Simply, it’s called IPTV. And it may be the biggest thing to happen to television since its inception.

IPTV stands for Internet Protocol Television. This means that the audio and video signal will be streamed to your home via a network connection not unlike the broadband “fat pipe” that offers you high-speed Internet access.

Keep in mind, this is not streaming video via a Web site – it’s a new way of delivering digital television content to your home over copper wire with a handful of advantages the likes of which we’ve never seen.

“This doesn’t sound so revolutionary,” you’re thinking OK, so here’s just a sampling of what IPTV can offer in the years to come:

Interactive television: Imagine watching an episode of Desperate Housewives, and if you like the blouse worn by Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher), you simply click on it with your remote or wireless mouse, which brings up an online store on the right-hand-side of the screen. You can also interact with the content on the show, such as answering questions during Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to compete for real cash and prizes against other at-home contestants.

Chat with your friends via instant messenger on the bottom of the screen while watching your favourite movie. Or simultaneously surf the Web, read blogs and pick up email in one window while your favourite show plays in another.

Use your television like a telephone so you can talk via your TV (using Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VoIP) and even see who’s calling on your screen before you decide to answer it. You will even be able to access cell phone voicemail and text messages via an interface on your boob tube. Similarly, you will be able to take advantage of online ordering right from your TV; press a couple of buttons on the remote to order a pizza – and select all the toppings, too!

Wirelessly access all of your computer’s files in the den – such as MP3s, digital photos and camcorder footage – so you can enjoy the experience on your big-screen television with home theatre sound. Now you don’t need to get the family to hover over a small monitor to see recent pics of the kids: simply press a button on your TV and a slideshow begins, complete with fancy transition effects and music.

With Video on Demand (VOD) you can choose to watch virtually any movie ever made and it will start playing when you tell it to. Now you don’t have to leave your house to rent a DVD at a local video store and return that piece of plastic within a few days. Any movie, any time.

Sign up to receive alerts and customized messages to highlight upcoming favourite TV shows (“Hi Marc – do you want to set a timer to record the season premiere of Family Guy this Sunday night?”). And you will be able to personalize your content – choose the info to display on your TV such as local weather, traffic, news, sports scores, and more.

Ditch your VCR and DVD recorder – the future is Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) that records all of your TV shows and movies to a hard drive capable of storing hundreds or even thousands of hours of content. What’s more, this technology lets you “pause” and “rewind” live TV as it streams the content off its hard drive. You will even be able to set a timer remotely – such as through your work PC, PDA or a cell phone – by calling into your IPTV set and its connected components.

Rather than sitting in your stiff office chair, kick back on the couch with remote in hand and play multiplayer games against other human opponents elsewhere in the world.

Sounds incredible? It’s around the corner. Companies such as Bell are making this happen as soon as late 2005 as they increase broadband speeds and continue to make improvements to digital video compression.