Tracy Swedlow's
*I N T E R A C T I V E T V T O D A Y*
An Email Publication
December 29, 1999 Issue 2.58
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
* Ads: Peach Networks & Veon (2)
Some Thoughts at the End of the Year
We are grateful for all the good wishes and sponsorship sent in
over the last year. It was a great year of growth for InteractiveTV Today
(ITVT) as we launched the publication, Web site, and special services into
full-gear. We look forward to providing you with more information
products (e.g. industry and technology news, its trends, insider views,
emerging technologies, conference reviews, as well as information on
content and interface developments) in the months to come. Look for additional
features, for example, on the Web site and as well as the First Annual ITVT
Awards of Achievement.
Overall, everybody associated with InteractiveTV Today wish subscribers
around the world a very happy new year/century/millenium. Of course,
ITVT is very aware that this date is a completely arbitrary marker of time
and respect the fact that some cultures pay no heed to it. We truly
believe that diversity makes for a stronger and more dynamic
ITV/broadband industry and society.
INDUSTRY
Top ITV Trends and Important Influences in 1999
Technologies, Companies, and Trends to Watch in 2000
TECHNOLOGY
New Set-top from Granite and NetTV with Bays for Peripherals
CONTENT
Canadian TV Channel Develops Screen Like Web Page
Synchronized TV: Companies Embracing More Projects, But Will It Last?
ABC & Go.com "Enhancing" Broadcast of Sugar Bowl
New Line Cinema and HyperTV "Enhancing" Austin Powers
MORE JOBS
Veon
COMMENT
Peter Davey - Macquarie Bank, Australia
OTHER HEADLINES
WHAT's ON THE WEB SITE
EVENTS
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=ad:JobListing =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Peach Networks
Manager, Content Business Development (Boston, MA)
Peach Networks provides cutting-edge, cost-effective interactive
television technology. The Access Channel system delivers a
whole new source of high-revenue generating programming
content to Cable Television operators. In the position above,
you would be expected to plan, specify and establish the content
packages to be offered; establish relationships with strategic
suppliers of software applications; and establish licensing
arrangements. BSCS or BA in Communications, Journalism
or equivalent required. Experience in marketing/new business
development and background in the applications software industry
preferred.
Please email resume and cover letter to: usjobs@peach-networks.com
or fax to 207-878-9596. Reference: ITVT Listing. Candidates
invited for interviews will be required to supply three references
and proof of citizenship.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=ad:JobListing=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
*I N D U S T R Y
Top ITV Trends and Important Influences in 1999
Open Access/AT&T/FCC/ISP's
Mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, IPO's, personnel shakeups
Digital Video Recorders (TiVo, ReplayTV, etc.)
Real deployments: Digital set-tops, Wink, Open...., DISHPlayer, China, Europe
New set-top boxes as entertainment appliance
Technologies: ATVEF, DVB-MHP, OpenCable
Growth of broadband/cable modem industry to home user
New enhanced content on WebTV platform and PBS experiments
Emergence of the platform (Liberate, MicrosoftTV, OpenTV, PowerTV)
Interactive banking, advertising, ecommerce
New companies on the scene building services and tools
Launch of digital signal
More jobs available
Technologies, Companies, and Trends to Watch in 2000
Open Access/AT&T/FCC/ISP's
Further deployment of digital TV signal and products
ATVEF SIG, W3C, OpenCable
New ITV broadcast channels: Documentary Channel, Museum World
Email Communities and back end communications technologies
Digital Video Recording and video-on-demand technology
TiVo - source code released to Linux community
Technologies: JavaTV, Bluetooth, Datacasting, Multi-casting
Companies: Gemstar-TV Guide, NDS, Excite@Home,
AOL, AT&T, Veon, Microsoft, Liberate, CommerceTV, ACTV,
AccelerateTV, Sun Microsystems, SeaChange, OpenTV, EchoStar
Set-top services for the smart home
Interactive video/film over broadband networks
A lot more
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=ad:Event =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Veon's Interactive Broadband Video Summit
New York: January 11, 2000
Los Angeles: January 20, 2000
Discover the powerful potential of linking video content and commerce
Turn your video assets into revenue assets
Develop your own ideas for groundbreaking broadband programming
Cost to Attend: FREE
Register today at veon.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=ad:Event =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
*T E C H N O L O G Y
New Set-top from Granite and NetTV with Bays for Peripherals
A new set-top (being built to ride the wave of interest in gateway
home entertainment all-in-one boxes) from NetTV will allow the
customer to add new components such as a cable modem, hard
drive, DVD drive, and other peripherals easily. The box will come
with 3 available open bays - 2 in the back and one in the front with
the back bays for a cable modem or hard drive while the front bay
will accept a video tape or a DVD drive. Granite Microsystems will
be responsible for this "Device Bay" technology supporting USB
and IEEE 1394 standard high speed connections. The boxes will be
on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas January 6-9.
*C O N T E N T
Canadian TV Channel Develops Screen Like Web Page
"The New York Times" on Monday covered a story about a television
channel in Canada called Cable Pulse 24, or CP24, a subsidiary of
Chum Limited, presenting their regular broadcast screen after
an interactive fashion - or as the NY Times says, "like a Web page".
What's displayed here is a screen much like enhanced TV broadcasts
in which the video is reduced to the upper left while the rest of the
screen features popular info graphics such as weather, traffic, and stock
reports during broadcasts. Stephen Hurlbut, the station's vice president
and general manager, was quoted as saying. "It's designed for people who
have busy lives. They turn it on and get their 15-minute hit and they go
off to work. This is utility TV for people in this city." Mark Rubinstein,
senior vice president at Chum Television Channels, saw it as an
opportunity to generate revenue. "We are hoping we can turn this into
a model of how television and the Web can be packaged and sold. Our
expectation is that new media and business opportunities will outstrip
the traditional revenue channel." Enhanced TV news producers - take note.
Synchronized TV: Companies Embracing More Projects, But Will It Last?
ABC & Go.com "Enhancing" Broadcast of Sugar Bowl
New Line Cinema and HyperTV "Enhancing" Austin Powers
ABC and Go.com in a combined effort have been enhancing Sunday
Night and Monday Night football games since September. On January
4th, ABC/Go.com will "enhance" their broadcast of the Nokia Sugar
Bowl football game while - as reported last November in this
publication - New Line Cinema will offer ACTV's Hyper TV application
during pay-per-view broadcasts of "Austin Power's: The Spy Who
Shagged Me" from January 1 and February 29, 2000. Synchronized
TV broadcasts with Internet content programming is gaining corporate
Interest, clearly. While not interactiveTV in the strictest sense, this sort of
programming promotion, is being billed as "Enhanced TV". Although
purely marketing tactics, the existence of this sort of programming
certainly brings the concept of interactive TV closer to the mainstream.
Sugar Bowl viewers will actually be able to play games against other
Viewers only over their Internet connection with their PC, view real-time
statistics on the game, participate in interactive polls and graphical charts.
chat with others, buy things and "more" says the network. ABC /Go.com
plans to "enhance" Super Bowl XXXIV on January 30th as well. Wouldn't it
be great if ABC/Go.com developed these applications for real-time enhanced
TV-compliant platforms? Synchronization, while it is a growing trend, can
only thrive and grow long term, in the opinion of ITVT, in a combined
broadband digital TV environment which is not readily available yet.
===============
Getting more interesting!
As the sports market heats up I expect QSTI to benefit to some degree.
Bruce Cullen
Sherwood Coasts Group
geocities.com |
