What is the difference between Enhanced and Interactive TV?
These terms have been used almost interchangeably by the industry. The ETVCookbook takes the broad view and considers Enhanced TV to be any new service that cannot be delivered with a regular TV and remote control. Didn’t interactive trials years ago prove that Enhanced Television is a bad idea? The trials in Ohio and Florida years ago proved two things. First, users did indeed value many of the demonstrated applications. Second, the technology costs at the time were far too high for such systems to be economically viable. Today, the picture is very different with the cost of advanced set-top boxes reaching the critical price point of $200. If it is such a good idea and prices have come down, why is it taking so long to get Enhanced Television off the ground? The industry has yet to reach a critical mass with any single content standard and associated platform. Even the largest content developers are waiting for defacto standards to emerge, so they do not have to author for multiple sy
