Interactive Television Demystified [Paperback]

Jerry Whitaker (Author)

Book Description

Series: Demystified | Publication Date: February 15, 2001

Interactive television is a combination of the TV, the PC and the Internet. This is a basic introduction to interactive television; what it is, what services are possible and probable, how it is affecting and will affect television, cable and computer industries.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1st edition (February 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071363254
• ISBN-13: 978-0071363259
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,788,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enough information to not feel like an complete idiot., April 9, 2002

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Interactive Television Demystified (Paperback)

Book could *definitely* do a better job of specifying which of its sections are relevant to Digital TV in general, and which are relevant to Interactive Television in specific. You do need to understand digital tv to understand the technical issues behind Interactive Television, but that should be made clear(er) by the editor.

This said, Whitaker does a good job of putting together enough information so that if you have enough media/technical background, you should be able to discuss iTV issues with some facility.

The book is divided into chapters written by separate authors, with each chapter having its own references and bibliography appended. Chapters include:

-The Promise of Interactive Television
-Video and Audio Compression
-Program and System Information Protocol
-The DVB System
-Standardization Issues
-Metadata Management
-Internet and TV Convergence
-Content Distribution
-PC-Based Receivers
-Interactive Videoconferencing

Honestly, for me the book was a little bit heavy on the digital television technical stuff and a little bit light on the possible business models and applications. Good glossary, however, and the references are also quite valuable.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time, December 11, 2001

By 

bruce cohen (South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Interactive Television Demystified (Paperback)

The chutzpah these guys have. This book has nothing whatsoever to do with interactive TV. It's a technical overview of Digital TV (all the boring technical detail about standards, compression etc that is freely available on the web). They don't even mention a word about middleware providers(Open TV, Liberate etc); they don't deal at all with the business/marketing or media issues related to ITV. If u are looking fo information about interactive TV, look elsewhere. I feel ripped off and (angry).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Useful Overview of Interactive TV, March 9, 2002

By 

Jeff White (Beaverton, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Interactive Television Demystified (Paperback)

This book covers the technical basics upon which interactive TV is built. It is not a business-oriented look at interactive services, which are still very fluid. What it does cover, quite well, is the fundamental technologies that make interactive TV work. Considerable detail is provided on digital television, the real enabler of this technology, and the standards being developed to make it all work. I found the book a good primer on the technologies involved.