(21 March 2007 7:00 pm)

NEW DELHI: Kangaroo TV has announced the first commercial launch of the system in all the F1 races, allowing viewers to "see everything" and even ride with their favourite drivers and pit crew in their cars during the races.

This is the mother of all sports devices, feels the company, which has set up its IVT-200, an interactive multimedia transceiver based on Linux and Qtopia. It is most suited for F1 races, where now the fans sitting at any given place can see only their segment of the race.

Not any longer, for this will be a 360 degree coverage, according to an expert. You can actually see the entire track sitting in one place, he says.

The equipment can be bought or rented for a day at various price ranges.

Spectators at other live sporting events may also become Linux users, given that Kangaroo TV says its device can support football, professional golfing, baseball, and other sports.

Regardless of the event, Kangaroo TV puts fans "in the middle of the sporting action", the company says, by displaying live video, audio, and "real-time data".

The IVT-200 can receive audio and video feeds in several copy-protected formats, and allows the user to switch between feeds at will, tailoring their own broadcast coverage experience. It appears to use cellular radio networking technology, given that it is offered by Nextel, a mobile phone operator.

The IVT-200 can support up to 10 live MPEG4 feeds, along with AAC3 and MP3 audio streams. The device also has a simple radio that can receive live audio on user-set frequencies.