Black Boxes

by Jim Mikles
Summer 1998

When it comes to bringing computers and the Internet to the living room, the typical person will require something different than the standard desktop system provides. In the living room, where we are used to our televisions and VCRs, we expect a certain merging of aesthetics and user-friendliness. In the living room, we need to relax and have fun.

Because of this, we will hold the computers in our living rooms to a different, in some ways higher, standard than many of us endure with our desktops, laptops, palmtops and home office machines. The power of the content, and its pleasant ease of use, will be more critical, and more compelling, than the sheer power of the machine.

This is the promise of the Net-top box. Named so by several participants in the industry for its computer-like ability to connect the Internet (Net) to the television (set-top box), the term itself embodies the spirit of the union. Simpler than a PC, yet profoundly more powerful than a mere television, the Net-top box allows us to bring a computer's silicon intelligence to the living room. It offers us unprecedented content, interaction and control--all rendered with the power millions of us have grown so fond of at our desktops, but with the sleekness, style and ease we demand from our couches and recliners.

The first generation of Net-top box hardware, pioneered by Internet TV visionaries WebTV and supported by consumer electronics giants Philips and Sony, was a big step and a big risk. The technology worked well enough to help validate the attempt to create a living room Internet, but it needed fast movement forward to stay afloat. Less than one year after its introduction, with a $425 million investment from Microsoft, WebTV was back with its second generation. A marked jump in performance from the original, WebTV Plus showed how quickly the living room ethos imparted itself to the Net-top box.

At about the same time, Oracle subsidiary Network Computer Inc., consumer electronics heavyweight Thomson Consumer Electronics, and Internet service/television content provider NetChannel, partnered up to roll out the N/C. The RCA-branded N/C was a different take on the Internet TV concept. It focused not only on bringing the Internet to TV, but also on leveraging the increased power and utility a Net-top box can offer to expand the actual TV viewing experience.

Because the Internet has spawned such an incredible growth industry on so many levels, several other players have positioned themselves for a piece of the action when the Internet hits the living room. Canadian-based Websurfer Inc. is a leading contender. The Websurfer Net-top box, with content partner Beyond TV, is poised to corner the Canadian Internet TV market and is also staging an aggressive push into Europe. Websurfer isn't as well known as the WebTV or N/C brands in the U.S., but it's a solid contender technologically and it's becoming available at more places in the lower 48.

There is no doubt that computers, and especially the Internet, will enter our living rooms. The question is how. The three Net-top boxes reviewed here, each of them solid performers, are a glimpse into a probable future.

RCA N/C 1020
Price: $199 (wired keyboard), $249 (wireless keyboard)
Manufacturer:Thomson Consumer Electronics
Modem Speed: 33.6Kbps
Multimedia support: Shockwave audio, Real audio
Content provider: NetChannel only ($19.95 per month)
Unique Features: Versatile program listings guide, one-click VCR programming, "personalized TV" service.

Hardware

From the start, it's easy to see that the RCA Network Computer (N/C) was designed with the intent to seamlessly merge the power of the computer with the typically TV-centric world of the living room. The box is easy to connect, with composite video/audio and s-video out jacks for the TV. It has infrared (IR) emitters that plug into a rear jack and stick unobtrusively on a VCR, cable box, satellite box or DVD player to control tuning and recording. The N/C has a large library of infrared codes included in its memory, and we were easily able to teach it to control our NEC, Panasonic, Sony and JVC VCRs. A smart card that fits in a front slot, while it's not the brains of the device, serves as its personality, storing on its magnetic strip information about user accounts and (eventually, anyway) online transactions. The N/C has a printer port and supports some, but not all, models of Brother, Canon, Citizen, Epson, HP, Lexmark, NEC, Okidata and Panasonic printers. While wireless keyboards are always preferable from the couch, the N/C also has PS-2 keyboard and mouse ports, along with a VGA port for the option to connect to a VGA monitor. A 33.6 Kbps modem (which should soon be upgraded to 56Kbps) rounds out the package and makes the RCA N/C solid under the hood. While a keyboard is optional with WebTV products, a keyboard ships standard and is included in the price of the N/C. The lower-end 1010 model has a cabled keyboard, while the deluxe 1020 version comes with a wireless keyboard. The next upgrade of the box, the RCA N/C 1021, is expected on the market soon and will include a 56 Kbps modem and a mini-joystick cursor controller.

Interface and Navigation

The RCA N/C accomplishes the integration of the Net and TV in a smooth and easy manner. The interface is intuitive enough and sufficiently connected to the TV in content to bridge the Internet-TV gap. The RCA N/C uses a sophisticated browser interface and incorporates a versatile TV program-listing guide. The box uses NetChannel as its integrated, proprietary Internet Service Provider. NetChannel describes itself as a television service provider, which is an accurate depiction of its approach to the Internet on TV. The program guide, for example, offers not only grid-style TV listings, but also a "Details" guide, a "Channel" guide, and a "Record" guide. The box uses the record guide to remember what programs you select and then, using the IR emitters, "tells" your VCR to record them. This versatile IR blasting is a handy function unique to the N/C that gives the box added appeal. The program guide also incorporates a "track and suggest" function which searches TV listings for keywords--like actors, topics, or titles--and makes suggestions based on your past viewing habits.

The box allows six people to enter user profiles (TV names). Each user gets a personalized NetChannel home page he or she can control. Channel display, "scout and suggest" functions and e-mail controls can all be manipulated on this page. It's important to distinguish the RCA NC from other brands of consumer Network Computers expected to hit the market this year. Along with the Thomson RCA brand, Acer, NEC, Zenith, Scientific Atlanta and Proton each have licenses for the NCI technology, and from prototypes of these products we've seen, the interface will be substantially different in each. Thomson is the first to market with its N/C product, however, and the RCA N/C is an impressive entry in this emerging category of consumer appliance.

There's always room for improvement, however. One of the weaker aspects of the RCA N/C is that it conducts frequent downloads of 15-20 minutes upon logging on. Larger, less frequent automatic downloads during off-hours would be better. A weakness of the program guide is that it only lists 48 hours worth of programming at a time, so all your searching, sorting, filtering and VCR programming has to be done every two days for it to be effective. Someone in the electronic program guide arena needs to figure out that at least eight day's worth of programming is essential for maximum time-shift capability. Also, the only last name the N/C lets you use in your e-mail address is the last name on the credit card used to pay the monthly ISP bill, which may or may not be appropriate.

But these are minor concerns in the overall intuitiveness, quality and design of the RCA N/C. A well-designed box from some of the top names in the industry, the N/C is useful and fun.

Websurfer
Price:$299 (includes wireless keyboard, remote control, telephone headset)
Manufacturer: Websurfer Inc.
Modem Speed: 33.6
Multimedia support: RealAudio, JavaScript
Content provider: Any
Unique Features: Independent ISP, Internet telephony, online gaming and server-based word processing.

Hardware

Websurfer Inc., a subsidiary of the Canada-based Batra Co., manufactures the Websurfer. It's the only Net-top box that uses an Intel processor, a DX4 100 MHz comparable in power to the other processors in the market, but with the added credibility of the Intel brand behind it. The Websurfer performed solidly in our battery of user tests. The browser is well designed, supporting the full-width of standard Web pages, handling frames and adjusting type size for a better 10-foot viewing experience. The 33.6 Kbps modem downloads pages at typical speed and a 56Kbps modem should be available in the near future. A serial port connects the box to a printer. Although our box wasn't so equipped, a telephone handset is now included with the unit to enable Internet telephony, according Brad McKee, director of corporate development.

The Websurfer "mouse" is unique among Net-tops and is a significant innovation for couch-comfortable input. Most boxes use arrow keys on the remote control or the keyboard to navigate the interface, select links and browse Web pages. Others use the I-Point style mini-joystick. The Websurfer features a comfortable force-sensitive button on both the remote and keyboard. Press it in the direction you want to move the cursor. The harder you press, the faster it moves. Double click to select your option.

The Websurfer lacks an infrared emitter, which is understandable considering that TV listings aren't standard software with the box. In Canada, Websurfer users have access to BeyondTV, a service by ViewCall, Canada (NetChannel purchased the U.S. arm of ViewCall last year). In the U.S., Internet service is provided by any ISP, providing they register with Websurfer, although Sprynet is the default ISP that comes with the box.

Interface and Navigation

The Websurfer home page is well designed for TV-based surfing, with five content channels: sports, weather, leisure, travel and news. The toolbar includes mail, search and favorite sites functions. Websurfer also includes word processing as part of its package. The Websurfer server-based word processor allows you to create, save, edit and print documents much like you would with a desktop computer, only the application runs from, and your documents are saved to, a remote server. Sony and Philips WebTV owners have a server-based word processor available to them from Inergy Online (which also provides Web page design and hosting features), but they have to subscribe at an additional fee after the first year. Websurfer also offers a variety of online games.

While the Websurfer does a fine job connecting the TV to the Internet, it's the weakest of these three contenders in its relationship to the TV most of us are used to in our living rooms. Websurfer connects a TV to the Web, and does a good job at it from a technological standpoint, but unless you live in Canada and get the BeyondTV service, Websurfer doesn't connect the TV and Internet very well in terms of content. There's no program guide, no TV links, no infrared VCR blasting-very little to indicate that the Web and TV are ideal companions to be used in conjunction with each other. This is something that Websurfer expects to remedy by including an electronic program guide in a future upgrade of the box, according to McKee.

Despite the need for some improvement in how it relates to the television, the Websurfer features quality technology and an innovative input solution that make it a worthwhile and enjoyable living room Internet endeavor.

Philips WebTV Plus
Price: $199, optional keyboard $49
Manufacturer: Philips Consumer Electronics
Modem Speed: 56Kbps
Multimedia support: Shockwave and Real audio, Flash animation
Content provider: WebTV Networks (can keep independent ISP for $10 monthly charge)
Unique Features: 1.08 GB storage disk, TV tuner, Crossover Links, Webeye IR receiver

Hardware

Pioneer on the convergence frontier, WebTV was the first to stake a serious claim on the TV set-top and is the farthest along in the effort to enlist volunteers willing to shell out a couple hundred bucks to visit and cultivate fertile new pastures. With a second generation of the groundbreaking technology in full swing, the Philips WebTV Plus box demonstrates significant maturity over its younger sibling, now known as the WebTV Classic. Four consumer electronics manufacturers are licensed to build the product (Philips, Sony, Mitsubishi and Hitachi), and they all meet a minimum specification in the hardware department, including a 1.08GB storage drive, a 56Kbps modem, a TV tuner, an infrared emitter, a printer port and composite audio/video and s-video out jacks. There is also a smart card port for future e-commerce applications.

The inclusion of both the substantial on-board disc storage and the TV tuner are significant advancements in Net-top box technology and are unique to the WebTV Plus. At this point, users cannot access and manage the hard drive, as they can on their PCs, but the drive works rather as an extremely large cache. A whole host of information, including operating system upgrades, TV listings, favorites lists and interstitial advertisements, can be unobtrusively downloaded and stored on the drive, making the box extremely convenient and exceptionally fast. Combine this with a 56Kbps modem, and you may find the WebTV Plus loads Web pages faster than your desktop. The TV tuner pushes the WebTV Plus even farther into the living room. The tuner gives users the ability not only to receive and control the TV signal through the box, but to use the Web in a convenient picture-in-picture format, with both TV and the Web appearing on the same screen. The Philips WebTV Plus box additionally offers a nifty little accessory called the Webeye, which is an infrared receiver that sits on top of the TV to accept commands from the remote control and keyboard. This is especially convenient if you don't want, or have room for, the actual box on top of the TV. The WebTV Plus does suffer from a couple of oversights, however.

Our biggest complaint was that the infrared emitters, while they can be programmed to control a TV or cable box, won't control a VCR or satellite box. Another apparent oversight is that the box can only receive its TV signal through a coaxial cable. It has RCA-style composite video and audio in-jacks, but they didn't work on our test model, and all references to the user manual indicate the coaxial cable is the only option. It does have composite A/V-out jacks, however, so we anticipate composite-in can't be far away.

Interface and Navigation

The WebTV Plus does an outstanding job integrating the Web with TV. The interface has two incarnations: a TV home page and a Web home page, which you can toggle between with a click of the remote. The TV home page displays the actual TV picture surrounded by a frame that includes buttons to get TV listings, change TV settings and toggle to the Web Home page. There are also details about whatever program is tuned-in and a control panel at the bottom of the screen to allow you to change the channels. The TV tuner gives the box its channel-changing capability and the IR blaster synchs the WebTV channel with the channel on your TV or cable box. This allows you to control your channel surfing from the TV Home page with a single remote.

The Web Home page is the browser interface and houses content links. The WebTV Plus browser performs exceptionally well in terms of reducing image flicker and automatically adjusting the appearance of Web pages on a TV screen. The Community and Around Town links are great functions of the browser interface, taking users instantly to a host of relevant information and links about their town, or any other town they're in. Another unique and promising feature of the WebTV Plus is the availability of "Crossover Links." The way these will work, according to WebTV Networks, is when Internet content is available specifically related to a program you are watching, a Crossover Link icon will pop-up in the corner of the TV Home page. Select the icon to log-on and go to the featured Web site. Current WebTV Networks partners include Discovery Channel, E!, Warner Brothers, PBS, TV Guide and MSNBC, and we expect they will be among the first to explore the possibilities of crossover programming.

The WebTV Plus is a fast, reliable and exceptionally easy-to-use Net-top box that is the defacto industry standard for how to bring the Internet to the living room. There are around 250,000 people who currently own a WebTV box and subscribe to WebTV Networks. Expect more and more features to be integrated into the box as more people join the club.

Jim Mikles is Smart TV's Associate Editor