The cable companies' superior technology allows them to offer interactive content and video-on-demand as well as a regular phone service and high-speed internet access.

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Bob Liodice, who heads the ANA, says it is putting Canoe together with a few ANA member companies to test the interactive TV and video-on-demand space.

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In the meantime, most of the 11.1 million boxes deployed by the major cable companies have puny, 33-megahertz processors too slow for the code-heavy TV Guide Interactive to easily add video-on-demand and the like.

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Customers will use the platform to receive regular TV programs as well as advanced television services including standard- and high-definition programs, interactive TV, digital video recording and video on demand.

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With interactive TV, consumers were going to get video-on-demand, where movies were delivered through fast networks to their TV sets.

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Providers are also enhancing their on-demand menu and including interactive features like video games.

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OnLive is the pioneer of on-demand, instant-play video game services, delivering real-time interactive experiences and rich media through the Internet.

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As Yuen sees it, TV Guide Interactive is essential for maneuvering through digital television, with its hundreds of channels, Internet access and video-on-demand.

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Hong Kong Telecom plans to bring the world's first commercial video-on-demand service to the territory this year, the first step toward full-scale interactive television.

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