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Our Latest Issues
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Tuesday Friday 18th April
Tiscali sets bidding deadline
Akamai, Vobile: "12 to 18 hour window critical"
Digital Plus breaks into Andorra
TF1 sues YouTube
UDcast offers WiMAX mobile TV option
MTG Ukraine Pay TV service
ABC live commercials
ioko goes Stateside
West Country digital next Spring
IP-Prime signs telcos to HD agreements
Tiscali sets bidding deadlineTiscali, the telephone and internet service provider with operations in the UK and Italy, have set a deadline of May 5 for indicative offers.
Vodafone, BSkyB and Orange have joined Carphone Warehouse and a number of Italian companies in the race to buy Tiscali, Virgin Media is understood to have decided against making an offer while market leader BT would probably face regulatory scrutiny if it tried to make a bid for Tiscali's British arm. Telecom Italia and Fastweb, the Italian operator controlled by Switzerland's Swisscom, have also expressed an interest in buying parts of the company. Mobile phone companies T-Mobile and O2 have also decided not to bid.
Many of the interested companies want to buy either the UK or Italian units rather than both but Tiscali's board is understood to prefer a knock-out bid for the entire operation.
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Akamai, Vobile: "12 to 18 hour window critical"
From Colin Mann in Las VegasRich media specialist Akamai Technologies and video content identification and management services provider Vobile have revealed results of a study showing how quickly broadcast content is pirated online. Illegal versions of a popular US-based primetime television show were available online within minutes of being broadcast, and that thousands of unauthorised downloads had occurred. In order to protect valuable audience reach and revenue, content owners need to distribute premium content through legitimate channels within a window of 12 to 18 hours, suggest the pair.
"Content owners that act quickly to syndicate assets through legitimate channels will have a better chance of mitigating the negative effects of piracy by directing audiences to their approved content distribution channels – protecting valuable revenue, audience and premium content rights," said Tim Napoleon, Chief Strategist, Media and Entertainment at Akamai. "In order to be successful, content owners must leverage as many distribution channels as possible in order to direct consumers to legitimate content - with the right rules and policies attached."
"For media companies, audience control and channelling users to valuable premium content assets are paramount," said Yangbin Wang, founder and CEO of Vobile. "Speed of distribution matters to preserve revenue and audience."
Separately, Akamai announced new certified partnerships that allow companies to accelerate the media distribution workflow to seamlessly repurpose content across different platforms for new revenue streams. Akamai has worked closely with Telestream, Origin Digital and Multicast Media Technologies to integrate their solutions with Akamai's Media Delivery and Stream OS solutions to speed the distribution workflow and ensure that business rules and metadata are passed on during each phase of the media distribution process.
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Digital Plus breaks into Andorra
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Spain's largest pay-TV group Sogecable and Servei de Telecomunicacions de Andorra (STA) have signed an agreement to disbribute digital DTH platform Digital Plus to this small country of 83.000 inhabitants.
STA plans to launch a triple play service in the second quarter of the year with content from Digital Plus, along with broadband Internet access of up to 100 Mbps and telephone calls. STA will also distribute DTT channels, HD content and interactive services. All those services will be delivered through its FTTH network that will cover the whole country in 2010.
With this agreement, Digital Plus will be able to extend its subscription basis at a time when the company is seeing its subs figures deadlocked with currently more than 2 million clients.
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TF1 sues YouTubeFrance's largest commercial broadcaster, TF1, has filed a lawsuit against video-sharing site YouTube and is seeking damages of E100 million reports Les Echos. A YouTube spokesman quoted by the newspaper said the suit had been received a few days ago in California but would be judged in Paris.
YouTube, acquired by Internet giant Google in 2006, is also facing a $1 billion copyright infringement suit from entertainment group Viacom that accuses it of profiting from clips from Viacom shows illegally uploaded by YouTube users.
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UDcast offers WiMAX mobile TV option
From Colin Mann in Las VegasWireless IP broadcast solutions provider UDcast, has unveiled its emerging wireless broadcast and multicast technology for WiMAX, which enables reception of TV content over standard Mobile WiMAX networks so that service providers can propose differentiating multimedia services, increase ARPU and capture a portion of TV advertising revenues.
Using a combined unicast, multicast and broadcast service model, it enables user demand for the most popular programming on mobile video to be channelised toward a service that can guarantee quality reception over predictable bandwidth, without risk of network congestion.
Jas Saini, CEO of UDcast, noted that the television and Internet, both mobile and fixed, keep on merging into a unified service experience, which he suggested made WiMAX one of the most promising technologies for the future of broadcasting.
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MTG Ukraine Pay TV serviceModern Times Group (MTG) the international entertainment broadcasting group, has confirmed that the Viasat Ukraine DTH satellite platform will be launched on Monday 21 April. Viasat Ukraine is the first licensed digital premium satellite operator in Ukraine.
The Viasat Ukraine service is being launched by Vision TV, LCC following the joint venture partnership established between MTG and Strong Media Group in September 2007. Viasat Ukraine’s channel line-up includes Viasat’s own TV1000, TV1000 Russian Kino, Viasat History and Viasat Explorer channels, as well as popular 3rd party international channels such as the Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, Zone Reality, Zone Club and Extreme Sports.. Additional thematic channels to be included on the platform include Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, MTV Ukraine,VH1; CNN,and BBC World.
The Viasat Service will use MPEG-4 compression technology and the DVB-S2 standard, and be received on a Viasat-branded satellite receiver. The service is encrypted with the NDS VideoGuard conditional access system and is delivered via the Sirius 4 satellite.
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ABC live commercialsABC's flagship chat show Jimmy Kimmel Live is planning to integrate live commercials into each episode of the programme from May. According to reports, ABC embed the adverts, subject to interest from advertisers. The method is being considered partly as a way of beating DVR and ad-skipping technology.
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ioko goes Stateside
From Colin Mann in Las VegasMedia and Entertainment IT platform specialist ioko has marked its NAB presence by formally entering the North American market, following more than 10 years of deploying and managing media solutions across Europe. ioko also named Scott Sahadi Chief Executive Officer for North America.
Sahadi said that the success of ioko in Europe provided an important blueprint for its North American customers as they looked to invest in similar 'game-changing' digital media platforms.
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West Country digital next SpringDigital UK has revealed that the West Country TV region will start the switch to digital terrestrial television on April 8, 2009. Analogue broadcasts will be turned off first at the Beacon Hill transmitter group, followed by the Stockland Hill transmitter group on May 6, 2009. The remaining transmitter groups will follow between July and September 2009 to compete switchover in the region. The West Country will follow the Scottish Borders, which will become the first television region to switch to digital television on November 6.
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IP-Prime signs telcos to HD agreementsIP-Prime, provider of turnkey IP-based video services, has confirmed the addition of 12 new High Definition programming agreements with local telephone operators. These telephone companies, who launched IPTV service years ago in their communities, have chosen the IP-Prime HD-4 package to address their subscribers' increasing requests for HD channels.
Within the next few weeks, telco subscribers across the US will receive the HD-4 32-channel lineup of news, entertainment and sports programming from the likes of ESPN, Disney, Discovery, CNN, Fox News and MTV.
Thursday 17th April
75% of leading broadcasters plan HD content online
Tiscali expands IPTV service in Italy
Ofcom considers future broadband infrastructure
Thomson scraps dividend
Sun Media addresses digital media industry challenges
DRDB appoints Moretta as CE
C4 and Global DAB combo?
SAT-GE and Arqiva MPEG-4 HD platform
Qualcomm teams with CA providers
GlobeCast's London refurb
Sigma 100m+ Quad-Play IP services
TVNZ Freeview with Harmonic
Discovery appoints Brooke
Digisoft rental platform for Video Ezy
75% of leading broadcasters plan HD content online
From Colin Mann in Las VegasAccording to rich media specialist Akamai Technologies, there is a trend toward higher definition (HD) video online. Working closely with market intelligence firm Broadband Directions, Akamai recently conducted a survey of leading broadcast and cable TV networks, online publishers, sports leagues and social media sites. The results demonstrate that there is substantial near-term interest in launching HD broadband video, with a number of offerings already launched.
Nearly 75 per cent of respondents said they have plans to offer HD video content to their online audiences. In terms of timing, more than 80 per cent of respondents with plans to offer HD content said they either already offered HD broadband video or intend to introduce it within the next 24 months. Fully half of respondents said they already offer it or intend to do so within the next 12 months.
"Even six months ago, a 500 or 700 kilobit per second bitrate was pushing it," said Tim Napoleon, chief strategist, Media and Entertainment, at Akamai. "Now while 500-700 kbps is more of the norm, we're seeing companies really pushing the envelope with 1.5 - 2 megabits per second and HD, in the ranges of up to six megabits per second bitrates, across our network. This is clearly an indication of consumer desire to experience higher quality content, and of content producers' efforts to meet those needs quickly."
The study identified increases in consumer last mile bandwidth speeds and penetration, as well as proven premium business models around HD video online, as the business and technical requirements that are most important to broadcasters when making their decision to offer HD video programming online.
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Tiscali expands IPTV service in Italy
From Branislav Pekic in RomeTiscali Italia is expanding coverage of its IPTV service and boosting program content, with the aim of signing up 15,000 subscribers in its first year of operations.
The IPTV offer is currently available in Cagliari, Milan and Rome, but will be expanded in the coming days to Naples, Genoa, Bologna, Florence and Palermo. Until June 30, new subscribers will pay E12 for the triple-play package, including the decoder and free installation until June 30. After the promotion ends, the kids and music areas will cost E4 a month each, while movies will be charged from E1 to E5.
The TV package has more than 50 channels with exclusive offers such as the NBA channel and RAI Fiction. One channel is reserved for User Generated Content with the best contributions receiving money from Tiscali. In preparation are vertical channels from Hollywood’s leading studios. A time shift function makes available the RAI channels for a period of 48 hours.
IPTV has so far proven a disappointment in Italy, with only 270,000 subscribers signing up compared to 600,000 in Spain and 2.5 million in France. Out of the total, FastWeb has 180,000; Telecom Italia has 80,000, while the remainder is divided up between Tiscali and Infostrada (Wind). The four operators are considering the possibility of forming a consortium for the promotion of IPTV, similarly to the DTT model where all of the major players in Italy have created the DGTVi association.
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Ofcom considers future broadband infrastructure
UK comms regulator Ofcom has published proposals to promote next generation broadband networks for new housing and office developments. It also announced a survey of UK infrastructure to examine the scope for extending these networks elsewhere.
The proposals seek to encourage investment in super-fast broadband with speeds of up to 100 Mbit/s, while promoting competition in the provision of these services. The proposed regulations are designed to provide investors with certainty over how these new networks will be regulated. They will ensure that all communications providers interested in delivering high-speed broadband have equal opportunities to invest in telecoms infrastructure for new build properties.
Ofcom’s Chief Executive, Ed Richards, said: "Super-fast broadband is ripe for deployment in new build areas. We need to take advantage of this and encourage investment in networks, while promoting competition. This will allow consumers to benefit from all the advantages of super-fast access speeds, competitive provision and choice."
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Thomson, the world’s largest supplier of set-top-boxes, has suspended its dividend payment for 2007 sending its shares down sharply, following pressure from poor earnings and an uncertain outlook.
Thomson said it could sell its loss-making silicon business but did not foresee major asset sales. The group, which named a new chairman last week but has yet to find a new chief executive, said it would restructure further in the first half of 2008, which will lead to a net loss for the period.
Chief Financial Officer Julian Waldron, who took over as interim chief executive last month, said Thomson's top priority was to boost profitability. This explained the group's decision not to pay the E0.33 per share dividend it had announced for 2007, he said. "The company's profitability is not satisfactory and we must improve it as fast as possible," he said.
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Sun Media addresses digital media industry challenges
From Colin Mann in Las VegasTechnology developer Sun Microsystems revealed the formation of the Sun Media Advisory Board (Sun MAB) at the 2008 NAB Show. Sun MAB is an executive advisory board guided by Sun and leading media industry executives that is focused on identifying and solving key challenges found in today's digital media distribution industry.
The Sun MAB has initially focused on identifying and solving key challenges brought about by a major market shift from isolated, proprietary systems to an integrated ‘file-based’ workflow across the media value chain. As part of its initial findings, the Sun MAB has cited media transformation, content identification and video storage optimisation to be the key business challenges facing the industry today.
"Our customers came to us with a desire for an executive forum in which to validate shared business challenges with their peers, and work together to identify practical solutions," said Darrell Jordan-Smith, vice president for Sun Microsystems' global communications and media practice.
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C4 and Global DAB combo?Channel 4 and Global Radio are reportedly in discussions regarding how to combine their digital radio transmission services.
Global will inherit the first digital audio broadcasting (DAB) multiplex of digital stations with its takeover of GCap Media and Channel 4 leads the consortium that won the Ofcom licence to launch a second multiplex. However, Channel 4 is not expected to launch its DAB multiplex for a year and needs to organise the transmission infrastructure, while Global Radio may be looking to fill gaps in its digital radio broadcasting spectrum.
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DRDB appoints Moretta as CEThe board of the DRDB (Digital Radio Development Bureau) has appointed Tony Moretta to the role of Chief Executive. Moretta comes with a strong understanding of digital media having spent the past five years as General Manager of Broadcast at National Grid Wireless where he was responsible for the commercial side of the Broadcast business.
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SAT-GE and Arqiva MPEG-4 HD platformArqiva’s Satellite Media Solutions division is joining forces with SAT-GE, a subsidiary of General Electric, to provide an Asia Pacific satellite-based high definition video platform. Collaboration and co-ordination by both parties has already begun on the new platform that will enable broadcasters to distribute and contribute HD and SD channels to Asian-Pacific broadcasters and cable head-ends.
The new HD platform will be uplinked onto GE 23 at 172 degrees East to provide a broad satellite footprint for coverage from the US into key locations including Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, The Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. MPEG-4 encoding will be employed in a fully flexible range of bit rates including 12 and 8 megabits per second for HD, and 4 megabits per second for SD.
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Qualcomm teams with CA providers
From Colin Mann in Las VegasWireless technologies and data solutions developer Qualcomm has revealed that it is working with three leading Conditional Access (CA) providers to integrate their solutions with the open MediaFLO mobile broadcast platform. The collaboration with Irdeto, Nagravision and NDS will allow MediaFLO mobile TV service providers to select the CA solution that best fits their market and requirements, protecting and increasing revenue and decreasing deployment time.
"This strategic initiative further enhances the MediaFLO ecosystem and our mobile TV platform by leveraging the expertise in service and content protection of the world's leading CA companies," said Mike Coad, vice president of partner relations and product management for Qualcomm MediaFLO Technologies. "Through continued collaboration with major market players such as Irdeto, Nagravision and NDS, we can continue to give our customers the opportunity to choose the best business model and solution for their respective markets."
The platform integration work undertaken by Qualcomm and the three CA providers is in compliance with the OpenCA framework developed by the FLO Forum and its worldwide members.
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Content management and delivery company GlobeCast is updating and enlarging its playout centre and MCR in London to increase the capacity of services offered and to provide multi-platform solutions on a worldwide scale.
The new multimedia centre will be IPTV and Mobile TV capable, and will provide improvements in graphics and flexibility.
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Sigma 100m+ Quad-Play IP services
Sigma Systems has revealed that its IP service fulfilment solution has surpassed managing over 100 million bundled IP services for communications service providers globally.
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TVNZ Freeview with HarmonicHarmonic has confirmed that Television New Zealand (TVNZ) has deployed the DiviCom Electra 7000 high definition and Electra 5400 standard definition MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) encoders for the new Freeview digital terrestrial television service launched this week. The new service is New Zealand’s first HD digital service, and is currently available to approximately 75 per cent of homes nationwide.
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Discovery appoints BrookeDiscovery Networks UK has appointed Dan Brooke as executive vice president and managing director. The former Channel 4 digital controller will oversee the development of Discovery's 11 UK brands, including Discovery Channel and DMAX.
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Digisoft rental platform for Video EzyDigiSoft.tv, global provider of carrier class solutions to IPTV operators, and Video Ezy, Australia’s largest movie rental franchise has selected Digisoft’s IPTV delivery platform and set top box middleware to enable the delivery of the Video Ezy Electronic Video Rental service. The service will be rolled out in Video Ezy and Blockbuster stores in Australia and New Zealand. Video Ezy has over 1,000 stores and serves over 8 million customers.
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Wednesday 16th April
Annual mobile adspend to pass $1bn in 2008
Mobile DTV on course for 2009
MPH revs up for launch
Premiere chooses NDS VideoGuard
Tesco taking on iTunes
A-VSB "ready for commercial service"
NBC profits up
iRecord Pro enables portable devices
TV viewers loyal to shows, not channels
ICO G1 launches new era in mobile television
Philips poor Q1
Arris debuts 1 GHz CORWave
Annual mobile adspend to pass $1bn in 2008Mobile streamed and broadcast TV services will become the most lucrative delivery channels for mobile advertising by 2010, according to a report by Juniper Research. The report says that total annual adspend on the mobile will exceed $1 billion for the first time in 2008, reaching $1.3 billion by the end of the year and rising to nearly $7.6 billion by 2013.
While SMS campaigns currently account for the largest proportion of mobile advertising budget, the increasing popularity of mobile TV services mean that adspend in this area will rise from just $335 million in 2008 to more than $2.5 billion in 2013. Meanwhile, idle-screen advertising is expected to become a significant contributor to total mobile adspend in the medium term, with revenues rising from just $7 million in 2008 to more than $500 million in 2013.
According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, "While adspend in the mobile environment is still extremely limited when compared to the budgets allocated to media such as magazines, television, cinema and the Internet, the opportunities it offers –personalised advertising with very high response rates, delivered to a device which is always in close proximity to the individual – will make it an increasingly attractive proposition for leading brands."
The Juniper report states that nearly 1.5 billion mobile users will receive SMS advertising in 2008 China and the Far East will remain the largest regional market for mobile adspend throughout the period covered by the report, with revenues rising from $414 million in 2008 to more than $2.1 billion by 2012.
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Mobile DTV on course for 2009
From Colin Mann in Las VegasThe Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), an association of commercial and public television broadcasters representing over 800 television stations, which came together in 2007 to accelerate the development of mobile DTV, has announced that the broadcasting industry is on track to develop standards and launch services for mobile DTV in 2009. The group stated that recent Independent Demonstration of Viability (IDOV) trials showed that DTV-based mobile video technologies are feasible.
The Coalition considers that the mobile field trials, which were conducted in March and April of 2008 in the San Francisco Bay Area and Las Vegas, are an important milestone in setting a standard for the technology, and suggests that the industry is pulling together in an unprecedented way to realize the promise for broadcasters and American consumers.
"We are laser-focused on finalising a technology standard for mobile DTV, and working with technology companies and service operators to launch services beginning next year," said Anne Schelle, executive director, OMVC. "Mobile DTV represents a unique opportunity to make the most of the industry’s greatest assets - our spectrum and content - and I’m pleased that we have made incredible progress so far on all fronts, engaging broadcasters, device makers and carriers in a unified effort to make mobile DTV a reality."
OMVC has been working with the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV), the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) for the past six months to conduct trials for pedestrian and high-speed mobile digital television reception. OMVC initiated the IDOV trials at ATSC’s request to accelerate the adoption of an effective, mobile DTV standard. ATSC is the recognised standard-setting body for this kind of technology.
The three systems that have been subjected to preliminary testing and evaluation are: the MPH (Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld) system jointly developed by LG Electronics and Harris Corporation; and the A-VSB system jointly developed by Samsung Electronics, Co. Ltd and Rohde & Schwarz; and a third system jointly developed by Thomson and Micronas (T/M).
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MPH revs up for launch
From Colin Mann in Las VegasFollowing its debut at NAB in 2007, Harris Corporation and LG Electronics Inc, have confirmed that their MPH in-band mobile digital television (DTV) system is deployment-ready for US broadcasters.
The MPH system provides robust over-the-air DTV signals to mobile, pedestrian and handheld devices. The technology allows consumers to watch their favourite programmes from local broadcasters, as well as local news, weather and traffic information, even when travelling in fast-moving vehicles or using handheld devices away from home.
Early in 2008, global technology player LG Electronics expects to introduce a full range of new-generation consumer devices — from handheld digital TVs and mobile phones to DTV-ready notebook computers — capable of receiving and displaying MPH mobile DTV."MPH in-band mobile DTV marks a rare opportunity for broadcasters to increase their viewership as well as their bottom-line," Harris Broadcast Communications President Tim Thorsteinson said. LG Electronics President and CTO Dr. Woo Paik said that MPH promised to create major market opportunities for consumer electronics as well. "We envision a host of new, MPH-driven products such as DTV systems for moving vehicles and DTV-capable computers, not to mention the replacement market for the millions of analogue handheld TVs that will go dark when US broadcasters go all-digital next February. We at LG see MPH as a logical extension of our seminal contributions to the field of digital transmission technology."
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Premiere chooses NDS VideoGuard
NDS, provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, has confirmed that Premiere, the largest pay-TV operator in Germany and Austria, will deploy VideoGuard, the content protection solution from NDS, to secure its pay-TV satellite platforms in Germany and Austria.
During the coming months Premiere and NDS will be working closely to smoothly migrate the operator’s satellite platforms and set-top box population to VideoGuard. In order to facilitate this migration process, Premiere plans to use Simulcrypt technology in collaboration with its incumbent CA provider, Kudelski’s Nagravision.
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Tesco taking on iTunesUK supermarket chain Tesco is to take on Apple iTunes with the launch of its own music and film digital download service.
Tesco Digital will reportedly offer 3.3 million music tracks when it launches next month, with 1.6 million in MP3 format. It plans for all of the site's music to be compatible with iPods and other MP3 players by the end of the year. The site will later expand to offer downloadable films, TV shows and computer games.
A Tesco spokeswoman said the downloads would be "competitively priced" but would vary depending on the track.
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A-VSB "ready for commercial service"
From Colin Mann in Las VegasThe A-VSB Initiative, whose members include Samsung Electronics, MobiTV, Nokia Siemens Networks, Rohde & Schwarz and SES Americom’s IP-PRIME, have claimed that A-VSB is the only commercially-ready, complete and open solution for in-band mobile broadcast TV, and stands ready to power the commercial launch of mobile broadcast TV services in 2009.
According to John Godfrey, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs, Samsung Electronics, "the A-VSB Initiative demonstration at NAB and the consumer trials planned for later in 2008 will show that we are both technically and commercially ready for a commercial rollout in 2009."
The platform has been proposed to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) as an open ATSC Mobile/Handheld (ATSC-M/H) standard. It includes the A-VSB physical layer and global standard OMA BCAST service layer for mobile broadcasting, showing live local and national content as well as interactivity.
The A-VSB platform will deliver programming and interactive applications to consumers on mobile devices ‘in-band’, i.e., through local TV stations’ existing transmitters and spectrum. Godfrey said that the consumer trials planned for later in 2008 in one or more US markets would illustrate the business opportunities that A-VSB powered mobile TV could bring to the broadcasting, advertising, wireless, digital media, interactive services, and consumer electronics industries.
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NBC Universal's profit rose three per cent in the first quarter, as strong DVD sales were partially offset by a sharp drop in local advertising revenue at NBC owned-and-operated stations. NBC Universal's profit was $712 million, compared with a profit of $691 million in the comparable quarter a year ago. Revenue rose three per cent to $3.58 billion.
iRecord Pro enables portable devices
From Colin Mann in Las VegasAudio and video solutions specialist Streaming Networks and semiconductor company NXP Semiconductors have unveiled Streaming Networks iRecordPro, a personal media recorder that records video and music content onto portable media players (PMP) such as the Apple iPod, Sony PSP, Sony video walkman and iPhone. The iRecord
Pro builds on the functionality of the first-generation iRecord by adding full D1 video resolution, direct recording to computer hard disk, and the ability to convert existing content to PMP format without a computer.Powered by NXP's Nexperia media processing technology, the iRecord hooks up via standard audio/video (AV) connections to any TV, set-top-box (STB), digital video recorder (DVR), camcorder, VCR, DVD player, cassette and LP players or almost any similar audio and video source.
Dr Ayub Khan, CEO and President of Streaming Networks, said the new recorder was "great for technophiles and luddites alike," as it offered a choice at how they viewed their media as well as delivering the promise of next generation consumer devices and media convergence today.
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TV viewers loyal to shows, not channels
TV remains people's favourite mass communications format but viewers are more loyal to a programme than a channel, according to a global survey of TV by consultants Accenture.
The vast majority of people watching more than three programmes a week watch them on more than three TV channels, according to the report. Accenture concluded that this "channel-hopping" trend showed that "consumers are more loyal to the content they want to watch rather than the branded distribution channel to which they may be accustomed".
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ICO G1 launches new era in mobile television
From Colin Mann in Las VegasICO Global Communications has successfully launched its North American geosynchronous satellite, ICO G1. ICO will be conducting alpha trials for its fully interactive mobile video, navigation and emergency assistance service to be known as ICO mim (mobile interactive media) later in 2008.
The mobile television component of ICO mim will use the DVB-SH standard, and is the first deployment of DVB-SH in the United States. "With our launch of ICO G1, ICO is now poised to deliver a new generation of mobile services for consumers," commented Tim Bryan, chief executive officer of ICO.
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Philips Electronics has reported a 28 per cent drop in core profit, below average analyst expectations, hurt by its loss-making TV business and acquisition-related charges. The group said earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) fell to E265 million from E370 million the year before.
"Our results are clouded, more than we like, by the adverse situation in our TV business, significantly lower incidental license income and some acquisition-related charges," Chief Executive Gerard Kleisterlee said in a statement.
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Arris debuts 1 GHz CORWaveArris has confirmed the availability of its 1 GHz CHP CORWave ‘closely spaced’ CWDM downstream optics. CORWave enables the essential delivery of HD SDV, On Demand and business services on existing MSO fibre networks with superior quality service levels. CORWave was recently certified by a top 3 US cable operator and is scheduled to be deployed by them this quarter. CORWave is an extension of the broadly-deployed, field proven CHP CWDM optics that deliver more capacity over longer-link distances on existing fibre.
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Tuesday 15th April
Telco/IPTV households 14m worldwide
BT enables ITV and Channel Five services
Europe rejects anti-piracy plans
Widevine gets green light for Silverlight
Highfield out, Huggers in?
SES writes off AMC-14
Nokia: mobile TV roll-out slow
Philips reveals live Mediahedge
Shanghai cracks down on satellite dishes
Intelsat distributes DTH service to Colombia
India more profitable than Japan for Turner
ITN adds news channels to YouTube
Irdeto supports Common Interface Plus
Sigma and Microsoft System-on-a-Chip
Telco/IPTV households 14m worldwideThe number of households worldwide using telco/IPTV services grew from 4.7 million in 2006 to exceed 14 million in 2007, according to TV Services in Europe: Update and Outlook, a new white paper by Parks Associates.
The white paper analyses key television services and offers growth strategies and recommendations for providers worldwide and for Europe in particular. Europe experienced a growth rate of 250 per cent between 2006 and 2007 for telco/IPTV services, defined as landline-based multichannel and on-demand video services provided by a telephone operator.
"Telco/IPTV services provide European operators with a critical toehold in attracting and retaining customers," said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst, Parks Associates. "However, IPTV is a small part of a crowded market of terrestrial, satellite, and cable offerings, and the competition will be intense."
A key recommendation from the paper is that operators should examine network and customer premise equipment upgrades for features and applications that can personalise the entire television experience and build customer loyalty. "Service providers must view advanced technology capabilities on two levels," Scherf said. "There is certainly a cost-savings perspective, but we would encourage service providers to also view customers as active participants in the convergence of entertainment and communications."
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BT enables ITV and Channel Five services
From Colin Mann in Las VegasBT’s Media and Broadcast unit has developed a digital content store based upon its BT Mosaic Service to enable UK independent commercial broadcaster ITV to deliver its library on-demand to Internet users and other broadcasters around the globe. The content store supports new business models to complement ITV's television advertising revenues.
Once this content has been digitised, the new BT Mosaic Service will allow ITV to edit its programmes in file format quickly for distribution across a variety of networks and devices directly to consumers, who then have the choice of when and how to view their programmes. ITV will be able to allow other broadcasting companies access to their archive library enabling them to respond to trends in their own markets and edit programmes that fit with their local customs and laws.
Richard Cross, Technology Director, ITV, said the service would enable ITV to reinvent its channels to market to reflect the way consumers and other broadcasters interacted with content both in the UK and globally.
Mark Wilson-Dunn, global VP for sales and marketing, at BT Media and Broadcast also revealed that the unit was to deliver a new online video download store to Channel Five, as part of the UK broadcaster's plans to relaunch its on-demand service, Five Download. The new service will offer high quality catch-up viewing, archived content and the ability to watch some programmes seven days before they are aired on TV. Content will be available as a mixture of on-line streamed ad-funded and off-line download models. Wilson-Dunn said that TV-on-demand was becoming an increasing priority for broadcasters, enabling them to maximise the value of their content and extend their brand on-line.
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Europe rejects anti-piracy plansEuropean politicians have voted down calls to throw suspected file-sharers off the net. The idea to cut off persistent pirates formed part of a wide-ranging report on creative industries written for the European parliament. But in a narrow vote MEPs backed an amendment to the report which said net bans conflicted with "civil liberties and human rights". It puts MEPS at odds with governments planning tough action against pirates.
"The vote shows that MEPs want to strike a balance between the interests of rights holders and those of consumers, and that big measures like cutting off internet access shouldn't be used," said a spokeswoman for the European Parliament after the vote.
The amendment was added to the so-called Bono Report on the Cultural Industries and called on the EC and its member nations to "avoid adopting measures conflicting with civil liberties and human rights and with the principles of proportionality, effectiveness and dissuasiveness, such as the interruption of internet access."
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents Europe's music industry, said the amendment was "badly drafted" and contradicted the rest of the report. "We look forward to a full discussion in the European Parliament in the coming months on how best to address copyright theft online," said the IFPI.
The vote has no legal force and leaves national governments free to implement their own anti-piracy plans. But, said the Open Rights Group, it does "signify resistance" among European law makers to the strict measures that nations such as France are implementing.
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Widevine gets green light for Silverlight
From Colin Mann in Las VegasMultiformat and multiplatform DRM provider Widevine Technologies is integrating its content protection platform with Microsoft Silverlight, the company's cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications for the web.
This collaboration will mark the first time Microsoft has worked with a third-party DRM content security company. Widevine considers this has major implications for the industry at large and the future of online video - the partnership will secure the Silverlight experience for content owners, enabling the monetisation of content through advertising and allowing consumers to enjoy premium content on any device and format.
"Our content partners can now access their premium content libraries and build monetisation strategies around a Silverlight offering, including ad-supported, geo-filtered or pay models for their consumers. This is really a win for content owners, who have a choice of content-protection technologies from Microsoft and third-parties such as Widevine," said Steve Sklepowich, group product manager in the Developer Division at Microsoft Corp.
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Highfield out, Huggers in?Former Microsoft executive Erik Huggers is tipped to be the BBC's new director of future media and technology, replacing Ashley Highfield who is leaving to head commercial web TV venture project Kangaroo.
Huggers joined the BBC as the controller for future media and technology in May last year and was seen as being groomed as Highfield's successor. Highfield has been at the corporation since 2000 but is leaving to head project Kangaroo, a joint commercial web TV initiative backed by the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
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SES writes off AMC-14
From Colin Mann in Las VegasSES’s North American subsidiary, SES Americom, has declared to insurers that its recently launched satellite – AMC-14 – is now considered a total loss, because of a lack of viable options to reposition the satellite to its proper geostationary orbit.
"SES and Lockheed Martin have carefully examined all the available options for repositioning this satellite into its intended geostationary orbit," said Edward Horowitz, President and CEO of SES Americom. "Unfortunately, none of those options would allow effective use of the spacecraft. The various repositioning scenarios presented carry unacceptable risks, and would result in a severely shortened life of the satellite."
The craft was entirely contracted by EchoStar Corporation for its Dish digital satellite DTH service. The satellite was the first of three that Dish hoped to use this year to expand its HD programming. Dish said recently that it was still "on track" to increase its national HD lineup from 76 to 100 channels by year's end and significantly increase its local HD offering.
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Nokia: mobile TV roll-out slow
Nokia research has revealed its push to promote mobile television broadcasting has not succeeded as the world's top mobile phone maker had hoped.Nokia has been for years promoting television broadcasts to mobile phones and its digital video broadcasting handheld (DVB-H) technology won EU support earlier this year, but only a few operators in Europe have opened any TV broadcasting services. "It's a bit in a turmoil," Niklas Savander, head of Nokia's Internet services, said.
Most people who watch TV programmes on their mobile phones use third-generation (3G) mobile networks, bringing in long-awaited data transmission fees to operators, but these limit picture quality and user numbers. "We have seen that there are multiple segments who are not interested in the broadcasting, but rather in downloads. Roll out is slower than also we anticipated a couple of years ago," Savander said.
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Philips reveals live Mediahedge
From Colin Mann in Las VegasMediahedge, an initiative of Philips Content Identification is adding the Mediahedge Live Media Registration service to its broad range of services. Designed specifically for live broadcast events such as sports, concerts and TV shows, the Live Media Registration service offers content owners real-time registration of digital fingerprints into the Mediahedge database. The Live Media Registration service is the latest addition to the Mediahedge platform that was launched as a content clearing service in December 2006.
Once registered in the Mediahedge fingerprint database, Mediahedge empowers content owners and broadcasters to fully automate identification, monitoring and monetisation of live media content on the Internet. This service allows content owners, broadcasters and content distributors to identify unauthorised uploads of broadcast content within minutes of the event taking place and can be actively searched for on the Internet via media crawling and recognition services from Mediahedge and its partners.
"Our media customers are now able to manage their live content as well as their archived content," said Hans van de Ven, Senior Business Development Manager of Philips Content Identification.
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Shanghai cracks down on satellite dishesSeventeen government departments will launch a joint city-wide campaign to wipe out illegal television satellites that can receive foreign TV programs across Shanghai, reports the Oriental Morning Post.
Authorities including Shanghai Media Group, the industrial and commercial administration, public security forces, the real estate bureau, prosecutors and courts have already released notices to more than 11,000 property management companies across the city about the campaign, the report said.
Installations of the satellites in public places such as rooftops and the walls of residential buildings will be major targets during this year's campaign, the report said. The authority may dismantle the illegal satellites by force if owners refuse to co-operate, the report added and who resist the dismantlement may face prosecution.
The report added that the number of illegal TV satellites was estimated to be more than 300,000 in Shanghai.
Intelsat distributes DTH service to Colombia
Intelsat, provider of commercial satellite services, has revealed that Bogota-based Elite Entertainment Television S.A. has contracted a multi-year, multi-transponder deal with Intelsat to distribute DTH content to its customers in Colombia. Elite Entertainment is the 28th DTH platform hosted on the Intelsat global network.
Under the terms of the contract, Elite will use Intelsat’s capacity to distribute its programming bouquet of movies, sports, news and entertainment. The National Commission of Television of Colombia (CNTV) awarded the country’s third DTH license to Elite Entertainment Television S.A.
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India more profitable than Japan for TurnerIndia has overtaken Japan as the largest Asia-Pacific market by sales for US network Turner, underlining the growing importance of the subcontinent to entertainment conglomerates. Turner, part of the Time Warner group said India overtook Japan in the first quarter of this year with revenue growing at 25-28 per cent a year.
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ITN adds news channels to YouTubeFollowing the success of ITN’s showbiz channel on YouTube, ITN‘s multimedia division, ITN On, is launching two new channels on the platform called ITN Music News and ITN News.
ITN Music News, the company’s first music news service will delve deep into the world of sound and vision keeping music fans up to date on all the latest releases, festival and awards news. Using ITN Source’s rich music footage archive, ITN On will produce a number of retrospective packages to mark big stories in the music starting with a summer festivals packages. ITN On is also producing a series of hot clips for a new ITN News service on YouTube. Hot Clips are 90 second video packages of the biggest stories of the day.
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Irdeto supports Common Interface Plus
From Colin Mann in Las VegasContent and business model protection specialist Irdeto has announced its support for the Common Interface Plus (CI+) specification with a new CI+ conditional access module (CAM) planned for commercial availability by year’s end, after the CI+ Forum completes the final specification.
The CI specification interconnects a CAM and a DTV receiver so that any encryption system can be used in the receiver. CI+ strengthens the original specification to combat piracy and enforce a relationship of trust between the host and the smart card. The enhanced security within the CI+ specification allows broadcast operators to deploy smart cards and CAMs that can be used with any retail set-top box or IDTV that supports the standard, giving consumers a wider range of choice in receiver equipment.
Doug Lowther, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Irdeto, said that many of Irdeto’s conditional access customers preferred the advantages of a retail distribution strategy, which could give lower costs, more choice for consumers, and greater involvement from the equipment manufacturers, who compete with one another on price, functionality and innovation.
The ongoing global switch from analogue to digital broadcast has created a growing market for CAMs as IDTVs integrate CI slots as a standard feature to accommodate encrypted broadcast signals. In the European Union, a mandate has already been passed requiring all new IDTVs to include a CI slot to receive digital terrestrial TV (DTT) broadcasts.
Members of the CI+ Forum include Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony, Neotion and SmarDTV. The group is currently establishing a compliance regime to enable CI+ deployment within DTV receivers and CAMs.
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Sigma and Microsoft System-on-a-ChipSigma Designs, a player in digital media processing system-on-a-chips (SoCs) for consumer electronics, and Microsoft, have confirmed a collaboration to enable the Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV and multimedia platform to operate on next-generation set-top boxes using the new Sigma SMP8654 SoC. The solution will provide a high-performance, cost-effective design that will give service providers the ability to offer connected TV services, such as PC-to-TV photo and music sharing and also DVR functions.
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Monday 14th April
RAI and Mediaset discuss freesat
Internet giants oppose advertising bill
Europe votes against ISP cut-offs
Spanish pay DTT under fire
FCC fines stores on DTV sales
Blockbuster streaming
Sony launches new channels in Portugal
Thor 5 commences commercial operations
Tandberg names Choi as VP/GM of AP region
Envivio convergence encoder
RAI and Mediaset discuss freesatItalian commercial broadcaster Mediaset is reportedly in talks with public broadcaster RAI over plans to launch a free digital satellite offer that would complement the existing DTT packages.
The Italian freesat service would use the Eutelsat Hot Bird where the two broadcasters channels have been relayed for many years. Both sets of channels, including RAI Uno, RAI Due, Rete 4 and Canale 5 are broadcast in the clear. News of the talks follows the breakdown of negotiations between Mediaset and Sky Italia over the sale of film rights.
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Internet giants oppose advertising billA group representing several large Internet companies - including Google, Yahoo!, AOL and Comcast - has expressed "strong opposition" to a New York state bill that would limit the companies' ability to collect information for targeted advertising.
"(The bill) is unnecessary, most likely unconstitutional, and would have profound implications for the future of Internet advertising and the availability of free content on the Internet," reads the coalition's statement. "It would subject advertising networks extremely detailed obligations relating to 'personally identifiable information' and 'non-personally identifiable information' that is used for 'online preference marketing.' Every website that an advertising network contracts with would be subject to detailed notice requirements."
The trade group argue that they can police themselves. "This bill is unnecessary because advertising networks have already agreed to self-regulation commitments relating to most of the components of this bill. If they fail to live up to these commitments, then the Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General’s office would have enforcement authority."
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Europe votes against ISP cut-offsFlying in the face of national moves to encourage ISPs to police their users, the European Parliament has voted in favour of outlawing this kind of ISP disconnection policy to fight illegal music downloads. MPs called on the European Commission and individual countries to "avoid adopting measures conflicting with civil liberties and human rights ... such as the interruption of internet access".
President Sarkozy introduced the three-strikes policy last year under a new settlement with content owners and ISPs, drawn up by Fnac retail chain president Denis Olivennes. The UK government has warned UK ISPs they face similar legislation if they do not agree a voluntary alternative.
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Spanish pay DTT under fire
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Mediaset-controlled Telecinco has asked the Administration for a five year moratorium on allowing pay TV content to be distributed through digital terrestrial TV (DTT). The CEO of the channel, Paolo Vasile, is against the delivery of pay-TV services through DTT at least in the next five years, since, otherwise "Telecinco, Antena 3 and TVE would be damaged as the pay-TV rights are already sold and there would not be any equality".
His comments come when Mediapro, shareholder in La Sexta, has just announced the launch of a specific football TV channel to distribute pay-per-view football matches from next year. Vasile also cast doubts on the analogue switch-off, scheduled for 2010, and recomended the new Government to be less interventionist in the TV market.
In his investiture speech, the president of the Government, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, confirmed that the analogue switch-off will take place as planned and announced that an overall TV law will be approved in this new four year-term.
The latest figures from Impulsa TDT reveal that DTT has a penetration of 30.5 per cent with an average audience share of 12 per cent. In February the sale of analogue TV sets dropped by 45 per cent, while DTT tuners are at 9.3 million of units sold, with 500,000 sold last month. For the first time since the DTT re-launch, the number of integrated DTT sets surpass the number of external set-top-boxes, 4,734,000 versus 4,559,000.
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FCC fines stores on DTV salesUS regulators imposed fines on retailers such as Wal-Mart and Sears along with two television suppliers for violating curbs on selling TVs that will not work easily after next year's transition to digital television.
The actions included a fine of $992,000 against Wal-Mart; about $1.1 million against Sears; $712,000 against Circuit City Stores. FCC rules require retailers to have a label on or near television sets for sale that are unable to get over-the-air digital signals without an additional converter box. Wal-Mart said the fines were for past violations and all the products it currently sells comply with FCC regulations.
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Home video giant Blockbusteris developing a set-top device for streaming films directly to TV sets and is expected to announce the offering sometime this month. "We're talking to numerous companies and vendors about products, services, alliances and initiatives that can help us achieve our mission to transform Blockbuster into a company that provides access to media content across multiple channels -- from our stores, by mail, through kiosks, through downloading, through portable content-enabled devices."
The device would join a growing list of devices that aim to bring broadband video to the living room, including Apple TV, which hasn't quite seen sales match the hype surrounding the product. Blockbuster rival Netflix also has indicated that it will compete in this market with a similar device being created with LG Electronics.
The product would be an offshoot of Movielink, the online film service Blockbuster acquired last year that allows consumers to watch films licensed from the major studios on their PCs.
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Sony launches new channels in PortugalSony Pictures Television International (SPTI) has launched two new channels in Portugal; the general entertainment Sony Entertainment Television (SET) and the Japanese animé channel, Animax. Both channels, which are available from 12 April, will be available via IPTV and DTH operator, MEO, part of Portugal Telecom. SPTI also confirmed that it is in advanced negotiations with other Portuguese operators for carriage.
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Thor 5 commences commercial operationsTelenor Satellite Broadcasting has completed the in-orbit testing for its Thor 5 satellite. In addition to taking over traffic from Thor II, the satellite will also accommodate additional capacity for the Nordic region, and Central and Eastern Europe.
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Tandberg names Choi as VP/GM of AP regionTandberg Television has appointed Dario Choi as Vice President and General Manager of Tandberg Television Asia-Pacific with immediate effect. Choi will be responsible for the Tandberg Television business in the region and will lead all commercial operations including the sales, engineering, customer support, marketing, finance and administration teams. Choi was previously Senior Sales Director.
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Envivio convergence encoderEnvivio, technology provider of IP video convergence encoding solutions from mobile to HD, has claimed that its 4Caster C4 convergence encoding system is the world’s first to provide video compression for all three screens of consumer video (TVs, PCs and mobile devices) on a single platform. Designed to enable fixed line and mobile network operators to deliver content simultaneously across the full range of consumer devices, the C4 platform is able to take multiple channels of content and encode them simultaneously to deliver multiple mobile TV profiles, multiple Internet TV profiles, or SD and HD IPTV profiles of the channel.
