KUALA LUMPUR (iStar) – Interactive television is expected to be a hit in Asia, as consumers associate television with pleasure and relaxation while seeing computers as work tools, MasterCard (com" www.mastercard.com) said in a statement.
Through OpenTV (www.opentv.com), television viewers in Asia Pacific would be be able to conduct home banking, shop at their favourite stores, and send e-mail, simply by using a TV remote control.
“MasterCard is expected to become a key player in the next evolutionary stage of the payments industry – the introduction of interactive television,” said Jeff Portelli, MasterCard senior vice-president, Product Delivery Group, Asia/Pacific Region.
“Home computer ownership is rising, but the TV is still the most used medium in the home.
“Increasingly, consumers are using multiple access devices to leverage the power of the Internet. The television remote, not unlike other handheld devices such as PDAs and mobile phones, will help to facilitate commerce and thereby require MasterCard payment solutions.
“Together with OpenTV, we can now offer our members the ability to provide true home banking to their customers, from the comfort of their living room,” he said.
Mountain View, California-based OpenTV builds a complete software and infrastructure platform that enables digital interactive television and brings on-demand content to other digital communications devices.
Its software has been shipped with or installed in more than 13.9 million digital set-top boxes worldwide, and has been selected by 41 digital cable, satellite and terrestrial communications networks in over 50 countries, the company said.
In addition, 31 digital set-top box manufacturers have licensed OpenTV’s software, and more than 800 developers have joined the company’s OpenAdvantage developer programme.
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