CMC to Debut Interactive App for 3D

Comcast Media Center is taking interactive TV into the third dimension, latching on to the growing 3DTV buzz. CMC's HITS unit will take the wraps off its first Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format-enabled interactive application optimized for 3DTV this week at the 2010 Cable Show in Los Angeles.

The 3D EBIF app allows MSOs to ensure that on-screen elements -- such as text or buttons -- can be delivered in 3D format to their subscribers, and is designed for the current generation of 3DTVs being marketed this year by consumer-electronics manufacturers, CMC said. Programmers are increasingly looking to deliver 3D programming, but if the program guides and other on-screen applications aren't in 3D the effect can be jarring for a viewer.

"The 3D interactive application demonstrates how all elements of content can coexist in a 3D environment," CMC chief operating officer Gary Traver said in a statement. "We have successfully integrated text, images and video feeds into a seamless viewer experience. This technology enables more rapid adoption of 3D programming and promotes the continued growth of interactive television in the future."

HITS offers interactive services through its Advanced Interactive Services (AxIS) suite of solutions for the development, launch and support of EBIF apps. HITS AxIS is deployed in beta to five MSOs and supports 30 EBIF applications from 23 different vendors, including caller ID on TV and T-commerce.

CMC, based in Centennial, Colo., is Comcast's content management and distribution subsidiary.

By Todd Spangler, Multichannel