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Will
TV lovers pay the Ultimate price?
Microsoft announced pricing last week for its UltimateTV satellite
service, which allows customers to record their favorite TV
shows onto a hard drive, surf the Internet, and play along
with game shows. The service, announced in June, will be launched
in conjunction with satellite service provider DirecTV and
consumer electronics giant Thomson Multimedia, which makes
the set-top boxes. The service will likely launch in December,
Microsoft said.
For $9.95 a month, US subscribers get the digital video recording
service, interactive television and three hours of Internet
access. Those who want more Net access can either use their
own Internet service providers and pay $14.95 per month or
hand over $29.95 each month for unlimited UltimateTV access.
None of those prices includes DirecTV’s monthly fee for
satellite TV or the cost of the set-top box, which can run
several hundred dollars. Karl Empey, Microsoft’s product
marketing manager, said the consumers most likely to subscribe
to UltimateTV will probably have an Internet service provider
already,
so most will probably opt for the $14.95 plan.
There’s one catch, though: UltimateTV is compatible with
many ISPs, but not with America Online. “AOL has chosen
not to conform to some industry standards,” Empey said.
In addition, AOL is in the process of launching its own interactive
TV service, called AOLTV. UltimateTV basically combines Microsoft’s
WebTV Plus service with satellite TV and a digital video recorder.
WebTV Plus offers interactive television, Web browsing and
email.
Empey noted that the UltimateTV boxes will have two tuners,
meaning subscribers will be able to record one show while
watching another, record two shows at the same time, or watch
two programs using the picture-in-picture option.
Analysts have said digital video recording, while a popular
feature, is likely to be most widely adopted when it is included
with other services, such as interactive television.
Digital video recording allows a person to record a show onto
a hard drive instead of a traditional videotape.
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