The Red Button is a

push-button A push-button (also spelled pushbutton) or simply button is a simple switch mechanism to control some aspect of a machine or a process. Buttons are typically made out of hard material, usually plastic or metal. The surface is usually flat or sh ...

on the

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...

for certain digital television

set top boxes A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...

in the UK, Australia, Belgium,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

and by

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...

and

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

in the United States. It is for

interactive television Interactive television is a form of media convergence, adding data services to traditional television technology. It has included on-demand delivery of content, online shopping, and viewer polls. Interactive TV is an example of how new information ...

servicesRed-button Interactive TV Services
/ref> such as

BBC Red Button BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to cl ...

and

Astro Astro may refer to: Entertainment and media * Astro (South Korean band), a South Korean boy band * Astro (UB40) (1957–2021), member of the British reggae band UB40 * Astro (Chilean band), a Chilean indie rock band * Astro (Japanese band), ...

(Malaysia). When interactive programmes are broadcast a ''Press Red'' icon will appear on the television screen. Accreditation for the protocols behind what were originally known as 'side channels' is commonly given to London-based Entertainments Consultancy company 'Southbank UK' (now disbanded).

Red Button in the UK

Sky UK Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...

previously used a video of a dog and a duck playing together and saying "press the red button" to promote the red button to its viewers. ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

'' used the red button as a voting device. The feature also enables several different feeds from an event, thereby enabling viewers to select between events or sporting matches that may be taking place simultaneously. For example, when the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

was aired, viewers could choose to view matches from multiple camera angles, or hear an alternate commentary.

Red Button in other places

Hong Kong's

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...

uses the Red Button to access TVBar, an interactive service on

TVB Finance & Information Channel TVB Finance, Sports & Information Channel (formerly TVB Finance Channel and TVB Finance & Information Channel, ) is a 24-hour non-stop Cantonese finance information channel based in Hong Kong and operated by TVB. The channel provides financial, ...

and

TVB J2 TVB J2 () is a Digital TV Channel specially established by Television Broadcasts Limited, a commercial television station which first began broadcasting in 1967, for their new and free digital TV network in Hong Kong. It was officially launch ...

. The United States'

satellite service utilizes the Red Button in certain interactive capacities, such as for instance, bringing up the "ScoreGuide", a list of sports matches and scores being played at that instant, on a sports network like

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. However, for older boxes from about 2006-2014, the red button was mainly used for guide functions in conjunction with three other colored buttons, much like Sky Digital; the newest remote that DirecTV has started to offer alongside their new "Genie" whole-home DVR only has the red button, while the other buttons' functions were relegated to other keys. DirecTV is the only TV provider in the US to provide red button services; other providers do offer interactive services, but do not use a red button (such as rival

Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...

and IPTV provider Verizon Fios), and still others do not offer much in the way of interactivity.

References

External links

* {{cite news, title=How to take advantage of interactive TV services: Press the red button to find out how interactive applications can change the way you watch the box, author=Jane Hoskyn, work=Computeract!ve, date=2006-06-01, url=http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ca/pc-help/1907089/how-advantage-interactive-tv-services, publisher=VNU Business Publications, url-status=dead, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330035925/http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ca/pc-help/1907089/how-advantage-interactive-tv-services, archivedate=2012-03-30 Interactive television

Red Button in the UK

Red Button in other places

See also

References

External links