Getting Closer to Streaming Paradise

This week, its been highly publicized that Sling Media, the developer behind the ever so popular SlingBox, is already working hard on bringing compatibility of their SlingBox media streaming device to the Apple TV.

While seeing a strong interest from developers in the Apple TV is not necessarily a surprise, the fact that Sling Media is going to try to enter this space of the iTunes ecosystem before Apple does is a very interesting development.

However, while this would be a great device for users of other media enabled phones such as the Treo, I believe people who are really invested in the iTunes model, which is the target audience for an Apple TV, will also likely purchase an iPhone. And it would be shocking to see if Apple did not develop similar capabilities into the iPhone at its inception or soon after. This may be related to some of the hidden features within Leopard or the iPhone that Steve did not quite want to let go when he announced the iPhone.

But I digress. I want to focus on the importance this sort of development would have on mobile media. This would be a giant first step into really removing all constraints of storage and allow users to truly enjoy their purchased media anywhere, anytime, providing there is a sufficient internet source around to handle the streaming of the copy of RoboCop you bought this morning of the iTunes store.

Coupled with the recent announcement of DRM-free music being offered from EMI, Apple seems to be highly invested into furthering this seamless iTunes ecosystem to other devices, namely the iPhone, and finally creating an environment where people can enjoy what they have purchased with little hassle, beautiful simplicity, and seamless integration into the devices they already or will in the future own.

Sling Media's development on making their device compatible with the Apple TV is important, because I believe it will persuade Apple even further into releasing this type of architecture and integrating it into their products.

Still the success of these kinds of streaming applications rests heavily on the continuing development of next generation wireless networks in this country. WiMAX will undoubtedly play a huge role in the future of this technology.

So it appears with these recent developments that we are getting closer to the streaming paradise of which we all dream.