Syscom launches set-top boxes

NEW DELHI: Syscom has launched dial-up set-top boxes in two product categories: 33.6 Kbps and 56 Kbps priced at Rs 13,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively. Sold under the brand name E2 Web TV, these boxes will be imported from Taiwan from the manufacturer SoyaCom. However, Syscom does not rule out the possibility of setting up assembly plants in Delhi if the market response is good. The company is currently in talks with ISPs like Bharti-BT, VSNL, Satyam to market these boxes. Besides, Syscom has an existing channel of 25 to 30 distributors handling other products like fixed cellular telephony equipment. These distributors will also pitch in for the marketing and support of the set-top boxes.

The set-top boxes will be a cheap option for the home segment, a segment which, though not heavy Internet users, would like to have connectivity to check mails and browse the Net for reference. The company is hopeful of the market potential for the product and expects to sell around 1,000 sets by the end of this year. Every household having a telephone connection and a television is a potential customer, according to company officials.

The set-top boxes will allow browsing besides allowing the PAP (Picture and Picture) facility. With this feature, one can browse and watch TV simultaneously. A major disadvantage of these boxes is that it would not allow downloading. However, it supports a printer port option. The boxes does not support multi-media facility.

The boxes come equipped with infra-red keyboards that allow users to work from a distance of 7 meters since the resolution of a TV screen does not allow users close viewing. Some of the other features that the set-top boxes support are video output; audio type WAV, MIDI, AU, AIFF; media type text/HTML, text/Plain, image/JPEG, Image/XBITMAP.