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Technology Stocks : Charter Communications (CHTR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnD who wrote (1949)	3/16/2000 12:35:00 AM
From: kenx35	Respond to of 2437

Video on Demand News.... accessatlanta.com ATLANTA TECH: Cable firm will soon offer movies on demand Don Fernandez - Staff Wednesday ? March 15 Schlepping to the video store may soon be passe for thousands of local cable subscribers. One local system is juicing up its viewing power with a long-promised service --- movies on demand. "This is the real deal," said Shane P. Whigam, a representative of Charter Communications in Duluth. Charter, which provides cable television service to 60,000 homes in northeast Gwinnett County and Roswell, is preparing to launch a digital cable service in April with nearly 200 channels and an interactive movie option that may raise the programming bar for other local providers. "One of the key features that will separate us is our video-on-demand product," Whigam said. "Customers can use our digital terminal to download movies. This will be the first service in the Atlanta area. It's the reality." Going digital is nothing new. But the promise of picking movies off a virtual shelf is a long-awaited feature of interactive television. Time Warner experimented with such a service several years ago in Orlando that never truly took flight because the technology was not developed enough yet. But it held promise, as thousands of local viewers will see. No pay-per-view hassles or limited selection. No late fees, either. Customers will be able to choose from a video vault of movies, then manipulate the picture --- pause it, rewind, fast forward --- while it plays. Hundreds of film choices will be available when the service kicks off, including other specialized programing such as concerts or blocks of cartoons for kids. Charter Communications plans to unleash these upgrades in April. Prices for a download will vary but should be about the same as a new-release movie rental, Whigam said. The classic pay-per-view option will still be available. No price has been set for the new package, but millions of dollars went into boosting the company's infrastructure. So what about the countless other cable viewers who want a taste of this technology? It's apparently in the works. "We are testing a video-on-demand service," said Michael Grover, director of government relations for MediaOne, which provides cable service to more than 600,000 local homes as metro Atlanta's most dominant cable player. "We don't want to rush it." More than 20 local homes are experimenting with two different services MediaOne is providing. The company is gathering feedback and will hone its final product with the best version. Grover will be watching Charter's rollout for tips. "Before we launch a service to our customers, we want to make sure it's robust enough to handle the volume," Grover said. "We'll be learning from Charter. We're thrilled it's here." Like its cable brethren, Charter Communications hopes to eventually amalgamate cable with the Internet to create a master box for entertainment and information. "It's not there right now, but ultimately we'd like to see that happen," Whigam said. "This is one of the evolutionary steps to get to that point." WEDNESDAY FOCUS on TECHNOLOGY and TELECOMMUNICATIONS in METRO ATLANTA