The set of primary services constituting the must of UNIC are commonly gathered under the term of Triple Play services. These are mainly entertainment services using the TV set as a universal gateway for consumers at home. They all present some differences compared to the usual Triple Play services offered today. Another set of services is further defined to exploit the possibilities of UNIC to provide new original features to consumer or to extend them to business users.
The list of defined services is not exhaustive neither it is supposed to be supported entirely by the UNIC project. This list is solely intended to provide a general overview of the possibilities of UNIC in the context of TV evolution.
Real Triple Play
Beyond Internet services: Web2TV, Email2TV, Chat2TV, Music Download/Playback, Online Gaming, Home on Demand Gaming, Extreme Online Role-Playing Game (XORGS) Audience, Cyber-Gaming. Internet TV-centric services are mostly intended for people who do not own computers in order to make the World Wide Web available to everyone.
Beyond TV services: SD/HD TV, Personal TV, Interactive TV, Interactive TV return Channel, Personal Video Recording (PVR), Time Shifting (TS), Video on Demand (VoD), Electronic Program Guide (EPG), Mosaic. Several of these are already delivered by terrestrial and satellite Digital TV providers using the current PSTN return channel for interactive services. Exploiting the satellite return channel combined with the DVB-S2 technology will allow UNIC to be an attractive alternative.
Beyond phone services: Phone2TV, Video Conferencing. The TV-Centric structure will ensure that any person with a TV set can potentially communicate with voice and/or video with one or more other distant persons. These services already exist on terrestrial broadband but require a computer, a webcam and adequate video conferencing software. Having a TV-Centric video conferencing service available to any person owning a TV would have a great impact on the business context, considering that it provides a turnkey solution for video conferencing.
More Services
Surveillance and monitoring services: Home/Office Surveillance/Automation, Weather Monitoring, Crop Monitoring & Management. These services are designed mainly for industrial applications in developed area and to meet local governments’ needs in rural areas in developing world.
Tourism services: Interactive Travel Channel, Virtual Cultural Visit (VCV), Real Estate Timeshare Information, Nightlife Events Information, Weather Forecast. It will be possible to access to tourism information in remote areas lacking Internet connection.
Other services:Bringing Courses Into Home, TV All Together, Live Announcement, Assisted Living, TV Health Centre. UNIC can give a large contribution to the continuing trend of distance learning and home-based care services reshaping the way consumers use Digital TV.
