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Sound & Vision at the IFA : News
NexTView is an extremely comprehensive Electronic
Programme Guide (EPG) which gives viewers a complete overview of available TV programmes in
a simple, easy-to-follow way. With the enormous and ever-increasing amount of TV programmes
on offer to today’s viewers, electronic programme guides will soon be the only feasible way of
presenting the vast amount of programme information. The NexTView EPG contains far more
information and possibilities than conventional teletext guides, and its simple, easy-to-use
on-screen menus mean that viewers can quickly find all the information they need.
The majority of Philips new TVs are compatible with NexTView.
Fast and uncomplicated access Four levels of information NexTView provides structured program information that matches the choice and needs of the viewer. It allows a search to be initiated for a particular programme by title or theme. Philips 16:9 sets with Dual Screen capacity can display the NexTView guide alongside a normal TV programme, so there is no need to miss anything while searching for information. The quality and style of the information presented is an obvious attraction for advertisers, who can take advantage of NexTView’s revenue-generating potential. And NexTView is an open standard, so any broadcaster is free to adopt it High market penetration NexTView already off the ground
NexTView not only carries a wealth of data, it is also flexible enough to let viewers easily choose the type and amount of information. NexTView TVs can store and then retrieve programme data using their teletext processors and memories. There are no waiting times - information is instantly available. A clear, comprehensive menu-driven interface can be navigated by using the remote control. A carefully-designed cursor control means viewers no longer have to bother with digit keys, and to make things even easier, a special feature called NexTView Link automatically programmes a connected VCR to record a programme selected using NexTView.
There are four NexTView levels. The simplest is ‘This channel’ which gives information on the current channel for the near future, while ‘Other channel’ offers the same information for more channels. And if a longer-term outlook is needed, ‘Near information’ will provide information on programmes up to two days ahead, and the most advanced NexTView level, ‘Far information’, will give the full TV offer seven days into the future. The information given includes program title, running time, rating and genre, and additional information is displayed in a header box and message boxes.
Philips started developing NexTView in May 1995 with five other major consumer electronics manufacturers, but this group was soon extended and now includes 19 of the world’s leading consumer electronics companies. All these companies are likely to introduce TV sets fitted with EPG decoders either this year or early next year. Industry predictions are that by the year 2000, 40 per cent of TVs sold in Europe will have EPG decoders.
The infrastructure for NexTView is already in place, as it uses existing teletext data channels to transmit information. The first steps towards widespread acceptance have already been taken. In October 1996, Euronews became the first broadcaster to introduce an EPG service to the ETSI standard, transmitting data provided by Swiss Teletext. There are already NexTView transmissions in The Netherlands, and a large number of other broadcasters are already discussing the launch of EPG.