Byline: DAVID E. KALISH Associated Press
NEW YORK -- People normally don't surf the Internet to watch their favorite rock group or sports team in action.
But a developer of cyberspace technology has joined with some of the nation's biggest entertainment and media companies to try to change people's viewing habits.
Progressive Networks planned to announce today that Time Warner, ABC, C-SPAN and others agreed to use its new RealVideo software to send news clips, music videos and live sports events across the Internet.
The deal helps bring cyberspace closer to a full-fledged entertainment and information medium.
The RealVideo software is billed as improving the image quality of the Internet's moving images, which after traveling through phone lines normally appear as jerky as turn-of-the-century silent movies.
To view programming, people first download the free RealVideo software off the Internet. They then choose from a menu of Web sites and point and click to the programming they want. While many offerings, such as music videos, are free, others are not. ESPN, for example, charges $5 a month for access to its live events.
About 50 Web sites initially will use the video technology, with that number expected to double by the end of the month.
Using a standard dial-up modem, RealVideo images are still choppy though a bit smoother than other Internet fare. But more powerful modems such as those used by many businesses deliver ``full motion'' or broadcast-quality images.
``It's absolutely better than what's out there,'' said Rob Glaser, chief executive and founder of the Seattle-based company.
``Video on demand'' has been an elusive goal for telecommunications and entertainment companies, which have started to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build cable, satellite and other networks to bring people entertainment when they want it. The idea is that people will pay premium prices for the ability to pick exactly what and when they watch.
While satellite broadcasting is taking off, other efforts have faltered due to the required steep investments, fierce rivalry and lack of any immediate payoff. Bell Atlantic Corp. and Nynex Corp. in December suspended a drive to develop ``wireless cable'' TV systems that would have offered interactive services such as video on demand and home shopping.
Viewing basketball games on computer screens may not jump to mind as the solution. But with the emergence of Web TV, more and more people are using television sets to surf the Internet. Web TV is one of the companies in the agreement with Progressive Networks.
The Web page for downloading RealVideo software is www.real.com.
