Microsoft IPTV makes its way to France

Europe seems next on this list for Microsoft's slow and steady rollout of IPTV, which got under way in the States around the beginning of this year. Switzerland got an early glimpse of the service in 2005, with Swisscom and Microsoft running some early tests, but their planned rollout stalled when Swisscom decided Microsoft's offering was a bit half-baked. To kick things off, Germany's Deutsche Telekom is busting out the service via their Club Internet service in France, offering HDTV, dual show watching simultaneously, and 50 hour DVR capability. Existing Club Internet customers can sign up at the end of the month, and new customers can nab the service in August. Deutsche Telekom hopes to bring the same offering to Germany sometime this summer, and Britain's BT Group is planning on Microsoft IPTV later this year. We'll have to wait and see how this Microsoft-flavored tech will fare against traditional TV offerings in Europe, especially now that HDTV is getting underway in England and elsewhere, but it could all come down to price -- which is as of yet unannounced.