Thomson Multimedia confirmed Tuesday that it has begun shipping its first
combination UltimateTV/DirecTV Inc. receivers to retailers.
The set-top boxes include digital-video recording and
Internet-over-television functionality from Microsoft Corp., as well as
direct-broadcast satellite television from DirecTV.
Initial retailers include Circuit City Stores Inc., Best Buy Co. Inc.,
RadioShack Corp., The Good Guys Inc. and Ultimate Electronics Inc. The first
products are expected to be available for retail sale within the next week. The
products will also be sold at Thomson's Web site, http://www.rca.com/.
Model 'DWD490RE' will sell for $399. When sold as part of a complete DirecTV
system -- including satellite dish and dual-LNB (low-noise-block downconverter)
-- model 'DS4290RE' will sell for $449.
