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To: Bob Strickland who wrote (38847)	2/8/1999 9:29:00 AM
From: .com	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Monday February 8, 8:59 am Eastern Time Company Press Release SOURCE: MediaOne Group MediaOne(R) Selects Initial Partners to Deliver OpenCable(TM) Platform; Initial Partners Include Canal+, DiviCom, General Instrument and Philips ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- MediaOne®, the Broadband services arm of MediaOne Group (NYSE: UMG - news), has become the first U.S. cable company to select an open conditional access system -- already widely used overseas -- that allows cable companies to accommodate digital set-top boxes from several manufacturers in a given market. In addition, MediaOne has chosen several global providers of digital technology -- Canal+, DiviCom and Philips -- to provide initial digital video platforms that will use this system and will be compliant with U.S. OpenCable(TM) specifications. These suppliers already collaborate on multiple digital cable projects around the world. And MediaOne has expanded its agreement with General Instrument, an active participant in the OpenCable process and the leading interactive digital video network and set-top supplier in North America. As part of that expansion, GI has committed to evolve the digital systems that it supplies to MediaOne to incorporate the international open system consistent with the other technology partners, scheduled to be accomplished in collaboration with those partners by the first quarter of 2000. OpenCable is important because it allows operators to accommodate hardware and software from a variety of vendors without proprietary technological constraints. This competition among vendors means lower prices for both operators and consumers. The open standard will also allow set-top boxes to be sold at retail, giving customers the opportunity to purchase boxes themselves, as they do with other consumer electronics. This consumer option has been a long-standing goal of the Federal Communications Commission and legislative leaders. MediaOne's OpenCable platform will be compliant with the OpenCable specifications developed by CableLabs, and supports multiple conditional access technologies. Conditional access allows cable companies to scramble programming signals and to authorize descrambling for customers who pay to view specific networks or special events. MediaOne launched digital service in suburban Detroit last year, and is planning to launch digital in two additional markets by the end of second quarter 1999. In one of these markets, MediaOne will use GI digital headends, software and set-top boxes; in the other market, MediaOne will deploy Canal+, DiviCom and Philips products. In this market, Canal+ will supply the open software platform, which is currently deployed in more than three million households internationally. Silicon Valley-based DiviCom will supply MediaOne with OpenCable-qualified headends. Philips, a global leader in digital video and consumer electronics equipment and one of the largest set-top box suppliers world-wide, will provide the digital set-tops. Canal+, DiviCom, and Philips, through their collaboration, have broad and deep experience on multiple digital projects, primarily in Europe. ''Our customers will benefit from our selection of this OpenCable platform. They'll get to choose from a variety of set-top boxes from different manufacturers, all with better features and lower prices. In addition, this move is a giant step for both MediaOne and the U.S. cable industry,'' said Jan Peters, president and CEO of MediaOne. ''We could not have picked a better set of world class, global partners to meet our goals for the deployment of digital video.'' In support of MediaOne's announcement, Dr. Richard R. Green, CableLabs president and CEO, said, ''We have enjoyed strong support from our members in the OpenCable effort. This initiative by MediaOne is indicative of that kind of support and greatly facilitates our ability to complete the OpenCable project and to meet the needs of our member companies and cable customers.'' ''MediaOne's move toward an OpenCable platform is a welcome development for the OpenCable effort,'' said Bill Schleyer, who has been heading the OpenCable initiative for CableLabs, the research and development arm of the U.S. cable television industry. ''CableLabs has been aggressively developing OpenCable specs that will create an environment of new development in content and hardware, ultimately creating a better product at a better price.'' ''Time Warner is a strong supporter of the OpenCable initiative, as opening the doors for competition will ultimately benefit customers with more choice in set-top boxes, functionality and content,'' said Glenn Britt, president of Time Warner Cable. ''This OpenCable path is the direction the industry should go to provide our customers the next generation of video services.'' ''Working with a large number of international manufacturers has allowed Canal+ to achieve extremely competitive prices and enabled us to achieve a high degree of independence from any particular supplier,'' said Henri Joubaud, group senior vice president, Technology, of Canal+. ''The Canal+ technology is now being integrated by several manufacturers into television sets and set-top boxes that are increasingly being sold at retail, particularly in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the Netherlands, making it a standard consumer electronics good,'' adds Joubaud. ''With over three million digital set-top boxes from ten leading vendors, Canal+ is delighted to share our unique field experience with many different countries and with clients in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East to make the MediaOne digital roll-out a success.'' ''In an open standards environment, cable operators can directly benefit from a competitive marketplace for all the components of their digital television system. As a leading provider of open standards-based systems for digital television, DiviCom enables companies like MediaOne to take advantage of the best solutions to meet their business needs,'' said Tom Lookabaugh, president of DiviCom, a C-Cube company. ''DiviCom is pleased to be chosen by MediaOne for this historic installation.'' Commenting on the MediaOne agreement, Mr. Rob van Oostenbrugge, managing director of Philips Digital Video Systems, said, ''We are extremely pleased to provide our open platforms to MediaOne and the opportunity to service the U.S. cable industry at large. We believe that open platforms are critical for cable operators to enable the U.S. digital video market to grow and establish retail distribution for digital cable set-tops. We congratulate MediaOne for taking this big step and look forward to providing MediaOne and the U.S. cable industry in general the best choice in digital.'' Philips has vast experience in the consumer electronics fields and has wide access to consumer retail outlets. Philips Digital Video Systems is a world leader company in MPEG-2 compression and transmission systems as well as set-top boxes. ''GI is in a unique position to assist MediaOne in achieving its near-term commercial objectives and its OpenCable vision,'' said Ed Breen, chairman and CEO of General Instrument. ''Since 1996, GI has been providing commercial digital cable infrastructure and set-top terminals to hundreds of systems throughout North America. We have worked closely with CableLabs and its member companies in support of our industry's OpenCable initiative. ''Our recent DVB product award from one of Europe's largest cable operators, United Pan-European Communications, further demonstrates the broad portfolio of open digital technology solutions that GI has to offer broadband network operators. MediaOne is drawing on standard, open technologies and driving them into a brand new mold to best fit its OpenCable, multi-vendor supply strategy,'' Breen added. MediaOne, the nation's leading Broadband services company, provides entertainment, information, and communications services to about five million customers. MediaOne Group (NYSE: UMG - news) is one of the world's largest broadband communications companies, bringing the power of broadband and the Internet to more than seven million customers in the United States, Europe and Asia. The company also has interests in some of the fastest-growing wireless communications businesses outside the U.S., serving more than three million customers. For 1997, the businesses now part of MediaOne Group produced $6.6 billion in proportionate revenue. Canal+ Technologies, the technology division of Canal+, Europe's largest pay-TV group, is a leading provider of digital broadcasting software solutions in the world and the largest one in Europe with approximately 65 per cent of the marketplace. Its product line comprises conditional access software Mediaguard, hardware-independent interactive system and middleware Mediahighway as well as over 30 different interactive and multimedia applications. Canal+ Technologies has an installed base of over three million digital set-top boxes in the world using its technologies. It most recently provided the set-top box technology for ONdigital, the world's first digital terrestrial operator. Canal+ Technologies can be found on the World Wide Web at canalplus-technologies.com. DiviCom Inc. delivers digital television solutions. Products include audio/video encoding, data broadcast solutions, network management systems, consulting and integration services. Based on the MPEG-2, DVB and ATSC international standards, DiviCom products enable digital video broadcasting over a variety of networks including terrestrial, satellite, wireless, fiber and cable. DiviCom is a wholly owned subsidiary of C-Cube Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: CUBE - news), and both companies are based in Milpitas, Calif. C-Cube is a leading provider of digital video silicon solutions for the consumer electronics, communications and convergence markets. DiviCom can be reached at +1-408-944-6700 or at www.divi.com. General Instrument (NYSE: GIC - news) is a leading worldwide provider of integrated and interactive broadband access solutions, teaming with its business partners to lead the convergence of the Internet, telecommunications and video entertainment industries. www.gi.com. Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of over US$39 billion in 1997. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, color picture tubes for televisions and monitors, and one-chip TV products. Its 256,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, medical systems, business electronics, and IT services (Origin). Philips is quoted on the NYSE, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at www.news.philips.com. For More Information, please contact: Jean-Louis Erneux Ben Stanger Sharon Corbitt -- Media Contact Canal+ DiviCom Inc. General Instrument 011 33 14425 7581 408-490-6898 215-323-1873 Jerneux@canal-plus.com mediarelations@divi.com scorbitt@gi.com Dario Santana -- Bart van Dijk - Europe & Far East/Pacific Rim Investor Contact General Instrument Philips Digital Video Systems - The Netherlands 215-323-1213 011-31-40-27-37466 dsantana@gi.com dijk3@am.umc.ce.philips.nl Vince McNey -- Americas Philips Digital Video Systems Company 801-977-1511 vmcney@mail.philipsdvs.com SOURCE: MediaOne Group

To: Bob Strickland who wrote (38847)	2/8/1999 9:34:00 AM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 50808

02-02-99 Falling PC prices threatening to scuttle low-cost 'intelligent TV' project koreaherald.co.kr By Yu Kun-ha Staff reporter Ever-falling PC prices are forcing the Ministry of Information and Communication to review its plan to develop a low-cost Internet access device dubbed "intelligent TV." Conceived as a cheap and easy-to-use PC replacement, the intelligent TV forms the foundation of one of the ministry's two "star" projects launched last June aimed at accelerating Korea's transition into an information society. Ministry officials thought they would be able to kill three birds with the proposed PC-TV hybrid. First, they hoped the new Internet access device could help the government address the serious problem of private tutoring. According to a government tally, household expenditure for private tutoring amounted to a whopping 17 trillion won in 1997. Ministry officials theorized that the cost of private tutoring could be lowered when tutoring programming is offered through the Internet. For a start, by going online, private tutoring service providers will not have to sink large sums of money into buildings. This will offer them room for significant cuts in tutoring fees. Free from geographical limits, they will also be able to offer their service to a larger number of students. Second, ministry planners hoped to gradually expand the new device's applications to include provisions for civil services, information services and online shopping. Since the device will be designed as to make it easy for even computer-illiterate people to log onto the Internet, it will advance the advent of an information society. Third, the development of the new Internet access device will create big business opportunities for Korean TV manufacturers, since global demand for easy-to-use PC replacements is huge . This point was especially stressed by Bae Soon-hoon, former minister of information and communication who drew up the whole plan. Bae, who earned the tag of "a man mad about TV" while serving as chairman of Daewoo Electronics, predicted the end of an era when the PC was the only Internet access device. To kill the three birds, the ministry thought that the success of a Web-based tutoring service was essential. To make Internet tutoring services attractive to students, programming would be done using multimedia techniques. This in turn requires high-speed access services and a user terminal capable of handling graphic-rich files in real time. To make high-speed access services available at low costs, the ministry asked Samsung Electronics to develop a modem for UADSL (universal asynchronous digital subscriber line) services, which can carry data at speeds up to 1.5 Mbps. At the same time, it asked TV manufacturers to design a system that meets all these requirements but still costs less than 500,000 won per unit. Late last year, the three TV manufacturers - Samsung, LG and Daewoo - jointly drew up specifications for the intelligent TV as envisaged by the ministry. With the standard set and modem development progressing as scheduled, the TV manufacturers are said to be ready to produce a pilot system. But they are reluctant to go ahead. According to a Samsung official, production of the intelligent TV poses no serious technical challenge to TV manufacturers. "We already have the experience of developing an Internet TV, a TV equipped with a Web browser but no CPU," said Hwang Ui-hwan, a Samsung official. "Besides, the intelligent TV can be assembled on existing TV production lines." Hwang said the manufacturers are hesitating to commit themselves to the project because the recent drop in PC prices is increasingly dimming the outlook for the intelligent TV. Currently systems featuring 300-MHz Celeron CPU are available at less than one million won. Given the successful launching of sub-$400 systems in the United States by a Korean PC maker, prices for entry-level systems are expected to drop further. Manufacturers also point out the total lack of applications to run on the intelligent TV. "The chicken-and-egg question can also be applied here," Hwang said. "Hardware manufacturers view that the availability of killer applications are the preconditions for success, while program providers say that application programs will be available only after a large number of user terminals are distributed." The problem with intelligent TV - for that matter, any similar TV-based device - is that applications written for PCs are not usable for it because PCs and TVs use different scanning methods. "When a program for PCs runs on the new device, pictures get blurred and distorted and letters are hard to read," said Ham Jong-min, an official of Thrunet, one of the nine companies interested in participating in the ministry's online private tutoring project. Conversely, when a program written for the intelligent TV is put on a PC, no such problem occurs. "But since TV resolution is lower than that of PCs, pictures look dim," Ham said. "Program providers will not be inclined to write programs in TV format because there is no incentive at the moment." To lure program providers, the ministry tried to pitch the vision that the new device will emerge as the primary medium for residential users to obtain information and purchase goods and services online. But falling PC prices are making this vision sound void. "Seven months ago, we didn't, in fact we couldn't, expect PC prices would fall so rapidly. I think we need to review the plan to develop an intelligent TV," said Hyong Tae-gun, a ministry official. He added that even when the ministry decides to pull the plug on the development of a new Internet access device, it will not discard the idea of Web-based private tutoring altogether. "If intelligent TV is not a viable device, we will use PCs instead. But I think it is still too early to hand down a death warrant to it." Hyong said developing programming for intelligent TV may not be a profitable business now but a few years down the road, it will enjoy high demand from digital TV services. Samsung's Hwang also said the project is worth pursuing because the programs developed for intelligent TV can be used for interactive digital TV services. "When digital TV service is introduced a couple of years later, programs for interactive services will be in great demand. Program providers who invest now in applications for the intelligent TV will be rewarded then," Hwang said. But program providers, who are planning to offer Internet-based online tutoring service this year, are not interested in developing programming in the intelligent TV format. They say that they will offer service using PCs. Given the dimming prospects for the new device, their attitude is natural. According to Ham, the expected demand from digital TV services, a few years later, isn't actually bait, since companies like Microsoft are developing the technology capable of reformatting applications written for PCs to fit TVs. "We are not interested in intelligent TV. We expect cable TV set-top boxes based on the reformatting technology to be available within this year. Then, we will launch cyber tutoring services for subscribers of our cable TV service," Ham said.