Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BillyG who wrote (43137)	7/17/1999 5:08:00 AM
From: VidiVici	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Identical to BRCM... equities.barchart.com

To: BillyG who wrote (43137)	7/17/1999 12:49:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Web access key to selling digital TV............. mediacentral.com Television & Cable 07-14-99 19:21 EDT Headlines Web access, e-mail may be key for digital TV LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - Internet access and e-mail could well be the "killer applications" that drive British viewers to switch to digital TV, according to results of a trial by U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. Over 90 percent of the people who took part in the six-month UK trial for Microsoft's interactive WebTV service cited the two features as its main attractions. The trial results, released on Thursday, appeared to support Microsoft's gamble on UK cable companies as they roll out digital TV services to compete with Britain's existing digital satellite and digital terrestrial platforms. Microsoft has taken minority stakes in NTL Inc. and Telewest Communications Plc in recent months as part of a perceived push to establish its Microsoft TV software as a global standard in the age of interactive TV. Digital cable companies like NTL and Telewest plan to offer their customers full Internet access, in addition to the cluster of e-mail and interactive home shopping and banking services planned by rivals BSkyB and ONdigital . NTL and Telewest have actually opted for different operating systems in their digital TV platforms, though Microsoft's interactive TV features could potentially be added to the mix. BSkyB's interactive TV venture, Open, and ONdigital won't initially be able to provide full Internet access with their interactive services because of technological limitations of their first-generation equipment. But that situation may change with future upgrades, providing a potential market for Microsoft TV software. In the Microsoft trial, 34 percent of the 115 participants cited Internet access and e-mail as the main factors that would push them to buy interactive TV, while 43 percent said they would even pay extra to receive the services. The six-month trial was conducted in London and Liverpool, comprising 115 households that didn't have Internet access but watched an average of three hours of TV a day. Microsoft said interactivity was a clear driver behind consumers' plans to buy digital TVs. Over 55 percent of the trial participants planned to take up digital TV in the next six months, rising to a total of 76 percent in 12 months. "Consumers are going to go for the new interactive technology -- it's a matter of delivering it over the next six to 12 months," Microsoft WebTV marketing head Sharon Baylay said, adding that the winners in interactive TV would likely be those players who are the quickest rather than the biggest. Baylay said the results supported initial findings that interactive games, entertainment and educational features were big attractions for viewers, contradicting some market predictions that sports features would be the main draw. Microsoft's partners for the service include British Telecom, which provides Internet access, and Pace Micro , which builds the company's set-top boxes. Some of the country's biggest broadcasters and programmers also joined the trial, including the BBC, Carlton, Granada, Flextech , Telewest, and U.S.-owned music channel MTV. Other content providers included banks, retailers and ad firms such as Barclays , NatWest, ICL, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Teletext , Sporting Life, Two Way TV, and Saatchi & Saatchi.