ARTHUR

PBS - WGBH, Tim Halle

Prototype Technology: iVAST MPEG-4 platform2.0

WGBH's visionary "eArthur" prototype, created in 1999 for Marc Brown's highly popular ARTHUR TV series, was far ahead of the curve in developing literacy and reading applications for interactive television. The AFI Enhanced TV Workshop implementation addresses results from user testing with children, taking a creative approach to solving branding, functionality, and technical challenges.

Working with the "Arthur Meets Mister Rogers" episode, this team addressed usability issues while maintaining the integrity of the educational and entertainment experience. Show features include an animated glossary menu with clickable captions, "Quiz Show," "Make a Face," "Dress Up," and "You Decide." Activities all feature video pause and return capabilities. Technical achievements include a multicast menu where viewers can choose one of two video streams with pause, play, fast forward, rewind, multiple caption tracks, read-along "karaoke" captions, and VOD offerings that include a Mr. Rogers interview.

Credits: AFI: WGBH: Beyond Z Interactive Media: Digeo: Vulcan: iVast: Metro Encoding