Do-It-Yourself TV Channel Is on the Horizon : Telecommunications: Couch potatoes will be able to schedule programs themselves.

Forget about using your TV to order pizza, play “Jeopardy” or buy plane tickets.

Despite the grand plans being laid for the new age of multimedia programming, the first real “interaction” consumers are likely to have with their televisions will be through electronic program guides that enable them to figure out what’s on when.

As cable, computer and telecommunications industries race to develop the technology to make the interactive age possible, several companies are engaged in intense competition to provide the channel-surfing tool capable of handling an infinitely expanding selection.

Unlike the static program list now available on many cable systems, which cycle through times and channels in a decidedly un-interactive fashion, the next-generation guides allow viewers to watch their show and see what else is on.

All of the planned services offer selection by category. By choosing the “movie” category with a souped-up remote control, for example, subscribers will call up a menu of films showing over several days. Moreover, they will essentially be able to create their own channel by pre-selecting the programs they want to watch.

“It’s an interesting paradigm shift,” says Denise Caruso, editor of the newsletter Digital World. “Creating your own custom channel is much more the way TV will be watched in the future. Besides, (electronic guides) are going to be the only way to watch 500-channel TV without slitting your wrists.”

While there is some doubt as to whether people will actually want the much-hyped interactive services of the future, such as home shopping, interactive games and ticket ordering, the three firms taking the lead in program guide development--Trakker, TV Guide Onscreen and StarSight--say their research has demonstrated strong demand.

Even without the leap in channel capacity made possible by digital compression technology, many cable subscribers are having a tough time navigating the nearly 70 channels currently available. And because of their simplicity, cable operators see the electronic listings as a way to train wary consumers in their new role as active participants in TV watching.

“These guides will make television far more valuable in the home,” says Charles Dolan, chairman of Cablevision Systems Corp., a Woodbury, N.Y.-based cable operator. “They’re going to teach people a whole new way of watching TV.”

Which of the guides become successful will depend largely on which cable systems adopt them. StarSight’s backers include cable operators Times Mirror Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times, and Viacom International.

Meanwhile, Liberty Media, which is closely associated with cable industry leader Tele-Communications Inc., has invested in TV Guide Onscreen. Tracker Interactive Services is a subsidiary of United Video Inc., which provides the scrolling program guides now carried by most cable systems.

But cable operators, who are expected to charge their customers for the guides, could choose to make more than one of the services available. The big question is how much consumers will be willing to pay. Each of the services expect to market the basic guide for under $5 a month, charging extra for additional features such as sports scores, local news, movie clips and expanded information about programming.

And, industry observers note, some viewers will simply not be interested in learning anew how to interact with their TVs, be it for ordering pay-per-view movies, playing games or just channel flipping. For them, says Jim Clark, chairman of Silicon Graphics, “I think there will still be a couch potato application. People will still be able to say, ‘Feed me whatever you’ve got. I just want to sit here.’ ”