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To: xiangheng xu who wrote (25747)	11/26/1997 1:36:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Pegasus..................................................................... PowerTV Revs Up Set-top OS; Plans Local Programming Deals PowerTV Inc. has updated its set-top box operating system to support HTML and Java and is providing content companies distributing programming through cable operators the tools and capabilities to add Web information to video. Rather than court national networks, PowerTV, in conjunction with set-top box partners, is targeting local programmers for technological and economic reasons. And the company is willing to show developers how to embed Web data into programming and get it through the cable pipeline to digital set-top boxes coming on the market en masse next year. "At the national level you need to be able to insert data that comes out of the broadcast stream, and there isn't a cost-effective way of doing it," said PowerTV CTO Ken Morse. "The standards for local content are more defined." He said programmers who use broadcast carousels with digital storage media command control (DSMCC) can input Web data and video programming at local headends. The company expects to have Web-enhanced content broadcast to digital set-top boxes, such as Scientific Atlanta Inc.'s [SFA] Explorer and hardware from Pioneer Electronics Corp. and Toshiba Corp. [TOSBF], operational in the second or third quarter of next year. PowerTV COO Bow Rodgers agreed that local content will prime the pump for Web-enhanced broadcast content. "It's easier to do this with local content than national," he said. "A lot of local TV stations and radio stations already have the HTML." Moreover, PowerTV officials believe offering local content is a way to distinguish themselves from the mass of companies trying to bring the Web to the TV. "The other way we can differentiate ourselves is we have a working system," Morse said. "The fundamental problem is you need to be able to walk up to a broadcaster and show them how it works all the way down the line." Morse said the infancy of the digital set-top problem also poses challenges to getting programmers excited about adding Web data to their content. In addition to technological issues, PowerTV is making efforts to show content companies what executives term "proof of concept" by sharing advertising and market data from Time Warner Cable Inc.'s [TWX] Full Service Network trial in Orlando, Fla. and a pilot effort of 1,000 paid subscribers in Chamblee, Ga. PowerTV doesn't expect an installed base in the thousands for a year, but the company is working with CourtTV, The Weather Channel, Nickelodeon to get programmer comfortable with the technology now. Although those networks haven't officially signed on to add Web data to their programming, look for companies to endorse the technology and concept at the Western Cable Show in December. "We're trying to show them that share and ratings will go up by adding things like simple icons so they can make content more compelling," Rodgers said. (PowerTV, 408/777-7591)