What is Interactive TV (iTV)

Interactive television describes any number of efforts to allow viewers to interact with television content as they view.

Interactive TV is often described as "lean back" interaction, as users are typically relaxing in the living room environment with a remote control in one hand. This is in contrast to the personal computer-oriented "lean forward" experience of a keyboard, mouse and monitor. In the case of "two-screen" Interactive TV, however, there may be a mix of "lean-back" and "lean-forward" interaction. There has been a growing proclivity to media multitasking, in which multiple media devices are used simultaneously (especially among younger viewers). This has increased interest in two-screen services, and is creating a new level of multitasking in interactive TV known as "coactive TV."

For one-screen services, interactivity is supplied by the manipulation of the API of the particular software installed on a set-top box, referred to as 'middleware' due to its intermediary position in the operating environment. Software programs are broadcast to the set-top box in a 'carousel'.

The set-top box can then load and execute the application. In the UK and European countries this is typically done by a viewer pressing a 'trigger' button on their Remote Control (e.g. the red button, as in 'press red'). Hence the name of the Blog!

More to come...

Source: www.wikipedia.org