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HyperTV fuses Java with television

EarthWeb and ACTV partner to bring narrowcasting to the Internet

By Kieron Murphy, JavaWorld.com, 05/01/96

With a slogan of "Stop Viewing, Start Using," EarthWeb, LLC, and ACTV Inc. announced HyperTV on March 26. HyperTV is a Java-based software application that enables television programmers to send interactive Web content in real time simultaneously with video feeds. According to the two companies, HyperTV will allow computer users to simultaneously view television programming and access Web frames via the Internet. HyperTV, scheduled to launch by this summer, will be offered to the public at no charge. Fees will be collected from broadcasters.

"HyperTV combines the best of television with the best of the Internet -- and it's a total software play," said William C. Samuels, chairman of ACTV, based in New York City. "It provides a synergistic experience by allowing broadcasters to provide related Web addresses directly to users in real time simultaneously with television content."

"Users only need to turn on their TV or TV card and visit our Web site using a Java-enabled browser," said Jack D. Hidary, president of EarthWeb, also based in New York. "HyperTV streams content to the desktop utilizing Sun Microsystems' Java programming language. This technology currently supports either analog or digital television broadcasts without broadcasters or users having to alter their existing systems. It's also simple for program producers to create and distribute HyperTV. TV programmers enter URLs into a HyperTV server, then the server sends the URLs to users online. Users then can create hotlists or interactively browse for more detailed information."

"HyperTV provides a system whereby a broadcaster can determine which Internet addresses should arrive at the user's Web browser at what time during the broadcast," said Nova Spivack, co-founder and vice president of EarthWeb. "The users receive these in a Java applet that makes a direct connection back to the HyperTV system, and that applet tells the browser to go get that page. So if you're watching, say, a Lakers game, the broadcaster could send you Magic Johnson's home page and make the information there available to anyone who wants to view it. What's nice about the system is that, since we use Java, it works on all systems today. Moreover, by using this system, we can really personalize information for different users. If we had chosen the route of sending the data over the video signal, we wouldn't be able to do that."

The two companies stressed the distinction between their new system and VBI (the Vertical Blanking Interval), which is transmitted with a broadcaster's analog video signal, requiring decoder software and hardware. In another system known as Intercast, Web pages are sent to users as part of their TV service. The developers of the new system stressed that by relying on VBI, Intercast faces unavoidable bandwidth constraints, as only a fixed amount of information can be delivered over VBI. In addition, they noted, HyperTV is compatible with both analog and digital transmission technologies, whereas Intercast offers only analog service.

 

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