The dream of TV without a cable box — or cable bill — is getting closer.
Reports are flying this week that Intel — the world’s largest maker of computer chips — is set to unveil a new device that will allow viewers to watch TV over the Internet.
The device, which would plug into TV sets, would still require consumers to pay a monthly fee — but one that would be much lower and would allow families to pick and choose which channels they want to watch.
As well, it would cut out the need for a DVR, because — like Web pages on the Internet — any show that had aired in the past would be available with just a click of the mouse.
The device is reportedly set to make its debut at the huge Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, according to the authoritative tech Web site, Tech Crunch.
Consumers would need a broadband connection — like the kind that comes from cable and phone companies.
But the new device would represent the biggest competition yet to established TV providers like Time Warner Cable and Verizon.
Intel wants to launch its service before computer giant Apple — which has been working on a similar device — can get to the market with its long-rumored device that marries TV to the Internet.
Intel declined yesterday to confirm it was ready to show its new device to the public.
But reports earlier this week were filled with details and comments from unnamed company officials — enough to give the news much credibility.
Intel is frustrated with “everyone doing a half-assed Google TV so it’s going to do it themselves and do it right,” one source told Tech Crunch.
The service may be ready to roll out as soon as spring, the reports said.
Apple’s top-secret TV device was the last thing company founder Steve Jobs was working on before his death last year.