Active Delayed Again

[jesserulz233]

from tvpredictions.com


News
DIRECTV Delays Interactive TV
The satcaster now says its ITV service will launch in April.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (March 30) -- DIRECTV said yesterday that it's pushing back its planned Interactive TV launch until next month. No reason was given for the delay.

The satcaster said in early March that the service would begin this month, although no specific launch date was revealed. Called DIRECTV Active, the ITV service will provide viewers with access to local weather information, daily horoscopes, stock summaries and lottery results. Dish owners will be able to retrieve the information with their TV remotes.

At some point, DIRECTV is also expected to provide interactive features for popular programming, such as CBS' Survivor, Fox's American Idol and the horse racing channel, TVG Network.

DIRECTV's ITV service will be free to subscribers. However, the company says it will only be available to owners of "interactive-enabled" DIRECTV receivers, which have been sold over the last 15-18 months.

The main features of DIRECTV ACTIVE will be:

Main Screen
DIRECTV Active's main screen, which will have its own channel, will display stock market summaries and local weather information. In addition, a video loop will provide customer care and Pay Per View highlights.

Weather
The interactive weather feature will provide current and five-day local weather forecasts for thousands of U.S. cities. Viewers will be able to add up to five additional U.S. cities from a list of more than 2,000 cities.

Mix Channels
The Mix Channels, which are currently available on DIRECTV, enable subscribers to view up to six live channels from different networks on one screen. However, after the launch of DIRECTV Active, viewers will be able to tune to one Mix channel by pressing the "Select" key on their remotes. The first three DIRECTV Mix channels are for sports, news and children.

Horoscope
DIRECTV viewers will be able to check their daily horoscope by clicking on an on-screen astrological sign.

Lottery
DIRECTV will offer up-to-the-minute results from the 38 state lotteries in the United States. Current jackpot amounts will also be listed. -30-

Phillip Swann, president of TVPredictions.com, has been quoted on TV technology in dozens of publications and by broadcast outlets, such as The Chicago Tribune, The Hollywood Reporter, Fox News and CNN. If you would like to contact Mr. Swann, he can be reached at 703-505-3064 or at swann@tvpredictions.com

 

[Darkwing Duck]

So it was supposed to launch in Feburary but then no no next month. So we're in March we wait until near the end of March, no no next month! So now we're waiting for April. Am I the only one who is thinking at the end of April we'll be hearing no no next month?

 

[ClemSole]

They can forget about IV all together. I see no usefull purpose for it. I do think the channels could be put to better usage.

 

[Beavis]

Here's a little inside information...

D* is testing ITV with employee accounts to make sure that everything is smooth before it's launched to the general public. So the only ones who have ITV right now are employees, but hopefully soon that will change.

 

[mini1]

Only real useful feature is Weather on Demand.
Its nice to see that D* is working out all the bugs before they release something, unlike dish, who releases something and then tries to deal with the mess it made, before canceling it and trying again.