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Sky Active was the brand name for interactive features on Sky Digital and was available in the UK and Ireland. It enabled a viewer to interact with TV content, respond to an advertisement or access internet-based services.
The service replaced Open.... ,which helped launch Sky Digital's interactive content and was based on Broadcast Services using OpenTV modules. Sky Active instead also made use of Interactive Online Services authored by 3rd parties in WTVML and displayed on the TV using a microbrowser provided by WapTV Ltd. The WTVML Microbrowser and Internet Gateway were 95% acquired by Sky from WapTV in June 2000. The WapTV technology was first used to launch interactive online betting on December 6th 2000, and went on to enable many more Interactive Online Services. With the dual technologies available to them, Sky Active launched many other features and services which viewers enjoyed such as games, email and shopping via their TV.
In 2001, existing Open... keyboard peripherals could be used with the Sky Active service, as well as the Sky Navigator (combining the functions of a keyboard with a Sky+ remote; the typical remote keypad would flip open on a panel to reveal the full keyboard) and the Sky Gamepad (a simple controller device intended for the system's games, most notably Beehive Bedlam). Unlike Open..., Sky Active focused more on Sky-related products and services, including Sky Vegas and At the Races, as well as full interactive services for Sky Movies, Sky Sports and Sky News. [1] Chat sessions were held around major programming. Email could still be done with talk21 as with Open..., but Yahoo! and Demon email accounts were now supported as well using WTVML. Integration with mobile phones was also introduced, allowing users to download ringtones, send SMS messages from their Digiboxes, and receive alerts from Sky News and Sky Sports on their phone. [2]
It could be accessed by pressing the red button on a Sky Digital remote, while watching any Sky Digital channel. Alternatively, there was an entry in the "Interactive" area of the EPG. Sky Active, like the rest of the Sky Digital platform, was powered by the OpenTV interactive software. Also like Open..., the service relied on a telephone connection to work and charges would be levied (as premium rate) based on the calls placed by the Digibox modem, though the channel-specific services (like Sky Sports Active) were usually free. A telephone icon would appear on the screen and the necessary fees would be stated before the viewers went forward with their selection. [3] [4]
In 2001 Sky acquired the remaining 5% of WapTV partly due to the popularity of "red button" picture-in-picture interactive services which could easily be used to enhance live TV channels with online content. These services represented the very earliest examples of the convergence of broadband and broadcast content in the Digital TV industry.
In 2004, a major redesign saw the previous, text-heavy, top page replaced by a visually-based front page, with a video magazine playing full-screen (surrounded by promotions, options and a scrolling ticker); the yellow button would take the user to a 16-screen video mosaic showcasing multiple options. The green button would take users to an alphabetical index of the entire service. This came about after feedback from viewers and a need to prioritise around different audiences, particularly in the daytime and late evening (the service's peak usage hours). [5]
Over time, as more and more people got access to the internet, outside products and services left Sky Active. The service, along with Sky Games, was shut down on 31 January 2015. [6] As of 2020, Beehive Bedlam, the service's signature game, has returned in the form of an app available to users of the Sky Q platform. [7]
BBC Red Button is a branding used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to close on 30 January 2020, but the switch off was suspended on 29 January 2020 following protests.
ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network. Its main shareholders were Carlton Communications plc and Granada plc, owners of two franchises of the ITV network. Starting as ONdigital in 1998, the service was re-branded as ITV Digital in July 2001.
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of over-the-air programming was the most common form of media distribution. As Internet and IPTV technologies continued to develop in the 1990s, consumers began to gravitate towards non-traditional modes of content consumption, which culminated in the arrival of VOD on televisions and personal computers.
The Digibox is a device marketed by Sky UK in the UK and Ireland to enable home users to receive digital satellite television broadcasts from the Astra satellites at 28.2° east. An Internet service was also available through the device, similar in some ways to the American MSN TV, before being discontinued in 2015. The first Digiboxes shipped to consumers in October 1998 when Sky Digital was launched, and the hardware reference design has been relatively unchanged since then. Compared to other satellite receivers, they are severely restricted. As of 2020, Sky Digiboxes have become largely outmoded, superseded by Sky's latest-generation Sky Q boxes and Sky Glass televisions; the previous generation Sky+HD boxes are still in use, however.
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of Sky Group and from 2018 onwards – part of Comcast. It is the UK's largest pay-TV broadcaster with 12.7 million customers as of end of 2019 for its digital satellite TV platform. Sky's flagship products are Sky Q and the internet-based Sky Glass, and its flagship channels are Sky Showcase, Sky Sports and Sky Atlantic.
Interactive television is a form of media convergence, adding data services to traditional television technology. Throughout its history, these have included on-demand delivery of content, as well as new uses such as online shopping, banking, and so forth. Interactive TV is a concrete example of how new information technology can be integrated vertically rather than laterally.
WapTV was the name given to the company which originated the WTVML as a content format for the delivery of Interactive TV applications using Internet Servers. The system is an Interactive television technology platform comprising a mobile browser, a markup language, and a significant collection of associated software tools and services.
Electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive programming guides (IPGs) are menu-based systems that provide users of television, radio and other media applications with continuously updated menus that display scheduling information for current and upcoming broadcast programming. Some guides also feature backward scrolling to promote their catch up content. They are commonly known as guides or TV guides.
Sky Sports Active is a term used by British TV channel, Sky Sports, to describe its interactive sports service. It was launched in April 1999, on Sky Sports 1. Presented by Richard Keys, the first football game that was interactive was Arsenal vs. Manchester United, and it was exclusive to Sky Digital viewers. It is still available by the push of the red button on the viewer's remote control. Viewers can then choose how they watch selected sporting events. They can select alternative camera angles, access various statistics, catch up with match highlights, choose between live matches and place bets through their TV.
Open.... was an interactive digital television service, based on the satellite transmissions of BSkyB. Launching a few months late in August 1999, it only survived until October 2001 when it was acquired and rebranded by BSkyB, losing GB£116 million. Open.... was awarded a Design Council Millennium Product Award.
Mobile content is any type of web hypertext and information content and electronic media which is viewed or used on mobile phones, like text, sound, ringtones, graphics, flash, discount offers, mobile games, movies, and GPS navigation. As mobile phone use has grown since the mid-1990s, the usage and significance of the mobile devices in everyday technological life has grown accordingly. Owners of mobile phones can now use their devices to make photo snapshots for upload, twits, mobile calendar appointments, and mostly send and receive text messages, listen to music, watch videos, take mobile pictures and make videos, use websites to redeem coupons for purchases, view and edit office documents, get driving instructions on mobile maps and so on. The use of mobile content in various areas has grown accordingly.
BBC iPlayer is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services delivered to UK-based viewers feature no commercial advertising. The terms BBC iPlayer, iPlayer, and BBC Media Player refer to various methods of viewing or listening to the same content. Viewing or recording live television broadcasts from any UK broadcaster or viewing BBC TV catch-up or BBC TV on-demand programmes in the UK without a TV licence is a criminal offence.
Freesat is a British free-to-air satellite television service, first formed as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008. Freesat offers a satellite alternative to the Freeview service on digital terrestrial television, with a broadly similar selection of channels available without subscription for users purchasing a receiver.
WTVML is an XML-based and WML-derived content format designed to allow web site operators to easily develop and deploy Interactive TV services, typically it reduces the time taken for web site operators to create a TV Site, and results in the Site being deployable on a larger number of devices, and is capable of being automatically validated, tested and transformed.
Pushbutton was a UK-based digital agency specialising in designing, developing, and delivering interactive television. Pushbutton was acquired by Amazon.com on 28 July 2011 and many of its staff are now members of Amazon Development Centre (London) Ltd.
On-Device Portals (ODPs) allow mobile phone users to easily browse, purchase and use mobile content and services. An ODP platform enables operators to provide a consistent and branded on-device experience across their broadening portfolio of services and typically provides on-device catalogs of content for purchase, deep links to WAP portals, customer care functionality and rich media services such as full track music, TV and video.
Bharti Telemedia Limited, doing business as Airtel Digital TV, is an Indian direct-broadcast satellite service provider owned and operated by Bharti Airtel. Its satellite service, launched in October 2008, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in India. It has a total subscriber base of 10.07 million as of 30 March 2015.
Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) is both an industry standard and promotional initiative for hybrid digital TV to harmonise the broadcast, IPTV, and broadband delivery of entertainment to the end consumer through connected TVs and set-top boxes. The HbbTV Association, comprising digital broadcasting and Internet industry companies, has established a standard for the delivery of broadcast TV and broadband TV to the home, through a single user interface, creating an open platform as an alternative to proprietary technologies. Products and services using the HbbTV standard can operate over different broadcasting technologies, such as satellite, cable, or terrestrial networks.
A smart TV, also known as a connected TV (CTV), is a traditional television set with integrated Internet and interactive Web 2.0 features, which allows users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. Smart TVs are a technological convergence of computers, televisions, and digital media players. Besides the traditional functions of television sets provided through traditional broadcasting media, these devices can provide access to over-the-top media services such as streaming television and internet radio, along with home networking access.
The Nexus Player is a digital media player co-developed by Google, Intel and Asus. It is the second media player in the Google Nexus family of consumer devices. Originally running the Android 5.0 ("Lollipop") operating system, it is the first device to employ the Android TV platform. The Nexus player supports Google Cast, the feature for selecting and controlling media playback on a television that was first introduced by Chromecast. Sales of the Nexus Player were discontinued in May 2016, and product support ended in March 2018.