Toshiba Places: Set-top-box for France, may hit UK

7 September 2010 16:46 GMT / By Rik Henderson

Pocket-lint has already shown you a glimpse of Toshiba's content download and streaming service, Toshiba Places, but with scant few details. Now we can flesh it out a bit.

Essentially, the software is merely a front-end for a portal to all manner of cloud-based content delivery services, such as Flickr and regional video-on-demand providers; some of which providing free and paid-for media, some of which being your own pictures, video and audio files uploaded onto a server.

However, the clever part is that any of that content can then be accessed through a TV, laptop or the forthcoming Toshiba Folio 100, without having to stream it via DLNA or downloading it to each device. And, apart from the latter, the kit needn't be Toshiba made.

As well as allowing you to access the service through a browser on any laptop or desktop computer, the company is planning to sell a standalone Toshiba Places set-top-box [pictured] to plug into any TV. Admittedly, that's only in France initially, but if it's a success that could stretch to other territories, including the UK.

What has already been decided though, is that Toshiba Places will be integrated into the company's TV line-up from the 55LZ1 Cevo screen (the first to utilise some of Tosh's proprietary Cell TV technology DNA), expected to hit around April 2011.

It will then become Toshiba's version of Samsung's Internet@TV or LG's Netcast. At present the company is offering the newly-added BBC iPlayer and YouTube.

Would a connected TV, with streaming video-on-demand services make you consider ditching Sky or Virgin Media? Let us know in the comments below...