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iTV Standard v1.1 Released
mbstone writes "The iTV Standards Initiative this week announced the release of version 1.1 of its proposed iTV Production Standards, an open XML-schema-based scheme for interactive TV. In other words your set-top box or PC TV card would use the proposed standard to let you click on something displayed on your TV screen, for example, to answer a poll or buy the product featured in a commercial."
This is pretty cool stuff...would this kind of be like the HTML of TV? :)
-> Sometimes, you just gotta break free from the shackles of proprietary code.
And the Popup ads begin to multiply... quick! get the raid!
does this mean i can make the Pilsbury Doughboy laugh when i click on his bellybutton? what is this thing?
Notice how easy it is to just change the channel when commercials come on? Now notice how few people actually change the channel when commercials come on.
People watch TV to be totally passive. They don't WANT to interact with the news channel. They just want to sit there and absorb information.
...they got their act together. If they'd waited much longer no one would care because, soon, there's not going to be anything worth watching on TV.
My cat has been pointing and clicking on the screen for years. Now I finally know what she was getting at.
So how long until ITV (The TV channel) in the UK decides to let their lawyers loose?
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
I have a $200 sony all in one remote that tries to provide a single interface to all my stuff. Problem is that it does not quite cut it, the Onkyo receiver does not quite do what it should.
Result is that only I can get the home theatre to work properly so I leave it turned off most of the time because I don;t want to spend all my time being sysop for the home entertainment system. Wish the wife would buy a Mac, then I could tell her she is absolutely on her own for service calls as I don't do Macs.
All I want is for a bunch of high end but still mainstream stuff to work together - we are not talking about obscure audiophile $25,000 turntables here. But there is no reason that a $2,000 TV and a $500 satelite receiver and $1,000 home theater box should not talk to each other either. We are not talking about big ticket changes, just an RFC822 or maybe a USB port.
Interactive TV leaves me cold, the stuff is real weak when you try the canned demos with oodles of thought gone into the interactive parts. Run of the mill content that will be seen mostly on non-interactive tv sets will be a bust.
There is no middle ground worth exploring between TV and videogames. Tombraider and such are lightyears beyond what iTV could hope to be. Why fight it trying to do interactive lite?
Looking for an Information Security student project suggestion?
Try http://dotcrimeManifesto.com/
Interacting with things by clicking on it, voting in polls, isn't that called slashdot?
in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
the way that we watch porno...
I truly can't wait
--sex
Very popular slashdot journal for adul
I hope this wouldn't be tied into your credit card. Imaging script kiddies driving around in a van gaining root access to your remote control and putting a bunch of shit on your credit card. Actually, that sounds like fun. Anyone have a van?
Yea...TV nation. Move along, nothing to see here.
More ways to be irritated by advertisers. Just imagine interstitials and pop ups in your TV.
I have to *click* on it? Can't it just buy it for me?
Interactive Television is the granddaddy of vapor. It has been in the works in one form or another since long before the internet. Before computers probably. It just is never going to happen.
A screen you could watch video on and also interact with! Amazing! This will revolutionize tele-vision!
There is a primetime war right around the corner and you can't think of anything to tune in to? These folks are working hard to bring us sound bites and live flaming footage and streaming laser-guided-bomb nose camera content and fluctuation infantry biometrics during night raids and collateral damage spreadsheets and body count projections and you're not excited?
Click on the little landmine at the bottom of your screen to see the 'Explosion of the Week [TM]! Direct from the battlefield. A CNN exclusive!!
Another Mac product... oh wait... *hears Switch commercial music playing in the background* "And like, I was watching this great show on TV, and suddenly the TV was like going *beep beep beep beeeppp beep* That's when I switched to iTV."
Karma whorin' since 1999
if you want to do surfing-type stuff, the web is much better (there's more content out there, pc monitors have much higher resolution, etc.), if you want sports highlights then watch ESPN, and if you want to learn something either go to the library, use the web or watch The Discovery Channel :)
it seems that many parties are pushing for interactive TV, but that the closest thing that seems to be successful is TiVo.
i just don't think people want to *think* and watch tv at the same time, that's kind of the point.
Regards,
John
Falling You - beautiful
Can't wait for advertisers to distort the hell out of this. In the middle of your favorite show's climax, oops, popup!
Grrr.
Cable companies, networks? Sometimes I wonder if there will be a day when one company will be the only source of information for any given person.
They'll define his world. Everything in his life would be viewed from some context he learned from that company. It would innescable because everyone else around him would have personalities derived from the same source.
More likely, society will split between two groups. Those who favor homogenous information, lifestyles, entertainment. And those who don't.
The homogenous society will dress more or less the same, listen to the same music, watch the same shows. A large chunk of society will fall into this category, and you could identify them right away.
The heterogenous society will do whatever suits them.
Maybe things are like this already. Do people dress/think/act more similarly in large cities than in smaller ones?
Yes, I can see it being a better brain-washing tool than ever. I can see the a question popping up now. . . "Boys and girls, should Mr. Bush kill people in iraq? Y/N". . . "Well it looks like you kids are even smarter than Mr. Bush, because you do not want to kill people. Bad Mr. Bush. You should vote for communists when you grow up boys and girls because they are nice to everyone". Fuck that, I will keep my kids away from it.
ummm.. doesn't that say something?
No longer will your viewing habits be anonymous if you have a traceable button.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
I used to code to the PowerTV API
I'm sincerely sorry to hear that. If I ever see preprocessor macro based exception handling again, I'm going to strangle something. Probably a kitten.
Maybe this can be integrated with the theoretical MPEG technology which turns video images into collections of objects... you guessed it, clickable objects. It would be damn cool to change camera angles during football games depending on the guy you click on... hell, we can already create our own instant replays on the high-end sets. why not set up an audience poll to decide if a challenged play should be overruled or not while they're at it.
Why doesn't the TV industry spend more effort figuring out what people actually like, instead of trying to convince us we want something that we really don't?
I like things the old way.
I control my TV and NO ONE knows what I watch. It's MY life and MY privacy.
I would rather sit in a dark cave than surrender my privacy to ANY organization, corporation, or government and live in thier version of bliss (AKA, click and drool)
Html, xml , whatever. Make the TV into a computer and wire the home for networking . It's the future. The only problem i have is that HDTV is already outdated. The resolution for computer monitors is much higher and better for dig. photography. It should be the other way around. Big screen TVs should have higher resolutiong for digital photography. Also cable tv is absolute garbage. Big Dish TV seems so much more ready for the future.
How about a way to have my PVR determine when a program really starts and ends, so that a preempted or delayed show won't cause me to record 20 minutes of a news cast or the show that was on before the one I wanted. A particluar network may slip a few seconds per hour, causing a missed lead-in for a particular show (eg for CSI this can be disappointing), and there is a trend lately on broadcast networks to run shows together by a minute or two either way with little or no break between them, which also throws off recording.
It should be relatively easy to send this information, per channel in the overscan area (close caption area) in the current scheme of things, but with interactive television on the way, I would love to see the broadcast be able to interact with automation devices as well as people, if only for this one feature.
Unless they completely disable our ability to record by the time this stuff is in use...
Don't you mean propaganda? That is pretty much all television spews these days. "Buy duct tape and plastic and tape all your vents shut in case of a devestating biological attack... but don't panic! By all means, we don't mean to make you PANIC! Why would you PANIC? Just because there's going to be an ANTHRAX attack doesn't mean you should PANIC!"
[insert witty comment here]
...is when the media are placing ads within ads, when interactive really means free marketeering, which seems to be the real advantage of this system.
Do you need a website upgrade?
I sure hope iTV doesn't tell me some news, and then i={1, 2, 3, ..., n} days later it tells me the same story again, and somehow reference itself in the same piece.
They call this shit Marketing?! They claim this creates value for the consumer?! Fuck that. Those lying theiving sons of bitches, those marketing people.
In english please?
Hopefully, they can time any hardware requirements to release about the same time the FCC yanks the plug on analog TV. That is, assuming there are any equipment requirements (I can't point and click at anything on my TVs, now, so I would assume so). Having another box in my entertainment center is not an option.
Ideally, some corporate jackass will provide me with a completely new, state of the art entertainment system, gratis, that includes cable/satellite/internet access, all also for free, and then I'll think about using this BS they're touting as interactive. You want real interactive TV, you should read Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age. Until something like that is generally available, I'll pass on buying any new TV technology.
main(){char I,l,O[]={'-',1-1,0,(1<<5)-1,0+'-',-10-1,-10,11-0,
why so much hate? should we arrest you on terrorist charges?
The UK digital systems have been using MHEG for the past 5 years for our interactive service, and although slow at first (mainly due to STB problems) it's getting pretty fast now. BBC's BBCi is superb, and offers everything our our teletext system used to.
Some of the interactive services are a bit naff, but some are pretty interesting.
before the RIAA and MPAA try to shut this down for violating anti-piracy laws?
5...4....3....2....
My name is Darren Howard Hayes. I am an arrogant fool who gets off on abusing people on IRC and web forums. I have a sad life. I am 43 years old and am still single. I talk shit regularly and when called on it I lie to try worming out of the situation. I have been known to mail bomb, packetflood and stalk my internet co-users. I am a loser in life and I was stupid enough to use the same password on my email, irc and web forum accounts. I may not be around much any more. I Apologise to the two Steves, I am sorry for the porn spam! really that was very immature of me. I have signed myself and my own family members for all the porn I can get to show my deep sorrow. Apologies for the email bombing to Agnus, Para and cRo on #amigazone, I will definately stop now. I am sorry I called Danamania a transexual, I know I am such a smelly personality-free blob I never had a chance of getting in your pants to find out. I apologise to everyone else for existing.
...in horror movies where the dumbass is going down to the basement and everyone could vote to have them sit upstairs and watch the Big Game instead...coz that's how it would be in real life right, riiiiight ;-)
Well we got excited about ATVEF, then MHEG, then MHP, somewhere in there OpenTV developed their own proprietary system, as did Liberate. And that's not even including the TV over ADSL guys...
iMagicTV, one of those TV over ADSL middleware providers uses HTML with 'tv in the browser' as does others like Minerva and Orca...
Don't forget about hardware vendors who are already shipping and this includes the big boys like Thomson/RCA
So why yet another dtv standard.. I'm getting dizzy...
Why bother with USB, etc.? Just connect them all with ethernet cable. You wouldn't need RCA jacks, or that snarl of cables anymore. Just plug everything into a hub. Each component should be configurable via an internal web page. Just like my turtle beach audiotron, a component maker that actually gets it.
Dean Martin was born on June 7, 1917 in Steubenville, Ohio at 11:55 PM to Gaetano (Guy) and Angela Crocetti.
Along with older brother Bill, they attended Grant Elementary School in Steubenville. Dean took to playing drums in his local Boy Scout troupe.
Dino (his real name) had his first Holy Communion on May 15, 1927 and took the name "Paul" as his confirmation (middle) name on April 30, 1928.
Some 'official' biographies tell of Dean's graduation from Steubenville High, but in reality, after moving around a lot, Dean quit in the tenth grade. "It was because I thought I was smarter than the teacher!," said Dean.
Digital TV? Check
Interactive TV? Check
Video Phones? Check
Seriously. Video Phones were launched by BT years ago. The only people who bought them were prostitutes (Use your imagination!) and the Big Breakfast (Morning T.V show). Ah well.
Apple makes TVs now?
Most DirecTV boxes w/ the Advanced Program Guide have a shopware/i-tv thingy creatively called DirecTV Interactive based on XML/HTML technology from Wink Communcations. This "feature" is really annoying. It pops up an "i" icon when the current program or station supports this and downloads docs & images that are interleaved into the datastream. The problem is that it is strictly "pull." You can buy stuff from all the shopping channels w/ the remote, but it still has to dial-home to order your stuff. There are also some dedicated "portal" channels from Weather.com, BN.com, and MSNBC.com.
Owned by beret wearing molesters. Bow down your triple chinned fat heads in shame you yank wiggers!
As I mentioned in my other comment, the UK system uses MHEG, and we've been able to enjoy some pretty interesting interactive experiences. David Attenborough's "Life of Mammals" allowed some cool interactive 'games' to be played.
ITV's "Who wants to be a millionaire", previously interactive, is now going back to an interactive version that allows you to play along with the game, using the remote buttons to choose your answers. You can then enter into a prize draw to win:
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Goes Interactive on ITV1
A fully interactive version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? launches this Saturday (15 February) on ITV1.
This interactive service, which will be sponsored by BT, follows a major agreement between ITV and BSkyB that will enable ITV to launch a range of interactive services on the digital satellite platform. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Interactive will also be available on DTT from Saturday and Telewest in the near future, making it available in approximately 8 million homes in the UK.
Using their remote control, viewers can play along with the contestant in the studio to answer questions, notch up points and enter a prize draw at the end of each programme. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Interactive has been designed by Carlton Active to mirror Celador's hugely popular television show experience as closely as possible, and the game is simple to play and enjoy for viewers at home.
A prize draw after each show will offer two viewers who register with the required score the chance to win one main and one runner-up prize. The highest scores (based on how quickly the questions are answered) will also be entered on a leader board, creating a weekly league of the best 'armchair' contestants.
As part of BT's renewed sponsorship deal, BT information graphics will run alongside the weekly league table. Interactive users will also be able to obtain further information on BT products and services by entering a BT branded information zone, accessed via digital TV handsets.
Paul Cooper, Carlton Active's commercial manager, said: "Millionaire is a fantastic brand and the interactive service is a natural extension to that brand. We are delighted that BT has renewed its sponsorship - this proves that interactive advertising works, and works well, when done properly. Viewers see BT as bringing a new experience - as well as the chance to get on the real show - into their homes and the value of that should not be underestimated."
Amanda Mackenzie, director of marketing services at BT, said: "The renewal of BT's sponsorship of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Interactive is great news, especially given that the programme is breaking new ground by being the first interactive programme accessible via all interactive TV systems. BT's relationship with Millionaire enables us to demonstrate our continued commitment to offering new and cutting edge communication. In addition the sponsorship brings families closer together as they play the game at home - consistent with our campaign theme of 'Bringing People Together'."
The deal between BT and Carlton TV was brokered by the Allmond Partnership and BT's interactive graphics have been designed and produced by ape TV.
Bruce Vandenberg, Head of Digital at Celador, said: "We are really excited now that Millionaire can be played interactively across all 3 major platforms. The technology is becoming more accessible and being able to reach 8 million homes will provide a substantial base for us to extend our programme brand and commercialise the audience."
BSkyB's Chief Operating Officer, Richard Freudenstein, said: 'Sky is delighted to welcome ITV as the latest terrestrial broadcaster to take advantage of the interactivity available on digital satellite and are delighted that they have chosen to use sky interactive's infrastructure for this launch on the digital satellite platform. Over 20 channels and 250 advertising campaigns have used this technology so far to enhance their offering, and I am sure ITV and its viewers will benefit from it too. We look forward to working with them as the services develop.'
Or of course you could move away from the idea that XML is "interactive" and look at MHP which covers alot more than this lot and has many more senior players.
Oh and of course... IS ALREADY RUNNING IN EUROPE.
That last being the reason why these people have come up with a braindead standard of their own. OpenCable in the US is based on MHP, and is supported by most of the cable companies. This is another wonderful case of the US deciding on 25 different standards while the rest of the world picks one.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
> [Interactive TV] just is never going to happen.
,that's about 8 million households have Interactive TV in the UK. As a comparison, there are about 10 million Uk households with access to the Net.
Maybe iTV is never going to happen in the States, but just as with cellphones, DAB and many technologies that gain momentum through standards and cross-border co-operation , the US is being left behind, as Interactive TV is thriving in Europe, especially in the UK, and I'm amazed that many tech-savvy Americans don't seem to realise this
~45-50% of UK households *with a TV* have digital TV, and of them 65 percent of have access to ITV
In simple numbers
There are about 6.25 million households with digital satelite alone. All of them have access to very, very advanced interactive services. There are about 2 million households with digital cable, using Liberate middleware
The new Free to air DTT boxes are selling like hot cakes, and there are many Interactive services available through the BBC and others
Here's a wide range of iTV screenshots
In europe as a whole 'interactive TV was estimated to be available in 31 million European households at the end of 2002, creating a potential audience of 72 million viewers'
http://milkshake.dexy.org
Assuming a somewhat standard http client-server app serving the XML and handling user input, here are some other fairly simple applications:
-Accurate "hit counters" for TV shows.
-Cookie-based tracking of viewer's prefrences
-Targeted advertising
-Surviellance method for TIA
This does not sound like a particularly good idea, when there are already existing standards for building interactive television applications. The current, open standard endorsed by Europe is of course MHP (Multimedia Home Platform), which is based on Java and a number of existing standards, such as JavaTV, HAVi and DAVIC.
I can understand some motivation towards building simpler standards (e.g. not requiring a Java VM), but fragmentation in this field will not be a good thing. We're talking about a mass market (television / STB manufacturers) and it needs volume, which calls for a single, common standard.
Of course, I suppose the US industry wants to create its own proprietary standards for interactive television just as for everything else they do.
Its not the set box that usess it..its the applicaiotn running on the set box.. .....Frustrated itv developer........
Don't Tread on OpenSource
Notice how this will make your tv more web-like?? But yet, the media is also trying to turn the WWW more tv like. So, it appears they are trying wash every form of media out to a uniform middle line "safe" grey. How about they turn off TV period. This technology will NOT make tv more interactive. They would control what/how/when/why you would click anything. They would let you have the illusion of being able to interact with a program, but, if I am watching a movie, and suddenly one of those god-forsaken pop-up text balloons pops up over the hero as he lifts a drink to his mouth to tell me "Punch the monkey and you could win a free drink like his!!!" I WILL empty every guns I own into the fscking tv!!!
For those who describe their systems as 'boxen', do you order multiple 'boxen' of corn flakes also?
Tvspy.com is run by Don Fitzpatrick, a well-known agent for "news talent." The site hosts "ShopTalk," the pre-eminent listserv for people who work in the TV news biz. See also vault.com, a job board run by ex-TV news people. The tvspy.com site has nothing to do with spies, TIA, etc. (as far as I know).
Starship Troopers (the movie) style "Would you like to know more?" questions popping up could be kinda cool... :)
Wiwi
"I trust in my abilities,
but I want more then they offer"
i know some r already invading our privacy some way or the other.. but with iTV they will know everything they want about u.. u think its bcz they want to give u the adds u like? well that would be a plus for u! sheeesh!!!
it takes a fool to remain sane..