Duo brings theatre to a desktop near you -- But is the Compaq-Thomson PC/TV ready for prime time?
By Rick Boyd-Merritt
Houston - Claiming that they have reached a milestone in the evolution toward digital convergence, Compaq Computer Corp. and Thomson Consumer Electronics (Indianapolis) will officially raise the curtain today on a jointly developed PC/TV product.
However, the product, called PC Theatre, shows how this nascent product category still has some growing up to do before it is ready for the big time.
The $4,999 system aims to beat the video quality and ease-of-use of a handful of products that were launched in the past year from competitors such as Gateway 2000. To that end, Compaq has crafted a television tuner/video-graphics card based on a Tseng Labs ET 6000 scaler, combined with a digital comb filter and line doubler that captures and digitizes an NTSC signal for display as a 720- x 480-pixel VGA image running at 60 frames/second on a new 36-inch progressive-scan monitor from Thomson.
The two have also collaborated on a new remote control that uses on-screen menus and programming guides to move users gently between PC and TV features without wading through Windows 95 icons and folders. The set may be the first PC/TV to support picture-in-picture-a feature that seems a natural for such a hybrid product.
"Our philosophy was to make it a TV first and use the PC as an engine," said Jeff Lininger, manager of product marketing for the emerging markets group of Compaq's consumer division. "This is the best video running through a computer that you will find."
PC Theatre takes its name from an industry initiative-also spearheaded by Compaq and Thomson-aimed at creating a world of mix-and-match computer and consumer audiovisual subsystems. Thus, the monitor and remote control are branded by RCA, while the computer and keyboard carry the Compaq logo.
The connections between the two devices-a standard VGA cable and a control cable to send the remote's IR signals back to the CPU-are clearly pre-standard. Thomson will host a meeting next month for those involved in the broader PC Theater initiative-including representatives from the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association and the Video Electronics Standards Association-to begin hammering out the details on a standard interconnect between a TV monitor and a computer. A final spec may not emerge before the end of the year, and a spec that includes both video and control signals might not arrive until even later.
"This product is the first realization of the PC Theatre concept," said Lou Lenzi, vice president of design for the Americas group of Thomson. "We hope to expand it by bringing in more consumer-electronics and PC makers with more mix-and-match equipment."
Mainly analog
In a television world that is evolving toward digital broadcasts and peripherals, the Compaq/Thomson set is primarily grounded in analog technologies. The computer sports two S video ports, three composite video ports and two Universal Serial Bus ports. Ports for the high-speed 1394 interface are clearly on the road map, but neither partner will commit to when the system adopts the digital interface.
As for the move to digital broadcasting, both sides suggest the system could be upgraded with a digital-television set-top box or tuner card when digital broadcasts begin, perhaps late next year. However, neither would comment on what interlaced or progressive video formats such a set should support.
"There's been all too much public posturing about this debate," said Lenzi. "We hope to show that two sides can cooperate on issues like this."
A digital videodisk player and a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) tuner are also missing from the PC Theatre's roster of features Let's see, No DBS, no DVD, no firewire, where's the breakthrough? Divicom, show them what needs to be done.. Both Compaq and Thomson said that the system will be shipping with a DVD-ROM player in the fall. Lininger said Compaq is still testing such a subsystem. Neither company was clear on just when satellite receivers would be an appropriate offeringNow.
To some extent, the immaturity of those subsystems mirrors the youth of the PC Theatre product itself. "Just like we are screaming for titles on the DVD side, we are waiting impatiently for content for DSS-interactive," said Lenzi, referring to a long-anticipated,Web-enabled version of the Hughes Electronics Digital Satellite System that will be geared for PC/TVs.
The PC Theatre product also lacks any 3-D graphics acceleration, which would seem a natural for big-screen game playing. In addition, the companies decided not to include a Dolby SurroundSound system with separate speakers and sub-woofer in their product, and opted instead for a lower-cost simulated surroundsound system and stereo speakers that are integrated into the monitor.
Check on costs
"We expected many target users would already have an audio system, and we didn't want to burden this system with the costs of a ProLogic tuner and related components," Lenzi said.
The first PC/TV to market, Gateway's Destination system, includes a Dolby SurroundSound subsystem, plus separate stereo speakers and sub-woofer. It sells for about $3,799 in a configuration that's similar to the $4,999 PC Theatre. Lininger said the Compaq/Thomson premium comes partly from the new 36-inch tube. Never before productized by Thomson, the tube itself adds nearly $3,000 to the system's cost. |
