7.1 Introduction

As described in Chapter 3, technological developments in information and communications technologies and the individualization in modern societies are incentives to develop interactive multimedia services. DTV systems are ideal for providing these types of services. As such, they embody an important part of the convergence process.

Technological developments in the field of DTV have implications for society. Government policy makers must assess these developments and influence them if necessary. The same is true for decision makers in industry and consumer organizations, as they also need to develop strategies based on their various interests.

This chapter discusses several aspects that play a role in the provision of interactive DTV services via CA systems and presents a conceptual model to illustrate the relationship between the technological developments and their consequences. Moreover, this model visualizes per consequence what needs to be considered in order to responsibly incorporate the concerned technologies into society.

7.2 Technological development aspects

This section discusses several aspects of the technological developments in the field of interactive DTV services, which are provided via CA systems ^[1].