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To: Black-Scholes who wrote (44617)	9/9/1999 6:30:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

PVRs.......................... e-town.com SONY TO MAKE PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDERS Plus first Philips PVRs on sale tomorrow 9/9/1999 By David J. Elrich September 9, 1999 -- You can add Sony to the list of consumer electronics giants entering the Personal Video Recorder (PVR) arena. Yesterday, Sony announced it would manufacture PVRs with the TiVo service, shunning any association with the competing Replay Networks system, which is backed by Sony's archrival Panasonic. Sony didn't disclose prices or release dates, but a spokesperson told etown.com that we "can definitely expect a product sometime next year." And in even more recent news, Best Buy announced it would begin selling the Philips TiVo PVR tomorrow, September 10. A model capable of recording up to 14 hours of programming costs $499. What's a PVR? PVRs are "smart" versions of tape-based VCRs. Depending on the size of the unit's hard drive, you can record up to 30 hours of programming as well as search for your favorite shows. Prices for previously announced PVRs from other companies range from $499 to $1499 (depending on recording capacity). TiVo and Replay both offer program services. TiVo's monthly service is $9.95, but you can also choose to pay $199 for a lifetime subscription. Although Replay's entry-level model costs $200 more ($699), there is no fee for the basic service. In addition to helping you find and record programs, these services make it easy to create customized television lineups for viewing at your leisure. TiVo's "thumbs up, thumbs down" ratings system provides a personalized selection of new programming suggestions, ensuring that the TiVo PVR is always able to provide the TV programs that fit your personal preferences. That's why the company refers to PVRs as "Personal TV" devices. Interactively yours Sony and TiVo said they formed "a strategic alliance," which, in "corporate speak," means Sony will make PVRs using some TiVo technology. Moreover, Sony will make a minority investment in TiVo and will be represented on TiVo's board of directors. Sony also plans to incorporate the TiVo service into other as-yet-unnamed products (TVs and set-top boxes would be good guesses). The company envisions making interactive functionality part of its systems. And because Sony owns game, music and movie companies, it has the raw materials necessary to undertake the endeavor. One of the ideas Sony execs are tossing about is to adapt Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune (Sony-owned hit game shows) for the TiVo service. (It might be akin to what was recently announced for WebTV Plus subscribers.) But that's only the beginning, according to Sony. "This deal involves Sony on a broad level," spokesman Rick Clancy said. "A wide variety of content and services can be developed for TiVo." The lowdown Here's how PVR market shakes out today. As noted, TiVo has the support of Philips and Sony, while Replay has Panasonic. EchoStar's DishPlayer, combines a DISH Network satellite receiver and Microsoft's WebTV service, but it can currently only record for 30 minutes. DISH Network's website indicates that future upgrades will provide six hours of record time. You can expect other announcements in the months ahead as other companies catch "PVR Fever."