WaveTop Allows Push Content Over TV, Not Web

Sometime this fall, WavePhore Inc.will deliver a customized "push technology" through television signals to personal computers. Called WaveTop, the company’s software will be bundled with inexpensive add-in cards which provide computers with the capability of displaying television programming and customized World Wide Web content.

Push technology, the delivery of content to a personal computer from a Web delivery service, is a popular growing trend. Pointcast began a free push service last year. Typically, a subscriber’s computer dials into PointCast’s Web server to receive custom-defined news and information displays in a screensaver.

"Using a standard phone line limits the data that can be sent to a computer in a reasonable time period," said Leslie Nakajima, spokesperson for WavePhore. "Our approach is to use the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of a standard television signal. This allows us to send audio, video, graphics, and other data-rich Web content quickly and efficiently."

Wavetop’s push service bypasses the Internet over a standard telephone line. "This means we are delivering our content to almost every home in the US with a PC," continued Nakajima. "You do not need an Internet connection to receive WaveTop content."

According to WavePhore, WaveTop service will begin beta testing early this fall. Users will choose from a variety of channels such as NewsTop, StockTop, KidsTop and FamilyTop, TechTop, and FunTop. Full service is planned for the holiday season.

Key to the service is an affordable TV add-in card. Circuit boards capable of delivering television programming to personal computers (PCs) are not new to the industry. Newsbytes notes the PC/TV technology was available more than two years ago, but an expensive price tag prevented wide consumer testing and possible acceptance.

With today’s announcement, WavePhore outlined an agreement with ADS Technologies of Cerritos, CA, a manufacturer of ADS Channel Surfer TV add-in cards, that will bundle WaveTop software with the card when the product is shipped late this fall. ADS is the second company to bundle WaveTop. Earlier, Hauppauge Computer Works announced a similar bundling arrangement.

Pricing for Channel Surfer was not revealed, but Nakajima said a number of companies plan PC TV add-in cards in the $100 range. The new technology is expected to appear in a number of PC systems from major computer manufacturers later this year. Nakajima said adding a TV card to a new computer will cost manufacturers approximately $30.

WaveTop does not require consumers to have cable service. "If you are getting a clear signal now without cable, you can receive WaveTop content with a standard antenna," Nakajima added.

A WaveTop demo and more information is available at http://www.wavetop.net.

(Contact: Leslie Nakajima, WavePhore, 602-952-5500)