Today I have been invited to talk to you about "interactive" television. What is "interactive" television? Is it culturally driven? Is it technology push? In order for you as content creators to shape dreams and programs for an "interactive" delivery channel, you must discover ways to model story content that drive active engagement by the audience in ways that take advantage of appropriate and available technology.

What is iDTV? In the commercial and policy vernacular of today's broadcast media dialog, Digital Television often references the current allocation of digital spectrum for high-definition broadcast television. For the purposes of this course and this lecture, I prefer to focus on interaction and its implication for content creation and media consumers, rather than restricting the discussion to the future of Digital Television broadcast. I will first discuss the elements that will define iDTV. I will then discuss navigational paradigms as they have emerged over the past 20 years, with particular consideration to three early examples of the interactive medium. Finally, I will present some newer works that suggests the future of iDTV will not be in the living room but will be in delivering television to mobile/portable devices equipped with sound and image capability.