Settop boxes. They will move to the inside of digital TVs...................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who Will Own the Set-top?
With a TV set in virtually every home, the future set-top box is a prize platform that both hardware and software vendors are battling to own. Whoever wins will set the stage for interactive content developers.
Arguably the most glamorous of today's set-top box contenders is WebTV. But with fewer than half a million subscribers to date, WebTV pales by comparison with satellite TV, with its 8 million subscribers; and it shrinks to a dot compared to the nearly-ubiquitous cable-TV box. With nearly 70 million subscribers, the cable-TV industry is clearly in the driver's seat.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Developers will get wide-open access to the TV set.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the downside, the transition from today's analog converter boxes to digital ones will be slow, taking perhaps 10 years or more. The good news, for interactive TV software developers, is that the next generation of digital cable-TV boxes will have far more computing power than the analog and "advanced analog" boxes in widespread use today. General Instruments' DCT-5000+ -- the box with the most buzz, though not yet shipping -- will have a 170MHz processor and 14MB of memory. The other leading cable box maker, Scientific Atlanta, has announced the Explorer 2000, a box with similar capabilities with the PowerTV operating system, and a developer's program called CreativeEdge.
Both of these new boxes are expected to conform to OpenCable specifications, technical standards being finalized by the cable industry. With OpenCable, cable TV companies can mix set-top-box equipment from different manufacturers. And an FCC ruling should let consumers buy their own cable boxes, as they can buy satellite dishes today.
more............................
newmedia.com |
