The futurists lied! Interactive television isn't here yet. At least not in the big screened, fully digitized, point-and-click, armchair Spielberg-way they said it would be.

"Most people don't have the time, money or desire to use interactive television to the extent envisioned by media companies, which are destined to lose lots of money as they experiment with new technology," says Dennis Boyce of KMR Group Inc., a Chicago-based research firm.

The next best thing may be interactive Webivision, which San Carlos-based ImaginOn, Inc. says it can provide to any company/wannabe broadcaster for as little as $35,000. Dubbed a "television station in a box", ImaginOn's "ImOn.comTV" enables any Web site to broadcast interactive television within a standard browser window, and includes video-on-demand, viewer-directed video branching, and automated Web searching.

"We built the first fully interactive station ourselves at our site to help facilitate the education of the consumer; to show them what the interactive Web can be," says David Schwartz, CEO and founder of ImaginOn. "It is best explained by going to the actual site because you really have to experience it in interactive video."

Granted, broadband is a big issue, because users on anything less than a DSL will find Webivision looks more like stillivision. But as a readily available and relatively economical alternative to the current state of interactive TV, it provides a host of opportunities many companies may find attractive.

"Right now a lot of companies just have canned video on their site," says Schwartz. "But we allow sites to create something with the actual look and feel of an interactive television on the Internet, with channel selections, control modules, etc."

CREATING THE INTERACTIVE FEEL

Video appears on a Web site through an ImOn console that looks much like a large television set. Clients of the company are responsible for developing the original content, which is edited using ImaginOn's proprietary software. To create the interactive feel, the video is edited into "branches", sort of like traditional Choose Your Own Adventure modules, where users click on video to direct which segment they want to follow. ImOn also includes a search function, developed and hosted by the company, which users can access to search the Web for subjects related to a particular video clip.

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"Say you're watching a piece produced through ImOn.comTV and you see a character you like," says Schwartz. "You can click on that character, and the show seamlessly changes to, say, a video profile of the actor, or maybe a list of other shows the actor has starred in. It depends on what the producer chooses to include."

Current users of ImaginOn's technology include Las Vegas Casinos, who used the interface to develop interactive tours of their facilities. The technology has also been used to develop interactive games, city tours, training videos, travel planning services, and even a few adult films.

"Our clients are all businesses who have a fairly large budget already," say Schwartz. "They understand that just a standard Web site doesn't do that much for their business. Let's say, for example, you are a car dealer with half a dozen show rooms. You likely have a Web site, newspaper ads, maybe ads on cable. But your Web site doesn't do a whole lot in telling people what it is like to drive in one of these cars. You need the Interactive video to do that."

Using a Java-based platform, the ImOn interface requires no downloads, and the eCommerce potential alone is admittedly rather staggering. It remains to be seen, however, if ImaginOn can maintain a presence in the industry long enough for broadband to become as widespread as the company projects. Until then, it is unlikely the interactive Net will see much, er, interaction.