The new TV frontier
- 5 Dec 06, 07:56 AM
Yesterday saw the launch of - the next generation of set top box. As well as providing Freeview, like many other set top boxes, it also offers a video-on-Demand service (VOD they call it) via broadband connection. So you can now download music, films, sport and other programmes. You can watch what you like when you like, basically. Other services are planned too.
We're all now rather used to watching VOD on our computers. It works well on the web. You click it and a bit of video is delivered to you immediately. None of this 24-hour schedule business as with TV. But being able to get it on your TV set, in your living room, has to be the way forward - no?
On computers you can load access software such as screenreaders, magnifiers and speech input devices hence making PC viewing accessible. The new BT platform is a 'convergence' product, TV is getting closer to the web here. But the big question is, how accessible is this new set-top box offering from BT Vision?
I spoke to Adam Liversage from the phone company turned TV content provider and discovered that accessibility is an ongoing process for the new Vision project:
"BT has consulted widely with both BT's Age & Disability team as well as with other organisations on accessibility issues."
All Freeview content comes with subtitles, and discussions are taking place with content providers to extend this to on-demand programming. BT Vision is not being rolled out with audio description though, nor does it have audio output to deliver talking menus.
BT Vision has also scheduled user testing for the near future. They invited us to monitor progress, so keep reading this blog for the latest developments.
But just how flexible can a set-top box be compared to a personal computer?
If you happen to have got yourself a BT Vision box, please let us know what you make of the accessibility features provided. And we'd be interested to hear your thoughts on accessing Video On Demand if you can't see the onscreen menus telling you what you could be watching.
Video on Demand is the future. Discuss.
Broadcast channels will disappear and make way for TV menus. Discuss.
Set-top boxes could end up denying many from being part of the new TV frontier. Discuss.
Will some of us only ever be able to watch telly on the computer because of this? Discuss?
Such a lot of discussion points seemingly with no hint of a solution yet. Discuss.
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"Broadcast channels will disappear and make way for TV menus"
broadcast channels as we currently know them may disappear, but i believe that there is still space for something that retains a similar concept.
with traditional broadcast channels, viewers are completely passive (safe for the act of switching channels or just not watching the screen and going to brew up).
with most VOD the viewer is almost completely active, becoming the scheduler for every piece of video material.
but sometimes, viewers don't want to actively hunt down each video themselves. they don't want to always have to concentrate and make active choices. sometimes, they just want to sacrifice part of their freedom of choice and be passively entertained (as long as that entertainment fits into their wide or narrow definition of what they find entertaining). therefore, i believe that there will still be a need for channel managers, editors, pre-choosers, moderators, mediators...whatever term you use, the idea of somebody or some*thing*, if we aim for an automated agent-like system that tries to match the user's choices (either from a pre-stored profile, or by analysing past viewing/rating trends, or both) to the current catalogue (maybe even adding a small amount of weighting based on community recommendations, preferences of other users who the current viewer has identified as friends with similar tastes, etc).
so, although all drawing from the same repository of shows, documentaries, commercials, etc which active users can access individually and however/whenever they want, traditional "channels" (bbc one, bbc two, and so on) which offer a digest, a pre-selected viewing order or maybe just a ready made filter to show a particular subset of the overall catalogue, would still have a place for those who just want to be (passively or semi-passively) entertained.
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Initially I ordered online the full BT Sports Package and paid 拢10.00 for a Setanta Sports card and 拢30.00 set up connection fee for installation.
After the engineer installed the box no packages that I ordered were available, I called the BT Vision sales department who advised me that all packages would be set up within 48 hours almost one week and several phone calls later the packages I ordered and the Setanta card became available.
The online advertisement stated that Disney was available on the Value pack and Cartoon Network I am disappointed that no Disney channels were available and the Cartoon Network issue is just a few selections of cartoons my young son likes Ben 10 and this was the reason I ordered the Value pack but after 12 cartoons of Ben 10 that is your lot!.
Sports package 鈥淢atches available hours after kick off鈥 is the selling tool but after a 90 minute match at 2.00pm it鈥檚 not available until 10pm and by this time you usually are aware of any match results and watching it then is a complete waste of time.
The On Demand programmes are normally out with the dubbing making them poor quality 鈥nd films my goodness they are still charging almost 拢2.00 for films that are over twenty years old such as Beverly Hills Cop then that is not a film package.
I would be happy to pay this price for newer film releases but no films are available for free on the full package I purchased.
The box is now reported as faulty and needs a complete 15-30 minute set up and channel scan every time I turn it on. I have lost six episodes of an eight episode series that was recorded in the vision box.
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