Ch.1 Internet TV: Big-Screen Web
Die-hard couch potatoes will love Princeton's 36-inch TV, but the big screen doesn't enhance Net surfing much.Rebecca Freed, PCWorld.com
Many of us can't stand holing up in our home offices while we catch up on personal e-mail and Web browsing--it feels too much like work, and we want to be out where the action is--in the family room. Princeton Graphic Systems' high-definition TV receiver and Ch.1's companion service offer a mighty slick way to make surfing a family activity: No set-top box is required, because the Internet hardware is built into the set.
The Ch.1 service provides an interactive TV channel guide, as well as e-mail, chat, and a Web portal that showcases sites in six channels: News, Finance, Sports, Shopping, Leisure, and the full Internet. Featured sites include CNBC and Datek in the Finance channel, and Webvan, Amazon.com, and Victoria's Secret in the Shopping channel. The design of the portal screens is rather amateurish, consisting of rudimentary HTML tables and simple backgrounds, and a number of site names were misspelled on these index pages.
It's not easy to navigate from site to site with the Ch.1 user interface; it doesn't work exactly as browser windows in Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer do. To switch from site to site, you must return to one of the channel tabs across the top of the screen. For example, if you tire of Victoria's Secret and decide to ogle whisks at Crate & Barrel, you have to click the Shopping button to get back to the index screen. To leave the portal and go to your own favorite site, you must click the Internet button and enter the URL on the resulting page. Each time you want to change sites, you have to go back to that Internet start page.
If you bring your own Internet service, you can subscribe to the Ch.1 service for $8.95 per month for one person. A four-member family account is priced at $12.95 per month if you already have an Internet service provider. Ch.1 offers 56-kbps dial-up ISP services for an additional $10 per month, and Web filtering for an additional $1 per month.
The Big Picture
The sheer size of Princeton's $3499, 36-inch HDTV-ready AI3.6HD display makes it easy for parents--when they're home--to keep an eye on how their children are using the Internet. But the User Restrictions service lets parents manage their children's access all the time by choosing the types of Web sites to block. The service also allows parents to block access to e-mail or filter outgoing e-mail and chat messages for names, addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, and specified keyword strings. Each user name can be customized individually.
The TV picture is bright and clear, but because the image is so big, I definitely noticed the curve of the screen, especially when Web surfing. You can adjust the brightness, contrast, and aspect ratio of the display, but the resolution of the Ch.1 service is fixed at 800 by 600 pixels.
This TV is for aficionados, and is sold by high-end audio and video stores and directly from Princeton; you won't find it in Circuit City. In addition to both dial-up and broadband Internet connections, it supplies connections for every TV service and device you can think of. The front of the set has a VGA port, which lets you connect a computer, plus two USB ports and S-Video, composite, and audio ports. On the back you'll find S-Video, composite, and Component YPbPr video inputs, as well as video-out jacks that let you send the TV signal to another TV or to a VCR.
One hybrid remote lets you flip channels and browse the Internet; you can also program it to control your VCR, DVD player, or other devices attached to the TV. The remote (dubbed RKM by Princeton for "Remote/Keyboard/Mouse") has typical TV controls on top; flipping up its cover reveals Blackberry-style alphanumeric keys, plus an eraserhead-style cursor control, special Web-surfing buttons, and eight preprogrammed Web shortcut keys. While I was setting up the Ch.1 service and surfing, I really wanted a Cancel key (because I found the eraserhead and Chiclet-size keys hard to get used to and I kept clicking the wrong on-screen buttons), but I had to make do with the Backspace and Back buttons. A wireless full-size keyboard is available for $100.
The sleek integration of Internet hardware into a state-of-the-art TV makes the AI3.6HD a good foundation for a home theater. But the Ch.1 Internet interface could be more comfortable to use. If you want the same kind of Web-browsing experience you'd get from a desktop computer, don't expect this combination to deliver it. But if you have the cash, and you want the Web as a complement to your HDTV, it's worth a look.