​Code-named the “Black Box Project,” Intel’s in-development TV service and set-top box has been tested by more than 2,000 company employees from their homes across Northern California, Arizona and Oregon. But all this testing has been on a product that is set to drastically change, reports CNET.

The tested product features a hardware design that insiders expect to be totally different when the final product hits market, and the content on the trial version also is not representative of what will ultimately be available.

The hardware/software combo will let Intel customers watch live TV, on-demand programs and other content from their homes and on mobile devices. In testing, the company monitors areas such as logistics, usage habits, and product stability. All test participants are required to go through confidentiality training, and may not use the product any place other than their homes.

Intel also must square away content deals with cable TV providers, some of which are encouraging each other to shun pacts with Internet TV providers.

Read more about it at CNET.

Brief Take: Intel faces a rocky road to set-top box service success. In addition to these early hardware obstacles, Time Warner Cable and other cable TV providers have been pressuring channel owners to shun pacts with Intel and other Internet-based TV providers. But Intel insists it will have deals done in time for a 2013 launch.

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