More that 40 million users already have the capability to receive video over their PCs, and the number of households with access to the Internet through their TVs is approaching a million. PC/TV viewers are no longer limited to a dozen local broadcast stations, or 50 cable channels, or even 200 DBS channels. The World Wide Web places no inherent limit on the number of content sources. Some 30,000 Web pages already contain video content.

The trends in PC/TV have an impact on everyone in the TV, computer, and telecommunications industries. Major players in each of these industries are forming alliances with, making investments in, and acquiring companies in the others. Opportunities abound, but competition is savage.

PC/TV - The New Mass Medium covers:

• Architectures and Technologies
• Technology Developers
• Equipment Manufacturers
• Modes of Delivery
• Content
• Issues and Opportunities

and contain dozens of charts and graphs!

Key PC/TV Developments

• Hundreds of thousands of hours of streaming video and audio content are available on the Internet, live and on demand.
• TV tuner boards enable PCs to receive over-the-air broadcasts.
• Microsoft is integrating broadcast architecture into Windows.
• With WebTV, Microsoft gains an Internet TV box compatible with Windows CE.
• WorldGate contract cover 14 million cable subscribers worldwide.
• The Interactive Channel will be in 15 million digital cable boxes currently on order.
• Telcos and IXCs are implementing technologies right in the network to support streaming video.
• Digital cable boxes and second-generation WebTV terminals contain 1-GB hard drives, turning them into powerful computers.
• The cable industry is working to make cable modems simple and standard so that they can be marketed at retail and consumers can do the installation themselves.
• Popular Web sites with streaming video are getting millions of visitors per day.
• Many programmers are creating multimedia content exclusive to the Web.
• Web programming joins the Nielsen ratings league.

Key PC/TV Trends that will Reshape the Landscape

• With continued advances, streaming over the World Wide Web will ultimately be fully competitive with full-motion, full-screen, broadcast-quality television.
• Any receiver (PC or TV) will be able to receive signals in any format (analog or digital) from any source (over the air, cable, satellite).
• There is no inherent limit to the number of content sources on the World Wide Web.
• Consumer time spent on the Internet will continually grow and compete with conventional TV.
• The Internet will become a major advertising medium and venue for e-commerce.
• Corporate intranets and extranets with streaming video will become an important business tool.
• Streaming media will become an important educational resource.