The Spanish Government has approved a new piece of legislation to regulate HDTV content and the use of the multiplex capacity on DTT. The new rule obliges broadcasters to inform viewers about HDTV broadcasts that must meet at least 720 active lines under 16:9 format in the production process. The new rule aims to avoid […]
The HQME Steering Committee, a newly-formed group of mobile and content industry leaders that includes SanDisk Corporation, SoftBank Mobile, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Orange, has announced a proposed industry standard aimed at addressing the current and growing challenges of efficiently managing and delivering data from mobile networks to mobile devices. HQME (High Quality Mobile Experience) […]
Broadcast regulator Ofcom has unveiled the logo that licensed TV channels must use to signal to viewers when a UK-produced programme contains product placement. The logo must appear for three seconds at the start and end of programmes, and after any advertising breaks. Broadcasters will be allowed to adapt slightly the logo, according to Ofcom […]
The BBC will be disappointed that its launch of an iPlayer app for iPad and Android was firstly leaked by its own staff and has now been overshadowed in the press by reports that it has no way of stopping licence fee evaders watching live TV on their devices. A report in The Telegraph points […]
LG Electronics has filed two cease and desist requests with the US International Trade Commisson (ITC) over alleged patent infringements by Sony. LG is claiming that the Japanese company has infringed its patents on Blu-ray drive technology in the PS3 and in digital TV technology in Internet connected Bravia TVs. There are four patents at […]
The US government will propose a set of Internet piracy rules as the government seeks to “improve intellectual property enforcement,” says Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel. A number of Federal agencies including the US Departments of Commerce, Homeland Security and Justice, as well as the Office of the US Trade Representative, have developed a […]
The UK Competition Commission probe into BSkyB finds it has “consistently” earned “excess profits” on its Sky Movies packages, that’s the conclusion of a working paper published on its website. It says that while some of Sky’s excess profits may be due to innovation or competitor weakness, “we would not expect such profits to persist […]
Opening up access to online content is a good start in ending fragmentation in the digital Single Market, according to Neelie Kroes, the EU Commissioner responsible for the Digital Agenda. Speaking at a London event on ‘Building a Digital Single Market: Delivering Benefits of the Digital Economy to Europe’s Citizens’, she said that “every gap, […]
Four groups have ‘friended’ ivi.tv, the Seattle company streaming TV signals online without broadcasters’ consent. Public Knowledge and three other organisations filed an amicus brief with the US District Court in New York backing ivi.tv. The streamer is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by broadcasters seeking to shut it down. Public Knowledge, […]
Ofcom will review some parts of the much criticised Digital Economy Act, which was rushed through parliament by the previous Labour government before the general election in May, to see if they are feasible, the UK government has confirmed. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has asked the communications regulator to assess whether the Act’s reserve powers […]