Peach Networks Gives You Windows on Your TV Set

Interview with Peach Networks product marketing director Yosi Dagan

(22-NOV-99) - Ruel.Net - Yosi Dagan is the Director of Product Marketing at Peach Networks and he has been busy going from one telecom vendor show to another. He and the other folks at Peach Networks were at the Telecom 99 Show in Geneva where they were displaying the Peach Networks' Access Channel at the Scientific-Atlanta booth. When that show was over, they went directly to the ECC99 show in London where they had their own booth plus a stand in the Scientific-Atlanta booth. And they are currently preparing to set up a booth at the Western Cable Show in Los Angeles to be held December 15-17, 1999. What Dagan and the folks at Peach Networks have been doing is showing people how you can have PC applications, including Windows, on a television set through your cable provider without having to buy an actual PC.

According to the Peach Networks website, Peach Networks provides "solutions that bring interactive content - including the Internet and the world of the PC applications - to cable TV subscribers." Peach Networks turns the television set and the set-top box into a "virtual computer and powerful multimedia machine." Peach Networks provides "rapid access to the latest Windows multimedia applications with no need for modifications to the set-top box or ongoing hardware upgrades." This is done through Peach Networks' Access Channel through which cable TV subscribers can surf the net, do email, access educational programs, do chat, and play games. And this is all through the television set without the need for buying a desktop computer.

RH: Tell us about the "Access Channel." Is this your company's vision of interactive television or is this "windows" television?

YD: The Access Channel is a system which is installed at the cable operator's site and brings a vast amount of applications and games to the subscriber's home using the standard digital set-top box. No additional equipment or set up is required at the subscriber's home. The Access Channel brings to the subscriber the ability to browse the internet, send and receive email, play interactive games, see and experience interactive educational programs, and a lot more interactive applications and services with full multimedia.

RH: So, no computer. Just the TV and the set-top box?

YD: Yes. Full multimedia, graphics, animation, colors, and sounds are today's experience of the TV viewer. So, when we move to interactive TV, we must bring more than that. As no one would think to go back to the black and white TV, no viewer will accept less than today's experience. Our vision sees the Interactive TV as a media with no limitation on the experience that the subscriber will have. This is not a "windows" television. Bringing windows "as is" to TV is not enough from one point of view and it is more than needed from another. The TV viewers want a relaxed and enjoyable way of approaching programs and we will bring it to them.

RH: And it is all on the TV. It sounds like you don't necessarily want to replace the PC.

YD: That's right. The Peach Networks system may deliver all Windows-computer functions to work on the TV set, but our target is DIFFERENT. We are not planning to replace the PC for the computer enthusiasts, but to instead bring a new level of experience to the common TV viewer.

RH: You're going to fulfill a need. There are the people who simply want entertaining interactivity on the TV set. And then there are people who want computer functions on the TV set without having to buy a computer. But yet you don't want to overwhelm the regular everyday TV viewer....

YD: That's right. Our approach was to answer the demand of the TV viewer for real interactive TV with true full multimedia with animations and graphics and full sound capability. We have BUILT our system around Windows NT operating system which enables us to bring all windows-compatible applications and games directly to the TV set. We are going to bring to the TV viewer the already expected internet viewing capability, but since the Access Channel is a Windows-compatible system, we are doing it on an Internet Explorer-based browser bringing advanced plug-in functionality such as Macromedia Shockwave, Macromedia Flash, VML, Windows Media Player, RealAudio, RealVideo, and more. Email is apparent and instant messaging is obvious.

RH: People want and expect those capabilities. And instant messaging too. Imagine people across the country "sharing" the same experience of a television show or a particular service-on-demand and sending instant messages to each other commenting on what they are watching or doing at the same time.

YD: Yes. And beyond the mere Internet we will also provide interactive games and interactive services that will redefine the TV experience with full multimedia capabilities as the TV viewer is used to.

RH: Okay, so what is the Microsoft Windows experience like using your system? Does the set-top user need to be computer-literate or can he or she simply access the easier-to-use Internet functions?

YD: I would say we bring comfort and ease to TV viewer's life with Peach's Interactive TV solution. The user will not deal with the technical installation of Windows functions and operations. We are doing those technical aspects for him that he should not have to deal with. The user will do everything using only the remote control. Some users may want to use a wireless keyboard and we support that. The target user is the common TV viewer and we will make everything easy for him. For example, there is no need to install plug-ins. We do that at the center of the Access Channel system. And there is no need to install games or applications. We do all of that centrally.

RH: So no need to fuss around installing software, plug-ins, etc. In other words, you don't have to be a computer-literate.

YD: That's right. I would say that the major requirement for the set-top user is to be TV-literate.

RH: TV-literate. That's a good basic requirement that just about anyone can fulfill. So, you see all that on the TV. How about the set-top box. Your system works with the Scientific-Atlanta Explorer set-top boxes. What about support for other boxes?

YD: We started with the Scientific-Atlanta set-top box and we have very good business relations with them, but our system works with many other set-top boxes. We have already integrated our system with several other set-top boxes and we are in the process of integrating it with still more other set-top boxes. Since the Access Channel system is Windows-based and the software in the set-top box is very thin, the integration process is done relatively easily. The cable subscribers can be assured that we will support any set-top box that the cable operator chooses to support.

RH: There's a question I have to ask you: Why the "Peach" in the Peach Networks name? There has to be a story behind that?

YD: Well, there is a legend going around at Peach Networks about the "Peach." Ofir Paz, the CEO, president and co-founder of Peach Networks was born in a small town and his parents had a small garden with trees and flowers. In the middle of the garden they had a peach tree and Ofir's parents always told him that it is very healthy to eat peach every day. The only problem is the Peach tree is a seasonal tree and bears fruit only at a certain time of the year. Ofir remembered the dark seasons without peaches and he always looked for a way to solve this problem. When the new company was formed, Ofir remembered his childhood and decided that this is the way that he will be able to tell his parents that he can have peach all the time. This is the reason for the Peach in "Peach Networks". Ofir doesn't want to confirm that this legend is true, but since I was born in the same neighborhood I went to his old house and found a peach tree in the middle of the garden. At least I can confirm that this part of the legend is true.

RH: So, like having peach all the time, you can access the peach of interactivity at any time on the TV set.

YD: Yes. We have also found that people are interested in the name. It is appealing to them, and it draws attention, and we always can correlate it to the attractive way we are providing Interactive TV.

RH: Okay. Your company is based in Israel. In addition to Scientific-Atlanta, Peach Networks has been working with Nokia (Finland),Thomson (France), Sagem (France), Visionetics (Taiwan), NDS Ltd.(Israel), Echostar (Netherlands), and Samsung (Korea). So, it would seem that you have a good bit of international coverage.

YD: Yes, Peach Networks was founded in Israel and our USA subsidiary is growing very rapidly. We are continually developing business cooperation with the partners you mentioned to further penetrate the market. As for Israel, people in Israel easily adopt new technologies and products and accept new trends. This behavior serves us to easily deploy the system in the field and get very fast response from cable operators and subscribers. We have very good cooperation with the major cable operators in Israel, and some of the information on this issue was published at our website, and other information will be released very soon.

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