Interactive TV

by Tony Kilcollins
Winter 2002/Spring 2003

More television shows than ever offer interactive components, allowing viewers to do more than just sit and stare at the screen.

The simplest form of interactivity allows viewers to contact shows by phone and talk with the talent on the air. Slightly more sophisticated shows allow viewers to place WebCam calls and be seen on the air while talking with the on-air talent.

Enhanced programs deliver additional information to viewers using ATVEF-compliant, Wink-enabled and/or OpenTV-enabled tuners. These tuners exist in some cable boxes, satellite tuners and WebTV-type set-top boxes. The additional information is typically displayed when a viewer calls it up with the click of a remote control button, as an overlay or sidebar on the TV screen itself.

Interactive programs, like enhanced programs, deliver additional information to viewers, but also record the responses people make. In some cases, viewers can use an interactive commercial to order a pizza.

In a number of cases, interactive game shows can tally viewer scores and award prizes. Some interactive dramas use viewer input to determine the outcome of a story.

Some programs make use of "single-screen interactivity" that is, they allow viewers to interact with the program using nothing more than their remote controls.

Others offer "dual-screen interactivity" which requires viewers to log onto the program's Web site, by way of computer, while they watch the TV show. The Web sites answer back with interactive functions geared to the airing program, and, like single-screen interactive shows, can synchronize with on-air events and have an effect on their outcomes.

Some programs offer interactivity through both the single-screen and dual-screen varieties, and viewers can enjoy them with the appropriate equipment for either form. (See the Interactive TV Hardware sidebar.)

No matter what form of interactivity you use, our sampling of interactive television programming will help you take advantage of all that iTV has to offer.

[Sidebar: Interactive TV Hardware]
What You Need to Go Interactive

One-Screen Interactive TV