I do not want to work in a sector of this industry where the dreams of what the technology promises are to be realized after my death or retirement. Hopefully with inventor’s spirit, the former will happen before the latter…
Televisions and set top boxes are now available at your local retail electronics outlet that have technologies that enable basic interactivity. The content that has been developed to date ( which I have seen ) is tertiary to the TV viewing experience. Based on my conversations with some Hollywood industry professionals, it will probably be some time before we see content being produced that immerses the viewer, now the user, with all of these complimentary technologies. A good pal of mine who produces some high profile television and movie content put me through the ringer when I tried to simply explain this TV tech layer to him. He was more concerned with Neilsens and the Networks than how he could differentiate his future offerings by utilizing this layer in his storytelling. It is after all an advertising game…
I have been in “Interactive TV” in some form or another since 1995. I have been deeply immersed in it since 2000. We all thought it was 2 years away for the last 15 years. Now that it is truly emerging as an available technology, we might only have 10 more years before someone creates the experience that fosters adoption.
