Microsoft TV set for Portuguese take-off

It appears that Microsoft is going to do in Europe what it so far has been unable to do in the United States: deliver its interactive TV platform over a cable system.

The software giant, which has been struggling to make its gear work in AT&T Broadband applications, is having no such problems with TV Cabo in Portugal. The satellite and cable TV provider, with about a million subscribers, has launched interactive services based on the Microsoft TV platform and will be integrating the software into set-top boxes built by Octal TV, another Portuguese company.

"It's essentially an end-to-end Microsoft solution," said Microsoft TV marketing director Ed Graczyk. "It's Microsoft TV client software running the Microsoft TV electronic programming guide connecting to Microsoft TV server in the headend."

And it's even more than that.

"The rest of the headend is a largely Microsoft-based system as well," Graczyk admitted.

TV Cabo will use the software to run a two-way broadband cable network that includes digital video recording, an electronic program guide and "neat services" like TV banking, he continued.

It can be done there now because "the level of integration is less and they're working with a single set-top partner to start," Graczyk said.

This compares to the integration complexities the software company is facing as it works with AT&T.

"They're working with three different hardware OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), integrating the TV Guide EPG (electronic program guide), integrating some other applications in Java," he said. "AT&T is a completely different animal. "Microsoft TV is just one piece of the puzzle they're putting together."