General Instrument and NCI Announce an Agreement to Deliver Digital Applications for GI's Global Line of Interactive Digital Set-Top Terminals
PR Newswire - May 19, 1998 08:33
Collaboration Will Deliver NCI's DTV Navigator Platform on GI's DVi-2000
Compliant Interactive Digital Set-Tops to Cable Operators Worldwide
LONDON, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- At the Cable/Satellite Show in London, General Instrument Corporation (NYSE: GIC) and Oracle affiliate Network Computer, Inc. (NCI) today announced that they have entered into an agreement to jointly enable and market NCI's DTV Navigator software operating on GI's digital platform and interactive digital set-top terminals. Under the terms of the agreement, NCI's DTV Navigator platform will be ported to GI's DVi-2000 interactive digital set-top terminal, providing access to any HTML and JavaScript application, including Internet based applications.
Today's announcement will allow NCI and GI to offer a combined digital set-top solution to cable operators worldwide. In March of this year, NCI announced an agreement with Cable & Wireless plc., in which Cable & Wireless will license NCI's software technology for use in their worldwide digital cable television deployments. Last year, GI and Cable & Wireless announced a letter of intent for CWC to utilize General Instrument's DVB compliant interactive digital cable systems in their UK deployments, featuring GI's DVi-2000 interactive digital set-top terminals. These terminals, running NCI's DTV navigator software, will enable services such as electronic mail, web browsing and other interactive applications.
Building on the success of its industry-leading worldwide MPEG-2 interactive digital cable platforms, GI's DVB digital cable platform features the very latest in advanced digital technology, as well as compliance with DVB digital programming standards. The consumer interface to GI's digital cable systems will be a powerful DVB-compliant digital interactive set-top terminal, the DVi-2000. This terminal is designed to deliver a rich feature set including real-time RF return for interactive networking capability, MPEG-2 digital video, Musicam Digital audio, and a powerful processing platform for the deployment of new software-based applications. Through its comprehensive line of headend-to-home DVB-compliant digital solutions, GI provides the cable industry with powerful platforms capable of delivering a wide range of applications such as video-on-demand, Internet access, community networking, IP Telephony, electronic program guides and more.
NCI's DTV Navigator is a scaleable, open software architecture, distributed between a client and server environment. The DTV Navigator client is based on Netscape's industry-leading browser technology and is optimized to run in less than one megabyte of memory. Additionally, the standards-based design ensures compatibility with existing network protocols and network topologies.
"Our relationship with General Instrument gives NCI the ability to offer a world-class solution to our cable customers," said David Roux, CEO of NCI. "Cable operators can now leverage a trusted and reliable hardware platform from General Instrument to deploy next-generation interactive cable services."
"We are excited to be working with NCI as we enable a broad range of applications on our digital cable platforms," said Denton Kanouff, Vice President of Marketing for GI's Digital Network Systems unit. "Enabling operators to select their own software implementation provides an expanded set of revenue generating applications and is the reason behind GI's continuing commitment to an open software platform. Software such as NCI's DTV Navigator can certainly help customers make the most out of their digital platform investments."
NCI is an affiliate of Oracle Corp. and is the leading provider of open software for easy to use Internet enhanced products. Since 1996 NCI has brought its technology to homes, schools and businesses through its strategic worldwide alliances. NCI is based in Redwood Shores, California, and can be reached at 650-631-4600. NCI's web site is nc.com.
General Instrument Corporation (NYSE: GIC) is the world leader in analog and digital systems that provide video, audio and high-speed Internet/data services over cable and satellite TV networks. GI's cable and satellite TV operations have approximately 7,000 employees and annual sales of approximately $1.8 billion.
NCI and DTV Navigator are registered trademarks of Network Computer, Inc.
Visit GI's Web Site - gi.com
SOURCE General Instrument Corporation
/CONTACT: Sharon Corbitt, Manager of Media Relations, 215-323-1873, or
e-mail, scorbitt@gi.com, or Dick Badler, VP, Corporate Communications,
215-323-1618, or e-mail, dbadler@gi.com, both of General Instrument, or
Randy Brasche, Manager Corporate Communications of Network Computer,
650-631-4650, or e-mail, rbrasche@nc.com/ |
