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Sony is working on a TV that will receive a digital signal without having to use a set-top box.

Digital, cable-ready TVs may become commonplace. Set-top boxes from firms such as Motorola and Scientific Atlanta may become yesterday’s news.

Sony has cut a deal with major cable operators and other electronics manufacturers may follow.

Interactive programming guides, video-on-demand and digital video recording will all be supported by the next gen TVs.

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Is this a seismic change in the world of downloadable video?

You pay $100 for the Roku box, plug it into your HDTV with a HDMI cable, hook up an ethernet cable and you’re ready to grab video content from Netflix.

But we’re not quite talking seismic change. This is not a video download. It’s a stream.

Speed: 1.0 Mpbs. Quality: not bad.

Controls: your Netflix interface on your computer.

Problems: limited content. About 10% of the Netflix library is available.

But you’ve got to start somewhere. And Netflix has.

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Sezmi will launch its set top box before the end of the year. The Sezmi box will use both broadband and broadcast TV to deliver video that’s live, archived, or online.

Sezmi’s partners will be the 3G and DSL providers.

The company’s goal is to be the “first TV offering to be personalized down to the viewer level,” says Sezmi CEO Bruno Pati. Users have their own playlists controlled by a remote.

Pricing details haven’t been released but should be comparable to cable and satellite. Rollout will be city-by-city, not nationally.

The set top box has a terabyte hard drive, good for a thousand hours of standard-def content. There are eSATA and USB connections for external storage. Sezmi comes with what is being touted as “The most powerful over-the-air HDTV antenna ever created.”

Sezmi and Harris have partnered for a network ops center and for IP distribution of content. The user’s broadband connection will grab archived video and content pulled from the YouTubes of the online world. Over the air DTV provide the old guard networks.
Look for at least 30 channels at launch as Sezmi lines up distribution deals with content providers.

Video on demand: Sezmi will probably supply this directly through an agreement with the content provider.

Sezmi’s challenges: aside from inking a robust lineup of content distribution deals, insuring solid technology. Disney tried something similar with MovieBeam, which ran aground.

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The Vudu set-top box is a Wired “Best of Test” winner and indulges movie lovers with an ideal blend of content and clarity.

Content… more than 5,000 films from seven major distributors and 20 independent studios and distributors.

Clarity… the Vudu set-top box rates the playback capability of your monitor and drives in the richest feed possible, maxing out at 1080p.

Audio… Dolby 5.1 surround sound. Remote… a scroll wheel, five buttons, and clean usability.

Select your movie, your credit card is automatically billed, and off you go.

And for the movie buff concerned that a library of 5,000 films might not be sufficiently robust, the Vudu set-top box is regularly updating content.

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