VEILô Co-Developing Interactive TV Technologies With TV Pioneer Sarnoff

VEILô Interactive Technologies has begun a collaboration with Sarnoff Corporation, the Princeton, New Jersey-based TV and digital video pioneer, to commercialize technology for delivering coupon discounts and enabling interactive gaming and commerce through today's TV sets. According to VEIL President and CEO Edward J. ""Ted"" Koplar, in its current form the technology allows viewers to record coupons directly from a standard TV program onto ValuCards, which the viewer can use to get discounts or make purchases at stores or on line. The cards cost as little as $1 and can be distributed as promotional items. The two companies are developing a version for PCs, cell phones, and palm-sized personal digital assistants (PDAs) that will add full interactivity, including instant ordering of advertised products, real-time game-playing, and other functions. ""The VEIL approach gives broadcasters and content providers an avenue to involve their audiences in an interactive experience,"" said Koplar. ""The system also lets advertisers promote impulse sales and track advertising effectiveness. As we go forward it will broaden its reach and its applications to include Internet-linked activities and e-commerce transactions, with Web sites handling fulfillment."" In collaborating with VEIL, Sarnoff is using its experience in the broadcasting and data transmission field to validate VEIL's proprietary platform, and helping in technology development. ""We believe the VEIL platform is both practical and innovative, and we're enthusiastic about its potential for greatly expanding the role of interactive TV,"" said Bruce Anderson, Managing Director of Digital TV at Sarnoff. ""We see this as just the start of a potential cross-media business application.""How VEIL WorksVEIL, which stands for Video Encoded Invisible Light, allows digital information to be inserted into an ordinary television's video image. This additional data rides on the active video signal. It can be transmitted via broadcast, cable, DBS, or home video, and received by low-cost detection devices anywhere the broadcast can be seen. Unlike systems using television's Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) for data transmission, VEIL cannot be stripped from the broadcast signal. It survives video recording as well as digital compression, guaranteeing reliable interactive capability within existing analog television sets. Not limited to TVs or set-top boxes, VEIL decoding devices can be customized and integrated within numerous consumer products.About VEIL Interactive TechnologiesHeadquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, VEIL Interactive Technologies, formerly Koplar Interactive Systems International LLC, is an affiliate of Koplar Communications International, Inc.About Sarnoff CorporationSarnoff Corporation creates and commercializes electronic, biomedical and information technology. Founded in 1942 as RCA Laboratories, Sarnoff's decades of innovation include the development of color television and the liquid-crystal display and a leadership role in creating the digital and HDTV standard for the US.