Time Warner, Cisco Team Up For Online HD Primer
Web Site Preps Viewers on Buying HDTV Sets, Pitches Time Warner Cable Service vs. Direct-Broadcast Satellite
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/23/2007 6:53:00 AM
Time Warner Cable and Cisco Systems teamed up on a new Web site to prep viewers on buying an HDTV and actually tuning in to an HD channel.
The site asks questions about screen size, type of use (sports, gaming, movies), what room it will be in and how far away it will be viewed, then provides a recommendation.
It also pitches the advantages of cable over satellite and says viewers will need an HD service to get those crystal-clear pictures, although it makes no mention of over-the-air HD as an option.
Time Warner Cable's shot at direct-broadcast satellite is just the latest volley in an ongoing battle with DirecTV over HD-picture-quality claims. The cable operator recently won a court victory over DirecTV -- although it had already settled the suit -- for TV ads that suggested that the satellite HD picture was better than cable's.
Cisco said encouraging broadcast and on-demand HDTV will boost its home-networking business.
