consumers want, and this is what they are going to have.
Paul: If you had the smartest TV in the world, what do you wish it could do?
Olivier: As much as we are seeing a trend to centralise data on a central server at home (the Network Storage or NAS), I imagine that TV will become the main interface for phone (videophone), stock management for food (with integrated repurchase), security (video), gaming and so on. We’ll also be seeing multiple screens of multi-sizes in different locations in the house. It’s an exciting time for smart TV!
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Smart TV is redefining television as we know it. To keep up-to-date on the latest smart TV news and trends, follow the Intel smart TV team on Twitter and Facebook. If you want to learn more about Iomega TV check out this Iomega TV video. For more on smart TV, check out this smart TV video.
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