I recently read about Nokia s Media Terminal in The Guardian, what exactly is it

Asks monkeysay

A. Nokia's new Media Terminal is an 'infotainment' box that you plug into your TV and it seamlessly combines digital TV with full Internet access and a hard disk for music and video recording (using its integral PVR). It can also support interactive TV and video-on-demand.

�

The Media Terminal was developed jointly by Nokia and Intel. The hardware is based on embedded Intel X86 architecture combined with a Nokia DVB receiver module, hard disk and PCI-based network interfaces.

�

The software platform is based on open standards implementations: the operating system Linux, the X window system XFree86 and the Mozilla web browser. It also features a 40GB hard disk, an Intel Celeron processor and uses a standard 56k modem.

�

Q. Does it work by remote control

A. It combines what Nokia calls Navibars (a navigation browser) with a dual-purpose remote control/keyboard – so you can change TV channels, operate volume controls etc, surf the Internet and write emails.

�

Q. What does PVR do

A. A personal video recorder (PVR) allows you to record video just like a VCR, but differs in that it allows you to pause and play live TV broadcasts and provides video-on-demand through streaming video. A Linux-based version of RealPlayer 8 has been installed in the Media Terminal to allow access to streaming video and music offerings.

�

In essence, a PVR is a tapeless video player that replaces analogue tape with a hard drive. This enables the PVR to perform various smart operations, including a pause function that buffers a live transmission. This means that, when the play button is pressed again, the recording restarts in exactly the same place. It also has intelligent programming, which means you can 'teach' it what type of programmes you are interested in or watch regularly, and it will save them automatically every time they are aired (if you chose this option). The Media Terminal’s internal hard drive can hold up to�ten hours of recording time.

�

Q. What else does it provide

A. It is also a games console. (In Los Angeles at the E3 gaming exhibition in May 2001, Nokia announced a deal with Loki Software to make Linux games from Loki available on the Media Terminal) and provides storage space for large files e.g. MP3, films and photos.

�

It allows full Internet access and allows you to personalise your terminal to meet your needs. For example, just as you bookmark your favourite Internet pages, you can bookmark your favourite TV channels so they are easy to find.

�

Q. How much will it cost and will it launch

A. A final price has not been announced yet, but it is expected to retail for approximately �500 and will launch this autumn in the UK. It was announced last week (31 May 2001) that Nokia had sealed a deal with ITV to carry some of its digital terrestrial channels and its ONnet Internet portal on the package, so expect some more changes and additions to the final look of the Media Terminal before it launches.

�

If you have any other Internet & Technology related questions, please click here

�

By Karen Anderson