Chief Executive Officer, SLT VisionCom (Pvt) Ltd., Thusha Weerasooriya spoke to The Sunday Island on the SLT TV event, which unfolds today at the BMICH.

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) means that customers could command their TV programmes. This means not merely select a film or programme but, say you get back home after work and was late to catch the 6 O’clock news, all you need do is switch to rewind mode and you would be watching the news programme you missed.

Not quite like a video film you borrowed, but this will be accessible from the TV station beamed to each home as accessed.

Weerasooriya said possibilities were varied and could end only when one’s imagination runs out.

What would you need to have such functions up and running?

An (SLT) ADSL connection, (An SLT telephone line), and SLT would do the rest. You would also have to instal a decoder. Nothing comes free of course, and whatever options you choose you would have to pay. And that’s when the A-la-carte option could be applicable.

A-la-carte would mean just this, say for instance you would want to watch a selected film, you order it and pay for what you watch. That’s it.

You would have wide choices to choose. Not only films, but many programmes aired from many parts of the world.

And how much would that cost?

"At this point of time my answer is ‘Cannot say’ because whatever cost factors to be determined are still in an inconclusive stage and still to be finalized. Some are high cost factors, applicable only to those who demand more costly options", the CEO explained.

IPTV could match up to or surpass already existing providers. True or false?

True. What you would accept is that services to be show-cased today are wire based protocols and latitude of applications are profuse and varied.

"The competition we have use radio air ways, and provision of such facilities would cost enormous sums of money just to set up a home facility. I cannot see any organization operating presently in Sri Lanka spending that kind of money", he said.

You’re sure of that?

"Absolutely. As we are on this aspect of what we would do today at the BMICH, let me also say that what I’m to tell you now will be possibilities for the future. Take education. IPTV would facilitate the concept of distant education. I can tell you exactly how this could be done, but that would be a long dissertation on technicalities and not really relevant at this point of time, but such possibilities do exist. And Naturally extremely convenient".

The stock market is another. Say you missed the bourse and comments on share transactions and so forth. All you need do is switch on, switch to re-call, or rewind mode, and you will have the information you need, Weerasooriya explained.

The IPTV platform also provides interactive TV which is also an extension of the al-la-carte menu, linking possibilities choices of programmes and more so programme content.

What would be certain is good quality and user satisfaction?