Interactive Television is a budding, yet potentially revolutionary, technology application. The future of the Internet, World Wide Web, and television are marching towards a shared and interconnected future, where the Web and television will eventually be linked. In this book, David Feinleib tells the real inside story of the people and companies that took the risk to enter this next age of television and computer. Here you will find the insights of both the individuals and companies that are exploring this digital, interactive future.
* First-hand accounts of industry veterans who made the decision to explore new forms of television and the Internet.
* Complete narration of the adverse set of issues as told by advertising agency executives, producers of popular favorite television shows, and everyone in between.
* Tells the evolution of Interactive Television, offers a technical reference to the new technologies involved, and details case studies of the cutting-edge companies that have begun to bring interactive content to the public today.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Written by leading industry figures, The Inside Story of Interactive TV and Microsoft WebTV for Windows is an excellent, if nontechnical, examination of the emerging WebTV technology and an equally excellent, if biased, guide to the short history of its development.
Although the subject matter is handled without repetition, hesitation, or deviation, the book reads more like a collection of feature-length articles than a fully integrated book. This approach works well, since the authors' enthusiasm is maintained throughout. (The book includes various notables from Microsoft and its partner, NBC, and producers involved with the production of material for "enhanced" TV.) Helpful diagrams and screen shots complement the text. In the first chapter, Larry Namer, president of Comspan Communications, gives an excellent but meandering overview of WebTV's background and aims. Three case studies show how new technologies available to programmers help them enhance their content.
WebTV made its start in the U.S., but with limited success. One criticism that could be leveled against this title is that it is somewhat overawed by WebTV's potential and slow to recognize the very serious problems that stand in the way of its development. It also lacks an international perspective and doesn't address issues involved with European, Asian, or U.K.-based implementations of WebTV. Still, this book does give the "inside story" and is an excellent overview of U.S.-based enhanced and interactive TV. --Josh Smith, amazon.co.uk
Review
"This book is of vital importance to the people in the entertainment industry. Our world is being changed beyond recognition by advances in technology, mainly computers. If we want to stay at the top of our game, we are going to need to better understand how the TV and the PC are coming together. This is a 'must-read' for those who don't want to get left in the dust."
—Tichi Wilkerson-Kassel, Former Publisher, Editor-In-Chief, and Owner, The Hollywood Reporter
"As the largest infomercial company in the world, we are always looking for new and better ways to sell our products. Interactive Television is a major innovation for those of us in the transactional TV business. This book explains how it all works, from the business side to the technical details. I highly recommend it."
—Michael Wex, President & CEO, Guthy Renker TV
"Documentaries at their best are based on personal research and lived experiences by committed filmmakers. They use the best and most compelling technologies to tell their stories. Enhancing the Documentary Channel allows us to satisfy our interested audiences. So as the community of independent documentary filmmakers comes to learn the benefits of this expanded medium, as described in The Inside Story of Microsoft® WebTVT for Windows®, they will not only look forward to it...they will demand it!"
—John Forbess, Chairman & CEO, The Documentary Channel
—Tichi Wilkerson-Kassel, Former Publisher, Editor-In-Chief, and Owner, The Hollywood Reporter
"As the largest infomercial company in the world, we are always looking for new and better ways to sell our products. Interactive Television is a major innovation for those of us in the transactional TV business. This book explains how it all works, from the business side to the technical details. I highly recommend it."
—Michael Wex, President & CEO, Guthy Renker TV
"Documentaries at their best are based on personal research and lived experiences by committed filmmakers. They use the best and most compelling technologies to tell their stories. Enhancing the Documentary Channel allows us to satisfy our interested audiences. So as the community of independent documentary filmmakers comes to learn the benefits of this expanded medium, as described in The Inside Story of Microsoft® WebTVT for Windows®, they will not only look forward to it...they will demand it!"
—John Forbess, Chairman & CEO, The Documentary Channel
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Book Behind The Times,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Inside Story of Interactive Television and Microsoft WebTV for Windows (Paperback)
There are few books available today that discuss interactive television, so it's great that there's this one to help explain it. However, as someone who has been involved in this business for 2 years now, I found the book blatantly biased toward PC-based interactive TV programming -- something that in the last year has taken a back seat to settop box-based interactive TV programming. Also, the vendors and producers mentioned in the book are not necessarily the industry leaders. The book makes no mention of Screamingly Different Entertainment, B3TV, Mixed Signals Technologies, or Wink. Take this book for what it is: a corporately penned tale about interactive TV with an agenda, but by no means a comprehensive, balanced overview.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Foundation,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Inside Story of Interactive Television and Microsoft WebTV for Windows (Paperback)
I had to get up to speed on the world of WebTV quickly. This book did it for me. If you're a beginner like I was, this is the first book you should read before getting into the details through other, more industry-specific sources.
0 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
give an aspect of the future,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Inside Story of Interactive Television and Microsoft WebTV for Windows (Paperback)
function of the Web tv and feature of the web tx
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