ITV

Category: DTH

  • Dopod Communication unveils Windows mobile PDA phone – D600 in India

    Dopod Communication unveils Windows mobile PDA phone – D600 in India

    MUMBAI: Dopod Communication (India) Private Limited, PDA phone and Smartphone provider, has launched a new Windows mobile PDA model called the D600 in the Indian market.

    The D600 is powered with the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 and is bundled with applications which includes DirectPush Mail*, Internet Explorer Mobile, Office Mobile, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, Pictures and Videos, Pocket MSN.

    Additionally, the D600 combines a full featured quad-band mobile phone, with an inbuilt 2 Mega pixel CMOS Camera, a speakerphone with push-based wireless email, SMS, web browser and personal organizer applications – all on a large and high-resolution colour 71.1mm screen.

    The launch follows from a favorable response to the previous three models – the 818Pro, the C800 and the C720W introduced in December 2006 by the company.

    The D600 also offers users the option of a Voice Commander, allowing users to dial and control their music easily with their voice. All in all, the D600 model has been specially developed for active mobile professionals who want to manage their work wherever they are and also keep in touch with family, friends and access the latest news, informs an official release.

    “We are pleased to introduce yet another revolutionary product in India that aims to enhance the mobile experience for the customers. The D600 is the perfect PDA phone for the Indian customers as it combines a stylish design with ease of use, and offers powerful functions, all packaged at a very attractive price point,” says Dopod International Corp. CEO Jack Tong.

    Dopod Communication (India), regional sales manager Ajay Sharma said, “The D600 has a highly advanced interface and offers Personal Information Management (PIM) which allows users to easily sync the phone with their computer. It also features a sleek and stylish design, resulting in an innovative yet powerful device that is ideal for mobile phone users looking to upgrade from their existing handsets.”

    The D600 will be available at all leading counters from 10 February at a maximum retail price of Rs. 22,893 (inclusive of all taxes).
     

  • Wal-Mart launches movie downloads service

    Wal-Mart launches movie downloads service

     MUMBAI:Retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores Inc today begins selling films online as the leading seller of DVDs stakes a claim in the emerging market of movie downloading.

    The beta service, powered by new technology from HP Video Merchant Services, includes more than 3,000 movie and TV titles from major Hollywood studios and television networks. Wal-Mart is the first major retailer to offer a video downloads service with the support of all major Hollywood studios.

    New movie releases are available for video download on the day of the DVD release and range from $12.88-19.88 and TV shows at $1.96 per episode.

    “This marks a significant step for Wal-Mart in home video, and enables us to better serve our customers as they begin to complement their DVD purchases with downloading of digital video content,” said Kevin Swint, Wal-Mart’s divisional merchandise manager for digital media. “With thousands of movie and TV titles now available for download, coupled with the strength of our successful physical DVD business, this is an unprecedented offering of video content, features and capabilities currently unmatched in the market. Also, we’re excited to launch a service that has the support of all the major Hollywood studios.”

    “Working with HP in digital video combines Wal-Mart’s ability to bring exciting content offerings to our customers with the substantial technical capabilities of HP. We anticipate further expanding this service to offer a comprehensive online home video shopping experience that meets our customers’ growing needs and allows them to shop a deep selection of movie/TV content in a variety of formats, including video downloads,” Swint added.
     

  • Vh1, Nokia to create music video from ‘user generated content’

    Vh1, Nokia to create music video from ‘user generated content’

    MUMBAI: Vh1 and Nokia will partner to launch ‘Shot by You’ an initiative which will see the creation of a music video with ‘User-Generated-Content’.

    The music video for Indian contemporary rock band Pentagram’s single ‘Voice’ will be created using video clips sent in by Nokia consumers. This is bound to push ‘user interactivity’ into the mainstream media. The music video would be made for Pentagram’s latest album, ‘It’s OK. It’s All Good’.

    Commenting on the partnership, MTVN India managing director Amit Jain said, “This partnership with Nokia best exemplifies ‘Viacom Brand Solutions’, our approach that goes beyond traditional advertising or sponsorship and focuses on providing innovative marketing solutions to our key clients and brands.”

    He further added, “We’re happy that in Nokia we’ve found a partner who is willing to take the leap of faith and associate itself with a ground breaking concept that takes their approach of ‘connecting people’ even further.”

    Nokia consumers are invited to listen to the latest track by Pentagram – ‘Voice’ posted online on www.nokia.co.in, and use their camera phones or video recording devices to shoot video footage that they believe is most appropriate for the sound track and send them to Vh1. The most relevant of the video clips would be selected and integrated by Vh1 to create the music video, which will be launched exclusively on Vh1 in March 2007.

    Starting February, Vh1 and Nokia will launch a nation-wide campaign to promote the concept across multiple platforms. The promos of the concept will be seen on Vh1, followed by multi-city ground activation.

    Talking about the Nokia initiative Nokia India director marketing Devinder Kishore said “Nokia’s association with VH1 is an extension of our ‘Music Connects’ theme, aimed at giving young talent an opportunity to express their creativity with the fusion of music and technology “.

    Kishore further added, “With the power of mobility, music enthusiasts will surely have an interesting experience by capturing, sharing and editing their interpretations and creating a video of Pentagram’s chart topping soundtrack.”

    Lead singer of Pentagram Vishal Dadlani says, “It’s a great way to get our people directly involved with the music, and also, hopefully, to include a wider-than-usual audience. So many thanks to both Nokia and Vh1.”
     

  • Oscar.com to unleash content ahead of the Academy awards

    Oscar.com to unleash content ahead of the Academy awards

    MUMBAI: With the prestigious Oscar Awards a few weeks away, Oscar.com, the official site for the 79th Academy Awards, will provide movie fans with a lot of video.

    This includes behind-the-scenes content, a sneak peek into Oscar preparations, as well as online sweepstakes and interactive games. In india the oscars will air on Star movies on 26 February.

    During Oscar Week, 19-24 February 2007 Oscar.com will feature behind-the-scenes video diaries from the host Ellen DeGeneres as she prepares to host the telecast.

    Hosted by Allyson Waterman and Greg Vaughan (star of US broadcaster ABC’s General Hospital), Road to the Oscars will cover the events that take place during the weeks leading up to the Academy Awards, including footage from pre-Oscar events, interviews and post-show coverage. Road to the Oscars will feature four weekly shows and a daily show from 19 -26 February 2007.

    New to Oscar.com this year is a Q&A section with the nominees in which they answer questions. Fans can get to know the stars better. Also new is the Thank You Cam, where fans can see the first exclusive comments from the winners as they leave the stage with their Oscar statuette.

    Tom Julian, Oscar.coms official fashion trend analyst, will give fans a look into red carpet style with exclusive one-on-one visits with fashion designers. Julian will also take fans back in time with the Evolution of Style page.

    In addition Oscar.com will launch two exclusive promotions, Find the 79s and Predict the Winners. A watch-and-win contest, viewers can tune in during the live show to look for hidden 79s placed throughout the telecast. At the end of the telecast, viewers may log on to Oscar.com and submit a list of where the symbols appeared for a chance to win great prizes. Predict the Winners offers fans a chance to test their skills on their Oscar predictions. On Oscar.com fans may follow along with printable ballots.

    Users can also log on on 26 February 2007 to watch backstage interview footage with the winners of the 79th Academy Awards.

    Furthermore Oscar.com also has interactive games, including Your Perfect Oscar Date. This allows players to determine which celebrities would make their perfect Oscar night date. Which Character Are You? aims to keep players guessing about which memorable movie character they are most similar to.

    The challenge for the Academy though will be viewership. Apart from The Departed which made over $100 million the other four films nominated for best picture have not made much money at the box office. Their combined box office take is only slightly more than what last year’s nominees had made which was the lowest ever.

    In fact Clint Eastwood’s Letters From Iwo Jima a second world war film told from Japan’s perspective has made only a little over two million dollars. The Queen which stars Oscar favourite Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II made a modest $35 million. Babel made a little over $ 23 million.

  • Insat-4B to launch on 10 March

    Insat-4B to launch on 10 March

    MUMBAI: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro)-built INSAT-4B, which is mainly meant for direct-to-home (dth) television services, is slated for launch from the European spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana on 10 March.

    The Rs 3 billion telecom satellite, which is identical to INSAT-4A, carries 12 Ku-band and 12 C-band transponders. European space consortium Arianespace will carry out the launch. It will cost around $ 50 million, according to a press release.

    As had been reported last month by Indiantelevision.com one likely customer for the KU band transponders is Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Group, which had booked space last year on the failed Insat-4C for its DTH venture Sun Direct.

    Sun TV had booked six transponders for DTH and one for DSNG (digital satellite news gathering) on Insat-4C.

  • Tivo selects The Kaplan Thaler Group to lead ad efforts

    Tivo selects The Kaplan Thaler Group to lead ad efforts

    MUMBAI: Tivo which creates television services for digital video recorders (DVRs) in the US has selected The Kaplan Thaler Group to serve as the creative resource for its advertising efforts.

    Tivo VP consumer marketing, Katie Ho says, “Our desire to invest in marketing to educate consumers about the clearly differentiated feature set of the Tivo service requires us to develop a broader, more sustained national consumer advertising presence in the coming year. We’re excited to partner with The Kaplan Thaler Group, given their strong strategic thinking, fresh ideas and their exceptional ability to capture the essence of our brand.”

    The Kaplan Thaler Group CEO and chief creative officer Linda Kaplan Thaler says, “Tivo is a cultural icon and an incredibly strong brand among American consumers. This is a great, strategic win for us. We have the opportunity to not only work with a group of progressive and creative thinkers, but to apply our unique philosophy to get people to sit up and take notice of Tivo.”

  • Netflix launches marketing campaign for Academy Awards

    Netflix launches marketing campaign for Academy Awards

    MUMBAI: Online movie rental service Netflix has launched a promotional campaign, in cooperation with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Amapas).

    The aim is to promote tune-in to the 79th Academy Awards telecast while entertaining movie fans at Netflix’s site. In India the Oscars will air on Star Movies on 26 February.

    Rooted in this year’s Academy Award’s promotional theme, which highlights some of cinema’s most unforgettable movie lines, the multi-platform effort will utilise online, broadcast, viral and print vehicles to give consumers a chance to learn more about the great movies behind the memorable Oscar quotes.

    The promotion will feature a series of efforts, including specially created editorial content at netflix.com and oscar.com. The program will also gain momentum through a national movie quotes survey, communication on Netflix’s iconic red mailers, a national radio promotion and a viral video programme.

    The Oscar-themed messaging on Netflix’s home and awards pages includes tune-in information featuring this year’s Academy Awards key artwork. The site will showcase Netflix’s library of Academy Award-winning films, and is designed to be a fun and interactive way for consumers to learn more about the movies they love. Oscar.com will in turn feature Netflix in relation to the quotes campaign. Visitors to the Oscar site will be given the opportunity to link to netflix.com to learn more about their movies of interest.

    Netflix will also conduct a survey of its members to find out the most memorable and quotable movie lines from 2006. The Netflix viral video programme will capture recognizable personalities, and everyday people, performing their version of memorable movie lines from Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, The Godfather, A Few Good Men and Jerry Maguire.

    The footage will be posted on a video wall which can be accessed at www.netflix.com/oscars beginning on 12 February 2007. Consumers can also post their own video, showcasing quotes from the above mentioned movies, on the site. The first 500 participants will be rewarded with a one-month membership to Netflix. Netflix will also link from this dedicated page to oscar.com where pertinent information about this year’s telecast will be featured.

    Netflix chief marketing officer Leslie Kilgore says, “The Academy Awards are the Super Bowl of the movie business, and we’re extremely pleased to collaborate with the Academy to promote the Oscars and to highlight many of the best loved and best remembered moments in film history.

    “The multi-dimensional nature of the campaign will allow us to reach a wide audience and really engage people in an entertaining way.”

  • Most Americans are unaware of Digital TV transition: Study

    Most Americans are unaware of Digital TV transition: Study

    MUMBAI: The majority of US households that receive their television signals over the air are still unaware of the digital TV transition.

    This is despite the fact that an estimated 22 million over-the-air homes need to make some kind of digital decision by 12 February, 2009, according to a Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) survey.

    The bulk of the survey participants—61 per cent—had no idea that the DTV transition was taking place. 10 per cent said they had limited awareness, while 25 per cent said they were somewhat aware or very aware. While some respondents were aware of the digital transition, 53 per cent had no idea when analogue transmissions were scheduled to be turned off.

    In order for the DTV transition to be successful, consumers must be well-informed and primed to adapt successfully to the new technology. This cannot occur unless there is a comprehensive, coordinated national consumer outreach effort. Therefore, APTS is urging Congress to designate targeted funding for consumer outreach on the switch from analog to digital. During APTS Capitol Hill Day 2007 from 13-14 February more than 200 executives and volunteer board members of local Public Television stations are scheduled to ask Congress to recognise Public Television’s unique outreach ability in the community and provide funding for those efforts.

    APTS president and CEO John Lawson said, There are more than 21 million US households that get their TV exclusively free and over the air, and we know these homes are heavy viewers of Public Television. That puts us, working with our partners, in a strong position to provide information about the digital transition to the people who need it most.”

    APTS is spearheading a coalition of trade and interest groups to compete for the $5 million Congress set aside for consumer education in last year’s DTV transition bill. The diverse group includes the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Consumer Electronics Association, American Library Association and Women Involved in Farm Economics. In addition, APTS is now a part of the DTV Transition Coalition, a separate but related effort led by the National Association of Broadcasters.

    The need for vigorous outreach efforts is evident when looking at analog consumers’ attitudes and awareness toward their options for digital TV reception after the transition. Roughly 45 per cent of respondents to APTS’ survey said they will either “do nothing” or “don’t know” what option they will take to obtain digital signals. 19 per cent will purchase a converter box, 17 per cent are likely to sign up for cable TV service, and nine per cent will sign up for satellite TV. Another nine per cent indicated they would buy a digital television set so that they can continue to receive over-the-air broadcasts.

    The survey also found that at least 38 per cent of analog households would “definitely not” or “probably not” select a particular video service provider if they didn’t offer Public Television channels after the DTV transition. This suggests that the lack of Public Television offerings by video providers will cause a serious barrier to these analog households in choosing cable or satellite to receive digital television.

  • Viacom asks YouTube to remove unauthorized clips

    Viacom asks YouTube to remove unauthorized clips

    MUMBAI: YouTube, the online video sharing site from Google faces yet another controversy as Viacom asks the website to remove more than 100,000 unauthorized clips from its hugely popular video-sharing site.

    Viacom has been through several rounds of talks with YouTube and Google but has not managed a breakthrough as far as ‘filtering’ or ‘revenue sharing’ for clips and video is concerned.

    Viacom said in a statement that after several months of talks with the website “it has become clear that YouTube is unwilling to come to a fair market agreement that would make Viacom content available to YouTube users.”

    Viacom has repeatedly negotiated with YouTube and Google to deliver on several “filtering tools” to control unauthorized video from appearing on the site.

    Although the company is asking YouTube to take the clips down, it has not taken legal action.

    Under federal copyright law, online services such as YouTube are generally immune from liability as long as it responds to takedown requests. But the legal lines blur when another user posts the same video.

    YouTube said in a statement that it would comply with the request from Viacom and said that it cooperates “with all copyright holders to identify and promptly remove infringing content as soon as we are officially notified.”

    In November, YouTube had agreed to delete nearly 30,000 files after the Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers complained of copyright infringement.

    Some media companies such as CBS Corp. and General Electric Co., NBC Universal have made deals to allow YouTube to use video clips from their programming. But the site is yet to agree over ways to get compensated for the use of their copyrighted material.

    Universal Music Group had threatened legal action for copyright infringement and piracy of music videos. It later reached a licensing deal with them last year.

    Despite Viacom’s problems with YouTube, the company’s MTV Networks division reached a licensing deal last year with Google that allows the search company’s video service to use clips from MTV and its sibling networks under a revenue-sharing agreement.

  • AOL, Charter Communications ink broadband marketing partnership

    AOL, Charter Communications ink broadband marketing partnership

    MUMBAI: Reinforcing its commitment to the global HDTV industry, the Banff World Television Festival in Canada has joined forces with NHK, Japans public broadcaster, to offer up the NHK Presidents Prize for the sixth consecutive year.

    NHK will sponsor the special award, which includes a $25,000 cash prize for the best HDTV programme.

    All HD programmes entered into the 2006 Banff World Television Awards will be eligible for nomination. The winner will be announced at the 2006 Banff World Television Awards ceremony during The 27th Banff World Television Festival, from 11 to14 June 2006.

    Banff World Television Festival CEO Robert Montgomery says, As a public broadcaster, NHK is also a leader in advanced HD technology, which is an incredibly important focus for us. We are delighted at the opportunity to work with NHK again in recognizing HDs true visionaries.

    NHK president Genichi Hashimoto says, “NHK always has a keen eye on the potential of new broadcasting technologies, so we’re delighted to encourage producers and directors who are leading the way in HDTV production. Given the increasing global dominance of HDTV and the Banff World Television Awards’ commitment to recognizing excellence, we look forward to seeing outstanding HD work in the competition”.

    The Banff World Television Awards include 18 categories covering the major program genres andnew this yeara category recognising excellence in interactive television. A Banff Rockie will be awarded to the best entry in each of the 18 categories. Entry forms and the detailed regulations for the 2006 Banff World Television Awards international program competition are available at www.banMUMBAI: AOL and Charter Communications, Inc have inked a partnership to offer consumers the AOL service and Charter’s high-speed internet access.

    The combined offer provides AOL members access to the AOL service’s leading security features and exclusive content via Charter’s true high-speed Internet connection at the price of $25.90 per month.

    Beginning on 6 February, AOL members in the Charter footprint will be able to sign-up for the new combined offering, as well as order a cable modem, making it simple and convenient to upgrade from dial up.

    “With the addition of Charter to AOL’s coast-to-coast broadband network, we’re expanding our footprint so that more AOL members around the country are able to take advantage of a competitively-priced high-speed offering. We’re happy to add this major new cable partner to our network of Internet providers as we are entering this new phase for our company,” said AOL Access Business president Joe Redling.

    Charter executive vice president and chief marketing officer Bob Quigley said, “Through this innovative marketing partnership, we’re targeting new high-speed customers and expanding our customer base. Our robust high-speed product makes all aspects of the Internet experience better, and together with AOL’s popular online service, provides a very compelling offer.”

    Key features of the new offering will include:

    Speed: The high speed of broadband makes all aspects of the Internet experience more valuable.
    Fast and Easy Setup: Makes getting up and running quick and easy.
    Customer Service: Help that’s available 24/7, including help via phone, e-mail or instant message.
    Safety: A comprehensive set of safety and security tools available to keep users safer against viruses, spyware, identify theft, and other online threats for no additional charge.
    Content: AOL exclusive and original programming including commercial free radio, streaming video and additional Charter content offerings through charter.net.
    Storage: Additional benefits like unlimited email and picture storage on AOL.
    ff2006.com.