PowerTV Inc, the Cupertino, California-based advanced television systems software and hardware developer, has won the support of nine US and Canadian cable operators for its PowerTV operating system in order to provide intelligent television services with access to the web. The US cable companies are Time Warner Cable, MediaOne, Comcast, Cox Communications, Adelphia Communications Inc and Marcus Cable. From Canada, PowerTV’s supporters include Cogeco, Togers Cablesystems and Videotron. Between them, the nine cable companies have over 33 million subscribers. PowerTV’s processor and hardware independent operating system and HTML Engine offers an internet development environment for set top boxes which supports HTML and JavaScript content authoring, as well as applications and services such as interactive broadcasting, email, web browsing, chat, video on demand and electronic commerce. It will be deployed in digital set top boxes, offering consumers a combination of broadband digital and analog video and internet service through TV-based devices. Formed in 1994 by founders of the ill-fated IBM Corp and Apple Computer Inc multimedia joint venture, Kaleida Labs, PowerTV is already developing software for US operators such as Pacific Bell and Bell South, and hardware manufacturers including Thomson Multimedia, Scientific-Atlanta Inc, Pioneer Corp, Toshiba Corp and Mitsubishi Electric Co. Set top box maker Scientific Atlanta Inc provided the seed capital. PowerTV has also produced the Eagle application specific integrated circuit graphics and audio media compositor.
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