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- Red Herring report on Jupiter forum: Set-top boxers get religion (3-2-99) (Red Herring)
- USA Today report on Jupiter forum: Interactive TV future unclear? (3-2-99) (USA Today)
- ZDNN report on Jupiter forum: Design websites for TV (3-1-99) (ZDNN)
ZDNN quotes @Home CEO Tom Jermoluk as stating, "You have to design the interface with [television] in mind" and indicating "you can't simply display a Web site on a television and hope viewers will begin typing away." ZDNN also quotes E! Online president Jeremy Verba as stating, "You can do one-button [navigation] without leaving the remote control. But do I think people will do a lot of typing at their TVs? No."
You really have to THINK TV. "Lean-back" TV VIEWERS may lean forward once in a while for some sort of more-than-usual intensive interactivity, but they will lean back most of the time. For the most part, "lean-back" TV VIEWERS will generally want to surf the web like they surf around TV channels. They will want to easily click away on their remote controls to get new information or to easily input some sort of TV VIEWER response. And they will want to surf from screen to screen whether going to a webpage or scrolling up or down a screen at a time. -ruel - CNET report on Jupiter forum: E-commerce firms not ready for set-top boxes (3-1-99) (CNET)
CNET reports the Jupiter study "estimates there will be 5 million set-top boxes in use by 2002 and that Web firms will have to seek partnerships with cable operators to get into the market." For digital interactive cable set-top boxes, "the cable operator controls the relationship with the set-top customer." - Jupiter finds online shopping ventures woefully unprepared for set-top future (3-1-99) (Business Wire)
Business Wire reports Jupiter Communications found "only 20 percent of the Web's leading electronic commerce players are prepared to capitalize on the opportunity" of the set-top explosion into the living rooms of consumers. Also according to the Business Wire report, Jupiter's Bandwidth & Access Strategies director Abhi Chaki indicates that "digital set-tops will help usher a 'sit-back' interactive experience for non-PC, mass-market households." This finding is scheduled to be released during the Jupiter Consumer Online Forum VI in New York City beginning today.
Sit-Back/Lean-Back note: This "sit-back" description is similar to the "lean-back" description that I've been using with regard to TV VIEWERS. This is part of the shift from the "lean-to" PC USERS to that of the "lean-back," or "sit-back," TV VIEWERS. This is one difference that I've had to explain to computer people who are getting into set-tops or who are thinking about catering to set-top consumers. People who have been in the computer industry for a while almost all have that "lean-to" PC USER mindset. You really have to THINK TV as a "lean-back" TV VIEWER when considering set-tops and the interactive TV market.
Techie note: The news item's subheader says, "Only 20 Percent of Online Shopping Ventures Prepared with Sound." Those ventures should also consider tweaking their javascript applications, as well as java apps, so they will work properly on set-tops and look okay on the TV. Certain set-tops like the WebTV Plus will not support java until later in 1999. Also, certain javascript functions do not work on a TV like they would on a computer such as opening an overlapping window. -ruel - @TV versus ACTV: Different takes on wedding TV to web (3-1-99) (CNNfn Newsbytes)
- CNBC interview of NCI CEO Mitchell Kertzman (3-1-99) (CNBC)
NCI CEO Mitchell Kertzman says that US West came up with the @TV brandname. With regard to the @TV target market, Kertzman also says, "We have, I think, a broader target market. Our target market is modestly almost anybody with a television. So, that's a pretty good sized market. I think that people who are intimidated by the complexity of the PC, or more importantly, don't need all the functionality of the PC, or wants a device that integrates with video content." You have to also keep in mind that there are more TV sets out there than there are PCs; thus making the target TV market much larger than the PC-centric market. Watch for US West to launch an interesting marketing campaign where US West may take advantage of its telephone and cellular phone marketing experience. - US West combines TV & phone (3-1-99) (Mercury Center)
- @TV combines TV, Internet, and Telephony (3-1-99) (allNetDevices)
- US West makes TV-phone connection with @TV (3-1-99) (Wired)
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US West & NCI announce @TV service for television with internet & telephony (3-1-99) (PRNewswire) (alternate link)
(another alternate link)
Telephone-based and DSL-capable @TV service to begin in mid-1999 in selected areas and then nationwide commercial service available in late 1999. NCI CEO Mitchell Kertzman is quoted as stating, "We are aiming to make web tone as common as dial tone; the launch of US West @TV moves us closer to this goal." - PR NewsFoto of @TV SpeakerPhone screen & short report (3-1-99 (PR NewsFoto) (click for just the picture)
- US West unveils @TV set-top service and positions itself to be leader (3-1-99) (CNET)
- NCI & US West team-up for @TV set-top service (3-1-99) (CNET)
CNET reports that US West has not decided on whether to lease or sell the set-top boxes to consumers. Pricing was not announced. - NCI & US West to announce set-top service (2-26-99) (CNET)
CNET report also indicates NCI is working on a box for AOL to allow TV viewers to access an AOL-TV service; meanwhile AOL works to ensure high-speed access such as through cable TV. - Related: LA Times interview of Oracle CEO Lawrence Ellison (3-1-99) (Los Angeles Times)
(FYI, NCI is a spinoff of Oracle.) On page 3 of the interview, the Times talks about the Oracle video server project for interactive TV that did not take off (it was at least four years too earlier) and the early $500 Network Computer box that was not accepted by consumers. - Sun in discussions to increase stake in OpenTV (3-1-99) (PRNewswire)
- Video-On-Demand: Atom Corp. to provide mini-movies via Internet (3-1-99) (Los Angeles Times)
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INTERACTIVE TV GAME SHOWS COULD BE THE BIG THING FOR DIGITAL TV (2-28-99) (Scotland on Sunday)
Home-audience participatory TV-game shows could become the rage for interactive TV. The TV game show host could say something like, "Play along at home and win fabulous prizes." Also watch for possible gameplaying with sports broadcasts. - CNBC interview of Unico/Paradise CEO Ike Suri; Unico/Paradise to sell WebEZ telephone-based set-top box (2-27-99) (CNBC) (alternate Unico/Paradise link)
As previously reported, Unico/Paradise will sell the WebEZ set-top box. (Unico will change its name to Paradise Innovations Technology Corp.) Unico/Paradise CEO Ike Suri touts the WebEZ telephone-based set-top box as being ISP independent. The WebEZ was previously announced to have a 56Kbps modem, 8 meg SDRAM, and 4 meg of flash memory. The CNBC interview transcript reports Suri saying Microsoft bought out WebTV for $4 million. Actually, Microsoft bought out WebTV for $425 million dollars. The interview also indicates future versions of the WebEZ set-top box will have a DSL G-Lite modem, Internet telephony, and possibly a CD read-write drive. - Interest said to be rising for ACTV Hyper-TV technology (2-26-99) (PRNewswire) (alternate link)
- Asia Media acquires MyWeb internet service and to focus service towards set-tops (2-25-99) (Business Wire)
MyWeb has market presence in Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Malaysia, and other emerging markets in Asia. Asia Media expects to have faster set-top growth in Asia as compared to the WebTV experience in the U.S. due to the following: (1) first time availability of Internet access in emerging markets (the first-in theory); and (2) inexpensive set-top boxes connected to TV sets (the cheaper-than-a-PC theory). MyWeb has 15,000 set-tops installed. The MyWeb set-top boxes are manufactured by Philips Electronics. - TCI reduces WinCE set-top boxes to one million from five million (2-25-99) (Times Union)
Times Union reports, "Cable operators believe CE boxes are more expensive and complicated than consumers need and are willing to pay for." Times Union also reports that Scientific-Atlanta has "shipped 200,000 units containing its PowerTV system and will ship 800,000 more in the next year." - UniView to market set-tops & Internet service with Mid-South Electric Cooperative (2-25-99) (PRNewswire) (alternate link)
- Celerity sells initial order of 1000 set-tops with home energy management system to Hopskinville Electric (2-24-99) (Business Wire)
- NetGem website goes international in five languages for Europe (2-24-99) (PRNewswire) (alternate site)
The NetGem website at http://www.netgem.com is now available in English, French, Spanish, Italian and German. NetGem is another important player to watch out for in the Internet TV and interactive TV market.... - Intel prediction: PCs outsell TVs in Y2000? (2-24-99) (PCWorld)
- Spyglass touts Internet TV corporate website (2-25-99) (Chicago Daily Herald)
- Spyglass launches "Inside Internet TV" info website (2-23-99) (PRNewswire)
- Ruel's Spotlight Website: Spyglass Inside Internet TV
Nice corporate site dealing with Internet TV information. Spyglass is a very important player in the Internet TV and interactive TV industry. - "Trojan Horses": Most cable TV subscribers don't know how powerful their new set-top boxes really are (2-23-99) (Forbes)
- The fewer boxes, the better (2-23-99) (Forbes)
General Instrument and Scientific-Atlanta are expected to develop brandname recognition for their cable TV set-top boxes in time for when consumers can begin to buy cable TV set-top boxes at retail stores instead of having to lease/buy specific boxes from their cable TV companies. - ICTV launches Internet for TV service via cable (2-23-99) (PRNewswire)
Cablevision in St. Joseph, MO, USA, is first to provide ICTV to cable TV subscribers. - Paradise announces new WebEZ telephone-based set-top box (2-22-99) (PRNewswire) (alternate link)
- Certicom provides security technology for set-tops (2-22-99) (PRNewswire)
The Certicom news article also reports, "According to the Carmel Group, a leading authority on television-based entertainment and computing products, the set-top market is expected to explode, growing to 31.8 million digital set-top units shipped in the U.S. by the year 2003 from about 12.6 million in 1999." - NetGem expands into Italy and Spain (2-22-99) (PRNewswire) (alternate link)
- Telecom Italia selects Teknema set-top box for Internet TV service (2-21-99) (Business Wire)
- Pace to sell 100,000 set-tops to BellSouth (2-23-99) (PRNewswire)
- BellSouth to order 100,000 Pace set-top boxes (2-19-99) (The Independent)
The Independent in London reports that BellSouth will order 100,000 digital set-top boxes from Pace. The Independent notes that Pace breaks into the North American marketplace with this order. - Dobbs-Stanford announces $450 set-top box (2-22-99) (Twice)
- Digital TV boom puts road diggers back in the picture (2-22-99) (The Daily)
- $699 WebDVD set-top box announced; DVD Channel News contest to give away box as prize (2-19-99) (DVD Reporter) (alternate link)
- Philips & Kodak to offer Kodak PhotoNet via Philips WebTV boxes & Philips Ambi wireless-PC-access device (2-18-99) (PRNewswire)
- Cannes Milia media mart: "Lean Back" or "Lean Forward" (2-18-99) (The Guardian)
"Lean back" for TV watching or "lean forward" for computing? Take your pick. If you've been following these webpages, then you already know about this difference between TVs and PCs. They both converge with the new media of interactive TV.
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