ReadWriteWeb

The segment of the media delivery industry that may yet take off for consumers consists of programming and services that are delivered to newer HDTVs "over-the-top" (OTT) - meaning, outside of the cable or satellite provider's pipeline. Naturally, the Internet is the delivery medium here. In prior years, analysts have wondered how (or whether) traditional programming from multi-service operators (MSOs) like Comcast would compete.

The answer we may get from CES 2012 is that it won't have to. Semiconductor maker Broadcom is set to demonstrate a new class of system-on-a-chip (SoC) components that could be integrated into set-top boxes (STBs). This new class, numbered BCM72xx, would deliver OTT services alongside cable channels, in a format that would enable MSOs to utilize Android as the operating system, and Sling Media as the streaming provider for wireless devices. It could be the formula behind the phrase, "Goodbye, TiVo."

Google is everywhere. From your web mail to your web searches and now even tracking your location on a map, the ubiquity of Google is something that many of us have just started taking for granted when we go online. But something a lot of people don't realize is that Google is also tapping into our information when we're offline. Case in point: Google TV Ads, a part of the company's AdWords channel gives Google access to DVR viewership data from millions of set-top boxes here in the United States.