A True Broadband Television Trial

An article in Wired by Robert Lemos is a summary of his experience giving up cable for a month and only watching television using Internet (though not IPTV) based content.  While the article makes clear the limitations of today's Internet video offerings, it does illustrate that we are at a point where it will be come more feasable to move to a compelety broadband, interactive based video entertainment system at home instead of

I actually think Robert could have gone further.  I tried something similar at home using a Windows Media Center 2005 and their Online Spotlight Channels.  On TV watching evenings I was able to sit on the couch and flip through Comedy Central, news items and movies on demand (a la Movielink's Spotlight channel - Glowria for us Americans) - all for less money than my cable bill.  While it didn't have the channel surfing speed of cable, it did have decent quality (I have a 23 inch widescreen) and entertainment offerings.  Had I had a few more channels through the Media Center Spotlight and faster remote control surfing (i.e., download) capability, I would seriously consider giving up my traditional cable.