I previously posted a slide from the leaked Xbox 720 powerpoint below that Showed Microsoft and Sony were going to support Google TV like features and XTV:
Bottom right in the above slide has Microsoft speculating that the PS4 would support Google TV and in addition "Tech Forward" means it will support New technology that's coming; I.E. New accessories and features that will be released similar to how the PS3 was supported with Firmware updates.
It's related to providing support for "Always On Connected devices in the Digital home" seen in the following slide. Set Top boxes and servers for 6.4 billion Handhelds as well as 600 million new internet connected Homes/living rooms. Why? because ATSC 2.0 starts in 2013 and it's standard will be picked up and supported by both Cable and OTA. What's the opportunity; Most of the TVs on the market can't support OTA 1080P, 1080P S3D or XTV but on Cable TV with RVU or HDMI pass-through or OTA with a digital tuner or Nanse both Xbox 720 and PS4 can support this new standard making the next generation game consoles a all in one entertainment "does everything" platform.
ATSC 2.0 work on track
Taking the TV experience to a new level is the objective of ATSC 2.0, an effort that will introduce a number of enhanced features based on newly-developed standards and the focused application of existing standards. Work on ATSC 2.0, which has been under way since last year, includes a suite of new services, including non-real-time transmission, Internet-related enhancements, 3D TV broadcasting, and advanced video compression.
Announcement occurring at or slightly after the ATSC 2.0 dates in the above chart might be about ATSC 2.0/RVU features and the Firmware updates that are coming and not about the PS4 or Xbox 720.
This article
Sony's PS4 Expected to Be Announced in March, but Released After the Xbox 720 has several dates that are rumored for PS4 information releases which might be about what I mention above.
If you've followed my posts you are probably tired of my constantly harping on webkit/HTML5 and it's coming with major firmware updates and new features coming to the PS3. My fault is in being too early and falsely speculating multiple times when it might be implemented. In hindsight we can now see the multiple statements from Sony employees did have meat but were also inaccurate as the release times. For instance we were told that the PS3 browser would support S3D in a year, it will be slightly more than 2 years but likely true. We were told that Sony is betting on Handhelds and the 6.4 billion new phones and Tablets by 2016 predicted in one of the above as well as Microsoft going after that market too is now explained.
Why the predicted massive expansion in handhelds => low prices, new features enabled by much more powerful hardware and infrastructure. The PS4 and Xbox 720 are part of the infrastructure of always on connected home devices that will serve and support handhelds.
Part of ATSC 2.0 is support for Mobile Digital TV and that's for handheld devices also.
ATSC 2.0 will emerge as a new candidate broadcast standard early this year with a goal of deploying it in CE products by year-end, Richard Chernock, chairman of the ATSC technology and standards group, told us. The candidate standard designation is a precursor to formal implementation of ATSC 2.0, he said.
The new standard, under development for 18 months, is designed to blend broadcast TV with the Internet in providing a variety interactive capabilities such as pushing news alerts to Internet-capable TVs much as they are delivered to smartphones via wireless networks, industry officials said. The standard also would allow for in-home viewing of broadcast content on mobile devices like tablets, industry officials said.