Re: UKNM: " lack of faith in the Internet as a brand-building

[Ben Thompson]

Concerning Kevin's points:-


It does very much depend. No one I know working on DTV assumes that HTML is

the perfect solution to the problem and in fact most of the systems being

tested use MHEG rather than HTML for displaying. (Oh, and MHEG can probably

be classified as the worst formatting system of all time. Especially while

there are no tools capable of outputting the UK format. (A quick

competition, guess what I've spent the last week writing?)).


However, HTML might not be so dead. WebTv is doing well in the states,

currently it is the third most successful consumer launch of all time

(behind PalmPilot and DVD but above CD and VHS) and the BIB format allows

for the converting of WWW pages to the TV set. (Although as the current

remote control design is no different to a standard TV remote I will love to

see how it works).


The problem is that most STB boxes won't include HTML access and there is

only a limited amount of stuff I can connect to a TV. At most TVs have two

Scart sockets and with a DVD player connected to one the STB has to be

connected to the other leaving both you Playstation and WebTV box out cold.


The initial DTV systems are merely adding a posh form of teletext with a

couple of enhancements to the system. This might not seem much, but for most

of the advertisers I speak to, this, along with the instant gratification it

can provide is more than enough.


yours,


Ben