Wave Systems Corp. (fka WAVXQ)

[barge]

Michael Sprague is "really excited...about.....the upcoming TVTonic for Vista".

Gee, I wonder WHY he's so excited about VISTA?

Gee, I also wonder WHY WAVE opened up the purse strings to enable TVTonic to employ a "dozen folks evenly split between engineering and content programming." With WAVE's limited budget, why would they throw so much money at TVTonic? Cross-eyed stupidity? Greed?

One simple way to understand what TVTonic is all about is simply by reviewing its name! The Tonic in TVTonic is to be understood in two ways: Tonic as in a refreshing stimulant AND Tonic as in virtual monoTONIC counters, which is fancy term for Metering Applets.

The facts are: VISTA ULTIMATE is CONSUMER DRIVEN. VISTA ULTIMATE REQUIRES A TPM. VISTA ULTIMATE IS ALL ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT. TVTONIC IS EMBEDDED IN THE WINDOWS VISTA MEDIA CENTER.

I believe it is transparent that TVTonic will be the TRUST PORTAL and BACK OFFICE for ALL premium content leveraging the TPM inside VISTA ULTIMATE.

I've been wrong about the timeline of TPM based Premium Content because TPMs were not yet in the hands of consumers. But that is about to change with the introduction of Vista Ultimate, Apple, One Laptop per Child, ViiV, Xbox etc.

I understand I'm about the only on this board who is fervent about the Consumer side collectively representing D-DAY for TPMs. I just don't buy into the typical Wavoid belief that the Enterprise/Government/DOD TPM push will explode exponentially in 2007.

"What I’m really excited about though is the upcoming TVTonic for Vista. Microsoft has done a brilliant job with the next version of Media Center. The power to blend video with internet media and remote controlled navigation is going to make the TVTonic experience look like Monday night football, but fully interactive.


Do you think someday watching TV on the computer will replace cable TV?

They’re on course to becoming indistinguishable. The set-top box is morphing into a computer that also pulls content from the Net. The Vista Media Center will include cable card so you can plug your cable service directly into your PC. Essentially “TV” is determined by the screen on which you choose to watch video. The box driving the experience will (and already does) connect to multiple content sources. Viewers win out as options explode. Though it becomes more complex, in time the average viewer will buy his or her own receiver, as millions already do, rather than leasing it from the cable company."




http://www.juxtaviews.com/2006/10/11/tvtonic-interview/

TVTonic - Interview

Posted on: October 11, 2006

Wavexpress TVTonic service allows you to easily watch video podcasts as well as their own custom video channels.

It can be used on any Windows computer but it also integrates into Windows Media Center where it really shines. Making it easy to access video content from the web. As broadband internet becomes more prevalent could you see yourself watching all your video content on the computer. Could the computer screen replace your TV? TVTonic with all it’s features and on-demand programming makes it a plausible idea. To find out more about TVTonic we spoke to their president, Michael Sprague.

Name, and when you sleep you dream about…?

Michael Sprague… Many once, now it’s pretty much a moot question… Hmmm

How many people make up the core of the TVTonic team? What are their roles?

We have about dozen folks evenly split between engineering and content programming.

Why should people watch TVTonic?

TVTonic is primarily a television service. It’s designed to be navigated and watched from the couch in your livingroom. With all the channels and production money poured into traditional TV, it’s amazing to see how much more interesting many video blogs can be. When put side by side with standard television you’ll find that it’s just as easy and sometimes more entertaining (and satisying) to blow an hour watching Channel Frederator, Diggnation or the Joke Project over whatever’s playing on cable.

Are you working with new content producers to bring more “channels” to TVTonic? If so, what are some new channels that users can expect to see soon?

We bring in new content all the time. Recently we’ve been working hard on constructing more composite channels. These are channels that group together the best content in a category hand edited for quality and consistency . The goal is to achieve an experience that can be as reliable as switching on your favorite cable channel.

q Any feature that is currently in development that will change the way TVTonic users interact with the program?

Soon we’ll enable streaming access to feeds so there’s no lag time. The trick is doing this without impinging on the quality of the experience. Downloaded content can be HD and as reliable as TV, but streaming gives instant satisfaction to a viewer searching for something new.

What I’m really excited about though is the upcoming TVTonic for Vista. Microsoft has done a brilliant job with the next version of Media Center. The power to blend video with internet media and remote controlled navigation is going to make the TVTonic experience look like Monday night football, but fully interactive.

TVTonic is featured in Windows Media Center Edition (WMCE) computers, how many of your users come from WMCE vs. users of the standalone TVTonic software?

It’s pretty much evenly split

Do you think someday watching TV on the computer will replace cable TV?

They’re on course to becoming indistinguishable. The set-top box is morphing into a computer that also pulls content from the Net. The Vista Media Center will include cable card so you can plug your cable service directly into your PC. Essentially “TV” is determined by the screen on which you choose to watch video. The box driving the experience will (and already does) connect to multiple content sources. Viewers win out as options explode. Though it becomes more complex, in time the average viewer will buy his or her own receiver, as millions already do, rather than leasing it from the cable company.

As for cable service itself, that will not go away for a long time. Broadcast is too insanely efficient. Eventually, though, they will largely just broadcast files instead of broadcasting a show we record based on time synchronization, as a DVR does.

Personally, what is your favorite TVTonic channel?

Rawdio. It’s like the early days of MTV but the videos are better. And I have to admit, the kids shows like, cartoon cow, looney toons and the Jet Set Show (http://www.jetsetshow.com) are a godsend, if you’ve got kids. Kids today don’t abide by live tv. They record everything so a Video Blog is a really familiar experience for them. I suspect kids video blogs will explode in quantity and quality once more parents get their TV’s hooked to the Internet.

What are three sites you must visit everyday?

I’ve stopped obsessively trolling the net. I watch my RSS reader which connects to a couple dozen sites and a handful of key words feeds from google… And I read the news of myway.com. Pretty boring, but I count on my obsessively trolling friends to send me anything worth checking out.

What is the best site/blog that we don’t know about?

If you haven’t been watching The Pan, http://www.thepan.org, you should. It’s a excellent and well produced daily amalgamation of the best video bits appearing on the web.

Thanks Michael for taking time to talk to us.