***WAVE Comments
Personal television, of which ReplayTV is one implementation, is
all about giving consumers control over the television
experience. The problem in this market is that it is an expensive
add-on box and sales have been a gross disappointment. In order
to drive the cost down this function needs to be integrated into
the television set. Further, we also see the market taking off
when the disk or storage component is a module that can be easily
removed and upgraded by the consumer. With such a strategy a
consumer need not buy personal TV when the set is bought - it can
be an aftermarket add on.
Yet, the consumer electronics industry has not shown the
leadership necessary to drive a standard they all can adopt. A
modular approach would drive costs by having module makers
compete for both the add-on, replacement and original equipment
markets. This announcement by Matsushita Electric is an important
step ahead in making personal TV widely available at low cost as
a part of the TV set. Much more needs to be done. There remains
one aspect of the technology which is akin to hell freezing over
- automatic commercial elimination. We all have hope it will come
someday.
Wave Issue 0109 2/15/01 Article 1-04