Advanced Television

Apple TV passes 1m units

Apple says this week it will surpass one million sales of Apple TV and added that iTunes users are now renting and buying more than 400,000 TV shows and more than 150,000 movies per day. In September, Apple introduced a less expensive, smaller version of Apple TV for $99. It says: “Now with AirPlay, recently […]

December 22, 2010

Spanish anti-piracy law defeated

A Spanish parliamentary panel has rejected a bill that would let courts shut down websites offering peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted music and films. The 20-18 vote was a surprising defeat for Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s government.  It came after frantic negotiations in which the ruling Socialists failed to win support from opposition […]

December 22, 2010

FCC neutrality rules get mixed reception

As expected the party-line 3 to 2 vote in favour of the FCC’s new Net Neutrality rules got mixed reviews. President Obama congratulated the FCC and said that the government would “remain vigilant and see to it that innovation is allowed to flourish, that consumers are protected from abuse, and that the democratic spirit of […]

December 22, 2010

Minister’s “war on Murdoch” revealed

UK Business Secretary Vince Cable has been stripped of the power to decide the fate of the News Corp bid for the outstanding shares in Sky after he was secretly recorded saying he had “declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we are going to win.” Cable thought he was talking, or rather bragging, […]

December 22, 2010

France: Hadopi sends few warnings

French anti-Internet piracy body Hadopi is reportedly sending only a fifth of the warning emails expected. The body, which has been operational since October, is meant to warn people found to have illegally downloaded copyright music and videos on the Internet, by email and then recorded delivery letter. In theory, if there are further offences […]

December 22, 2010

News Corp gets EC merger approval

As anticipated, the European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of BSkyB by News Corporation. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it. The Commission’s findings concern solely the competition aspects of the proposed […]

December 22, 2010by Colin Mann

Research: STB market revenue $6bn by 2014

The DTT set top box market continues to expand, as countries migrate from standard definition TV to high definition programmes, and digital video recorders become more important.  New products like hybrid web-to-TV set top boxes also will contribute to the long-term growth of DTT STBs pushing revenues to nearly $6 billion by 2014, says In-Stat. […]

December 22, 2010

Research: 3DTV purchase intent varies around the globe

While consumers cite a number of concerns that marketers and manufacturers will need to address before 3DTV gains widespread adoption, research from The Nielsen Company shows that there is a sizable opportunity to attract the eyeballs and investment of some of the world’s most affluent TV households. In a survey of approximately 27,000 online consumers […]

December 22, 2010

Sky+ on iPad

Sky has announced its Sky+ App for iPad is available on the App Store. Now iPad users with a Sky+ or Sky+HD set-top box can search for and record programmes no matter where they are in the world. The Sky+ App has many features, including a highlights showcase section where customers can find the top […]

December 22, 2010

Research: Mobile will bring 3D to mainstream

ABI Research anticipates that mobile devices may turn out to be the best form factor to bring 3D technology into mainstream markets. By 2015, 3D devices—including smartphones, notebooks, mobile Internet devices, and portable game players—will comprise over 11 per cent of the total mobile devices market. “Emerging 3D technologies for mobile devices do not require […]

December 22, 2010