Korea's ETRI Develops Voice-Recognition Software for IPTV

According to a report in the Korea Times, Wednesday, South Korea's state-run Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has developed speech-recognition software for use in IPTV systems. The software, which is intended to be installed in hard drive-equipped set-top boxes, has a passive vocabulary of over 500,000 words, according to ETRI officials who spoke to the newspaper, and will allow viewers to search for programs by, for example, saying the program's name or the name of one of its actors (note: ETRI claims that the software is 92% accurate). The software is intended to supersede "the huge, keyboard-like remote controls used for Web-enabled televisions," the Korea Times said. "We believe that developing an IPTV system enabled with speech-recognition capabilities will make IPTV an easier experience for viewers, thus making the service more marketable," Park Sang-kyu, a member of the ETRI voice information research team, told the newspaper. "The technology could also be a key in IPTV's transition toward Internet television.'' ETRI plans to equip 20 set-top boxes with the new software for a viewer trial later this year. IPTV has not proved as popular in Korea as in many other markets: according to the Korea Times, since launching live TV on their IPTV systems late last year or early this year, Korea's three IPTV operators--Korea Telecom, SK Broadband and LG Dacom--have managed to sign up a mere 210,000 subscribers between them.