Introduction to interactive television

Abstract

The paper gives an overview on the possibilities of interactive television. A picture of the system could be: the Remote Control is used to select a service via the Navigation System. The request is sent via the Return Path to the Control System which locates the required data in the Storage Hierarchy and presents it to the Transmission System which delivers it to the Set Top Box for display on the television. The Subscriber Management system is informed so that it can make any relevant charge. IBM is involved in all the aspects described and has made very significant contributions to the underlying technologies required to drive interactive Television and is working closely with all the standards bodies to try to ensure a coherent future.