Microsoft 'Rome' to give Windows Phone 7 IPTV streaming
updated 09:35 am EST, Fri January 21, 2011
Microsoft Rome brings Mediaroom to Windows Phone 7
Microsoft is prepping an app for Windows Phone 7 that would give it direct access to IPTV streaming and control. Leaks from sources suggest a new client, codenamed Rome, would give access to any Mediaroom-based service, much like the Xbox 360. ZDNet didn't get the full feature set, but Mediaroom implies not just live TV but control over a networked DVR.
The connection is supported by talk of Roz Ho, Microsoft's VP formerly in charge of the Mac and later Kin teams, heading up work on Mediaroom as a whole.
When it would ship wasn't known, but the project was started last year and could theoretically launch this year. Rome would be part of a larger three-year plan known as Thunderbay that would have the Entertainment and Devices group unify its media efforts that already has video on the PC and TV, but not yet on mobile.
