ITV

Category: Technology

  • BBC Weather app hits a million downloads in two weeks

    BBC Weather app hits a million downloads in two weeks

    MUMBAI: The BBC Weather app for iOS and Android devices has reached the milestone of a million downloads.

    Taking just two weeks to hit the landmark figure, the application is said to have driven mobile traffic to BBC Weather up from 20 per cent to 25 per cent post-launch.The broadcaster reported a 47 per cent increase in mobile access on the weekend of the apps launch, compared to the previous weekend, and the hourly forecast feature accounted for 84 per cent of those users.

    Both the Android and iOS builds of the BBC Weather app offer many of the same features, though the former version includes the option to create a homescreen widget and NFC support.

    The BBC also revealed that the app is most commonly used between 6.00 am and 9.00 am in the morning.

  • Oliver Poppelbaum joins Havas Worldwide as MD Digital Europe

    Oliver Poppelbaum joins Havas Worldwide as MD Digital Europe

    MUMBAI: Havas Worldwide announces the appointment of Oliver Poppelbaumas as managing director Digital Europe. In his new role, starting 15 July, Poppelbaum will be responsible for digital strategy and digital new business development as well as enhancing the agency‘s current capabilities across Europe.

    “We are very happy to have Oliver Poppelbaum join us,” said Havas Worldwide Europe CEO Andreas Geyr. “With his deep digital knowledge and strong new business expertise, Oliver brings to the agency the perfect experiences and qualifications to help us continue our digital expansion strategy in Europe.”

    “Today, already 25 per cent of Havas‘s revenue stems from its digital business. My task will be to further increase this share,” Poppelbaum said. “Besides the active new business development, we will also further expand and strengthen our existing client offerings.”

    Poppelbaum previously founded ECE flatmedia GmbH, where as a general manager he developed the first comprehensive and fully digitalised network of out-of-home communication in ECE (Otto Group) shopping centers across Germany.

    Prior to that role, Poppelbaum was managing director at Scholz & Friends, where he was responsible for the entire digital business as well as serving as director of business development at the holding company Commarco. At Wunderman he was managing director and head of the customized European digital and CRM agency “Team Ford.” Poppelbaum started his career at Springer & Jacoby.

  • 4K technology shines at BroadcastAsia2013 exhibition

    4K technology shines at BroadcastAsia2013 exhibition

    MUMBAI: Ultra HD (or 4K) was the buzz word at BroadcastAsis2013. The show underlined various aspects of the entire 4K ecosystem, right from the cameras to production, and from post-production to content delivery technology.

    BroadcastAsia2013‘s first-time exhibitor Ericsson partnered with CommunicAsia2013‘s MEASAT to provide the encoders and receivers to facilitate the delivery of Ultra HD content from MEASAT‘s satellite feed- a perfect example convergence of technologies across information and communications technology (ICT) and broadcasting sectors.

    “BroadcastAsia2013 has been a successful experience for us. We had an extensive showcase of our technology solutions from acquisition to delivery of content on multiple devices. We are pleased with the quality of visitors to our booth,” informed Ericsson, Hong Kong head of TV, Asia Pacific Ward Hansford.

    The trade show also witnessed unveiling of Blackmagic Production Camera 4K and its latest 6G-SDI products that allow Ultra HD products to be integrated into current SDI based television systems. The highlight was Panasonic‘s Ultra Wide Angle camera that can showcase an entire football field at once and GoPro that showcased its latest camera HERO3 that is 30 per cent smaller and 25 per cent lighter, and twice more powerful than its predecessor and includes 4K video recording capability.

    Envivio‘s Muse live video encoder and transcoder for broadcast and multi-screen services was one among the exhibition highlights. Designed for 24X7 TV services over satellite, cable and managed and unmanaged IP networks, Muse compresses live SD or HD TV signals to any format and resolution while maintain an outstanding video quality.

    The tradeshow also witnessed worldwide launch of Space Bridge, which offers the ability to re-purpose existing Fibre Channel or SAS storage and ‘Bridge‘ it into the world of space. Grass Valley‘s latest LDX Flex studio camera system was also one of the attractions.

    “I was updated on the latest audio-visual trends and technologies, especially HD related technologies pertaining to projection and cameras, through the trade show. This exposure has left me thinking of investing in it,” revealed ETG Singapore Anthony Ng.

  • Time extended for comments on draft amendments to the Interconnection Regulations and Tariff Order

    Time extended for comments on draft amendments to the Interconnection Regulations and Tariff Order

    NEW DELHI: Stakeholders have been asked by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to file by 3 July their comments on interconnect regulations and tariff order under the digital addressable system.

    TRAI has also said no request for any further extension of time for submission of comments will be entertained.

    The “Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2013” and the draft “Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Fourth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff (Second Amendment) Order 2013” seek to amend some regulations that TRAI had passed earlier in relation to tariffs and interconnect agreements in earlier years. (Earlier, TRAI had notified the Interconnection Regulations for DAS dated 30 April 2012 as amended on 14 May last year and the Tariff Order applicable for the Addressable Systems dated 21 July 2010 as amended on 30 April last year).

    The amendments it has proposed state:

    Multi system operators (MSOs) cannot seeks signals of a particular TV channel from a broadcaster under ‘must provide‘ clause while at the same time demanding carriage fee for carrying that channel on its distribution platform.

    No minimum channel carrying capacity has been prescribed for the MSOs. However, the MSOs are mandated to carry the channels of broadcasters on non-discriminatory basis under the ‘must carry‘ provision.

    The service providers of the addressable systems are allowed to price and package their offering of channels, however, they are required to comply with the modified twin conditions, as proposed in the draft amendment to the tariff order. These twin conditions are (a) the a-la-carte rate of a pay channel forming part of a bouquet shall not exceed two times the a-la carte rate of the channel offered by the broadcaster at wholesale rates for addressable systems (b) the a-la-carte rate of a pay channel forming part of a bouquet shall not exceed three times the ascribed value of the pay channel in the bouquet. The TRAI says it is doing this to ensure that the a-la-carte rates offered to the subscribers are reasonable vis-? -vis the bouquet/package rates.

    As in the case of pay channels, operators can specify a minimum subscription period, not exceeding three months, for Free-to-Air (FTA) channels subscribed on a-la-carte basis by the subscribers.

    Subscribers are free to choose channels on a-la-carte basis or bouquet/package basis or any combination of a-la-carte and bouquet/package.

    Channels, such as HD or 3D, requiring special type of set top boxes are to be offered on a-la-carte basis and if such channels are also offered as a part of a bouquet(s), corresponding to each such bouquet, the operator would be required to offer bouquet(s) excluding the HD and 3D channels, at a reduced price, commensurate to the rates of these HD and 3D channels.

    Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2013

    Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Fourth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff (Second Amendment) Order 2013

  • Directive for making electronic goods comply with Indian safety requirements

    Directive for making electronic goods comply with Indian safety requirements

    NEW DELHI: Even as contradictory reports keep appearing on whether the digital set top boxes comply with Indian standards, the government today announced that its order for making several electronic items adhere to Indian safety standards will come into effect from 3 July.

    The “Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012” mandates compliance to Indian Safety Standards for 15 notified categories of electronic goods. These electronic goods are STBs, Video Games, Laptop/Notebook/Tablets, Plasma/LCD/LED TVs, Optical Disc Players, Visual Display Units, Printers/Plotters, Scanners, Wireless Keyboards, Telephonic Answering Machines, Amplifiers, Electronic Musical Systems, Electronic Clocks, and Automatic Data Processing Machines and Microwave Ovens.

    Keeping in view the fact that some manufacturers and importers have yet not received registration numbers from Bureau of Indian Standards, the Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY) has put in place an interim mechanism from 22 March this year.

    According to this notification, DeitY shall provide provisional clearance to the manufacturers and importers to sell goods and to obtain registration for a period of three months beyond 3 July. A copy of this extension order is available on website www.deity.gov.in/esdm.

    The Department has accordingly put in place a system for granting provisional clearances for units which have not obtained their registration. The application forms and related documents for seeking provisional clearance are available at www.deity.gov.in/esdm. The applications have to be made to Nodal Officer (Standards – Extension), in the Department of Electronics and IT in terms of the aforesaid notification. All manufacturers and importers are requested to make their applications at the earliest to avoid any difficulty in getting their products sold in the market.

  • Global industry leaders come together at Trade Fair in Singapore

    Global industry leaders come together at Trade Fair in Singapore

    MUMBAI: Fulfilling business interactions and knowledge exchange amongst like-minded industry professionals marked CommunicAsia2013, EnterpriseIT2013 and BroadcastAsia2013, a one of its kind industry event in Asia. The four day event, starting 18 June, got global industry leaders together to showcase latest technologies and solutions for information and communications technology (ICT) and digital media industries.

    The event which was held at a uniquely spectacular venue, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore saw 51,000 attendees from 100 countries/regions. Unlike past years, CommunicAsia/ EnterpriseIT and BroadcastAsia this year was conducted under one roof. While CommunicAsia was held at basement 2 and level 1, BroadcastAsia was organised on level 3, 4 and 5. The arrangement proved advantageous to visitors as they had to only climb different levels, instead of different venues.

    This year, while CommunicAsia had 1,328 exhibitors, of which 82 per cent was from overseas, BroadcastAsia had 716 exhibitors of which the overseas exhibitors comprised 86 per cent.

    Themed ‘The Next Wave: Empowered Customer‘, CommunicAsia focused on the central information requirements and featured 8 tracks and 2 interactive workshops. The BroadCastAsia international conference was designed on the theme ‘Enhancing User Experience, Monetising Content.‘

    What marred the excellent organisation was the heavy smog, which made visibility difficult even at 100 metres.

    “The show has done extremely well this year. All the attendees, including exhibitors, conference speakers, delegates as well as members of the press, have expressed satisfaction in terms of the content of the show. For us, this is testament to our success,” said Singapore Exhibition Services (SES) Chief Executive, Stephen Tan. SES is the organiser of CommunicAsia2013, EnterpriseIT2013 and BroadcastAsia2013.

    “By holding all the shows under one roof, we could leverage the increasing convergence of technologies across both sectors, and still have each show maintain its own appeal,” he added.

    Unveiling of Panasonic Toughpad JT-B1, a 7-inch Android rugged tablet designed for Asian customers, Huawei‘s- P6 Ascend, world‘s slimmest smartphone and Thuraya‘s innovative phone sleeve, that converts ordinary iPhone into a satellite phone for mobile communications almost anywhere in the world, by connecting the phone to Thuraya‘s satellites, were among the major highlights of Enterprise and Communic Asia 2013.

    Retail Juice chief executive officer Richard Jones said, “This is our first experience with exhibiting at CommunicAsia and it has been fantastic. It has exceeded our expectations both with the number of visitors and leads we have generated, and also the quality and diversity of opportunities we have created.” Jones through the exhibition has developed new relationships with potential customers and partners in Asia, Europe and America. “We will be returning next year and also recommending the event as a great business investment,” he opined.

    CommunicAsia2013 also brought together its largest ever contingent of more than 130 satellite communications companies. Asia Broadcast Satellite, APT Satellite, Asia Satellite Telecommunications, China Satcom, Eutelsat, Intelsat, Inmarsat, MEASAT, SES, SKY Perfect JSAT and THAICOM among others showcased their latest satellite communication solutions and applications in broadband, HD content delivery and remote area connectivity for government, military and maritime sectors as well as innovations that will bridge the gap between the ICT and broadcasting industries.

    Adding to the list of many of the firsts, the tradeshow also streamed live ultra high-definition content to an Ultra HD TV screen over MEASAT‘s satellite network, using Ericsson‘s compression technology.

    “There is a good representation of international exhibitors at CommunicAsia2013 and I‘m impressed with the show. In particular, the solutions provided by the exhibitors from China attracted my attention because of their competitive pricing. I am here to find suppliers for fibre optic deployment and I have found useful contacts for future partnerships,” said PT. Ketrosden Triasmitra of Indonesia business and risk analysis manager Irene Mayarani.

  • Vodafone inks € 7.7 billion deal with KDG

    Vodafone inks € 7.7 billion deal with KDG

    MUMBAI: Germany‘s largest cable-TV platform, Kabel Deutschland, is set to be taken over by mobile telco giant Vodafone in a deal worth € 7.7 billion ($10.1 billion).

    [Click and drag to move] Liberty Global, which owns Germany‘s Unity Media, had also been eyeing KDG, which has about 7.6 million TV subscribers in Germany. The transaction values KDG at € 87 per share. Its combination with Vodafone, which has 32.4 million mobile customers in the country, will create a company with € 11.5 billion in German revenues.

    Vodafone predicts a strong growth potential for KDG, particularly with multi-service bundles-existing Vodafone customers can be cross-sold KDG‘s broadband, fixed telephony and TV offerings, while KDG subs can be cross-sold Vodafone‘s mobile offerings.

    “German consumer and business demand for fast broadband and data services continues to grow substantially as customers increasingly access TV, fixed and mobile broadband services from multiple devices in the home and [Click and drag to move] workplace and on the move,” said Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao. “The combination of Vodafone Germany and Kabel Deutschland will greatly enhance our offerings in response to those needs and is consistent with Vodafone‘s broader strategy of providing unified communications services. The transaction announced today-which the management and supervisory boards of Kabel Deutschland intend to recommend to their shareholders-will lead to the creation of an operator with significant competitive scale, attractive operating and capital investment efficiencies and a combined management team with expertise across all communications segments and technologies.”

    Following the transaction, KDG management will be responsible for the combined consumer fixed-line business throughout Germany and for creating the single product platforms for TV, broadband and fixed telephony, out of the existing headquarters in Unterföhring. The platform‘s CEO Adrian V Hammerstein, will be invited to join the management board of Vodafone Germany.

    Hammerstein commented, “Kabel Deutschland has evolved into one of the most dynamic players in the sector. Its high-performance infrastructure and successful strategy makes it ideally placed to continue returning above-average growth in a rapidly changing market. Kabel Deutschland and Vodafone are an ideal fit. Together, we have the opportunity to become Germany‘s leading telecommunications and television provider and to create what for the German market is a unique, winning combination of fixed line and mobile communications.”

  • Tata Elxsi unveils RDK system integration program

    Tata Elxsi unveils RDK system integration program

    BENGALURU: Leveraging its extensive and global experience from engagements with leading MSOs, OEMs and SoC vendors, Tata Elxsi has unveiled its latest system integration program for the deployment of the RDK (reference design kit) platform from Comcast.

    As an RDK System Integrator, Tata Elxsi will assist operators in determining specific requirements, integration, application development, pre/post testing and deployment in an efficient and cost effective manner.

    RDK is a pre-integrated software bundle that creates a common framework for powering tru2way, IP or hybrid set-top boxes and gateway devices and accelerates the development and deployment of next-generation video services. Comcast licenses the RDK to OEMs, SIs, SOCs, software vendors as well as MVPDs to create a community of innovators focused on bringing rich, multi-screen TV home entertainment experiences to consumers faster.

    The RDK offers a cloud-based platform for application development and requires neither platform specific implementation nor download. Thus it enables operators to easily deploy & upgrade applications in their network and ensure a consistent user experience in contrast to traditional middleware.

    As an open platform, the RDK allows application developers to benefit from the vast expertise of the open source community, facilitating easier implementation and faster turnaround.

    “As an RDK licensee, Tata Elxsi is pleased and excited to be an active promoter of the RDK and provides a comprehensive set of services to SoC Vendors, OEMs and MSOs help adopt and implement RDK based devices and services,” said Tata Elxsi EVP Manoj Raghavan.

  • Hiremath resigns from IndiaCast Media Distribution

    Hiremath resigns from IndiaCast Media Distribution

    MUMBAI: Distribution veteran Sanjev Hiremath has announced his resignation from his position as IndiaCast Media Distribution executive vice president. Indiacast media distribution, a strategic joint venture created by TV18 and Viacom18 was formed in May, last year, to create India‘s first multi-platform content asset monetization entity.

    Prior to Indiacast, Hiremath had started digital and new media business for Viacom18, TV18 and ETV channels. He also had a role to play in setting up one of the early cable TV initiatives.

    The veteran has been closely associated with the cable & satellite industry. He joined MTV networks as head ofnetwork development for India & South Asia, when it was launched in India in 1996. He was also instrumental in successful launch and distribution of several channels like Nickelodeon and VH1. Post the joint venture between Viacom and Network18 he oversaw the launch of Colors, Comedy Central and Sonic.

    Announcing Sanjev‘s departure, IndiaCast Group CEO Anuj Gandhi said, “Sanjev has admirably led our new media and digital business over last one year or so and has put us on a path of high growth trajectory. He is an old friend and colleague and we will miss his expertise and knowledge in the cable and satellite industry. As he now ventures out, I wish him all the success in all his future endeavors.”

    Hiremath, who resigned from his position in April, has not decided his further career plan. “I have not decided to join anywhere as yet. This industry has taught me a lot and so I have decided to continue with this industry itself. I want to work in both traditional and new media space,” said Hiremath while speaking to indiantelevision.com.

     

    His last day in office is 30 June. Where will he go next? Well, we will have to wait and watch.

  • CAF submissions: Delhi cable TV subscribers get 15-day extension

    CAF submissions: Delhi cable TV subscribers get 15-day extension

    NEW DELHI: Apparently, cable TV subscribers in Delhii called the TRAI‘s and the MSOs‘ bluff and won. After consistently stating that the last date for submitting consumer application forms (CAFs) or channel selection forms (CSFs) to cable TV operators was 25 June, the telecom regulator gave them more time to submit their forms in Delhi.

    TRAI today announced that the last date has been extended to 10 July, but warned that there would be no further extension. Yesterday, MSOs had stated that the process of CAF collection was proceeding smoothly and that they were going to comply with the TRAI‘s orders and disconnect errant subscribers after today (Read: Indiantelevision.com‘s CAF story MSOs say that cable TV customer response positive for CAFs). Today, however, a delegation of them went and moved TRAI to extend the deadline primairly for Delhi..

    The telco regulator noted that though there had been a ‘tangible’ increase in the number of people who had filled the CAF forms, there were still a large number of cable operators and multi-system operators who had informed TRAI that they did not have the full details of their consumers yet.

    Consumers have been asked by TRAI to cooperate in every way to ensure that CAF are complete in every manner.

    However, it was made clear that no further extension would be given and the MSOs would have no option but to disconnect the signals to consumers who fail to give the forms in time.

    Meanwhile, TRAI has launched an SMS service to reach out to consumers about the importance of CAF, even as major channels have jointly launched a television commercial featuring the lead actresses from popular series.