Interactive television

Interactive television is a form of media convergence, adding data services to traditional television technology. It has included on-demand delivery of content, online shopping, and viewer polls. Interactive TV is an example of how new information technology can be integrated vertically into established technologies and commercial structures. Prior to the development of interactive television, interaction could only be simulated. In the 1950s, there were limited efforts to provide an illusion of interactive experience, most overtly with Winky Dink and You, which encouraged viewers to draw on a vinyl sheet they would attach to a television set. QUBE operated an interactive cable television service in Ohio from 1977 to 1984. An interactive video-on-demand (VOD) television service was proposed in 1986 in Japan, where there were plans to develop an "Integrated Network System" service. It was intended to include various interactive services, including videotelephony, home shopping, online banking, remote work, and home entertainment services. However, it was not possible to practically implement such an interactive VOD service until the adoption of DCT and ADSL technologies made it possible in the 1990s. In early 1994, British Telecommunications (BT) began testing an interactive VOD television trial service in the United Kingdom. It used the DCT-based MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video compression standards, along with ADSL technology. Sega Channel, a service that allowed Sega Genesis owners to download video games on demand via cable television signals, began rolling out in the United States in 1994 and was discontinued in 1998. It has been described as a form of interactive television. The first patent of interactive connected TV was granted in 1999 in the United States; it expired in 2015. ATSC 3.0, also known as "NextGen TV", adds interactivity features to terrestrial television. As of April 2022, broadcasters in 60 media markets in the United States were using ATSC 3.0.