NEW YORK -- Time Inc. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., whose parent company is Japan's leading electronics products maker, announced Monday the two companies have signed a long-term technological agreement for jointly producing hardware for consumer information services.
Under the accord, the two companies will jointly develop a reliable low-cost terminal for Time Inc.'s teletext service, now being test marketed.
Matsushita will manufacture the device in quantity in late l984 and market it under its Panasonic label.
Time Inc.'s teletext service, a full-channel service delivered by satellite, provides up to 5,000 'pages' of information and entertainment for home use on demand. Computer software transmitted to a home terminal enables the user to interact with his television set for such special applications as video games, interactive learning and financial management.
In making the announcement at a press conference, Gerald M. Levin, group vice president-video of Time Inc., said: 'if our teletext service demonstrates significant consumer appeal, we will need a reliable, easy-to-use terminal that can be integrated with cable TV systems throughout the U.S. We believe that Matsushita is best positioned to bring to market a teletext terminal that can satisfy our price and performance criteria.'
Last month, Time Inc. started testing consumer use of its teletext content in cable systems in Orland, Fla., and San Diego, Calif.
Dr. Reiichi Sasaki, assistant director of Matsushita's Visual Information Systems Development Center, said the device is expected to be produced at Matsushita's fully automated Ibaraki color TV plant in western Japan.
