The idea of a wiki pluggin for MT turned out to be a self-inspiration. I have not blogged any creative ideas for long. But like the IP traffic, they travel in bursts. Incidentally we had a 2 hour break – first one in the last 4 days – from a curfew that was imposed on us for not eating a balanced diet. So perhaps that little break provided the requisite vent. I promise to move my non-veg political opinions onto my personal blog, away from the politically correct audience here.

So the idea ..…. I have come across simple hardware devices that plug into your TV antenna ports and let the user toggle between two different service providers. I am not sure if you have too. Anyway what we should have is a software interface to such a toggle device whose UI is the first thing that flashes on your TV when you switch it on. The UI should then give you a choice to select the service provider of your choice. For instance you could choose between AT&T U-Verse and Comcast. This software switching can be done using a remote control while as hardware switching is inconvenient.

A longer term developmental roadmap could have a residential gateway (that incorporates hybrid IP/Legacy STB) integrate this toggle and the associated software interface. Or if you have one of those futuristic TVs with STBs inside then that is even better. You could have a separate OS for the TV with desktop like icons having shortcuts of various different TV service providers. You could then choose more freely.

Toggling serves a purpose because IPTV in some countries will be used as a secondary service like in the UK. It is something additional and not a primary TV service.