TVPAK...........................
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Microsoft Enters The World Of Broadcast TV With TVPAK
MONTREAUX, SWITZERLAND, 1999 JUN 14 (NB)
By Steve Gold, Newsbytes.
Drawing heavily on its experiences with WebTV, Microsoft [NASDAQ:MSFT] has taken the wraps off its TV Platform Adaptation Kit (TVPAK) technology, which extends the world of client-server technology into the TV broadcasting arena.The software giant has done its homework with TVPAK, just as it did in the early days of Windows, and has gone out of its way to woo many third party vendors to support the technology in their own products.
The client software, known as Microsoft TV, is billed as operating a range of television-centric appliances from Internet terminals and advanced set-top boxes (STBs) to integrated televisions.
The server software, meanwhile, known as Microsoft TV Server, will be used by network operators to deploy and manage a rich, scalable, enhanced TV service.
In essence, the TVPAK technologies merges Internet and TV technologies together - just like WebTV, - except that this time, the dividing line between the Internet and the TV environment is fuzzier.
The idea behind TVPAK, Microsoft says, is to create new devices, services and content to enhance the entertainment value and usefulness of television for consumers.
TVPAK was originally announced at Western Cable Show in December, 1998, since when Microsoft has been working feverishly to develop the technology for the real world.
Unlike WebTV, which is discrete transmission alongside the TV signal, TVPAK is actually a TV operating system that is based loosely on Windows CE. The idea is hardware developers can develop TVPAK- compliant hardware which can be used by broadcasters in a similar manner to a computer.
According to Jon DeVaan, Microsoft's vice president of the firm's consumer and commerce group, the Microsoft TV platform is the best choice for the TV industry to prosper from the convergence of the Internet, digital services and traditional broadcasting.
"This Microsoft platform delivers to the TV industry the control and flexibility it demands and the ability to deliver innovative new entertainment services and convenience to viewers," he said.
While Microsoft has not done itself any favors in the broadcast industry with WebTV, the unique selling point of Microsoft TV, as the TVPAK technology will be publicly known, is that it includes an optional Microsoft-designed electronic program guide (EPG).
EPGs are seen as the savior of digital TV, since they allow users to painlessly choose between channels on an interactive basis. Even with dozens of channels available, because the EPG "gets to know" its user, it can choose what programs it thinks the viewer may want to watch - even if the program is on a channel that the user does not normally watch.
So far, Microsoft says that has given Microsoft TV code to more than 50 hardware manufacturers for them to evaluate and begin the development of compatible receivers.
Microsoft is taking no chances with the technology, which it says is completely compatible with existing digital TV broadcast standards, including Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), Advanced TV Systems Committee (ATSC) and others.
The system is also backwards compatible with the Web, supporting HTML, JavaScript and Dynamic HTML. However, support for pure Java is glaringly missing from the technology.
This puts a big questionmark over the mass market potential for Microsoft TV, since most Internet STB producers are planning to support the extensible programming language, which offers broadcasters and carriers access to downloadable applications.
Microsoft TV Server is based on Windows 2000 Server, making it BackOffice-compatible.
The plan is for the Server software to ship to broadcasters later this year, with the aim of supporting enhanced TV services by early next year.
Companies that have announced their support for the technology include AT&T on the network operator's front, and Scientific-Atlanta, Pace, Philips, Siemens, Hitachi and Sony. Many of these firms supported WebTV when it first appeared, and are now supporting Microsoft TV and its TVPAK technology.
Malcolm Miller, chief executive of Pace Micro Technology, which is fast becoming a major force in the digital TV set-top box (STB) marketplace, says the company is pleased to be working with Microsoft on the deployment of Microsoft TVPAK.
"We've worked with broadcasters worldwide to develop digital TV systems and believe that the advanced STB, as the gateway for interactive services, is set to explode," he said.
Microsoft's Web site is at microsoft.com .
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