GI to Add Intertainer’s Entertainment Services

Culver City-based Intertainer Inc. and TV set-top box maker General Instrument said that Intertainer’s entertainment services will be integrated into GI’s next-generation digital set-top box. The deal broadens Intertainer’s reach, making its services available to cable operators nationwide. Intertainer will provide movies, music, information, interactive advertising and e-commerce applications to run on Horsham, Pa.-based GI’s advanced digital set-top box, the DCT-5000+, which will begin shipping in mid-1999. The firm expects to have 5.7 million boxes--both new and old versions--on the market by the end of the year. Intertainer is the latest partner GI has signed to provide interactive TV services through its devices. Cable operators can choose a variety of services through GI partners that include Microsoft’s WebTV, Network Computer Inc., Sun Microsystems and Sony Corp., which all provide software for GI systems.