Thomson Multimedia SA, the biggest seller of televisions in the US, says it has now decided to support the draft specification for enhanced television programming put out by the Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (CI No 3,463). The ATVEF was formed by CableLabs Inc and Intel Corp, and draws on HTML, the IP Internet protocol and ECMAScript (JavaScript). It is backed by Microsoft Corp, Sony Corp and others, and aims to allow content creators to design enhanced programming for delivery across analog, digital TV, cable or satellite systems, to any type of broadcast receivers that comply with the specification. Thomson, which manufacturers and markets home entertainment products under the RCA, GE and Proscan labels, sells five million TV sets, four million videocassettes and one million digital satellite systems a year. It has signed an early adopter agreement with the ATVEF. Microsoft Corp, General Motors’ DirectTV, NEC Corp and Alcatel SA each agreed to take a 7.5% stake in Thomson Multimedia, currently owned by the French government, at the beginning of the month (CI No 3,465).
