Editor's View: Interactivity: Ripe for Mainstream?

by Matthew York
Fall 2001

Interactive TV holds the record for being the longest-anticipated consumer electronics category to manifest itself. One of the challenges here at Smart TV & Sound magazine is to predict exactly when interactive TV will happen, which requires us to speculate why it hasn't happened yet.
Studies show that heavy Internet users have the strongest interest in interactive TV. What they really want is Internet connectivity and a simple user interface for the living room. It should not involve any additional fees. The technology associated with this vision will truly serve the user with its added value.
Besides Internet connectivity, viewers need a living room media storage device, such as a hard drive. Digital video recorders like TiVo or ReplayTV are already achieving this goal.
In the near future, expect to see more ways for hard drives to find their way into the living room. Panasonic, for example, is offering the PV-HS2000 ReplayTV television, a TV set with a built-in hard drive and personal video recorder (PVR).
The newest kid on the block is Microsoft's UltimateTV. Some may view it simply as another PVR. All PVRs have dial-up Internet connections to allow delivery of on-screen, electronic program guides (EPG). However, UltimateTV devices have a very important feature on the back: a port for broadband connection. The broadband connections are not currently utilized, but I expect Microsoft to announce its availability soon.

How about Audio?
When we think of audio, most of us automatically think about music, but sites like audible.com allow users to download “spoken word” audio content to play on a portable device much like books on tape. This category has been popular with commuters.
Spoken word is just one subset of non-music audio. Another category holds great promise, although the audio content is brief. Let's call it “reminder audio.” Whenever a sound prompts us to do something, we are using reminder audio. Software programs like Microsoft Outlook play sounds to prompt people to attend a meeting or make phone calls. I am forecasting that reminder audio will grow in popularity and creativity.
In the future, selective and interactive video and audio will change the way people use media and we will live richer and more fulfilling lives. As a reader of this magazine, you are ahead of the curve.