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Compatibility with the Internet

• MHP is built from the same components as the Internet.

• Making an MHP device that also provides Internet access should be feasible.

• Web sites can be launched from MHP services and MHP from the web.

• Digital video recorders, such as the TiVo, may provide the early platform for MHP.

Notes:

MHP is built from the same components as the Internet. Making an MHP device that also provides Internet access should be feasible. Web sites can be launched from MHP services and MHP from the web. However, MHP is designed to provide Internet-like TV broadcast services, in much the same way WAP was designed to provide web-like services on a mobile telephone. The result is a closed business model very different from the Internet. WAP developers envisaged that WAP content providers would provide a rich range of services for which consumer would be prepared to pay. However, WAP could not compete with the Internet's open and free ethos. An MHP device could be produced from a personal computer with a digital broadcast card and software added. Such a device could support MHP and have good Internet compatibility. However, expanding existing DVB set-top boxes to handle MHP will prove a challenge, even without allowing for Internet access as well. Entry level set-top boxes do not contain a hard disk and so can have only limited software. Digital video recorders, such as the TiVo, may provide the early platform for MHP.