Interactive Television iTV

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Interactive Television - iTV

• Current and future applications
• of iTV and usability issues
• Michelle Marguth

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What is Interactive Television?

• Interactive television describes any number of
  efforts to allow viewers to interact with
  television content as they view. It is sometime
  called interactive TV, iTV, idTV or ITV
• Examples
• electronic program guides (EPGs)
• interactive advertisements
• mass customization of content
• video on demand (VOD)
• games, interactive game shows
• interactive drama, news, maps and weather
  reports,
• sports, trading, gambling, and auctions.

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Types of TV interactivity

• Interactivity with a TV set
• Interactivity with TV program content
• Interactivity with TV-related content

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Interactivity with a TV set

• It does not change any content or its inherent
  linearity, only how we control the viewing of
  that content.
• Functions like a VCR, can pause, fast forward,
  rewind, records as you go, program to record
  future shows, etc.
• Think TiVo, video-on-demand, and DVRs
• Simplest type of iTV. Already successful but
  still has room for more growth.

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Apple announces new iTV

• A novel-sized device that allows users to
  wirelessly stream iTunes video to their TV
• The videos will be near-DVD quality
• Will be a direct competitor to Cable OnDemand
  services and DVD rentals

Source http//www.engadget.com/2006/09/12/hands-o
n-with-the-apple-itv-prototype/
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Interactivity with TV program content

• The idea is that the program itself can change
  based on viewer input.
• Simple Forms
• Directly incorporate virtual audience response
  back into the show
• Polls
• Questions
• Comments
• Already popular in many applications
• Advanced forms
• Include dramas where viewers can choose plot
  details and endings
• Demand is unknown, could have applications in the
  future

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Interactivity with TV related content
Coactivity

• Coactive TV refers to the multitasking use of
  both television and other interactive media
• Web sites and mobile phone services already
  coordinate with TV programs
• Examples
• Get more info about what is on the TV sports,
  movies, news, etc.
• Get more info about advertisements, with the
  ability to purchase what is advertised - a
  coactive form of e-commerce (see example below)

Source iTV Handbook Technologies Standards
by Eddie Schwalb, Fig. 1 An example of a pizza
ordering page
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TV-commerce pizza-ordering example

• The uniform HTML order forms could be transmitted
  via data broadcasting, while the submission of
  the order could be performed via an IP-based
  return channel.
• Enables transmission of the order form
  unconditionally and simultaneously to all
  receivers. Not likely that viewers will submit
  orders simultaneously or that their orders will
  be routed to the same physical local server for
  processing.
• When a viewer requests to order pizza, the order
  form is rendered. Upon confirmation of the order,
  the contents of the form is submitted over the IP
  channel.

Source iTV Handbook Technologies Standards
by Eddie Schwalb, Fig. 2. The relationships among
the advertiser, broadcaster, ISP, and receiver.
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Interactivity with TV related content
Coactivity

• Promises to become more general, flexible, and
  ubiquitous
• Based on open Web servers that dont need to be
  tied to any program, network, or programmer
• Can work across programs and channels, with
  recorded, time-shifted programs, and across
  device types.
• Fundamentally, its about how human attention
  moves among media content items, using available
  devices and platforms

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Physical Types of User Interactions

• Two-screen iTV
• Single-screen iTV
• Internet TV (Broadband TV)

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Two-Screen iTV

• iTV is described as lean back interaction,
  since users are typically relaxing on a couch
  with a remote control
• lean forward interaction is typically a
  personal computer-oriented experience with a
  keyboard, mouse, and monitor.
• Two-screen" Interactive TV, involves both
  lean-back and lean-forward interaction
• For use when your television system lacks a
  built-in back channel (return channel).
• Relies on PC connected to the Internet or mobile
  phone servers to interact with the TV, hence the
  two screens
• When multiple media devices are used, it is known
  as Media multitasking, which is a type of
  coactivity
• Growing desire for this interaction
• Young markets are the most accepting

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One Screen iTV

• The programs interactive enhancements are
  accessible using your TV system.
• Interactivity is supplied by the manipulation of
  the API of the particular software
• Installed on a set-top box - a type of computer
  that processes digital information. Can act as a
  gateway between your TV or PC and your telephone,
  satellite, terrestrial, or cable feed (I/O
  signal.) 
• Referred to as middleware because of its
  intermediary position in the operating
  environment
• Software programs are then broadcast to the
  set-top box
• The box can load and execute the applications

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Internet TV

• The Internet is inherently interactive
  (lean-forward)
• Can search for videos, TV shows, etc. to download
  (legality?)
• BitTorrent
• YouTube
• Until interactive TV becomes more mainstream,
  this may be a good option.

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Summary

• Types of TV interactivity
• Interactivity with a TV set
• Interactivity with TV program content
• Interactivity with TV-related content
• Physical Types of User Interactions
• Two-screen iTV
• Single-screen iTV
• Internet TV (Broadband TV)

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Questions???
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References

• Brown, B. and Barkhuus, L. 2006. The television
  will be revolutionized effects of PVRs and
  filesharing on television watching. In
  Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human
  Factors in Computing Systems (Montréal, Québec,
  Canada, April 22 - 27, 2006). R. Grinter, T.
  Rodden, P. Aoki, E. Cutrell, R. Jeffries, and G.
  Olson, Eds. CHI '06. ACM Press, New York, NY,
  663-666. DOI http//0-doi.acm.org.oasis.oregonsta
  te.edu80/10.1145/1124772.1124870
• http//www.engadget.com/2006/09/12/hands-on-with-t
  he-apple-itv-prototype/
• Jones, O. D. and Carey, R. 2000. Interactive TV
  a new interaction paradigm?. In CHI '00 Extended
  Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  (The Hague, The Netherlands, April 01 - 06,
  2000). CHI '00. ACM Press, New York, NY, 306-306.
  DOI http//0-doi.acm.org.oasis.oregonstate.edu80
  /10.1145/633292.633475
• Loizides, L. 2005. Interactive TV dispelling
  misconceptions in the media. Comput. Entertain.
  3, 1 (Jan. 2005), 7-7. DOI http//0-doi.acm.org.o
  asis.oregonstate.edu80/10.1145/1057270.1057287
• Schwalb, E. 2004. iTV handbook technologies
  standards. Comput. Entertain. 2, 2 (Apr. 2004),
  17-17. DOI http//0-doi.acm.org.oasis.oregonstate
  .edu80/10.1145/1008213.1008241
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_televisio
  n