[opendtv] News: Cable TV Industry Takes Peek at Future Innovations at NewOrleans Convention
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 08:19:22 -0400
Cable TV Industry Takes Peek at Future Innovations at New Orleans Convention
May 5, 2004 12:00am
Source: Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Distributed by=20
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
Newsday: May 4--NEW ORLEANS -- So you already=20
have hundreds of channels, on-demand films,=20
high-definition pictures, a digital recorder,=20
high-speed Internet and even telephone service=20
from your local cable TV company, and you're=20
wondering what's next.
How about a $30,000 Jacuzzi with a built-in=20
43-inch HDTV screen, six surround-sound speakers=20
and floating remote control? Or a Philips=20
bathroom mirror with a built-in television screen?
Or a videophone that looks like a remote control=20
attached to a Palm Pilot and works without jerky=20
pictures?
Those are among the flashy products on display at=20
a 7,000-square-foot broadband home of the future=20
that the cable TV industry built for its annual=20
convention here this week, with the help of more=20
than 50 companies and $500,000.
The idea is to find new ways for cable operators=20
to fend off satellite TV competition and ratchet=20
up monthly bills without turning off couch=20
potatoes.
Some of the items are luxuries for the few, such=20
as a $5,700 picture frame that covers a wall TV=20
screen with a painting. Others appear to be=20
retreads of services the cable industry has been=20
touting for years without gaining widespread use,=20
including on-screen caller ID and interactive TV=20
features such as customized news and sports=20
tickers.
But some others are ready or nearly ready to roll=20
and may help the industry justify the $85 billion=20
it has spent to upgrade its cable lines and=20
equipment for broadband services.
"There is no one thing in here worth the $85=20
billion," said Mark Bell, senior director of=20
industry affairs for the National Cable &=20
Telecommunications Association, the trade group=20
that runs the convention. "But all these things=20
make cable service a much more compelling value=20
to the consumer."
A company called Beyond makes a small black box=20
that allows special appliances including=20
refrigerators, microwaves and breadmakers to call=20
up recipes based on the bar codes on products.
iFIT.com of Logan, Utah, offers a service that=20
connects a home treadmill to an on-screen=20
personal trainer for $9.99 to $39.99 per month.=20
Healthium allows doctors to check patients'=20
weight and blood pressure while they are at home.
Walt Disney Co. is fine-tuning a Kim Possible=20
interactive video game that allows youngsters to=20
collect trading cards through the TV and trade=20
them anonymously with other youngsters.
Cablevision Systems Corp. unveiled a package of=20
interactive video games -- including Bob the=20
Baloney Frog and Sumo Tsunami -- that costs=20
digital customers $4.95 extra per month.
Cable operators are encouraged by the initial=20
success of telephone service that uses cable=20
modems and Internet technology, which Cablevision=20
is offering to all customers and Time Warner=20
Cable expects to offer all customers by the end=20
of this year.
"I think that product is going to jump off the=20
shelf," said Time Warner chairman Richard=20
Parsons, adding that such products are needed to=20
keep subscribers from defecting. "There is not=20
one of us that is not worried about satellite,"=20
he said.
The operators are wondering what the next big=20
product will be. Videophones linked to cable=20
modems are among the most intriguing products,=20
even though they have been talked about in one=20
form or another for decades.
The highest hurdles may be financial. "It's=20
going to be a marketing challenge to introduce=20
such an array of products to the marketplace,"=20
said ESPN executive vice president Sean Bratches,=20
"and then send consumers a monthly bill for $600."
<< Copyright =A92004 Newsday, Melville, N.Y.=20
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business=20
News. >>
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