Eric, Seems that about everyone but Zenith, Thomson and Philips are going with Wink. Pretty basic tech linking extra transmission feeds with telco returns for simple interactivity. IATV has the same tech.
The beauty is that no expensive processors, chips, OS are required. On the downside, it's rather simplistic and won't favorably compete with a 1/8 PIP screen on the bottom of your 32" wide SDTV monitor that will show simutaneous Internet pages tied into the TV content.
LGE has right now a 32" SDTVw model which delivers one half the screen in TV format and the other in Internet format. I recommend a 7/8 to 1/8 ratio format for better TV viewing experience. Conversely, when working on the Net, switch the 1/8th portion to TV mode.
The only certainties about the coming TV revolution are that there are going to be a lot of different paths and the eventual winners are going to be to the companies which best meet consumer needs.
On another note, the cable modem market looks humongous:
Newsbytes "The cable modem market will gradually ramp up to high unit volume, growing from 171 thousand units in 1997 to over 10 million units worldwide by 2001, according to a new survey by In-Stat.
This reflects a revenue growth from $79 million in 1997 to $2.1 billion in 2001. The evolution of the Internet will be the determining factor in this growth, the survey said.
Since cable TV system operators must make substantial investments prior to rolling out cable modem services, cable modem availability is being introduced on a neighborhood-by neighborhood basis, In-Stat said. As a result, the market for cable modems and related equipment will reach high unit volumes on a gradual, incremental basis." |
