The possibility of taking part in surveys or quizzes reinforces the interactive elements of ITV portals. In cases
where a return channel has been set up, these functions can be used quickly and easily using the remote control. Every day, ORF INFOTEXT offers a „Question of the Day“ or voting functions. The viewers can thus express their opinions on relevant issues related to sports, information or culture. The results are published in the portal as soon as they are available.
These interactive elements can be accessed via the navigation bar using the arrow keys on the television remote, and in order to confirm a selection the viewer simply presses the OK button. The data is submitted via a return channel connection to a data processing center (p. 80 ff). Viewers can then view the correct answer to a question or the results of a survey in the same portal. In addition to this and other voting functions, ITV viewers can also influence the content of television shows themselves. Under the menu item „Film Request of the Week,“ ORF INFOTEXT makes it possible to vote for one of three films to be shown. The film which receives the largest number of votes is then aired on ORF on one of the following days.
The ORF OK Infotext portal was developed by ORF‘s in-house ITV development team in cooperation with the Styrian IT company BearingPoint. The MHP application is programmed flexibly so that it can be offered in various colors and versions with a minimum of effort. The portal‘s MHP basis can also be used to develop entirely new portals. For example, an additional portal was developed for the cable provider Aichfeld TV by adapting the ORF INFOTEXT portal.
