NTL(Divi customer)..........................
exchange2000.com
Besides DiviCom's technology, other technology partners are understood
to be Power TV (STB middleware), Nagra for conditional access
technology, ICL (interactive services and applications), Digital
Equipment for Video-on-Demand file servers and Lysis (master
scheduler).
inside-cable.co.uk
12th October 1998
NTL TO LAUNCH MULTIPLE INTERACTIVE TV
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NTL has announced its plans for TV-based interactive services, available nationally across a variety of interactive TV platforms from 31 March 1999. It expects to be the first interactive provider as neither Sky Digital nor OnDigital will be offering interactive services by then.
The first offering will be NTL's TV-based telephone access package later this year although this will offer no TV content. This will be followed by digital terrestrial television with digital cable available in the early summer of 1999. . The digital terrestrial service will come through SDN, the joint venture company with United News and Media and S4C.
NTL will deliver interactive services to consumers nationally via two types of TV settop box. The first is connected to a telephone line and will provide TV-based Internet access with a later version offering integrated handling of both digital terrestrial TV and Internet access.
In local cable markets NTL Interactive will be available via settop box which uses Microsoft software for the integrated content; PowerTV to implement NTL's choice of Internet standard HTML and JavaScript software, while ICL will be the overall interactive system integrator. NTL expects to have 200,000 interactive customers by the end of 1999 and some 2.0 million within in three years, including all forms of access.
Content partners include Microsoft, Barclays Bank, Airtours, Press Association and Universal Studios. NTL is offering an end-to-end service to new-media entrants who wish to market their content, products and services through interactive TV settop boxes.
NTL believes that its adoption of Internet software standards means that content partners can leverage investments in existing web sites. |
