Leaders from key international standards organizations in the computing, communications and broadcasting industries have come together to start the Advanced Interactive Content Initiative (AIC). The goal of AIC is to coordinate multiple standards efforts to produce a common specification for interactive 2D, 3D and streaming content for digital television.

This content will be delivered via ATSC broadcast and cable to consumer set-tops, personal computers, and mobile c ommunication devices. Members of the AIC are individual leaders in the standardization of Broadcast HTML, VRML and MPEG. These leaders formed AIC as a common forum to ensure the interoperability of their respective standards and to draft a single specification for a new class of consumer- quality interactive content. This AIC specification will target low-cost set-top and other digital television devices to be released in 1999.

Content based on the AIC specification will be an interactive experience that matches the visual quality and ease of use consumers expect from their television. The AIC specification will integrate Broadcast HTML, VRML 97 and MPEG-4 and will be available in two profiles. The base profile will include only 2D streaming functionality while the performance profile will include both 2D and 3D streaming content. The profiles will be designed so that AIC content will adapt to the capabilities of the receiving device.

A timeline has been set to allow products using the AIC specification to be available by Q4 1999. The AIC specification will be functionally frozen by 20 December 1998 and sample implementations will be ready by 20 March 1999. Also concurrent to this timeline, the specification will go through the open standards processes of ISO/MPEG, VRML and ATSC.

http://toocan.philabs.research.philips.com/misc/aici/