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To: Alan Cassaro who wrote (3597)	10/11/1998 6:39:00 PM
From: Ed Perry	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17679

Convergence of the InterNet and Television For a decent readable and detailed summary of this topic see the current issue of Software Magazine Oct 1998: "The Web and the Remaking of Television" See softwaremag.com If interested, explore the sidebars indicated at the end of the article. To spare those who are time disadvantaged, I thought the following excerpt to be the most interesting: TV-enabled PCs or Web-enabled TVs? Compaq, Intel, and Microsoft have announced that digital TV capability in PCs will cost about $150 more than the standard price. In contrast, TV manufacturers have said their first digital TVs will cost upwards of $2,500, leading a Compaq vice president to state that the TV industry will be forced by market conditions to accept the PC industry's solution. According to Ron Whittier, a senior vice president with Intel, new TV-enabled PCs "are the future of broadcasting." Due to future technological improvements, the PC industry argues, computers will be easier to operate, applicable for multiple yet more specialized purposes, and less expensive. Hence, they will establish a much higher household penetration rate than TVs. On the other hand, there is strong support for an Internet-enabled TV model. The TV industry and behavioral scientists both support Internet-enabled TV technology. Elliot Broadwin, a computer software developer for television, says that "in the end, the lowest-cost device providing the most utility will win the most users -- and that is a $300 TV, not a $2,000 PC." Experts argue that people already use TV sets on a daily basis, and are therefore far more comfortable using a TV than a PC. Behavioral researchers also doubt that the traditionally passive TV audience will soon get acquainted with interactive devices inviting them to respond, rather than just zapping through 20 TV channels. Regardless, the convergence is on, as is demonstrated by the latest digital video encoder chips, which will soon provide flexible, television-based graphics overlay and mixing abilities in TVs equipped with this new technology. Those TVs can then also be used to access interactive information, due to their ability to display graphics and multiple windows. This will enable users to watch TV and utilize other information sources such as the Internet at the same time. Still, this infrastructure alone does not address the real issue of video message delivery through the Internet. Genuine Internet TV The ultimate Internet TV model will be based on the merger of both entertainment and computer technology. And it is this model that IS professionals must anticipate and support in order to thrive in the era of Internet TV. ******************************************************************** As I become more conversant in this area, I am beginning to think that the "web hosting" interest of Mr. B is not the customary web hosting that comes immediately to mind, but on that which is multimedia driven and involves network appliances (file services) digital cacheing and broadcast technologies as would be used in advertising, corporate training and corporate "beyond videoconferencing" uses. Ed Perry