Category: Technology

MUMBAI: Real Estate Company Mantri Developers has tied up with mobile advertising solutions company TELiBrahma to offer ‘augmented reality App‘ on mobile phones for potential home buyers.

The app will give a 3D view of real estate properties for a closer experience. The prospective home buyers have to download the app, scan the Mantri DSK Pinnacle ads published in newspapers, using their mobile phones or tablet devices. Subsequently, the app will take the user on a 3D tour and provide a “panoramic” view of the interiors along with a virtual walk through of the property.

By leveraging augmented reality TELiBrahma unites the physical and virtual worlds to deliver a “unique” and “interactive” digital experience to consumers facilitating them to know about the project.

Mantri Developers director-marketing Snehal Mantri said, “It is a matter of pride for us to be the pioneer in the real estate industry to launch this highly innovative and digitally engaging application. It will help the perspective customers to make a satisfactory buying decision. This promotional campaign is a reflection of Mantri Developer‘s inventive marketing approach.”

TELiBrahma CEO and founder Narasimha Suresh added, “Experiencing Augmented Reality in real estate will definitely help consumers take a step further in their buying decisions. We hope to see other industries introduce this concept to their consumers thereby provide a unique and wholesome experience of the product or the project.”

MUMBAI: Marico, a consumer products and services group, has launched a special mobile app, customised for its investors.

The app provides quicker access to all critical information on the Marico Group. It gives investors “real time” and “easier access” to all relevant information regarding Marico‘s annual report, quarterly results and news updates.

Marico created this App with help from The Web Depot, using the revolutionary cloud computing format.

Marico group CFO Milind Sarwate said, “Innovation has always been an integral part of the Marico culture. We have extended it now to the investor interface area, by focusing on enhancing the quality of communication with the investor community. This App recognises the arrival of the “mobile generation” into the Investor space. I am sure the App will be a hit with Marico investors “on the move”!”

MUMBAI: Sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports is increasing pressure on cable TV networks to increase payouts on the wake of a one-year live cricket content that their channel Star Cricket will showcase beginning with the India-New Zealand series.

ESS has switched off signals to Gujarat Telelink Private Limited (GTPL), a year after their distribution pact with the leading multi-system operator (MSO) in Gujarat ended. Their stated grouse: non-payment of subscription fees running into millions of rupees.

ESS‘ upcoming live cricket telecast content spread over a year includes ICC Twenty20 World Cup, Champions League Twenty20 and a host of bi-lateral series like India-England, India-Pakistan and India-Australia.

ESPN Software India (ESI), the company that operates ESPN, Star Sports, Star Cricket, ESPN HD and Star Cricket HD channels, had switched off the signals in August after issuing a formal deactivation notice.

“We tried our best to resolve the issue. We were forced to take such a stance as GTPL did not pay us for the services availed. The outstandings are huge and run into crores of rupees,” says ESPN Software India Vice President – Affiliate sales T S Panesar.

GTPL founder-promoter and managing director Anirudh Sinh Jadeja is not happy with the increase in payouts that ESS‘ is asking for a fresh deal and is negotiating better terms. “We will clear the dues. But they are asking for almost 20-25 per cent increase. That is too high in the current economic situation,” he says.

The one-year distribution deal between ESS and GTPL, in which Hathway Cable & Datacom owns 50 per cent stake, ended 31 July last year. However, the former continued getting signals for almost a year.

Explains Panesar, “GTPL assured us that they would renew the contract and clear all outstanding dues soon. Since GTPL has been our customer for long, we kept providing signals of ESPN Star Sports channels based on that assurance.During this time, their network has also grown.”

Jadeja is hopeful that the two parties would work out a pact within three-four months. Panesar, however, is firm that any new contract will hinge on GTPL‘s ability to clear dues. “We have not had any discussions on the future contracts. Given the huge outstanding that they have pending to clear with us, we are keen on getting our outstandings cleared first before talking about the future,” he asserts.

GTPL will, indeed, have to hurry with the deal if it wants the to show the ICC T20 World Cup to its cable TV subscribers. The big event kicks off from 18 September and runs till 7 October.

ESS had recently entered into a deal with Kerala‘s leading MSO Asianet Cable Vision to end the three-year stand-off that arose since the two could agree on commercial terms.

New Delhi: Ripple, a rich media and video advertising network, was launched by international digital media company Affle here to cater especially to smart devices include personal computers, mobiles, tablets, and smart television.

With the growing convergence of connected devices, Affle Group Founder and Chairman Anuj Khanna Sohum told indiantelevision.com that Ripple is an integrated ad network which offers cutting edge advertising solutions across all smart screens.

Ripple is backed by some solid technology innovations built by Affle which enable it to deliver advertising contextual to the kind of video content being consumed thus making it significantly more engaging for users and valuable for advertisers and publishers.

He said the aim of the device is to give advertising which is ‘not intrusive and blends with the content‘. Explaining this, he said that only advertisements linked to the content would be shown when a particular content was being seen. Keywords would be captured in key moments and thus enhance the content. ‘Thus the advertisement would be according to what the viewer is watching at a particular time.‘

Asked how he was publicizing the new technology, he said this would be done through world of mouth and personal outreach rather than advertising.

Earlier during the press meet to announce the launch of the new device, he said: “Three major consumer and technology trends are leading the digital revolution in developing markets – increased consumption of video and rich media over internet, greater penetration of mobile internet on smart devices, cheaper and faster access to connected wireless networks. Ripple is designed to leverage these significant trends with the aim to accelerate the digital revolution globally. Given our successful history and extensive experience, we have a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the consumers, publishers and advertisers. Our innovation on the Ripple platform enhances the consumer experience and engagement with rich media and that we believe will add significant value to all key stakeholders in the digital media ecosystem.”

Ripple differentiates itself significantly from other ad networks by having an integrated platform for delivering intelligent advertising across all smart screens and through its array of innovations which make advertising more contextual and richer in experience.

A recent consumer research commissioned by Affle and conducted by IMRB revealed that online video advertising is almost three times more likely to get users to search for the product against regular TV advertising and is 2.7 times more effective for enhancing purchase consideration compared to TV advertising.

Commenting on the Ripple platform and partner traction, Co-founder and CEO Anuj Kumar said “We strongly believe that effective advertising is one which is engaging and relevant for consumers. Over the last one year we have been doing a lot of product level R&D and user research to create the Ripple platform such that advertising delivered through it will reach the most relevant consumer, on the most premium content and at the most relevant context across all smart screens. I am extremely happy that a lot of those efforts have made us build a solid product which has already attracted top partners like Samsung, P&G, Star, Business Standard, Dainik Bhaskar, Beoscope, Bolanews, Sambawa and many more across key Asian markets.”

Speaking about some key technology innovations on Ripple, Charles Yong, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Affle, said, “We have built some exciting innovations in Ripple like our new ad engagement unit ‘Storm‘ which utilises image search, voice recognition, face detection like technologies to identify the most relevant context in the content, to help deliver the most meaningful advertising. Our tests on some of these innovations have been hugely successful and we have observed significant increases in user engagement levels through such formats versus the regular digital advertising formats. I am confident that once commercially available these would get a lot more advertisers and publishers to work with us. We are also working on a lot of other next generation innovations currently, as we strongly believe that a solid technology backbone for Ripple could help us significantly enhance digital advertising effectiveness and the overall market size.”

MUMBAI: Gujarat Telelink Private Limited (GTPL), a leading multi-service operator (MSO), has launched its high-definition (HD) services in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The MSO is offering HD set-top boxes at Rs 4400 with one year subscription package free. The HD STB along with recording facility is available for Rs 6400 including one year free subscription.

After the one year subscription offer, GTPL will offer HD subscription at Rs 1200 per year.

GTPL is targeting 10,000-15,000 subscribers in the initial phase.The company plans to introduce one million new generation STBs from Cisco.

As part of its new offering, GTPL will offer 20 HD channels across a wide array of genres including Star Plus, Star Movies, Star Gold, UTV Stars, Ten HD, Zee TV, national Geographic, M Tunes, Zee Cinema, Travel XP, and Nat Geo respectively.

GTPL MD Anirudh Sinh Jadeja said, “Keeping customer experiences to the core of all our operations and backed by the strength of technology, I am proud to announce the launch of HD Services on our network. GTPL Strongly feels that introduction of more and more HD channels will bring in a rapid change in television viewing habits in India. Investments made by GTPL for future HD business is happening at the right time and in right direction.”

GTPL recently received DAS (Digital Addressable System) licence for five states namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Assam.

MUMBAI: The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications, has laid down new rules requiring Canadian broadcasters and broadcasting distributors to control the loudness of television commercials.

The new rules, which came into force 1 September, applies only to digital television services and not to analog services.
Viewers who believe that a commercial was broadcast at an excessively loud volume should first contact the broadcaster or television service provider about their concerns and attempt to resolve the complaint directly; and if the concerns are not addressed to their satisfaction, viewers may then submit a complaint to the CRTC via its website or by other means listed on the website.

“Starting on September 1, Canadians will be able to enjoy their favourite television programs without having to adjust the volume during commercial breaks,” said CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais. “We appreciate the efforts undertaken by the broadcasting industry to conform to the new standard and ensure that programs and commercials are transmitted at a similar volume.”

The broadcasters and television service providers must adhere to an objective international standard for measuring and controlling television signals. It is important to note, however, that loudness is a perception that is dependent on a number of factors, including the nature and content of the audio material. Some frequencies are perceived to be soothing, while others are more irritating to the human ear, the CRTC noted.

As a result, a commercial can be broadcast at a similar volume, or audio level, as the program that preceded it but perceived to be of different loudness, it added.

The CRTC also pointed out that the United States will adopt the same international standard by the end of the year. Until then, viewers watching the over-the-air signals of American television stations may be exposed to excessively loud ads.

Mumbai: Colors has launched an online game allowing viewers to be a part of its dancing reality show, ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa‘.
Designed by BBC Worldwide Productions India, the game will allow the user to choose a professional dancer and also empowers them to create a customised dance routine with the option of adapting the Indian choreographer Salman Yusuf Khan as an avatar.

The dance moves showcased on the game have been designed and choreographed by Kym Johnson. As the player progress in the game, with each level, newer dance moves, costumes, music and more are unlocked to amplify the overall experience of dance and ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa‘.

The game also presents a tutorial highlighting different dance forms like Samba, Jive, Tango and more. The 3D graphics and imagery of the ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa‘ game bring to life the thrilling yet “glamorous”, “sassy” and “dramatic” aspects from the show.

Colors digital head Vivek Srivastav said, “With the Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa game, we aim to connect with our strong online fan base which elevates the show to a higher mass platform. The more virtual formats we explore, the more it enables us to tap newer audiences across the world. We have been successful in extending the Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and Colors brands into newer mediums with not only the mobile application, but also with this new interactive game which gives fans and social gamers a platform to live like a celebrity and have a true Jhalak experience.”

BBC Worldwide Productions India general manager and creative head Myleeta Aga said, “We are very excited to explore newer avenues in the digital media space and bringing the television experience of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa to the virtual world. The game, with its signature Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa touch allows fans, viewers and users to feel the adrenalin that comes with being a part of this larger than life show. The response to the episodes being aired on COLORS and the mobile application has been incredible and we believe that with the launch of this game, the overall experience will create an addiction among the Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa fans and dance lovers.”

NEW DELHI: The Press Information Bureau has launched mobile version of website, pib.gov.in, to make its content easily accessible to mobile users.

The URL of the mobile website is http://pib.gov.in/mobile.The new mobile site has been customised in such a way that it displays the latest press releases on the home screen and offers links to other matter on the website. In addition, to make it open instantly in places where the internet connectivity is poor, the mobile site does not display the ‘heavy‘ content such as photographs and videos on the homepage. When an alert is issued by PIB, e.g. regarding a press conference to be held soon, this supersedes all content.

The regular website of PIB is highly content rich, with content in text as well as graphic and audio-visual formats. This makes the site a bit heavy for mobile phones and computers with poor internet connectivity. In addition, the small screen of mobile phones does not allow full display of the website as on a computer screen.

At present the mobile version displays only English content. In due course, Hindi and Urdu content of the main website will also be available on the mobile version.

PIB‘s website is one of the most popular information websites in India and is updated many times in a day to provide the latest information on policies and programmes of the Government of India and on official events.

MUMBAI: HBO Nordic, the newly formed joint venture of HBO and Parsifal International, will launch its linear and on-demand premium pay TV service mid-October in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

This is a web-only service and does not require the customer to be signed up with a pay TV service such as cable or satellite. Its competition will be with Netflix which is also expected to launch in the region.

As the first HBO-branded service in the region, HBO Nordic will offer a premium ad-free channel. HBO will offer both subscription and transactional video-on-demand services, providing premium content directly to consumers via HBO Nordic‘s untethered, “over-the-top” platform, hbonordic.com, and also via local distribution partners.

HBO Nordic CEO Herv?© Payan said, “We saw a rapid change in Nordic TV consumption these past years. Our target group is younger and more urban than the existing premium pay TV subscribers and they consume TV on multiple screens, particularly on computers, smartphones and tablets. Most of them associate HBO with best in class series. We view this as a unique opportunity for HBO to grow digital pay-TV subscriptions in the region”.

HBO Nordic will offer subscribers all seasons and behind- the-scene materials of hit series, including ‘Boardwalk Empire‘, ‘The Newsroom‘, ‘Game of Thrones‘ and ‘True Blood‘. The HBO Nordic offering will also include feature films from major Hollywood and international studios, local distributors and independents.

Herv?© Payan said, “HBO Nordic is the first service in the Nordic countries to combine day-and-date delivery and streaming of the latest episodes of an HBO original series subtitled in the local language, with all past seasons. This service will be available on any internet connected device”.

MUMBAI: People in markets such as China, Brazil and India better exploit the opportunities offered by web-connected television, compared to countries such as the UK, US and Germany, according to research carried out across 13 countries by GfK‘s consumer research experts.

The study found that western consumers are stuck in an ‘analogue‘ mindset, whereas viewers in emerging markets are more likely to embrace the digital capabilities of Connected TV.

GfK research shows that a far higher proportion of Chinese, Korean and Indian consumers have used the functionalities of Smart TV in the past months, compared to those in Western markets.

GfK‘s findings show that ‘Social TV‘ has yet to fully take off. Globally, just 28 per cent of viewers said that they found programmes that they can interact with to be more interesting to watch. And just 25 per cent thought that tweeting and commenting on programmes ‘enhances the viewing experience‘.

Viewers in countries such as China, Brazil and India are more motivated by programmes they can interact with than those in markets such as the UK, US and Germany.

Richard Preedy at GfK said: “Our findings suggest that broadcasters need to integrate their social elements far more engagingly into the fabric of the programme, in order to entice the viewer‘s interaction.”

Across all markets, the ability to connect to the internet is less important than price, screen size and display technology, when buying a new TV. But the West is more indifferent than the emerging markets, with only 26 per cent of UK and 29 per cent of US consumers saying they look out for a net enabled set, compared to 61 per cent in India and 64 per cent in China.