Interactive television (generally known as iTV ) describes a number of techniques that allow viewers to interact with television content as they view it.
Definitions of interactive television
Interactive television represents a continuum from low interactivity (TV on/off, volume, changing channels) to moderate interactivity (simple movies on demand without player controls) and high interactivity in which, for example, an audience member affects the program being watched. The most obvious example of this would be any kind of real-time voting on the screen, in which audience votes create decisions that are reflected in how the show continues. A return path to the program provider is not necessary to have an interactive program experience. Once a movie is downloaded for example, controls may all be local. The link was needed to download the program, but texts and software which can be executed locally at the set-top box or IRD (Integrated Receiver Decoder) may occur automatically, once the viewer enters the channel.
Return path
To be truly interactive, the viewer must be able to alter the viewing experience (e.g. choose which angle to watch a football match), or return information to the broadcaster.
This "return path" or "back channel" can be by telephone, mobile SMS (text messages), radio, digital subscriber lines (ADSL) or cable.
Cable TV viewers receive their programs via a cable, and in the integrated cable return path enabled platforms, they use the same cable as a return path.
Satellite viewers (mostly) return information to the broadcaster via their regular telephone lines. They are charged for this service on their regular telephone bill. An Internet connection via ADSL, or other, data communications technology, is also being increasingly used.
Interactive TV can also be delivered via a terrestrial aerial (Digital Terrestrial TV such as 'Freeview' in the UK). In this case, there is often no 'return path' as such - so data cannot be sent back to the broadcaster (so you could not, for instance, vote on a TV show, or order a product sample) . However, interactivity is still possible as there is still the opportunity to interact with an application which is broadcast and downloaded to the set-top box (so you could still choose camera angles, play games etc).
Increasingly the return path is becoming a broadband IP connection, and some hybrid receivers are now capable of displaying video from either the IP connection or from traditional tuners. Some devices are now dedicated to displaying video only from the IP channel, which has given rise to IPTV - Internet Protocol Television. The rise of the "broadband return path" has given new relevance to Interactive TV, as it opens up the need to interact with Video on Demand servers, advertisers, and web site operators.
Forms of interaction
The term "interactive television" is used to refer to a variety of rather different kinds of interactivity (both as to usage and as to technology), and this can lead to considerable misunderstanding. At least three very different levels are important (see also the instructional video literature which has described levels of interactivity in computer-based instruction which will look very much like tomorrow's interactive television):
Interactivity with a TV set
The simplest, Interactivity with a TV set is already very common, starting with the use of the remote control to enable channel surfing behaviors, and evolving to include video-on-demand, VCR-like pause, rewind, and fast forward, and DVRs, commercial skipping and the like. It does not change any content or its inherent linearity, only how users control the viewing of that content. DVRs allow users to time shift content in a way that is impractical with VHS. Though this form of interactive TV is not insignificant, critics claim that saying that using a remote control to turn TV sets on and off makes television interactive is like saying turning the pages of a book makes the book interactive. In the not too distant future, the questioning of what is real interaction with the TV will be difficult. Panasonic already has face recognition technology implemented its prototype Panasonic Life Wall. The Life Wall is literally a wall in your house that doubles as a screen. Panasonic uses their face recognition technology to follow the viewer around the room, adjusting its screen size according to the viewers distance from the wall. It's goal is to give the viewer the best seat in the house, regardless of location. The concept was released at Panasonic Consumer Electronics Show in 2008. It's anticipated release date is unknown, but it can be assumed technology like this won't remain hidden for long.
Interactivity with TV program content
In its deepest sense, Interactivity with TV program content is the one that is "interactive TV", but it is also the most challenging to produce. This is the idea that the program, itself, might change based on viewer input. Advanced forms, which still have uncertain prospect for becoming mainstream, include dramas where viewers get to choose or influence plot details and endings.
- As an example, in Accidental Lovers viewers can send mobile text messages to the broadcast and the plot transforms on the basis of the keywords picked from the messages.
- Global Television Network offers a Two-Screen Solutions interactive game for Big Brother 8 (US) "'In The House'" which allows viewers to predict who will win each competition, who's going home, as well as answering trivia questions and instant recall challenges throughout the live show. Viewers login to the Global website to play, with no downloads required.
- Another kind of example of interactive content is the Hugo game on Television where viewers called the production studio, and were allowed to control the game character in real time using telephone buttons by studio personnel, similar to The Price is Right.
- Another example is the Clickvision Interactive Perception Panel used on news programmes in Britain, a kind of instant clap-o-meter run over the telephone.
Simpler forms, which are enjoying some success, include programs that directly incorporate polls, questions, comments, and other forms of (virtual) audience response back into the show. There is much debate as to how effective and popular this kind of truly interactive TV can be. It seems likely that some forms of it will be popular, but that viewing of pre-defined content, with a scripted narrative arc, will remain a major part of the TV experience indefinitely. The United States lags far behind the rest of the developed world in its deployment of interactive television. This is a direct response to the fact that commercial television in the U.S. is not controlled by the government, whereas the vast majority of other countries' television systems are controlled by the government. These "centrally planned" television systems are made interactive by fiat, whereas in the U.S., only some members of the Public Broadcasting System has this capability.
Commercial broadcasters and other content providers serving the US market are constrained from adopting advanced interactive technologies because they must serve the desires of their customers, earn a level of return on investment for their investors, and are dependent on the penetration of interactive technology into viewers' homes. In association with many factors such as
- requirements for backward compatibility of TV content formats, form factors and Customer Premise Equipment (CPE)
- the 'cable monopoly' laws that are in force in many communities served by cable TV operators
- consumer acceptance of the pricing structure for new TV-delivered services. Over the air (broadcasted) TV is FREE in the US, free of taxes or usage fees.
- proprietary coding of set top boxes by cable operators and box manufacturers
- the ability to implement 'return path' interaction in rural areas that have low, or no technology infrastructure
- the competition from Internet-based content and service providers for the consumers' attention and budget
- and many other technical and business road blocks
Interactivity with TV-related content
The least understood, Interactivity with TV related content may have most promise to alter how we watch TV over the next decade. Examples include getting more information about what is on the TV, whether sports, movies, news, or the like.
Similar (and most likely to pay the bills), is getting more information about what is being advertised, and the ability to buy it -- this is called " tcommerce " (short for " television commerce "). Partial steps in this direction are already becoming a mass phenomenon, as Web sites and mobile phone services coordinate with TV programs (note: this type of interactive TV is currently being called "participation TV" and GSN and TBS are proponents of it). This kind of multitasking is already happening on large scale -- but there is currently little
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