Not sure how much this would matter outside of Japan: Sony, Matsushita, Sharp, Toshiba and Hitachi, the Japanese consumer-electronics giants, are developing a joint standard for Internet-connected TVs...it plans to establish a common standard for aspects of Internet TV such as the OS, security, copyright protection and network connectivity. It will make it easier for content makers to produce material for viewing on TV that link to the Web...the idea is to compete against Web-only players.
The alliance might compel rivals overseas either to develop alternatives in competition or, perhaps, adopt the planned Japanese standard, the story says.
For the OS, the companies have decided to adopt Linux, rather than Microsoft’s Windows system. Beyond that, the specifics of the standard are undecided.
AP: The five rivals set up a joint company last month called TV Portal Service Corp. to develop this common standard...Sony and Matsushita are the lead shareholders, each with 35 percent stake. The others have 10 percent shares.