Thought I'd post this here for the ntl: home customers. This might give you an idea of what is coming up for you.
This is Telewest Active Digital's intentions for this year:
Hardware
Will Telewest Broadband be releasing a product similar to Sky+, incorporating a hard disk recording system?
Personal video recorders such as Sky+ are a necessity for satellite operators to offer non-linear television to their customers. For Telewest Broadband this is not necessary and the first example of this will be our Video on Demand service. As a broadband service provider we believe there is much more to personal storage than just television, for example what about music, games and photographs? However we do understand the usefulness of a product such as Sky+ to our customers and are investigating how best to offer such a service. For customers who want a PVR solution immediately the Telewest Broadband Digital TV service fully supports TiVo.
Are there any plans to replace Telewest Broadband's current digital TV boxes with ones of a higher hardware specification?
We believe that our set-top boxes are among the most advanced deployed within the UK. As with PC technology, the silicon inside our set-top boxes has a shelf life and as such from time to time it is necessary for our suppliers to incorporate new chipsets within their products. As is the nature of technology, newer hardware will always be somewhat advanced of its predecessor. We are committed, however, to making sure all services developed and introduced by Telewest Broadband are capable of being run on all generations of our set-top boxes.
Software & Interactive
When will Telewest Broadband be able to support more advanced interactive services such as the BBCi services on digital satellite?
Our next generation of set-top box software is based upon the Liberate 1.2 platform. The way Liberate 1.2 works is that the
EPG rather than being a standalone application within the set-top box becomes an integral part of the Interactive Service and is far more powerful for interactive applications such as BBCi. The development and integration of this platform has not been simple, however we are pleased to announce that we are now in the final stages of testing before national roll-out by the end of this year.
Are there any plans to offer instant messaging access such as AIM, MSN or ICQ?
Instant Messaging Services are something that customers regularly ask us about and are perfectly suited to the Telewest Broadband network. Our technical and commercial groups are currently investigating the potential of this service.
Will the speed of interactive be improved for customers?
We are continually working to improve the reliability and performance of our interactive services on Telewest Broadband Digital Television. As a true broadband company, interactivity is at the heart of everything we do. To improve the customer experience of our interactive services we continually monitor and update our network architecture and as mentioned above will soon be in a position to roll-out our next generation software. Make no mistake we understand we have had issues in the past but we are committed to providing the best interactive and enhanced services in the UK.
Will the volume control be activated?
Volume control is one of the most annoying issues with the Digital Television service both for us, and for our customers. Both ourselves and Pace have had to hold our hands up and say at times we got it wrong. However, we realise this and have developed a new Digital TV remote control which will be shipped to all new customers to coincide with the launch of the Liberate 1.2 platform later this year. Existing customers will also be able to purchase the new remote when it becomes available. Furthermore, for customers with the existing remote control who do not wish to upgrade, we intend to implement volume control on the set-top box itself that operates in the same way as our analogue service. The new remote control will allow the customer to alter the volume level of their TV in the same way as Sky viewers can. Existing customers who do not wish to purchase the new remote will still be able to control the volume level of their Set-top box in the same way as analogue viewers can. Naturally, it will be possible to access all our Liberate 1.2 services with the existing remote control.
When will subtitles become available?
We currently provide subtitles via page 888 of Teletext on a number of channels including the five main terrestrial channels. We are working on improving the overall service by enabling more channels to carry subtitles if they so wish. It is our intention to offer digital subtitles via the set-top box in the near future and we are also currently investigating our options for audio narration and signing.
When will the ntl/Telewest 'Broadband TV' applications commence rollout, and on what channels are we likely to see this content appear?
We are currently developing 'Broadband TV' applications to appear on a number of channels later this year.
Has a date yet been set for rollout of video-on-demand services?
Following a trial of Video on Demand services run in the South East in 2001, we are currently reviewing the results and feedback. We look to roll out Video On Demand to customers at the end of 2002.
Will the Telewest EPG be revamped to include full 7-day listings, and are there any plans at the present time to switch away from Liberate code?
We fully intend to increase the number of days listing available within our EPG when we believe the performance of our set-top box gives an acceptable viewer experience when accessing this. Liberate is our chosen middleware vendor and we have no plans to deviate from this.
Do Telewest Broadband have any plans to introduce a manual 'channel change' timer, similar to the old analogue boxes?
We currently have no plans to offer this facility, however we understand how this service would be useful to our customers and will investigate internally the feasibility of it.
Channel Lineup
Do Telewest Broadband plan to carry the additional FilmFour and Sky Movies channels?
At Telewest we are always looking at ways to improve our service offering and are constantly researching new channel provision. We hope to be announcing further new channels throughout the year.
Are Telewest Broadband Digital TV customers likely to receive Sky Sports channels in widescreen again, and why is it currently transmitted in 4:3?[b]
We are working with Sky to receive wide-screen services again and hope to have them available by June this year.
[b]Will there be any additions to the Telewest Broadband Digital TV line-up soon?
We are continually looking at improving our packages… we have recently changed some of our line-up in line with customer demand. We have recently added new channels to our Starter and Essential Pack, as well as signing up 6 EMAP channels including Kiss and the children's channel Fox Kids. We hope to be announcing further new channels throughout the year.
Eurobell
When will customers in Eurobell areas be able to receive broadband TV services?
We are pleased to announce that the Telewest Broadband Digital roll-out throughout the former Eurobell areas will commence this year starting in the Southwest franchise which covers Exeter, Plymouth and Torbay. This will be shortly followed by the roll out of digital services in the South East regions that fall within West Kent and West Sussex/Surrey.
Pricing
Do Telewest have any special deals for analogue customers upgrading to digital?
Telewest Broadband often runs promotions to encourage analogue customers to upgrade to Broadband. For example, throughout the month of January we are offering half price broadband installation to all analogue customers currently subscribing to the Millennium Max premium package. Keep an eye out for additional promotions running throughout the year.
Will Telewest be cutting the price of additional STBs?
The cost to Telewest Broadband of digital set-top boxes is far higher than our older analogue converters and as such we cannot currently justify offering additional digital set tops at a cheaper monthly price. However, be assured we are investigating and testing other products that would allows us to offers a comparable service to our customers at a lower cost.
(From
www.digitalspy.co.uk )
Sounds good, except I have to pay for a new remote if I want the new remote - even when I rent the box! Lol
(Edited by MikeG at 6:21 pm on Jan. 21, 2002)
