	Why ads?

	Riding the Whirlwind
	Strategic Interactive Marketing for the Insurance Industry
Key Points:

Web-TV is a consumer device which receives TV programmes and provides access to the Internet.

5.8 Web TV

5.8.1 Web-TV is a TV that is capable of browsing on the Internet. To achieve this, a TV also needs a processing unit, a modem and a telephone connection. Like Interactive-TV (I-TV), a keyboard is an optional attachment for more sophisticated uses - interaction is otherwise via the TV remote control. Web-TVs have recently been available in the USA. Philips and Sony manufacture a black-box add-on for standard TVs at $330.

5.8.2 Whilst this specification may seem like a standard PC there are some key differences. First, by building these additional components into the sets at the manufacturing stage, their existence is transparent to the consumer (other than plugging in the telephone cable). Second, users have no need to be aware of such things as operating systems and application software. Browser software is built in and other software is sent to the Web-TV as required, without the user's intervention or awareness. A third difference is that the screen resolution is low. This means a screen shows less information than a PC and any text appears chunky.

There is no complicated set-up and browser technology makes for ease of use.

Like I-TV, it will be possible for programme makers and advertisers to link their content with information on the Internet.

Web-TV has recently been launched in the US to an enthusiastic reception.

5.8.3 The additional benefits to consumers of Web-TV over I-TV are:

they promise a cheaper way to access the Internet than buying a full blown PC. Therefore they might appeal to the more casual Internet user or someone who wants to try the Internet in a risk free way.

- Easy to Set-up and Easy to Use -

they are much simpler to use and maintain than a PC (see box).
in response to TV adverts users will, at the push of a button, view the companies Internet web site for additional information and to make purchases.
consumers are able to obtain programmes from around the world.

Well, a few months ago I picked up a Web TV for the hell of it. I was quite impressed. Within two weeks, more than 10 people who saw my box purchased one for themselves. In all of my years, I have never seen such a positive reaction to any consumer electronics device. None of these individuals had any previous PC experience. They were all amazed at the depth of content on the Internet and the simplicity of use of the Web TV unit. In my experience, this has been an area in which traditional PC and software manufacturers have failed miserably.
Lawrence Kessner Publisher SunSpot/The Baltimore Sun
lkessner-at-sunspot.net
6 January 1997

... .Microsoft buys Web TV company for $425m ..... MS Explorer browser
      and Windows CE to be built-in .... ms believes tv-top boxes can cost as little
      as $50 ....

5.8.4 Like I-TV, Web-TV devices are likely to be offered by cable TV companies as well as being sold via high street retailers. Some Internet content providers may offer the sets that will then be restricted to their own information or to approved Internet web sites. This will reassure people who had concerns about accidentally being exposed to pornography or other dubious content.

Some Web-TVs will be more sophisticated. Like Networked Computers they will allow users to run applications such as word processing and home accounts.

In the next 4 years satellite communications will become the main means of delivering information into the home.

5.8.5 For interviewee comments, refer to the earlier discussion on I-TV and the later discussion on Internet World Wide Web.

Network Computers

Oracle, Sun and IBM are promoting yet another device, the Network Computer (NC). NCs are similar to I-TV, in that they are using browser technology, but they also come with PC screens and keyboards. Within the browser technology users can run mini-applications, like a simple word processor. These applications are delivered over the network on an as required basis. NCs claim to have both lower acquisition costs ($750) and substantially lower running costs compared to a PC, which is why they are being targeted at corporations rather than consumers. Some see NCs as a step-down from PCs but more powerful and flexible than Web-TVs.

.... Merrill Lynch expects in the next 4 years satellite communications to emerge as the main means of delivering digital telephony, high speed Internet access, and multi-channel TV ......