Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9412270030
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE WERTS NEWSDAY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
All four broadcast networks have launched online hubs since January, and many more cable channels have cyberspace homes, too. You can now create your own customized TV listings. You can ``chat'' with stars and producers via modem. You can even capture sounds and pictures from your favorite shows. The computer screen is turning into the best place for info about the TV screen. Here's a look at some of the latest goodies on Prodigy, America Online, CompuServe and even upstart Delphi. (I use a Macintosh, so these comments are Mac-based.)
Easier to Use: Prodigy and America Online have sleeker interfaces; when you sign on, you look at colorful menus of choices presented as lively graphic icons. They improve navigation, helping you move through these services efficiently when time costs money.
More TV Info: You'll be spending more minutes online, too, with all the new stuff to play with. Since January, each of the four TV networks has built an online base to offer program schedules, background info and star bios, along with bulletin boards where fans can trade messages about shows.
CBS' hub on Prodigy provides everything from David Letterman's daily Top Ten list to answers for your technical queries about TV technology. There's also a CBS Store selling items such as Letterman sweatshirts and soap-opera coffee mugs.
ABC and NBC have set up shop over on America Online, where ABC seems to be putting the highest priority on online activity. Its cool new interface is designed like a skyline with graphics; and it clearly navigates you toward prime time, daytime, news or sports - even local stations. Both Prodigy and AOL connect you to many cable services. Prodigy provides info from 31 networks, including HBO, ESPN and all the Turner channels. (Not many go much beyond listings and unattended bulletin boards.) AOL has hubs for 10 channels, including MTV, C-SPAN, Discovery and Sci-Fi; MTV's AOL hub is lively, manned by live humans with a sense of humor. While CompuServe lags in tube offerings, it is the home base for CNN and the Viewers for Quality Television activist group.
Delphi's TV spotlight is focused on Fox, a fellow Rupert Murdoch-owned company. Unfortunately, Delphi not only covers a much smaller user base than the others, but its interface is completely text-based, dull and tedious to use. (However, it alone already offers full Internet access.) The big TV lure is the official hub for Fox's ``X-Files'' - a cyberspace fave - along with the most responsive network officials.
The other interactive lure, and the more direct one, is chat - when computer users and celebs sit at opposite ends of the modem for real-time conversation. AOL is the clear chat champ. NBC started its sporadic Auditorium gatherings there last spring, and has featured such names as Greg Kinnear and ``E.R.'' producer John Wells; Alphonso Ribeiro of ``Fresh Prince'' goes online Tuesday. ABC has become even more chat-happy, having several sessions a week in its AOL Auditorium - from Peter Jennings to Keith Richards; the ``GMA'' folks will chat Friday mornings. MTV's Arena features guests like Kurt Loder and ``Beavis and Butt-head'' creator Mike Judge. CompuServe has a regular online ``talk show'' in its Stein Online area. Prodigy is just getting its chat service going, but CBS often has its stars respond to preposted queries (David Marciano of ``Due South'' is taking questions now).
Other TV Goodies: You'll find the latest Associated Press entertainment reports on Prodigy and CompuServe; America Online offers Reuter and the trade paper Variety; Delphi has The Hollywood Reporter and is developing TV Guide Online.
TV listings: Prodigy offers the content of the Total TV weekly published by The Cable Guide. They cover 47 networks and superstations, with convenient navigation by hour, network or show category. A less friendly interface - but perhaps ultimately more valuable service - is in AOL's new Tribune Media Services hub. Here, you can search the full text of a week's worth of 37 networks and superstations to pinpoint the programming you want.
Sounds and pictures: You can download TV music and dialogue, either provided by the networks or uploaded by more cyber-savvy tube freaks. My Mac functions are now enlivened by such AOL snares as Letterman shouting ``Hey - stuff this!'' (my hourly chime), Hank's ``Hey, now!'' from ``Larry Sanders'' (for incoming e-mail), and Samantha's nose-twitch from ``Bewitched'' (a great alert signal). You can view photos of Cindy Crawford (MTV's hub) or Branford Marsalis (NBC). QuickTime motion clips are also becoming increasingly available, though visual quality on computer is hardly astounding yet. Look for sounds and video in both the TV/showbiz hubs and the computer libraries.
Contact Prodigy at (800) PRODIGY; CompuServe at (800) 848-8199; America Online at (800) 827-6364 and Delphi at (800) 695-4005.
by CNB