The interactive elements of streaming television have yet to
be fully realised. With it’s digital elements, it’s easy to incorporate
something extra in to the broadcast when it’s web based rather than on
television.
Some broadcasters are starting to experiment though, and
adding an extra layer to the online TV experience:
The NOS (public broadcaster in the Netherlands) is going to be
broadcasting a speed
skating championship. Not only on television but also
streaming it live on the web.
What is interesting about the website is that the NOS linked
the time information to the website in addition to the video stream.
Extra Information On Video Stream
You’re watching the game and immediately you see
extra information about the times and the context of these times
compared to other ice skaters in the right column. This information
stays visible until the game is over.
Watching something on the web is more fragmented. On a
television we want a full screen experience, we don’t like it
when so called screen-estate is traded for information (picture in
picture).
In web interfaces it’s the other way around. We
don’t like a full screen experience. It takes away the
feeling of control and interactivity.
We like separate windows with as much information as possible.
The speed skating website is just doing this. It is starting to link
real time data from a database to the web interface.
And this is just the start of the things you can do with live
data and streaming video.
Written by Wilbert Baan, a media and technology enthusiast. Catch his views on art, media, and technology on Hyper Narrative. This post is licensed under the Creative Commons.
