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The folks at MoreCom sent in this news announcement:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MoreCom Partners with Starz Encore Group For Delivering Enhanced Premium Movies
New Digital Television Technology "Re-Purposes" DVD Features for Starz Encore Movie Channels; Will Integrate Even More Functionality for Starz Encore S-VOD
Horsham, PA & Englewood, CO - May 17, 2000 - MoreCom, Inc. and Starz Encore Group LLC (Starz Encore) announced today that the companies have reached an agreement in principle that would enable the Starz Encore Super Pak movie channels to become the first pay TV movie services to deliver "DVD Enhanced Movies" to Starz Encore digital cable subscribers.
By integrating features originally authored for DVD distribution into the digital video stream, the MoreCom technology allows Starz Encore Super Pak subscribers access to DVD supplemental content from the Internet or the cable headend without the need for investing in DVD's or a DVD player.
"The ability to provide 'DVD Enhanced Movies' will be one of the features that will continue to set premium television apart from the rest of the television lineup," said Marty Sabraw, vice president, technology for Starz Encore. "By leveraging existing movie content, MoreCom's technology will enable Starz Encore Super Pak customers to take movie-viewing to a higher level of value and convenience by immediately incorporating new layers of interactivity."
"Starz Encore's forward-looking philosophy made them an ideal partner for this innovative content approach," said Rick Howe, vice president of strategic marketing for MoreCom. "In the long-term, Starz Encore Subscription Video-on-Demand (S-VOD) subscribers will be able to use MoreCom technology to pause movies while they view outtakes from scenes, clues and other content, and then return to the movie with just two clicks of the remote control."
Starz Encore S-VOD enhances a cable subscriber's pay TV service by allowing for the impulse selection of movies for a simple monthly fee. With Starz Encore S-VOD, a selection of top titles is chosen from the 12-channel Starz Encore Super Pak and is available on demand. S-VOD subscribers can choose to view any of these titles at any time with full VCR control. With no transactional viewing fee, Starz Encore S-VOD eliminates the dynamic of individual "speed bumps" every time a consumer ponders viewing a movie on-demand.
About MoreCom:
MoreCom, Inc., a privately held company based in Horsham, Pa, was founded in 1997 by pioneers in television and digital cable from General Instrument and Philips Electronics. MoreCom's technology offers network operators a complete end-to-end software solution for seamless integration of digital video and Internet-based services for television. The company's standards-based technology uses existing set-top boxes to deliver a wide range of Internet-based applications such as enhanced TV, Internet access, Web-based video-on-demand, e-mail, chat, and e-commerce. MoreCom's technology enables advanced interactive services on existing set-top boxes using DVB or DOCSIS modems. Information on MoreCom's products and services is available at http://www.morecom.com. Liberate Technologies (NASDAQ: LBRT) has recently agreed to acquire MoreCom, Inc.
About Starz Encore:
Starz Encore Group LLC (Starz Encore) is the largest provider of cable and satellite-delivered premium movie channels in the United States. Starz Encore owns 13 domestic channels and currently counts approximately 62 million pay units. Starz Encore offers up to 12 channels of the Starz Encore Super Pak, which comprises STARZ!, the New Encore, Action, Mystery, BET Movies, Westerns, STARZ! Family, Love Stories, True Stories, STARZ! Theater, WAM! and STARZ! Cinema. Additionally, Starz Encore also has the only low priced movie package for price-sensitive consumers, the Encore Movie Pak, featuring up to seven theme channels. Find programming information on the Web at www.encoremedia.com. Starz Encore is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Group (NYSE: LMGa and LMGb).
# # #
MoreCom:
Paul Schneider
215-702-9784
pspr@worldnet.att.net
Starz Encore:
Eric Becker
303-267-4065
becker.eric@encoremedia.com
Also see:
DVD on My Cousin's Big Screen TV:
Interactive TV's future is in VOD
(22APR00) (Ruel.Net)
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