(Raleigh, NC) WRAL Digital and DTV Plus, both part of Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc., today announced a dynamic new project that will bring the future of home entertainment to North Carolina. The project is a joint effort with numerous partners including Texas Instruments, Panasonic, Internet Broadcasting Systems, RAVISENT Technologies, RKR Video, Decisionmark, and Now Audio/Video. Named "CompleteTV," the project will enable a number of families in the Raleigh-Durham market to take part in a pilot program beginning during the second quarter of 2001. These families will have access to a home entertainment experience that will seamlessly combine, for the first time, the worlds of broadcast HD programming and Internet-based information and entertainment. During, and at the conclusion of the six-month program, the families will provide feedback on their experience.
"We're delighted to bring this exciting, first of its kind project to the Raleigh-Durham market," said James F. Goodmon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Capitol. "Complete TV is an execution of our vision of the future of home entertainment and community service programs broadcast digitally to the home. As a leading proponent of digital broadcasting, we feel we have much to contribute with high-definition television and datacasting. We stand on the edge of a news and home entertainment revolution."
The families will interact with their home entertainment system via a specialized navigation interface or "home portal" that will feature news and information from WRAL.com, WRAL's local Web Channel, which is part of the Internet Broadcasting Systems network. IBS develops and operates Web Channels in conjunction with broadcast partners across the US and has a presence in 53 markets, including 31 of the top 50 DMAs. Tolman Geffs, CEO, IBS, says, "We are excited about providing content to the home portal and the brand extension it provides for WRAL.com. Complete TV puts our content at the heart of the family entertainment and information experience. This is a blueprint for the future of broadcasting and the Internet."
The portal will also feature an interactive programming guide from Decisionmark that will simultaneously link to HDTV and Web browsing functions. DTV Plus will update the portal via datacast.
The system features Digital Light Processing technology from Texas Instruments, comes equipped with a large screen, rear projection HD home entertainment system from Panasonic, and a high performance broadband "entertainment computer", integrated by RKR Video. The "middleware" - the software which will allow broadcast video and Internet entertainment to appear simultaneously on the screen - is being developed by Texas Instruments and RAVISENT Technologies. The complete system will be demonstrated and supplied by NOW A/V of Raleigh. The initial stage of the project will get underway once potential participant families are identified, contacted, and invited to a private demonstration.