PHILIPS AND MICROSOFT ALLIANCE

PHILIPS Electronics, set-top box suppliers, and Microsoft Corporation have announced a mutual agreement to encourage the cable and satellite industry to adopt Enhanced Television products and services.
Under the agreement, Philips will licence Microsoft TV software (MSTV) and collaborate with Microsoft on the development of a range of set-top boxes based on the MSTV and Philips.
The Nexperia based hardware platform is the first of Philips set-top boxes running MSTV.
The Philips/Microsoft Enhanced TV platform will support a range of emerging product categories, including Interactive TV, Personal TV and Internet on TV.
In addition, under the agreements, Philips and Microsoft will establish identical laboratories at each company to develop and test new Enhanced TV implementations.
Rob van Oostenbrugge, president and CEO of Philips Digital Networks said: “To offer consumers the right combination of hardware and software, services and applications, we must put the right alliances in place. Microsoft, with its solid expertise in software and services, is a natural partner for Philips. Together, we are laying the foundation for a new generation of broadband services via Internet enabled and intelligent appliances for the mass market.”
Nexperia hardware platforms are expected to be available in 2001. MSTV customers who wish to deploy a Philips set-top box earlier will be offered a defined migration path.