BluTV Adds IPTV To Blu-Ray Players

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IPTV may be the future but many people won’t want to bother with things like having to buy an IPTV-enabled media streaming box. Dreamer, a new startup, is planning to bring IPTV to an existing device that people might already have – a Blu-Ray player. Using BD-Live internet-enabled Blu-Ray players, BluTV can create an IPTV platform.

The BluTV will be accessible to people who possess a BD-Live Blu-Ray player via a firmware update from the manufacturer. BluTV will provide traditional IPTV channels, like Netlflix, CNET, as well as a VOD service that will rent and sell movies to customers. Right now, Oppo is the first to support BluTV, and their BDP-83 player will support BluTV via a firmware update.

In addition to movies and IPTV shows, the BluTv platform will also support some interactive content, including games. Currently, the BluTv platform is featuring up to 20 games. Nothing advanced, of course, but simple games like chess, Sudoku and solitaire. Other interactive features include weather and news widgets and a collage channel that displays movie posters.

No word on how many manufacturers will actually enable their players to play BluTV with a firmware update, but Dreamer was demoing the service at CES earlier this month on a PlayStation 3. Currently, PS3 users have to have a special DVD in their disc drive to use Netflix – and BluTV could potentially allow them to use the Netflix IPTV channel instead of having that disc in their drive.

It’s no secret that physical media like Blu-ray discs are on the way out in favor of digital media. Dreamer’s BluTV IPTV service running on Blu-ray players is a unique way that they’re trying to bridge the cap between the two.