Experiences from an Inhabited Television experiment

Abstract

In this paper we present a vision for a new class of network service aimed principally at the emerging digital television platform. Inhabited Television embraces the proven pulling power of professionally produced broadcast content, with the enduring appeal of online chat and interactive virtual environments. Commissioned by the Channel 4, a public service broadcaster based in the UK, ‘Heaven & Hell — live’ was conceived as an experimental Inhabited Television service. In this paper we describe the technical and design background to the project, and present the main findings arising from delivering it as an experimental service.