Micorsoft announced a deal with Matsushita too..............
newsbytes.com
Cable Show Unveils Future Of TV
By Sherman Fridman, Newsbytes
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, U.S.A.,
08 May 2000, 3:58 PM CST
The National Cable Television Association (NCTA) began its Cable 2000 trade show in New Orleans today, giving software developers, hardware manufacturers, content producers, and cable operators a chance to get a glimpse of what may develop into the first truly interactive Internet appliance ... the television.
Heading the list of major announcements made during Cable 2000 was the official introduction of Microsoft Corporation's [NASDAQ:MSFT] TV platform. Microsoft and Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Ltd. [NYSE:MC] - the owner of the Panasonic brand of electronic devices - jointly said that they have developed a working model of an advanced digital cable set-top box for the US cable industry.
The device is said to comply with the OpenCable specification, as well as supporting the IEEE 1394 home-networking specification. Television applications supported by the Microsoft TV Platform include multiplayer gaming, interactive content, shopping, chat, pay-per-view, video on demand, personalized advertising, as well as Internet access and e-mail. Microsoft said that more than 14 million units using the platform have been committed for deployment by leading digital cable network operators.
Another Microsoft-related announcement involves UK-based Pace Micro Technology plc. These two companies announced what they described as a "far-reaching memorandum of understanding" under which they plan to cooperate closely in developing a wide range of applications and technologies in digital television, including Microsoft's adoption of Pace's digital set- top box technology as a core reference platform for digital television applications.
The two companies also intend to cooperate on the development and integration of new products and applications that can be delivered via a digital set-top box, such as home gateway technologies (always-on Internet access), PDA (personal digital assistant)-style home shopping devices, and voice over IP (Internet protocol).
Also enhancing the picture for Pace was its long-term contract with Time Warner Cable for a minimum order of 750,000 digital set-top boxes over the next three years.
The first shipment of the Time Warner boxes is expected at the end of 2000. Pace says that these devices will enable more than 150 channels of analog and digital television, as well as digital interactive services such as video on demand.
In other news from the show, PictureIQ Corporation and NDS Group plc, [NASDAQ:NNDS] are adding picture editing and creativity capabilities to NDS' interactive photo applications for TV set-top boxes. The applications combine TV, digital photography, and the Internet, to allow consumers to seamlessly view, share, and order reprints of pictures from digital cameras and those stored on the Internet, from their TV. Picture IQ's technology will enable one-button instant photo fixing, zoom, cropping, rotation, and creative special effects such as photo greeting cards and artistic color filters.
Picture IQ and NDS planned to demo the new technology at Cable 2000 on a variety of set-top boxes made by different manufacturers as well as on an Internet-enabled Sega Dreamcast game console.
Eastman Kodak Company's [NYSE:K] and Scientific-Atlanta [NYSE:SFA] will compete with this venture with their own scheme for bringing photography to interactive TV. Kodak and Scientific-Atlanta will develop an interactive television service that lets cable subscribers view, edit, manage, share, and order prints of digital pictures from their television sets. The new service would use Scientific-Atlanta's interactive digital network and Kodak's networked photo finishing infrastructure to deliver photography services through the television set. There will also be a photo-sharing option for consumers via their television that does not require the use of a computer.
And, in a demonstration of the convergence of interests, Pace and NDS had their own joint announcement at Cable 2000. The integration of a hard disk drive into a digital set-top box is now commercially feasible, and Pace used Cable 2000 to demonstrate what it said was the next step in personal video recording using NDS' extended TV concept XTV on Pace's digital set-top box. Pace said that with its hard drive-enabled digital set-top box, viewers are able to pause and record live programs, without the need for a video recorder or any other device.
Advertisers have not been forgotten at Cable 2000. Liberate Technologies [NASDAQ:LBRT] and ACTV, Inc. [NASDAQ:IATV] announced that they are working together to enable ACTV's applications for interactive digital TV and Enhanced TV to run on top of Liberate's interactive TV software program. ACTV said that with its individualized TV capabilities, viewers could, prior to a car commercial, for example, be asked to identify the models that most interest them. Based upon their answers, the service could provide individualized information about the identified models to the viewers. Other viewers watching the same program could see entirely different advertisements based upon demographic information stored in their respective set-top boxes. The ACTV technology will also allow for different viewing angles for televised sporting events, in-depth statistics, or instant replays.
Some of the more entertainment-focused demonstrations at Cable 2000 included a display of the features of AOLTV, the latest offering from America Online (AOL). Based on the Liberate platform, AOLTV allows consumers to simultaneously watch TV, send instant messages to friends, access over 300 channels, surf the Internet and, program VCRs from remote locations.
Also more on the pure entertainment side, Intertainer, Inc. and Concurrent Computer Corporation [NASDAQ:CCUR] will combine Intertainer's Broadband Entertainment On Demand network with Concurrent's multiplatform Video-On-Demand System. This will enable customers to instantly watch a wide variety of entertainment with the click of a mouse or remote. Intertainer subscribers will get music, television programs, current movies and films delivered within seconds to their PC or TV. Customers are said to be able to view their choices in full-screen, high-quality resolution with complete VCR (video cassette recorder) functionality, allowing them to stop, rewind, and fast-forward selections.
Game players also had their day at Cable 2000, as Media Station, Inc. announced the launch of its interactive media on-demand monthly subscription service that will provide homes with high-speed Internet access with education and entertainment software titles. Media Station says that Select Play will offer family-focused interactive media entertainment for a monthly base fee, or subscribers can try newer titles for a $3.95 pay-per-48-hour-period.
In a similar vein, Cable & Wireless Digital used Cable 2000 to showcase its service that offers UK-based subscribers the chance to simultaneously watch TV, send and receive e-mail, surf the Internet, and participate in interactive games.
Microsoft president and CEO, Steve Ballmer, is scheduled to speak as he demonstrates "What TV Can Be" at the closing general session of the show on Wednesday.
Reported by Newsbytes.com, newsbytes.com
15:58 CST
Reposted 16:02 CST
(20000508 /WIRES TOP, ONLINE, TELECOM, BUSINESS/WEBTUBE/PHOTO)
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