Advanced Television

Standards

Giraffic accelerates MPEG-DASH

Giraffic has announced partner and customer trials that prove the compatibility and performance benefits of its Adaptive Video Acceleration (AVA) for MPEG-DASH.  The news adds to adaptive streaming standards supported and enhanced by AVA, such as HLS and Smooth Streaming, positioning Giraffic as a leader in video acceleration and MPEG-DASH performance.   Giraffic AVA enables true […]

November 21, 2014

ESOA and EBU: ‘UHD era calls for hybrid solutions’

Senior representatives of Europe’s satellite and broadcasting industries have called for policy initiatives that will integrate satellite technologies and terrestrial broadcasting better to serve consumers in the next generation Ultra-HD digital era. Speaking at a policy debate organised by the European Satellite Operators Association (ESOA) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on Innovation, Evolution & […]

November 20, 2014By Colin Mann

UPnP Forum invites use of UPnP+ certification

UPnP Forum, the global standards group responsible for the seamless connectivity of home devices, has launched its UPnP+ Certification level for improved device and open source implementations in new paradigms, including mobile connected computing, Cloud-based service delivery, Smartphone content sharing and the Internet of Things (IoT). With Gartner predicting the number of devices connected by […]

November 18, 2014

Industry majors form Streaming Video Alliance

A number of leading companies from the online video ecosystem are jointly to form the Streaming Video Alliance with the aim of facilitating the creation of architecture, standards and best practices that will scale the infrastructure for online video and improve efficiency for all providers in the ecosystem while preserving a high quality experience for […]

November 14, 2014By Colin Mann

Russia Today slammed by Ofcom

RT, the former Russia Today news channel, managed to breach Ofcom regulations four times in a single week back in early March over its allegedly biased coverage of the Ukrainian crisis. Ofcom considered that as news programming, the content in question raised issues warranting investigation under its key rule that: “News, in whatever form, must […]

November 10, 2014By Chris Forrester

Study supports EBU spectrum stance

A study into the future use of radio spectrum – the finite resource essential to free-to-air TV access – concludes that its most valuable use for at least the next 15 years is digital terrestrial broadcasting (DTT). The investigation by the strategic telecommunications consultancy Aetha of the ultra high frequency (UHF) spectrum band within the […]

November 3, 2014By Colin Mann

HD+ joins FreeTV Alliance

HD+, a provider of high-definition, free-to-air satellite channels to the German market, has joined the FreeTV Alliance, the broadcast industry association that was revealed at IBC by Fransat, Freesat and Tivùsat to promote the harmonisation of free-to-view satellite TV services and technology across Europe. HD+ had been expected to join the Alliance at launch, but […]

October 29, 2014

Portugal starts migration to MFN for DTT

Portugal has started using Multi Frequency Network (MFN) in an attempt to resolve DTT reception problems in parts of the country. The move follows the request of DTT network operator, PT Comunicações, (PTC) for licensing four transmitters (Marofa, Mendro, Palmela and São Mamede) on alternative frequencies to those operating in mainland Portugal, subsequently approved by […]

October 27, 2014From Branislav Pekic in Rome

FCC postpones spectrum auction

The FCC’s plan to auction off 600 MHz spectrum licences returned by broadcasters has been deferred until at least 2016, following what the Commission describes as a recalibration of its proposed timing. It was seeking to hold the auction in mid-2015. In a blog post, Gary Epstein, chair of the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force, […]

October 27, 2014By Colin Mann

Cinema’s audio changes to “impact TV”

The influential Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE) has been holding its annual Technical Conference & Exhibition in Hollywood this past week. One of the topics discussed was how – and which – new immersive cinema audio technology might be adopted as the next movie ‘standard’. Two contenders are already being talked about, […]

October 24, 2014By Chris Forrester