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- Non-profit group sues WebTV over $20 late fees (6-10-99) (CNET)
- Intertainer and SeaChange join forces for entertainment-on-demand on set-top boxes (6-9-99) (PRNewswire)
- Alliance Group Services terminates agreement for ETEL and e.TV (6-9-99) (IWIRE)
IWIRE reports that the Alliance Group Services decision to terminate a long distance distributor agreement "reflects changes in marketing direction by ETEL that were incompatible with Alliance Group's understanding of the business intent of the agreement." Alliance Group terminated its agreement with ETEL and "also ends services to e.TV Commerce, Inc." Both ETEL and e.TV are subsidiaries of Compu-DAWN. The website for network-marketer e.TV indicates that e.TV sells set-top boxes, internet access, paging, and long distance. The Alliance Group press release via IWIRE indicates the Alliance Group did not like what ETEL was doing. In contrast, an e.TV press release dated 5-26-99, which says the terminated deal was through Alliance Group affiliate E.Comtel, portrays the parting as mutual: "e.TV's agreement with UniDial replaces its previously announced telecommunication product distributor agreement between Compu-DAWN's subsidiary ETEL Communications Corp. and E.Comtel, LLC, an affiliate of Alliance Group Services, Inc. This agreement was terminated when ETEL and E.Comtel concluded that the distributor agreement would not achieve the goals each had anticipated." - GalaxiWorld internet casino games available for WebTV (6-8-99) (PRNewswire)
There are a bunch of internet casinos that have made it a point to make their websites compatiable with WebTV. These internet casinos smell money as they recognize the potential profitability of interactive online services catering to TV viewers. - WebTV making Internet available to demographic of neophites who are changing face of the Internet (6-8-99) (ZDJournal)
- Wink makes deal with Thomson Consumer Electronics to put Wink enhanced broadcast technology into RCA DirecTV boxes (6-8-99) (EE Times) (TechWeb alternative link)
- CNET says WebTV still does not have support for Java and RealAudio (6-8-99) (CNET)
- Samsung develops analog-to-digital set-top box for international markets and to be sold with Tantus digital TV (6-8-99) (Comline Electronics)
Comline Electronics reports Samsung Electronics developed a digital TV analog-to-digital set-top box for international markets. Comline Electronics reports, "The Samsung digital TV set-top box is used to turn analogue signal into digital. Samsung ... plans to export more than 100,000 units. It will sell the box as part of the company's Tantus digital TV to build up brand name recognition." - PC-TV News: IBM's new notebooks play video on TV like a portable VCR but with DVD instead of videotape (6-8-99) (CNET)
If you are also interested in PC-to-TV converters for computers, Click Here. - Basic set-top box as a tool for a cottage industry and how you may get IT (6-7-99) (ruel)
Commentary on how Advent Communications and MeterNet are providing basic Internet TV set-tops to direct-selling companies and MLM businesses strictly as communications TOOLS for distributors and agents (and not necessarily to sell to retail consumers as some MLMs are doing). Also discusses overall context of the interactive TV arena and how set-tops may possibly be sold like cellular phones in the future. - Related vertical market use of set-top boxes: Lotus Pacific provides WonderTV set-top box to its financial trading clients for free (6-3-99) (Business Wire)
Lotus Pacific vice president Tom White said, "We trust that this set-top box offers more convenient and easier access to the financial trading markets for our customers, especially international investors. Developing this fast and easy-to-use online trading system is a part of Lotus Pacific's plan to realize its Internet-WallStreet Solutions business concept." Lotus Pacific finds the set-top box provides "easy-to-use online trading alternative for investors.... [who] are unable to trade financial securities and commodities on the U.S. market because of language difficulties, time zone differences, and lack of computer skills." - SCI Systems ships five millionth satellite TV receiver to EchoStar (6-7-99) (PRNewswire)
Short mention in the article: "Recently, SCI began manufacturing EchoStar's new DISHPlayer in April 1999. DISHPlayer is the world's first satellite TV receiver that integrates DISH Network programming with the Internet TV experience of WebTV Networks Plus. DISHPlayer is on store shelves now and sells for a special introductory price of $199." - Toshiba ASICs power new Internet units for WebTV Network (6-7-99) (Business Wire)
- For those interested in WinCE: Fourth Windows CE Developers Conference is in Denver (6-7-99) (PRNewswire)
At the WinCE Developers Conference in Denver, Microsoft's Productivity Appliances Division vice president Harel Kodesh "detailed extensions to Windows CE such as support for the DirectX application programming interface to enable state-of-the-art game systems and full Web browsing support for appliances such as set-top boxes. These capabilities were underscored by a demonstration of the new Sega Dreamcast system and a General Instrument set-top box, both using Windows CE." - WinCE Developers Conference touts enhancements for info appliances (6-7-99) (CNET)
- Teknema Internet TV box used by Cybernet Communications in Japan (6-7-99) (Business Wire)
- CIAMediaLab research firm finds uncertainty and opposition in switch to digital TV in UK despite BSkyB and ONdigital set-top box giveaways (6-7-99) (The Independent)
The Independent reports: "[CIAMediaLab] found the percentage of consumers saying they will 'never' adopt digital television rose to 28 per cent at the end of May from 23 per cent at the beginning of the year. It has also found the number of consumers who are unsure when they will go digital rose to 16 percent at the end of May from 12 per cent at the end of March.... Notwithstanding the advent of free digital set-top boxes, [CIAMediaLab] says the number of people intending to convert to digital television has stayed the same at 17 per cent over the past three months." The Independent quotes CIAMediaLab head of strategic planning David Fletcher as stating, "This suggests that the recent reported rush in set-top box sales may have come from consumers who already intended to go digital taking advantage of the give-away offers." Spokesmen for BSkyB and ONdigital dismissed and played down the early CIAMediaLab findings. - Ireland's state broadcaster to unveil two-way WINDS internet-access service transmitted over TV channels (6-4-99) (Data Communications) (TechWeb alternate link)
- WebTV Winks: Microsoft invests $30M in Wink (6-4-99) (CNET)
- Microsoft invests in Wink Communications (6-4-99) (InfoBeat Internet Daily)
InfoBeat reports Microsoft "will add interactive content and electronic commerce elements to its WebTV product after acquiring a 10 percent interest in privately held Wink Communications for $30 million." InfoBeat also reports Microsoft and Wink will pursue establishing the Advanced Television Enhancement Forum standard (ATVEF) which is what they have been doing.... - Microsoft invests $30M in Wink and collaborate to speed adoption of Interactive TV based on ATVEF specification (6-3-99) (PRNewswire)
- BSkyB provides free Internet service for UK satellite TV subscribers and non-subscribers (6-4-99) (Reuters)
- WebTV to add more entertainment options for future variety of boxes (6-3-99) (CNET)
Watch out for future $500 deluxe home-entertainment WebTV boxes and possible $50 basic email-and-EPG-only WebTV Classic boxes. - Acer to bring set-top box to U.S. and computer phone to rest of the world (6-3-99) (CNET)
- Internet Ventures wants to pump data through unused Cable TV channels (6-2-99) (WIRED)
- WebTV's simplicity, convenience and customer satisfaction make it the second most used online service (6-2-99) (Microsoft)
- WebTV slims down Classic & Plus boxes and upgrades service to include personal webpage (6-3-99) (InfoBeat Internet Daily)
InfoBeat reports WebTV Networks announced "its second generation of Web browsing set-top boxes have been slimmed down and powered up, with no change in price. The [Classic and Plus] will be in stores this summer at price points of $99 and $199, featuring a 150MHZ processor and a 56 Kbps modem. The Internet access service will also be upgraded to include new search and help tools as well as a personal Web page creation program. One major change is WebTV's removal of a hard disk from the Plus product." - WebTV Networks launches next-generation WebTV Classic and Plus products; and provides free service upgrade (6-2-99) (PRNewswire)
- Philips Electronics announces next-generation boxes for WebTV (6-2-99) (PRNewswire)
- WebTV Networks selects Quantum Effect Design's MIPS CPU for new WebTV boxes (6-2-99) (PRNewswire)
- WebTV upgrades set-tops and services (6-2-99) (InternetNews)
- Microsoft revs up WebTV up for WinCE (6-2-99) (PC World)
- WebTV drops harddrive for flash memory device (6-2-99) (TechWeb)
- New WebTV set-top boxes to be almost paperbook-size and without harddrive (6-1-99) (CNET)
- WebTV Networks to intro next-generation versions of WebTV Classic and WebTV Plus set-top boxes with WinCE (5-28-99) (CNET)
- Departing WebTV president Perlman counsels patience for development of interactive TV (6-1-99) (NewsPage)
- Digital TV D-day dawns for BBC (6-1-99) (InternetNews)
- Kingston Vision selects iMagicTV for interactive TV in UK (6-1-99) (PRNewswire)
- Say cheerio to computer while traveling and instead use the Internet on a hotel room's TV set (5-31-99) (InternetWeek)
- NHK open house on clickable digital TV for Japan (5-28-99) (WIRED)
WIRED NEWS' stock columnist David Lazarus wrote this article on the NHK demo of digital TV. Lazarus makes the argument that "One could argue, in fact, that the Japanese are particularly passive in their viewing habits, and don't want to 'interact' with their TVs." Hmm, that seems to be a silly thing to say about people in a country that is the home of the Sony Playstation, Nintendo, and the Sega game machines. Geez, Japan is the home of the karaoke machine. It's not too much of a stretch to say people in Japan (and elsewhere) will click a link on a TV for more information. Needless to say, stock columnist Lazarus appears to doubt the validity of interactive TV (or maybe the gringo Lazarus simply sees the Japanese as a "passive" people....). In citing a possible connection between bureacratic difficulties and low Internet usage in Japan, Lazarus seems to confuse whether TV Viewers will be expressly thinking "Internet" when they click on TV hyperlinks during the broadcast of TV shows. Rather, people may instead think they are clicking to a "sub-channel" for more detailed information about the TV show on the channel being watched. THINK TV. Think "channel" clicking habits. -ruel - Scientific-Atlanta announces software upgrade for analog 8600x set-tops for WorldGate hyperlink web browsing plus Virtual Channel Graphics advertising via VBI (5-26-99) (PRNewswire)
Scientific-Atlanta's "System Release 4.7 is designed to leverage the existing cable infrastructure to offer operators new revenue opportunities. This application-rich software release is currently in trials and is scheduled for general availability this summer.... With the new system release, the five million 8600x set-tops already deployed can easily be upgraded to support WorldGate and other features via a simple software download and, in some cases, with Scientific-Atlanta's Genius Card, which can be mailed to subscribers and inserted into a slot on the set-top." (emphasis added) - WebTV: And then there were two (5-25-99) (ZDNN)
- Steve Perlman leaving WebTV (5-25-99) (ZDNN-Reuters) (WIRED-Reuters link)
- Steve Perlman stepping down at WebTV (5-25-99) (CNET)
- Co-Founder Steve Perlman to leave WebTV (5-25-99) (PRNewswire)
WebTV Co-Founder and soon-to-be-former President Steve Perlman said, "WebTV has been the most incredible adventure of my career. In just four short years, WebTV has redefined television, not only by integrating the Internet and interactive programming, but by laying the groundwork for 21st century television -- when all programming will be interactive and on-demand, and Internet connectivity will be a given. WebTV Networks has solid management in place, huge momentum behind its current products, relationships with top-tier companies throughout the world, and amazing new products in its development pipeline. And WebTV has the most awesome team ever assembled in Silicon Valley. I'll really miss everyone, but I'm confident that WebTV is in great shape to take on the future." Perlman will leave WebTV at the end of the month and will be replaced by fellow co-founder Bruce Leak. WebTV currently has 800,000 subscribers.
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