Microsoft has made it tradition in recent years to release a major firmware update each fall, as a "refresh" of sorts to the look and feel of the Xbox 360's UI, and this year will be no different. However, we now know that the company will not include IPTV as part of this fall's rollout, although we can expect to see it by the end of the year.

A small Internet furor began when a customer received his Xbox 360 console back from repairs, and it had a new selection for IPTV on the machine. This led to speculation that the launch of IPTV was imminent, but Microsoft has since shot that down.

In a statement, the company commented: "This was an isolated incident where these features were inadvertently exposed while the customer's console was being serviced and is unrelated to the fall update."

That makes us wonder exactly what's going on at Casa de Microsoft Repairs, but nevertheless it's a plausible explanation. Speaking to GameSpot, the company confirmed that the much-requested feature could debut this year, but ultimately that rests with the service providers:

"Xbox 360 with Microsoft Mediaroom (IPTV), will be available to service providers by the end of the year. Microsoft's IPTV service providers will ultimately determine the timing of Xbox 360 with Microsoft Mediaroom deployments."

No firm date has been given for this year's fall refresh.