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VideoGuide and StarSight have made a lot of noise in the market recently, and DEALERSCOPE thought it was a good time to compare the new interactive electronic on-screen program guides.
Thomson Consumer Electronics recently announced it would invest $25 million into StarSight in exchange for 3.3 million shares of StarSight Common Stock. Thomson effectively will own 13 percent of the company and will heavily promote the technology with StarSight.
At the 1996 Winter CES, VideoGuide will demonstrate its new DSS add-on ROM cartridge that will make it possible for VideoGuide subscribers to integrate DSS (and other DBS satellite) channels with cable/broadcast channels on their program grid. The unit will plug into an existing slot on the Video Guide set-top receiver.
The following is a hands-on comparison of both systems. Each system has specific benefits and drawbacks that may appeal to different customers.
THE BASICS
Both StarSight and VideoGuide are fee-based electronic programming guides that display information on the TV screen. Set-top box hardware for both carry a suggested list price of $99, with StarSight's model, sold by Magnavox, reduced from $150 this past October. VideoGuide service and equipment launched nationally this fall, when StarSight had already been available for a year. Both can operate in homes that get reception over the air or via cable, with cable customers the primary audience because of cable's large and often difficult-to-navigate channel selection. VideoGuide is available primarily in a stand-alone box, with the DSS add-on ROM cartridge as a future option.
StarSight's system has been incorporated into TVs (Zenith, Mitsubishi), VCRs (Sony, Samsung, GoldStar, Magnavox) and TV/VCR (Sharp) models, with most major brands licensed to use the technology in the future. Some StarSight elements--VCR control, one-button direct tuning and one-button recording--have been added to RCA's second generation Digital Satellite System. And Uniden has incorporated StarSight into several of its "big-dish" satellite receivers.
DATA DELIVERY
StarSight is delivered over the TV signal's vertical blanking interval (VBI), distributed by local PBS channels, and also via cable networks' Nickelodeon and MTV.
VideoGuide is carried by BellSouth's paging network, and...