POLICY :: Next Generation Internet > Interactive TV (archived)
This page was archived when this portal was restructured in early 2007. For up to date information, please visit the portal's Broadcasting theme.
Living room access to Information Society Services
Interactive television could provide a powerful alternative 'on-ramp' to the Information Society, helping make Information Society services more accessible.
One way to make Information Society services accessible to more people is to liberate them from the ?tyranny of the PC?. In this multiplatform approach, both mobile internet devices and interactive television could play critical roles. With television penetration currently close to 100% across the EU, a successful roll out of interactive television could make sophisticated Information Services more accessible to many more Europeans.
Interactive TV is delivered over digital TV broadcasting systems, which can offer a range of other benefits to consumers, such as more channels or higher quality, widescreen pictures. Other elements in this increasingly high-definition picture are the rise of DVD and home cinema systems in the home and the availability of content in widescreen and high-definition formats - see The contribution of wide-screen and high definition to the global roll-out of digital television (pdf, Commission Staff Working Paper: Jan 2004).
Many of the technologies behind today's digital TV systems, such as the MPEG2 standard used in DVD, were largely developed through EU-funded research in the 1990s. This work continues, underpinning European competitiveness in this field. Coordination across Europe on issues as diverse as spectrum use, copyright and audiovisual policy will also play a key role in stimulating growth.
Standards and Regulation
Spectrum Issues
Digital switchover will make interactive TV more accessible and free up valuable spectrum for other applications
Digital television is currently dominated by satellite broadcasting (see the Satellite Communications theme), where the focus has been on offering multi-channel TV rather than improving picture quality. This dominance will probably remain until today's analogue terrestrial systems have been 'switched over' to digital.
Digital TV is more 'spectrum-efficient' than today's analogue technology, so this switchover will both make interactive TV more accessible and free up valuable spectrum for other applications. See:
- the Communication on the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting (September 2003), which analysed the main switchover issues but did not set a harmonised date for switchover across the EU (read the press release);
- The EU's radio spectrum policy's work in coordinating and harmonising the use of spectrum across Europe;
- the EU's electronic communications framework, which regulates the digital broadcasting aspects of digital television and helps ensure that the market-led roll-out of digital television services benefits from fair competition - see the Digital Broadcasting site and read Mr Erkki Liikanen's March 2002 speech.
Enhanced TV, Interactivity and Interoperability
"Interoperability is highly desirable in a multi-platform environment..."
Digital terrestrial TV will nevertheless not be able to offer as many channels as satellite broadcasters, and will need other ways of setting itself apart. These include higher picture and sound quality, interactive services and other 'enhanced TV' features, such as replacing the standard videorecorder with a hard disk, or allowing viewers to 'pause' live television and fast-forward through television commercials.
At the heart of both interactivity and enhanced TV is the software application which runs the 'set top box' or digital TV. Third parties can only offer their applications and software over digital TV if they can get access to this software's Applications Programme Interface (API), so this access is important if these systems are to be made interoperable, as pointed out in Open platforms in digital television and 3G (July 2003):
"Interoperability is highly desirable in a multi-platform environment ... creating economies of scale that ... ultimately lead to lower prices for consumers ... in turn promoting rapid deployment of new products and services. Interoperability ... will encourage the deployment of a wider range of services ... This will ultimately break down product market boundaries and create larger markets ... resulting in higher levels of competition ... greater innovation and lower consumer prices.
On the other hand, standards can lead to a diminished incentive to innovate ... [and] can also result in reduced competition between platforms and service providers."
The Communication analysed how proprietary technologies could impact on consumer choice and identified follow-up measures for both Member States and the Commission (read the press release).
Content issues
The entire European television industry is also regulated via the EU audiovisual policy, in particular:
- The Television Without Frontiers Directive, currently under review, aims to create the conditions necessary for the free movement of television broadcasts within the EU by ensuring minimum standards for consumers and a level playing field across Europe for companies in the sector;
- The Recommendation on Protecting Minors and Human Dignity in Audiovisual and Information Services was adopted in 1998 to provide guidelines for national legislation in the area of deal with illegal and harmful content over any electronic media. The framework will be updated to account for new technologies in 2004 (read the press release). For more information, see the Safer Internet Programme.
Research, Development and Stimulation
The Information Society Technologies research programme's Networked Audio-Visual Systems, Home Platforms for Rich Media Communication Strategic Objective funds research across the entire 'networked audio-visual value chain', from consumer electronics and telecom manufacturers to broadcasters, software companies and content creators.
See, in particular, "IST: Overview of Home Networked AV Systems" (October 2003, pdf): a 10 page survey of how digital TV and other technologies are converging to create tomorrow's ?connected home? environments.
One answer to the proliferation of digital TV standards is to ensure the development of content management solutions which enable content to be created once and packaged for different platforms - see Cross-media content for leisure and entertainment, which funds research into the full digital content chain from creating content to multi-channel, cross-platform access.
Updated 11 March, 2004.
DG Information Society