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To: JEFF K who wrote (44781)	9/14/1999 10:12:00 PM
From: Maya	Respond to of 50808

Wow! $52 target and that too for 3 to 6 months. That definitely shows the improving sentiment of the analysts.

To: JEFF K who wrote (44781)	9/14/1999 10:39:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Open TV puts a hard drive in a box......................... technologypost.com Tuesday, September 14, 1999 PERSONAL COMPUTING OpenTV to integrate hard disks within set-top boxes NEWSBYTES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OpenTV, the interactive TV set-top box (STB) company, is planning to integrate hard disks within its future digital TV STBs. The company is tapping the resources of Thomson Multimedia for the technology, which it will use to offer a technology it calls Digital Personal Recorder (DPR) on its digital TV STBs. The DPR technology allows TV viewers to transparently record their digital TV channels onto the STB's hard disk, for viewing either later or "pausing" in mid-programme if, for example, the viewer's phone rings. If this sounds familiar, it's because TiVo and a number of other TV STB manufacturers are already using the technology to allow TV viewers to timeshift their viewing in the same way. However, these so-called digital TV recorders are standalone devices designed to plug into a TV in much the same way as a tape-based VCR operates. OpenTV plans on integrating the function into its next generation of digital TV STBs. OpenTV is a prime mover in the interactive TV stakes. Plans call for BSkyB in the UK to act as a commercial test bed when it upgrades its satellite digital TV service this autumn to support interactive services. Ultimately, digital TV viewers will have an integrated TV STB that allows them to view TV programmes from several sources, interact with their box over the Internet, and transparently record TV channels for later viewing and/or assembly into "personal channels" for specific users. If this sounds complex, it's because, on a technical level, it is. On a user level, however, the interactive STB is far from complex, and merely integrates digital TV, Internet, and digital VCR functions all in one small box which sits under or on top of the TV. The first TV viewers to have access to this integrated set of services will be TPS' subscribers in France. Known informally as the Digital Personal Recorder (DPR), the device will be supplied as a digital STB to subscribers, allowing them access to a variety of services. In time, OpenTV plans on offering the DPR technology to other OpenTV-compliant services around the world, including BSkyB's long-awaited interactive service which launches in the UK this autumn. The BSkyB service, when it launches, will allow Sky Digital viewers to interact with their digital satellite STBs using the boxes' onboard modem. More advanced STBs will eventually include the DPR function as standard, allowing users to record their favorite programs within their STB for later viewing. Jan Steenkamp, OpenTV's chief executive officer (CEO), said that TPS viewers will be the first in the world to have access to the new interactive services, including the DPR facility. Steenkamp said that TPS is planning to offer highly advanced services to its French subscribers, including near video on demand (NVOD) facilities. These will allow subscribers to program their DPR STB to download selected programmes overnight, for viewing in more regular hours. OpenTV plans to offer DPR facilities on a number of digital TV STBs over the next 12 months. Already, the company says that its technology is available, or will ship to, some 3.5 million viewers of 12 TV networks around the world. These include TPS in France and BSkyB in the UK. In the US, OpenTV says that DISH (Echostar) plans to offer interactive services using its OpenTV software during the fourth quarter of this year. Copyright (c) Post-Newsweek Business Information, Inc. All rights reserved.