Friday, April 19, 1996 | 4:47 a.m.
What will consumers buy through interactive television?
Nobody really knows yet.
That was the consensus of a panel at the National Association of Broadcasters' convention Wednesday.
But panelists predict that consumers could possibly buy anything and everything they currently buy direct or from catalogs -- from flowers to computer software, entertainment to personalized news programs.
What industry experts seem to disagree on is how future television programming will be delivered into the home.
Daniel Haggerty of EN Technology Corp., New Milford, N.H., thinks people will receive television broadcasts on their TVs and other information via computer.
His panel presentation included a video demonstration of how computer software manufacturers could make use of both television and the personal computer to sell software packages.
As the software is being demonstrated on the television screen, the consumer can turn on his computer, link with the manufacturers' computer and download that software directly -- no more running down to the corner computer store to pick up the software package.
Rick Kelman, director of operations for the New York City-based Image Group, thinks consumers will begin to receive television programming on-line, especially in light of the recent introduction by Gateway of a 31-inch television that doubles as a personal computer. A click of a button changes modes. Other companies are expected to roll out the same technology soon.
His company is beginning an on-line music television program in real time on June 5 at onlinetv.com.
He foresees archiving programs for up to a year so viewers could have video on demand. They would pay for the service with a debit card on the Internet, he explained.
Bruce Crowley, president of ACTV Interactive of New York City, showed an example of how his company's HyperTV combines the best of the Internet with the best of television.
For sports, a viewer could press one button on the television remote control and receive regular sports programming. Another button would isolate one star player on the screen, a third button would reveal an in-depth statistical analysis, a fourth button would allow the viewer to watch the play again.
"This allows you to see what you want to see, when you want to see it," said Crowley.
The emerging segment of the broadcast industry will occur in five to 15 years and will change the definition of media, panelists agreed.
Peter Waldheim, president of the Interactive Television Association in Washington, D.C., said he recently spoke to a group of newspaper editors in Dallas-Fort Worth who fear the new technology and what it's going to mean for the future of the print industry. Many newspapers have already adapted similar technology to offer interactive versions of their newspapers.
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