Thomas and other FC folks......How will they build the
massive amounts of storage required for this.....Will follow it along to see what they do....
Sony/VOD/ and the Big Apple............................
e-town.com.
VIDEO-ON-DEMAND GETS CLOSER
NYC-area viewers will call programming shots 9/16/1999
By David J. Elrich
NEW YORK, NY, September 16, 1999 -- The promise of true video-on-demand (VOD) is one step closer to becoming a reality -- at least for folks in the New York metro area. Cablevision and Sony announced plans to develop and deploy a new digital entertainment and broadband communications platform next year. This "cable box on steroids" will link Cablevision's system with advanced cable set-top boxes designed and manufactured by Sony.
Combined with this week's news that technology giant Motorola will buy cable-box maker General Instrument, the Sony-Cablevision announcement makes it clear that the battle to control the digital set-top box is now underway in earnest. It is likely that other contenders in this technology area will make announcements in the weeks and months ahead.
Watch what you want
The digital platform, which includes an interactive program guide (IPG), will enable viewers to receive video-on-demand. This means they'll no longer be at the mercy of the cable programmers, who currently dictate which shows subscribers can watch, and when. It will also offer always-connected, Web-enhanced television, email, interactive game services and "scores of other new programming choices," according to Sony executives.
Sony will handle system design and software for the new platform, a tall order that encompasses both head-end equipment for the cable company and OpenCable-compliant digital set-top boxes for end users. The companies expect to expand the capabilities of TV, connecting consumers to the "most sophisticated two-way fiber-optic delivery system in the nation," according to a statement prepared by the two.
Cablevision expects to begin launching the new service throughout its New York metropolitan area cable systems next year. The advanced digital set-top boxes will incorporate the i.LINK digital interface (IEEE 1394) and the Digital Transmission Content Protection (5C DTCP) method. The i.LINK digital interface and 5C DTCP method will allow for the secure transmission of high-definition television (HDTV) signals through the set-top boxes to digital television sets.
In addition, the companies hope to leverage the capabilities of the i.LINK terminal with Sony's HAVi-based (HomeAudio-Video Interoperability) home networking software and Aperios real-time operating system to increase the breadth and variety of potential applications. |
