Microsoft’s WebTV Plus System to Enhance TV Viewing for Canadian Customers

With Microsoft’s WebTV Plus System, Canadian customers will have access to a full range of advanced features that enhance the TV experience. Features that will be delivered this summer include:

Better TV

  • Searchable TV listings that enable users to view a complete week’s worth of programming at once

  • Automatic notification, indicating when shows of interest are scheduled

  • VCR Record, allowing most users one-click recording capabilities

  • WebPIP, which brings picture-in-picture capability to standard TV sets, making it possible to watch a program in the television window and explore related Web site content at the same time

  • TV Crossover Links which give viewers access to Web sites that complement popular television shows

  • Multimedia e-mail attachment capabilities allow users to add still pictures, sounds and even their own voice to e-mail messages, with static images and data from the television, a camcorder or digital camera

  • Six separate password-protected email accounts, with filtering software that allows parents to maintain high content quality for their kids

Expanded Internet and Communication
WebTV Networks is working with several key Canadian companies to offer a customized service experience to Canadian subscribers. New content and services developed specifically for them include:

  • An Around Canada section, featuring links to Canada-specific content providers, including local news headlines and weather on the WebTV Plus Network community page

  • Canadian content sites integrated into WebTV Plus Network’s Explore directories

  • Directory of French-language content sites featured in Explore Franais

  • Toll-free telephone customer service in both English and French

  • National ISP coverage, with points of presence (POP) covering more than 90 percent of populations in major metro areas

The WebTV Plus Network system consists of two components: the WebTV Plus Receiver and the WebTV Plus Network service that go hand in hand. Both are required; a wireless keyboard is optional. The WebTV Plus Network service will be offered for $24.95 (U.S.), with one month of free service included. Subscriptions will initially be billed in U.S. dollars, and this service price translates to approximately $34.99 (CDN).

Sony of Canada’s WebTV Plus Receiver will be available at the Sony Store/Maison Sony and authorized Sony retailers at the suggested retail price of $299 (CDN), and the optional wireless keyboard with be available at a suggested retail price of $99 (CDN).

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