European company to mix cable with internet

It's not coming here, at least yet, but this story from Wired on what Liberty Cable is planning in Europe, (link) is a recommended read since it gives us a hint into what our futures could hold:

Think of it as a Boxee or Roku-like service living on the cable digital video recorder. For instance, a search for Batman will show what channel is broadcasting it, if is available through video on demand, where on the web you can find it and even if it is available through some peer-to-peer networks.

The move will be a big step forward for the cable industry, which has so far been wary of internet video content. It could change the idea of a set-top box and usher in a post-TiVo era where consumers watch Jersey Shore with the same ease as an episode of the online show Epic Fu. In addition to delivering a greater variety of content to your living room, it could open up new opportunities for video producers to reach a mass audience, and could help the cable companies sell more broadband accounts.

The only losers? Startups that have bet their futures on making dedicated internet TV boxes, with functions that set-top boxes like Liberty Global’s could soon replace.

The box or the “gateway” as Nair likes to call it will be an IP-based device that can stream video, voice and data over Wi-Fi to devices in the home such as PC, phones and eventually the iPad. Liberty will partner with Samsung and LG to build the box, which will be powered by Intel’s Atom processor.