web tv and tvpc

Some comments gleaned from the WELL: Topic 677 [internet]: The Future of the Information Highway #897 of 907: John Pescatore (jpesca) Tue Feb 11 '97 (04:30) 67 lines NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE) Costs vs. features prove primary concern in purchase decision A new survey released today by Cyber Dialogue, the premiere online research and database marketing company, shows that 51 percent of cybercitizens would purchase WebTV, a service that delivers the Internet via television, in addition to a PC for use in their home. While respondents indicated they are interested in purchasing WebTV, most aren't willing to pay for the costs of this capability. When asked how much they would be willing to pay for a WebTV terminal hook-up in their home and one year of unlimited access (the hook-up/set-top box currently costs about $330.00 plus $20 per month for access fees): 21 percent said less than $50; 18 percent said $50 - $99; and 24 percent said $100 - $199. The survey also examined what types of features and services respondents expect from WebTV. Respondents rated the following features they feel are absolutely essential: ease of access (85 percent); ability to send e-mail (85 percent); "TV quality" video over ordinary high speed modems (82 percent); graphic and sound quality (79 percent); and Telephony - able to make long-distance calls through the Internet (71 percent). "People aren't looking for the 'bells and whistles' yet," said Kevin Mabley, Cyber Dialogue's Director of Research. "They want the basics -- affordable surfing with unlimited access. It's all about communication convenience." Parental regulation is also a factor in purchasing WebTV. Sixty-four percent of respondents said it is absolutely essential for WebTV to offer options that allow parents to protect or regulate areas which might be inappropriate for children. What will the future hold in terms of new WebTV capabilities? Respondents expect the following features to become a reality: interactive capabilities (78 percent); videoconferencing (78 percent); free set-top box with service subscriptions (77 percent); built in ports to handle devices such as printers and cable modems (75 percent); the ability to log on from other people's WebTV terminals (68 percent); and ability to pay bills online (67 percent). The survey also uncovered major obstacles that may keep consumers from buying the product in the near future. The top five deterrents include: monthly service fees in addition to cable and current e-mail accounts (85 percent); expense of actual product (70 percent); limited choices in selection of WebTV provider/not able to change (66 percent); providers - not enough out there yet (61 percent); and tying up your TV for other household members (59 percent). This survey, of 644 cybercitizens, was conducted online for Cyber Dialogue's January 1997 Omnibus and has a margin of error +/- 5 points. As part of a collaborative effort between Cyber Dialogue and Business Wire, online polls dealing with the Internet, consumer issues and news of the day are made available to Business Wire subscribers. Headquartered in New York City, Cyber Dialogue (http://www.cyberdialogue.com)conducts market research online via the World Wide Web (WWW) and through an agreement with America Online (AOL). The company offers a wide range of market research solutions, including online focus groups, e-mail polls and consumer panels. The company also develops and sells database mining and decision support software for online and interactive marketing. Cyber Dialogue is the sister company to Yankelovich Partners, the nation's preeminent provider of strategic custom research. Topic 677 [internet]: The Future of the Information Highway #898 of 907: Tony Barreca (tbarreca) Tue Feb 11 '97 (07:36) 9 lines John, thanks for posting the article on the CyberDialogue survey that showed cost vs. features was a primary determinant in WebTV purchase. It was very informative, but we don't want to violate the "fair use" provisions of copyright law. I believe that the accepted WELL practice when someone posts an entire article is to hide it. Therefore, I am going to do so. If you want to see the article, type "o 897" at the "Respond" prompt (in picospan, at least, but I bet there's an equivalent for users of other interfaces, and I bet someone will be nice to say what it is. Thanks.) Topic 677 [internet]: The Future of the Information Highway #899 of 907: Laura Lemay (mtrbike) Tue Feb 11 '97 (07:55) 6 lines BTW the box cost is now $289, with the keyboard down to $50. As I joked to the sales guy, "If I stand here for another ten minutes or so, will it come down again?" Topic 677 [internet]: The Future of the Information Highway #900 of 907: Robert Lauriston (duck) Tue Feb 11 '97 (09:12) 11 lines "The top five deterrents include: monthly service fees in addition to cable and current e-mail accounts (85 percent) ..." A WebTV box would be a lot more appealing if you could use it with any ISP you wanted. Of course, that would break the razor-blade/Polaroid model. Business Wire is press releases. They want you to post far and wide. There's no Well-wide policy on hiding shovelware postings. Topic 677 [internet]: The Future of the Information Highway #901 of 907: Donna L. Hoffman (prof) Tue Feb 11 '97 (09:47) 5 lines Yeah, I don't see the problem posting Press Releases. Topic 677 [internet]: The Future of the Information Highway #902 of 907: John Pescatore (jpesca) Tue Feb 11 '97 (10:16) 4 lines OK, I admit it - I connect via the Web. How do I hide a post via Engaged? Let alone do it without JavaScript. I wanted to do so since it was fairly long, Business Wire exists to help such press releases spread. Topic 677 [internet]: The Future of the Information Highway #903 of 907: David Loebell (dloebell) Tue Feb 11 '97 (10:45) 7 lines You can't hide a post in engaged without javascript. Duck, WebTV's eventual goal is to contract with several ISPs in every area. So if one ISP was having connectivity problems, the box can seamlessly roll over to another one. Real nice feature. Using their prefferred servers also allows them to proxy requests, which lets them do the on-the-fly compression of images to TV resolution, and so on. Topic 677 [internet]: The Future of the Information Highway #904 of 907: Robert Lauriston (duck) Tue Feb 11 '97 (10:54) 7 lines Using multiple ISPs for rollover doesn't do anything about the problem of not being able to use a WebTV box with the same account you use on your PC. To hide a post in Engaged, click on the posting number. That will bring up a new window with "hide" and "scribble" buttons. Do it again if you want the "unhide" button. Topic 677 [internet]: The Future of the Information Highway #905 of 907: Tony Barreca (tbarreca) Tue Feb 11 '97 (13:45) 1 line OK, gang, it's unhid. Everybody happy? Topic 677 [internet]: The Future of the Information Highway #906 of 907: These problems, too, will graduate (wendyg) Tue Feb 11 '97 (14:34) 4 lines dkline: thanks for the information. btw, my Mother would turn over on her couch if she thought anyone was referring to her as "Mom". wg Topic 677 [internet]: The Future of the Information Highway #907 of 907: Robert Lauriston (duck) Tue Feb 11 '97 (17:30) 4 lines There's an interesting article about Steve Perlman, WebTV's CEO, in the current Upside: http://www.upside.com/companies/webtv1.html

Wow, back to 1997. This conference has been forgotten so long!