Filipino start-up develops the Ilumina iTV

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A group of young visionary engineers and software developers released few days ago a prototype of their new invention — an interactive TV set they named Ilumina.

The team was composed of graduates from Ateneo, UP and La Salle. They conceptualized and created the prototype in 4 months. The prototype is named Ilumina iTV - an LCD TV powered by a personal computer produced from spare parts and electronic devices available to everyone.

This new project aims to redesign our living room and re-invent the regular media center set up. Can this be the end of Apple TVs, SlingBox or Popcorn Hour? Since the Ilumina will have a built-in hard drive, you can download all the movies and music you want and store it on the TV for playback later.

The price for this super-gadget was not yet released, but they say it will be in the 5 digits (below 100k) for a 32-inch Ilumina (32″ LCD TVs right now cost around Php50k).

The final product will be released in the market by 2009.

They will use an open-source platform, therefore the team can develop and release an API so third-party developers can contribute and extend the Ilumina’s feature and functionalities.

For now, the team is seeking some venture capitalist to partner and push the development and manufacturing stage as soon as possible.

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