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Technology Stocks : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mkilloran who wrote (8606)	9/26/2000 9:48:34 AM
From: EJhonsa	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12823

I think that the concept of "interactive TV" has to be seperated into two distinct cateogories: 1. Standard information services. Internet access, IPGs, portals, interactive home shopping services, etc. 2. Content that's directly tied to a given program/ad. Additional information on the program, instant replays, related video clips, interactive advertising (i.e. targeted ads based on user profiles, people can make instantaneous purchases for a product related to an ad). For category #1, I think that everything's ready to go, given the numerous MSOs that have already made or are in the process of making the necessary two-way HFC upgrades, and given that all they need to do is to give their customers set-top boxes based on Broadcom's reference design (http://www.broadcom.com/cgi-bin/pr/prps.cgi?pr_id=PR000503). For MSOs that are already offering cable net access, this decision's a no-brainer, as they already have the necessary infrastructure in place. Here the two leaders seem to be ACTV, thanks to its numerous patents related to internet/TV convergence, and Gemstar, which, although using VBI for its standard IPG offerings, is working on a more advanced portal-like guide for digital users, and users who can access a two-way paging service that they're setting up with Thompson. Meanwhile, I think that category #2 might end up taking a little longer. Such services obviously have to be embedded into a given digital TV stream, and have to be produced by the developers of a given show. While Broadcom's set-top box design allows for the delivery of such content as well, there's still the standard chicken-and-egg problem to overcome, as the developers will be hesitant to create such programming unless they feel that it'll be delivered to a large audience. Here the "lowest common denominator" characteristics of TV should help out, as the high costs related to TV programming development could make the costs related to the development of related interactive services appear marginal in comparision, and thus the developers, pushed on by the hype surrounding interactive TV, might be willing to produce such content even if only a fraction of all their viewers are capable of receiving it. Still, it might be a couple of years before this really gets off the ground. For reasons that we both know, ACTV looks like the undisputed leader here in terms of the quality of its platform. Eric PS - How's the AOL Motley Fool chat room doing? Haven't been there in almost a year now.