Interactive TV company makes Los Angeles debut.

Television producers and syndicators asked to participate

Representatives of a Virginia company marketing a live interactive television product were in Los Angeles last week attempting to sign up TV producers and syndicators to participate in the new service, which they plan to have on the market by Christmas.

Executives with TV Answer Inc. say the technology could revolutionize the Los Angeles media industry, greatly increasing the audience for syndicated game shows, sports programs and award shows, as well as viewer response to advertisements and infomercials.

While other companies have released prerecorded interactive television products -- most notably Commodore's CDTV, and CD-I from Philips Interactive of Los Angeles -- this would be the first product that allows viewers to interact with live television.

Interactive television generally refers to systems that allow viewers to make viewing choices using a remote control and a Macintosh-style menu board on the screen. The system developed by TV Answer is designed mainly for ordering items advertised in direct response commercials or on home shopping programs, responding to polls and participating in contests without using a telephone.

Warner New Media in Burbank is developing a live interactive system that would allow viewers to choose such things as camera angles, languages and background information to accompany a live program, but that technology has yet to hit the mass market.

"We feel that's limited in terms of consumer demand," TV Answer Executive Vice President Don Lintvet said of Warner's system. "We want to separate ourselves from some of the experimental interactive. This (TV Answer) technology can happen now for a relatively low cost."

Warner so far has been marketing only prerecorded interactive programs for use with a home computer system. Its live interactive system, still in development, is designed to work with cable.

TV Answer works directly with the television, independent of cable, satellite and roof-top antenna systems. It also can program VCRs to record shows, eliminating the need for VCR-Plus, a remote control system for simple VCR programming sold by a Pasadena-based Gemstar Development Corp.

TV Answer estimates that its hardware, which includes a VCR-size "box" and a gun-shaped remote control, will be priced between $300 and $700.

Stan Cornyn, president of Warner New Media, predicted that the cost will keep consumers away.

"There's no doubt in my mind that if they gave me the gun and the box, I would use it," Cornyn said. "But what have you got that I would pay $500 for? I think the cost of the hardware would turn people off."

Warner's system will probably include no purchase costs, but rather will be paid for through an additional monthly charge on the consumer's cable bill. Because Warner's system requires state-of-the-art fiber optic cable to work, "it will be awhile before it's financially viable," Cornyn said. But he isn't worried about being shut out of the market by TV Answer.

"If they were able to sweep America overnight, yes, (they'd be a threat), but I doubt they can do that," said Cornyn. "I think you're going to find a whole lot of companies interested in this, and each is going to be pushing its own technology."

Last month, the Federal Communications Commission allocated a small piece of the radio spectrum for interactive television service, paving the way for TV Answer to hit the airwaves. Operators must be licensed by the FCC to serve a specific geographic area.

Viewer choices will be sent via radio signal from the TV Answer home unit to the local operator's facility, from which they'll be sent by satellite to TV Answer headquarters and on to the various service providers (advertisers, game shows, banks, credit card companies, etc.)

"Obviously programming will have to change," said Lintvet at a news briefing in Beverly Hills last week. "That's why we're in Los Angeles." He wouldn't specify which producers/syndicators the company was meeting with.

TV Answer will charge service providers a set-up fee, plus bill them per viewer response, Lintvet said. Individual shows and advertisers may also choose to bill consumers per response to recoup their costs.