The DCT-5000..................................
mediacentral.com
Sep. 17, 1997
Vol. 5 - No. 182
NextLevel's High-End Digital Box To Offer Web-Surfing Flexibility
(Cable World) Trying to anticipate demand for more complex services, NextLevel Systems Inc. engineers are developing a feature that would let high-end subscribers watch TV and surf the Internet at the same time while using a single digital set-top box.
Carrying the early name of Watch 'N' Record, the capability will be incorporated into NLS's premium DCT 5000 set-top boxes for another $50. That would price the units about $100 more than the mainstream DCT 1000s costing in $400 to $450, according to David Robinson, VP-GM of NLS' digital network systems business unit.
The base DCT 5000's functionality includes compatibility with Multimedia Cable Network Systems (MCNS) cable modem specifications, including the ability to deliver high-speed data at 27 mbps.
"Talking through the feature requirements with the leading operators during the last few months, we found that many of them wanted the capability to not only hook up the set-top to the television display and utilize all the content that's available over the Internet, as well as entertainment television, but also hook up a personal computer with an Ethernet output," Robinson said.
Then, NextLevel went a step further. "The concept of Watch 'N' Surf came when people said, 'I really like that PC output functionality and I don't want to limit my subscribers to either watching the television or surfing the Net with a personal computer,'" he said.
As currently configured, the box would warn of user conflicts, Robinson said: "Knowing what I know, I might say, 'Yeah, the DCT 5000 can do the trick,' and I might not necessarily install a cable modem with my personal computer, or, if I do, by the time this comes to fruition, I'll probably have more than the two computers in my house, plus more than the four televisions I already have in my house.
"It's that type of consumer who's the target for this product. It is not the average television watcher. The mainstream requirements, even including real-time interactivity for video-on-demand, are more than satisfied by a lower-cost mainstream product that is shipping today."
Cowles/Simba Media Daily 9/17/97
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