What is an Active Channel?
An Active Channel is a type of web content delivery method that was popular especially in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It refers to a website or a web service that continuously pushes updated content — like news, weather, or stock prices — directly to the user’s computer or a compatible application without the user needing to manually check for updates.
How it works-
- The website is set up to broadcast (or “webcast”) data regularly.
- The user’s computer or device runs an application that subscribes to this Active Channel.
- The application periodically receives new content pushed by the Active Channel.
- The content might be displayed automatically or saved locally for offline viewing.
Technology behind Active Channels
- Often used RSS feeds or similar syndication formats.
- Microsoft had a system called Active Channel integrated with Internet Explorer and its now-discontinued Channel Definition Format (CDF), designed to deliver frequently updated content.
- The system was intended to help users receive and organize information streams without constantly browsing multiple websites.
Examples of Active Channel usage
- News headlines automatically updated and sent to your desktop.
- Weather updates pushed every hour.
- Stock price tickers updated live.
- Multimedia streams like audio or video clips updated regularly.
Why it’s less common now
- Modern web technologies like RSS feeds, push notifications, and social media have largely replaced the need for dedicated Active Channels.
- Web browsers and apps now handle dynamic content more seamlessly with technologies such as AJAX and Web Sockets.
- The original Active Channel technology was mostly phased out by the mid-2000s.