Tallying WebTV costs

By DAVE GUSSOW, Times Technology Editor

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 17, 2000

A new spin on channel surfing WebTV merges television and the World Wide Web, but don't expect it to replace your home computer just yet.

Along with all the other gadgets, they ought to throw in a calculator with WebTV just to track how much the package of hardware and services costs.

Here are the basics: On the hardware side, the satellite antenna, set-top receiver (which includes a digital video recorder) and remote control have a suggested price of $399, plus another $50 for a wireless keyboard, which isn't a luxury for surfing. Installation runs $199.

If you want Web access only, you can skip all of the stuff above and get a set-top box for about $100.

For TV programming, the Dish satellite TV service starts at $19.99 a month for 40 channels, such as ESPN, CNN and Disney. Add choices and the price increases, with the typical Dish subscriber spending $40 to $45 a month for about 120 channels.

The Personal TV service, which allows the recording of shows on the hard disk, provides on-screen TV listings, gives "instant news" and offers games such as the popular You Don't Know Jack trivia game, is another $9.99 a month. The WebTV Plus internet service is $24.95 a month (with a $5 discount for those taking both Personal TV and WebTV Plus).

The grand total for a full-fledged set-up: about $648 at the start, including installation, plus $75 or more each month, depending on services chosen.

For more information, check www.dishtv.com and .webtv.com.

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