PHILADELPHIA and REDMOND, Wash., July 21, 2003 — Comcast Cable and Microsoft Corp. announced an agreement for the country’s leading cable operator to conduct a trial of Microsoft®
TV software to deliver new digital TV services to its customers. As previously disclosed at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association annual convention in June, the companies have agreed to trial the Microsoft TV Foundation Edition software, and today they said they will also conduct a limited trial of the Microsoft TV Interactive Program Guide (IPG) beginning this fall in Seattle using Motorola DCT2000 set-top boxes.
Microsoft TV Foundation is a new digital TV software platform designed to help network operators get more value from on-demand and other digital TV services. The platform will scale from today’s thin-client set-top boxes to future-generation devices. Microsoft TV IPG is an easy-to-use, feature-rich guide solution that enables network operators to offer a better consumer experience for navigating digital cable channels and services, including on-demand offerings.
“We look forward to trialing the new Microsoft TV Foundation software, as well as Microsoft TV IPG, which we think will provide a great viewing experience as well as a convenient way to access on-demand programming,”
said Steve Burke, president of Comcast Cable.
“Being able to deploy enhanced offerings on today’s set-tops makes sense and increases the value of digital cable for our customers.”
“With today’s announcement, Comcast is proving once again how the right technology at the right time can add significant value to cable,”
said Moshe Lichtman, corporate vice president of the Microsoft TV Division.
“Comcast’s selection of Microsoft TV demonstrates the industry’s desire for cost-effective, scalable software platforms that help it get the most value from its hardware and infrastructure investments. We are delighted to work with Comcast to enable exciting new services for customers.”
About Comcast Cable
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Comcast Cable is a division of Comcast Corporation, a developer, manager and operator of broadband cable networks and provider of programming content. Operating in 17 of the United States’ 20 largest metropolitan areas, Comcast is one of the leading communications, media and entertainment companies in the world. Providing basic cable, Digital Cable, high-speed Internet and telephone services, Comcast is the company to look to first for the communications products and services that connect people to what’s important in their lives. The company’s 55,000 employees, in six divisions, serve more than 21 million customers.
About the Microsoft TV Platform
Microsoft TV is a family of standards-based client and server software products and related developer tools that help network operators create digital TV services which delight subscribers and derive more value from digital TV investments. Microsoft TV enables the delivery of new services such as video on demand, On-Demand Storefronts, interactive program guides, managed content services, digital video recording, enhanced programming, e-mail, instant messaging and more, across a full range of set-top boxes and TV devices. More information about Microsoft TV can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/tv/ .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
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