InTouch digital televison service

We worked for three years with Kirklees Metropolitan Council to develop online public services accessed via digital television. The project was a pilot funded through central government to explore the use of digital TV. Television offers some advantages over computers in terms of market penetration and familiarity. It also addresses the demographic issue whereby computer use and ownership is lower in deprived social groups. Technically, authoring for television is very different from normal screen work because the display has to work across a living room; this means things have to be big and also many of the subtler features of compter displays such as use of colour won't work. The Kirklees pilot was seen as particularly innovative due to its use of local people as community content producers and editors.