• Grasp the big picture of interactive TV--the enormously complex merging of digital TV and the Internet
• Understand the workings of every area of the service
• Know what it takes to assemble all the pieces into a usable program or service

Interactive television (iTV)--an evolutionary merging of digital TV and the Internet--is set to take the world by storm! For consumers, iTV technology offers powerful new ways to interact with content providers and merchants. These include enjoying video on demand; participating in online shopping, banking, and gambling; and taking advantage of bonus multimedia features and controls added to news, sports, entertainment, and educational programming.

Organizations assembling the technologies and agents needed to deliver the content, though, find that providing iTV service is a monumental, multifaceted task. The sheer complexity also means that those proficient in one area of the service are often unfamiliar with the workings of other areas. iTV professionals seeking a better understanding of how it works and how it all fits together will find that iTV Handbook: Technologies and Standards, by topic authority Edward M. Schwalb, provides a welcome introduction to all the key issues, technology solutions, and standards surrounding the service. This book covers:

• Issues concerning the most links in the iTV "food chain"--content authors, producers, distributors, broadcasters, cable system operators, receiver manufacturers, and viewers
• Details of the hardware, software, technologies, protocols, and standards that define iTV
• Graphics, audio, video, and asset-management formats used in iTV, as well as security considerations, the broadcast file system, and more

iTV Handbook: Technologies and Standards provides a thorough overview of the iTV service and shows how everything fits together--it's the ideal introductory reference for technical managers, technical sales people, engineers, executives, content authors, and consumers interested in iTV technologies.

Get ready to see TV in a whole new way the move away from analog TV to Digital TV is around the corner. By 2006 you will need a digital television set to see your favorite shows. As the transition begins, more and more interactivity features are deployed. Higher resolution yielding enhanced picture quality and sharpness are just a few of the benefits we can expect. While PCs are important, by now industry leaders realize that interactive TV is inherently different. Moving forward, the number of people involved in this new iTV related fields is likely to grow rapidly. That implies a growing need to create common language and understanding among executives, technical sales, engineers and consumers.This book presents key iTV issues, technology solutions and standards assembled from those technologies. Readers will gain an understanding of the various iTV concepts and the relationships between them. In addition to the general discussions, each chapter contains specific details so as to serve as a starting point for readers who want to become experts in a specific field. The iTV Handbook is a part of Prentice Hall PTR's IMSC Press Series, bringing the latest and most up-to-date multimedia standards to bookshelves --directly from the federally funded IMSC.