Interactive TV Ripe for Wireless Gaming
By J.B. Houck, Wireless.NewsFactor.com
[Credit for uncovering this article goes to BrightonBeachBum off the Yahoo LMGA club]
Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. (NYSE: SFA - news) and Two Way TV announced Monday an agreement to integrate Two Way TV's interactive infrared protocol technology into Scientific-Atlanta's Explorer 4000DVB home gateway set-top designed for Europe.
The new technology will provide entertainment through the set-top by enabling multiplayer capability for interactive gaming.
Games are leading the interest in interactive services by television viewers, particularly games that allow users to play against other people in the home or elsewhere on the network, said Simon Cornwell, chief executive at Two Way TV.
"The inclusion of our interactive capability within the Scientific-Atlanta Explorer set-top box will help boost the market for these new services, providing the consumer with the highest level of interaction available," Cornwell said.
Four Players at a Time
When development of the new service is complete, European cable television subscribers who have the system will be able to access and play certain interactive programs and games. Up to four people in the same household will be able to play against each other.
Scientific-Atlanta's Explorer set-tops will be able to recognize which handset is responding to a question or challenge almost instantaneously.
The associated set-top handset will provide a much higher level of interactivity than standard handsets and has a range of more than 10 meters. The technology also will work with universal keyboards.
Two Way TV is best known for its games channel, which runs on digital cable, terrestrial and satellite systems around the world.
Wireless Links
Scientific-Atlanta's Explorer 4000DVB set-top is designed to support wired and wireless connectivity to link TVs, PCs, PDAs, phones and other Internet appliances in the home with Scientific-Atlanta's fully interactive digital network.
Initial deployment of the Explorer 4000DVB set-top with the integrated Two Way TV gaming technology is scheduled for later this year.
The set-top is going to become the most important piece of electronics equipment in the home, said Paul Coxon, managing director of Scientific-Atlanta Europe.
"Not only will consumers be able to use their Explorer set-tops to play multi-participant games, check e-mail, surf the Web, order movies and food, they will also be able to connect with other devices in the home for interoperability," Coxon said.
"It's important for cable operators to provide their subscribers with a wide variety of interactive services in order to increase satisfaction and reduce churn," he said. "Interactive gaming with multiplayer capability is one way for the whole family to get involved."
Telewest Buys 200,000 Boxes
In a related announcement Monday, Telewest, a cable operator in the United Kingdom, agreed to purchase a minimum of 200,000 of Scientific-Atlanta's Explorer 4000DVB models that will have the integrated Two Way TV technology.
Telewest, which broadcasts Two Way TV's interactive games over its digital network, will be able to provide multiplayer gaming across the Scientific-Atlanta set-tops for its subscribers.
Because each of the more than 6 million Explorer digital interactive set-tops is capable of delivering multiple interactive applications, interactive gaming technology could be integrated into other Explorer model set-tops in the future. |
