Researchers Plug In to Interactive TV

1 Nov 2010

The ImTV research project is getting off the ground in Austin and Lisbon.

Selected by the Digital Media Program for FCT, the project is an investigation into the potential of interactive television systems. Unlike the iTV initiatives of the 1990s, which experimented with viewer control of narrative and shot selection, this project looks at existing services like Hulu and YouTube, which offer viewers the ability to select content from large video libraries.

Led by João Miguel Costa Magalhães of UNL and Sharon Strover at UT Austin, the research team has four objectives for this research. First, the team will examine how interactive TV distribution affects producers of content and how it may change their relationships with audiences and market. The team will also examine how this distribution method affects the pace of production and considerations for discovery methods. The third objective emphasizes interfaces used by viewers to access interactive TV content; which interfaces work best for which audiences and which kinds of content? Finally, the researchers will endeavor to integrate the results of this research into recommendations on how to create an optimal TV viewing experience.

The results of this research may aid broadcasters and TV distributors such as RTP and Zon and improve the viewing experience for users. It’s clear that Interactive TV is already here; this research can make it better and expand our understanding of what it means to the industry and society