DirecTV Bows HDTV For Thomson Set Owners

DirecTV is now offering HBO-HDTV service to subscribers who have purchased a fully integrated Thomson RCA or ProScan HDTV set. The satellite company is now offering HBO-HD services to subscribers who have regular HBO service packages. However, Thomson only began a limited rollout of its 61-inch widescreen ProScan PS61000 ($7,999 SRP) fully integrated HDTV set during the first week of August. What makes the ProScan set so different from current HDTVs is that it includes a built-in DirecTV tuner that's capable of receiving the recently initiated DirecTV HD broadcasts. The company apparently was waiting for the new 24-inch satellite dish that is necessary for the set to pick up the HDTV feeds. RCA models will follow later. To date, DirecTVís HDTV programming has been offered only for showroom demonstrations purposes.