ONLINE-ADS>> Web TV, version 2 will be a killer delivery platform

rhoy_at_tenagra.com
Wed, 24 Sep 1997 10:12:43 -0500 (CDT)

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Hey all,

In the last issue of Ad Bytes, I included a story on Internet Advertising
Report regarding the next version of Web TV. See:

WebTV to Combine Broadcast, Online Ads
IAR
http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/1997/09/1701-wbtv.html

A new, more detailed story came out in the latest issue of Web Week. See:

WebTV Breaks New Ground
Web Week
http://www.webweek.com/current/news/19970922-webtv.html

The specs and capabilities on this new box are unbelievable. The article states:

"...The new receiver includes a television tuner, a 1.1-Gbyte hard drive, a
video effects engine, a Rockwell 56-Kbps modem, a 167-MHz Mips RISC
processor, and an innovative video/data integration decoder called a
VideoModem into a form factor that will retail for the same $299 as the
first-generation box..."

"...The VideoModem technology, which operates as a 10-Mbps cable modem when
connected to the proper cable infrastructure, is also capable of
decoding data embedded into over-the-air signals at rates of 1 Mbps
through a regular television antenna. The encoding technology allows
URLs, Web pages, video elements, or any other data to be placed within
the video signal itself and decoded as the video is played through the
terminal's tuner. This means that contextually accurate data can be
delivered while a program is being watched..."

"...The WebTV Plus receiver will also use the VideoModem to store the Web
sites of partners on the built-in hard drive, making the sites available
faster for users. The company plans to buy broadcast time in the
late-night infomercial market to push data down to receivers when
(presumably) users aren't watching TV or surfing the Web. Cached data
will be from partners like the Discovery Channel and E! Online. A
localized on-screen program guide, for instance, will download every
night updated program listings that contain program descriptions and
URLs that link to more information about a show..."

In my opinion,if they can sell a critical mass of these things (which they
will at $299, the damn thing has better specs than most computer systems)
we are talking a whole new era of online advertising. We can finally
integrate web content and TV content. Imagine the promotions you could run.

What do others think?

richard
moderator

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