SINGAPORE: The television set has definitely come a long way in terms of technology. But now, a revolution is set to take place in Singapore where the way TV is watched will change.

The first black and white TV sets in Singapore transformed the way people consumed entertainment. Fast forward half a century and the TV is as complicated as rocket science, with more evolution on the way.

MediaCorp is calling on technology and media companies to share ideas and work together to achieve what is being dubbed as Future TV. It is still a concept at the moment, but some of the ideas already exist in their infant stages.

One idea is having virtual viewing rooms so social groups can interact and watch videos together.

Another is searching for a scene in a film based on one’s memory – for example, the colour of the dress an actress was wearing.

Other media companies envision further changes in video podcast technology.

Giulio Dorrucci, CEO, PGK Media, said: “Try to imagine you have access to a global library of free available content, even movies and films. Then you can just line them up altogether plus you do your show, and then you can become a video DJ and do whatever you want.”

Media companies here involved with Future TV are working out how to resolve the various legal issues such as copyright ownership and licensing involved in such a system.

But that is not all. Future TV also means radical changes in the way advertising works. The vision is for the right ad to go out to the right viewer at the right time.

Steven Chan, Senior Vice President, Interactive Media Division, MediaCorp, said: “If that is the case, then it gives the opportunity for e-commerce to happen.

“If you’re watching a particular video and it brings to mind certain things and the ad can come up that is appropriate to that particular scene, then it is emotionally more engaging for the viewer at that time to make a purchase.”

MediaCorp said some elements of the exciting changes can be seen over the next 12 to 18 months. The push for this is also coming from Singapore’s Media Development Authority.

Michael Yap, executive director, Interactive & Digital Media, Media Development Authority, said: “There’s an opportunity for Singapore to take a leading position in this new form of TV.

“So one of the best ways is to marshal the creativity of the start-ups (and) the strengths of established flagships like MediaCorp to come together and push the boundary of what we think TV would be.”

MDA is currently working with three companies that deal with aspects of Future TV and when new applications are created, MDA can track in which country, and which user is actually using the applications.

This helps in finding out what applications are popular and determining the channel Future TV will take.

Source: Channel News Asia

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