WebTV, 5,000,000 Channels, Anything
On?
Ray Van Eng (09/09/96)
The television and the web is about to merge. So, what else is new? It
has to happen. After all, who could afford to ignore the couch potato market
when it comes to Internet access.
But there is more...
An innovative WebTV service pioneered by WebTV Networks Inc. is said to
allow anyone to surf the world wide web and receive e-mails right in front
of a television screen instead of a PC terminal. Not only that, they claim
to offer you a superior Internet experience than the one that you can get
with a traditional PC/Internet connection.
Hm..., now that's interesting. How they do that?
First, they pointed out that since they use a virtual private network for
much of the web content transportation, there is no 'traffic jam' or system
bog down as is so often the case with a regular PC- modem Internet hook-up.
Furthermore, they stated that the web pages displayed on a television screen
are just absolutely crystal clear and flicker free. And to make the WebTV
service even more attractive to you, they will only charge a flat rate
of US$19.95 a month, give you up to five email accounts per household,
a quick and easy installation in less than 15 minutes, 1-800 customer care
service, special WebTV directories, Internet guides, localized content...
And oh, did we forgot to mention the SurfWatch software for parental control
of children's access to web content, the LineShare technology working in
conjunction with call-waiting phone services to allow you to pause the
Internet access and answer an incoming phone call.
But wait, don't you need some sort of special device to access the WebTV
service, a set-top box may be? And what about my remote? Do I get one too?
Well, dear friends, that is exactly where Sony Electronics Inc. and Phillips
Electronics Inc. come in. The two consumer electronics giants are among
the first to licensee the WebTV technology from the Palo Alto, Calif. company
to manufacture TV set-top boxes which would become available as early as
September this year.
Sony has announced their WebTV Internet Terminal (model INT- W1OO) that
would "provide(s) a great opportunity for millions of families without
a PC at home to get in on the action of Web browsing, e-mailing friends
and relatives, planning vacations together, checking out movie reviews
-- all on the Net, in front of their TV sets.", according to John
Briesch, president of Sony's Consumer Audio Video Group.
Once the Sony INT-W100 unit is connected to a television set and a regular
phone line, world wide web and e-mail access is provided by WebTV Networks.
The whole installation process takes 15 minutes or less, afterwhich you
can just sit back in your couch and surf the Internet with a remote control
that features a one thumb web-tv switching.
Optional accessories for the sleek Sony device (which will sell for under
US$350) include a wireless keyboard for text input, an RF modulator to
accommodate those TV sets without video inputs and a printer adapter that
works with many popular PC printers.
As far as Sony is concerned, it is irrelevant to what devices are used
to access the Internet (TV, PC or any other system for that matter), the
goal for the company is to come up with the right products in which some
of them would be "more rooted in A/V technologies and others in communications
or computer technologies, but all combining aspects of each -- serving
a variety of applications in the home, at work, in the car and on- the-
go." said Carl J. Yankowski, president and COO of Sony Electronics.
Indeed. The convergence of telecommunication, computing, broadcasting and
narrowcasting technologies has taken form as embodied by devices and services
such as the Sony INT-W100 and WebTV services combo.
Words have been circling around that other big-time consumer electronics
companies are jumping on to the bandwagon. Before the end of this year,
you will start seeing web-enabled TV set-top boxes or new breeds of Internet
TV sets bearing familiar brand names such as Sanyo, Hitachi, Sharp, Matsushita,
Phillips, Samsung and others appearing on store shelves of mass merchant
outlets.
Some of these devices are rumored to have smart-card units built in so
that you could make online purchases and even carry out banking transactions.
All that technology and marketing hoopla aside, the million dollar question
remains -- Now we can have 5,000,000+ web channels (or sites) to go to,
but will there be anything on?
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© Copyright Ray Van Eng 1996 - 1999. All rights reserved.