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2000 Consumer Electronics Show READ ALL ABOUT IT! PAGE 1 New Technologies Help Consumers Tune in to TV, Internet The wide variety of devices and services on display at this year’s CES are proof that the melding of video, the Internet, and computers is upon us, panelists said yesterday. Any number of options are now available, or in development, that will change how, where, and when consumers watch video programming, speakers said. “There is a huge array of services consumers want to tap into,” Microsoft Director of Platform Marketing Alan Yates said. “The year 2000 is a breakthrough year in terms of set-top boxes going interactive.” For instance, consumers will use high-speed cable connections to watch high-definition video on their personal computers, and at the same time be able to purchase products over the Internet, panelists said. “This will allow the home PC to be the principal way of getting information. It simply will be the fastest way,” said Simon Wegerif, director of product marketing and business development for Philips. Others suggested consumers will use “super sets” that will give them access to numerous functions that are even more advanced than products such as TiVo, Replay, and EchoStar Communications’ DISHPlayer. The increasing availability of high-speed Internet access will further boost the number of people accessing video and audio content on the Internet, Real Networks Chairman Rob Glaser suggested. Though access to such high-speed Internet connections has been slow in coming, things are accelerating, he contended. There now are 27.4 million U.S. households with access to wireline high-speed Internet connections, he said. In addition, satellite-delivered Internet services hold great promise, Glaser said. “All of the pieces are coming together” so that consumers will have limitless choice on what they watch and when they watch it, he said. TURN THE PAGE OTHER ISSUES: Thursday, Jan. 6, 2000 Friday, Jan. 7, 2000 Sunday, Jan. 9, 2000   Please direct questions about this site to general.mail@satbiznews.com q 2000 Satellite Business News Inc. All rights reserved.