New Technology Would Allow for Video-on-Demand

Couch potatoes might be spared that arduous trip to the video store in years to come, when movies will be zapped by phone to thousands of homes in just seconds.

Explore Technology Inc., a company in the development stage, introduced an electronic video transmission technology Thursday that it said would provide the world’s first video-on-demand system.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.,-based company said the technology will offer home viewers instant access to libraries, eliminating the need to pick up tapes from rental stores.

Instant Video, which was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show here, lets a two-hour movie be transmitted simultaneously over phone lines in 15 seconds to thousands of destinations.