Bravia Video Link Adds Content Partners

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 11/19/2008

San Diego – Sony said Wednesday that Slacker Personal Radio and Howcast Media have been added to the list of content partners that will be available through the Sony Bravia Internet Video Link add-on box for many Bravia LCD TVs.

Slacker Personal Radio delivers millions of licensed songs and more than 100 individually programmed genre music stations, while Howcast offers a selection of how-to videos. Both services will be accessible through the Bravia Internet Video Link at no additional charge, Sony said.

“Internet content is expanding faster than ever and we are bringing it straight to BRAVIA televisions,” stated Randy Waynick, Sony Electronics Home Products Division senior VP. “Slacker and Howcast are great examples of new types of entertainment that are bridging the gap from an Internet experience to entertainment shared in the living room.”

Slacker will provide a library of “CD-quality music across all genres and eras.”

Bravia Internet Video Link set-back module owners will only be required to link an online Slacker account with the device. From there, users can fine-tune music category choices by artist, year, popularity and other criteria.

Users may personalize their music choices across the Web on the Internet Video Link module and on the Slacker G2 service. Soon BlackBerry smart-phones will be added to the list of Slacker G2 service enabled devices, Sony said.

Howcast.com features how-to videos and guides, with nearly 100 features. Options include, selections a variety of subject areas including: “Hot How-To's,” “Fun & Games,” “Food & Drink,” “Home & Family,” and “Health & Beauty.”

Content from all of the services carried on the Bravia Internet Video Link module is streamed on-demand. Other available content options include: hit movies, television shows, user generated videos, and a variety of other high-definition and standard-definition content not found on network or cable/satellite TV.

Other content partners include: Amazon Video on Demand; YouTube; Dailymotion; CBS; Yahoo!; Sports Illustrated; blip.tv; CondéNet’s Style.com, Men.Style.com, Epicurious, Wired.com and Concierge.com channels; Sony Pictures’ Crackle, and others.

The module is currently available for about $300.