interactive tv.
def: at present interactive tv can be defined as any numbers of efforts that allow the viewer to interact with television content as they view.To be truly Interactive, the viewer must be able to alter the viewing experience or return information to the broadcaster.The elements that constitute interactive TV are inevitably constantly evolving
intro:
interactive tv is not exactly a new concept. there are varying degrees of interactivity.from the most basic type of interaction with the tv set-changing channel with a remote control to the more advanced levels of going so far as being able to alter the narrative of a story.interactive tv attempts to make the viewing experience individual for everyone. it allows viewers to alter viewing to suit their needs best. viewers can decide on aspects as fundamental as start times or even changing camera angles in football matches for example.interactive tv is growing and developing more and more each day and continues to change our very perspective of what defines 'watching tv'.
degrees of interaction and what is required to interact
the most basic form of interaction with television can be seen with the use of the remote control. before this wonderful invention was born peole were somewhat limited in their ability to interact with the tv.from this the development of satellite television and the vcr further enhanced the viewers ability to interact with tv. these inventions gave much more choice to the the viewer and made the experience of watching tv more interactive.in 1998 sky digital was launched in the uk and ireland redifing television viewing. the service allowed viewers to plan their viewing , offered an amazing number of chanels and much improved picture and sound quality. from sky digital stemmed the first ideas of interactive tv. never before had viewers oppertunities to interact with programs in the way sky offered. viewers were able to vote, enter quizes,play games and even change camera angles in football matches. these interactive processes have now become the norm. to further develop on this , in october 2001 sky launched sky+. this service allows viewers to literally create their own tv channel from existing channels.using the tv guide viewers can record selected programs to the hard drive reciever box required to avail of this service. it also for the first time allowed viewers to pause,fastforward or rewind tv programs as they saw fit. this is currently the highest degree of interaction available today.
types of interaction:
at present there are varying degrees of interactivity available. these different types of interaction offered vary depending on the target audience and the genre of programme being watched-e.g. with the touch of a button reality t.v. show votes for the least favourite character can be cast. Voting is a costly form of Interactive t.v. Through the comfort and ease of their own homes viewers can vote for the music video that they would prefere to played, vote in reality television shows for the person they would like to see voted out, and even send messages and watch as they appear onscreen. The sky is the limit. The service provider sky are raising the bar even further by allowing viewers to alter the narritive of certain programmes through their remote control. Some channels strongly depend on the voting of Interactive viewers e.g. VH2. These channels also hold viewer opinion polls which would let the viewers decide on various topics proposed by the channel-e.g to vote for a favourite character,favourite episode etc. People also cast their votes via their mobile phones to the various competitions held on television. This is another level of interactivity and as even viewers without the digital subscription servicecan influence the viewing of their favourite programes.
Camera Angles
for the first time the viewer can alter the position of the camera angle from which a football match can be viewed. Certain players can be zoomed in upon as well as camera angles can be altered to the viewers preferences. For the entire football match the viewer can pick their favourite player and the camera will change focusing, on him for the whole match. Also during the Glastonbury festival, interactive viewers had the opertunity to decide which band to watch as the BBC offered multilpal viewing options, allowing viewers to focus in on their band of choice.
Quizes & Competitions
Quizes and competitions offer interactive viewers the opertunity to win a prize for example a film premire. Often they are based on a particular programme that is just after ending or about to begin, the answer being based within the programme. This also increases viewer numbers and allows the viewer to become more involved in the programme.
Games
Gaming is the latest turn in interative tv. Viewers can play games on their television without the need for a gaming console or a computer. For the first time a viewer can sit at home and play games with just their remote control. Games are often based on tv programmes that are aimed at children while other games are aimed at adults. Whenever a new film is out often, for a short period of time, a new game appears based on the film.
Advertising
Quizes and compeititions are often based on new films that have just been released to publice new films. When new products and servies are on the market, they often take advantage of the interactive service that is ofered by television channels. Whenever a certain advertisement comes on the tv viewers have the option to order that particular product or service through their romote control.
Present + The future
The interactive service continues to develop as time goes on. For entering competitions, quizes and voting, there is a charge for each interaction. For the moment the interactive service can be quite expensive. This is a major problem in the development of these services as in discourages a lot of people who would not be willing to pay money for such services. hopefully in time, In the future we predict that INteractive television will become an integril part of viewing for reverybody and not just those who can afford it. along with this, we should see the services offered grow and develop as the technology expands also making the viewing process much more personal and interactive for the viewer.
references:
www.wikipedia.org
http://blog.itvt.com/
http://etvcookbook.org/home/index.html
www.skyinteractive.com
www.skydigital.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/digital/tv/