Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Dvorak on Interactive TV
Posted by James Fee in "THOUGHT" @ 02:00 PM
"Interactive TV is kind of like a zombie technology. Nothing can kill it since it's already been dead two or three times--maybe more. So here it comes again. Let's beat it up another time. It's assumed that the great benefit of interactive TV will be that the viewer can get more involved in the TV experience. In the big scheme of things, though, this is a misguided notion. I say this because I already interact with my TV. I turn it on. I turn it off. I go from channel to channel as I desire. I look at the TV schedule. I turn on the PVR or VCR to record shows when I want to watch them later. With a PVR, I can start and stop live TV. This seems to me at least as interactive as mindlessly surfing the Web. Thus, TV is interactive. It has always been interactive. Right?"
John has come up with the term, "Invasive TV" and he might just be right. It is bad enough trying to watch network TV these days and not be totally turned off by product placement, but now we might start seeing little icons appear on our screens inviting us to buy Pepsi or order a pizza right from our seats. Part of the reason I don't weigh over 300 lbs is that I have to usually walk to the telephone to order a pizza. Now it just might be a remote button click away.
:drinking:
John has come up with the term, "Invasive TV" and he might just be right. It is bad enough trying to watch network TV these days and not be totally turned off by product placement, but now we might start seeing little icons appear on our screens inviting us to buy Pepsi or order a pizza right from our seats. Part of the reason I don't weigh over 300 lbs is that I have to usually walk to the telephone to order a pizza. Now it just might be a remote button click away.
:drinking:
