Opera has unveiled a voice-enabled electronic programme guide to allow users to interact with their TV and other home entertainment systems without having to navigate an array of remote controls.
The voice-enabled browser incorporates IBM Embedded ViaVoice speech recognition software and uses a markup language that combines industry standard XHTML and VoiceXML.
Perhaps better known in online circles for its web browser, Opera is heading into the home media market with its web based presentation software.
“Voice-enabled EPG is not science fiction, but a compelling demonstration of what you can do with web technologies for home media,” says Igor Jablokov, of IBM Software Group.
“Opera’s web-based presentation environment is ideal for applications like EPGs, video-on-demand, web browsing, and other interactive services because of its speed standards-compliance and easy customization,” says Jon S. von Tetzchner, chief executive of Opera Software.
The company is also due to launch a voice-enabled web browser for personal computers.