ITV

Category: Technology

  • Interra Systems Simplifies Video Caption Creation With Machine Learning-Based QC Solution

    Interra Systems Simplifies Video Caption Creation With Machine Learning-Based QC Solution

    CUPERTINO: Interra Systems, a leading global provider of software products and solutions to the digital media industry, today announced BATON Captions, a new addition to its BATON platform. Leveraging cutting-edge machine learning (ML) and automatic speech recognition technology, BATON Captions brings simplicity and cost savings to the creation, management, and delivery of captions for traditional TV and video streaming. BATON Captions allows broadcasters and other media professionals to address all of their captioning needs, from caption generation to QC, auto corrections, review, and editing.

    Keeping in mind the high volumes of content being generated and distributed today, a defining feature of BATON Captions is that it offers industry-leading performance. Utilizing the high-performance solution, media companies can dramatically expedite the caption creation and verification processes for both live and VOD content.

    "Captions have long been mandated by all major broadcasters, and now with the rise in global consumption of online content, captions and subtitles represent an amazing opportunity for television viewers to watch and comprehend foreign-language content with ease. However, captions can be tedious and expensive to produce. Also, when transitional issues happen throughout the file-based workflow, the delivery of captions becomes more complex," said Anupama Anantharaman, vice president, product management at Interra Systems. "BATON Captions leverages our industry-proven expertise in captions and subtitles QC to simplify this process and improve workflow efficiency. Using this solution, broadcasters and media companies can ensure that when content is delivered in multiple video quality levels within OTT video streams, the captions maintain a high quality."

    BATON Captions reports on any drop or inaccuracy in captions and audio, as well as compliance issues, providing broadcasters with automated options for correcting alignment, text, and spelling mistakes. Captions can be checked against actual audio essence, corrected, and exported to any industry-supported caption format. Through auto time stamping with state-of-the-art speech recognition technology, BATON Captions adds accurate time to dialogs in scripts, resulting in faster, more efficient caption generation.

    Through web-services-based API support, BATON Captions can easily be integrated with third-party tools. Broadcasters have the option of deploying the captioning solution on premises or in the cloud for added flexibility. The application comes with a feature-rich review and editing platform with frame-accurate playback options. Offering support for a host of subtitle and closed caption formats, BATON Captions helps drive globalization of content for broadcasters and other media professionals.

    Interra Systems will demonstrate its new BATON Captions solution at the 2020 NAB Show, April 19-22 in Las Vegas, booth SU5510. More information about Interra Systems solutions can be found at www.interrasystems.com.

  • Actus Digital appoints Jay Gedanken as vice president of business development

    Actus Digital appoints Jay Gedanken as vice president of business development

    MUMBAI: Actus Digital, a leading provider of compliance and intelligent media monitoring solutions, has appointed Jay Gedanken as vice president of business development in the US. With over 35 years' experience in broadcast technology sales, technical support, marketing, and project management, Gedanken will play a critical role in increasing Actus Digital's footprint in the United States market, developing new sales channels, and driving revenue growth.

    "Business development opportunities are booming in the US, with Actus Digital poised to fill the void left by former U.S. industry leader Volicon and its end-of-life products while also meeting the growing customer demand for compliance solutions featuring content repurposing and AI," said Actus Digital  CEO Sima Levy. "We continue to increase the scale of our U.S. office as a result of growing sales and activities, and hiring Jay will keep us on track. Leveraging his experience in broadcast sales, Actus Digital will continue to build on its 15-plus years of providing superior compliance and media monitoring solutions that solve many of the critical problems facing broadcasters today in one platform."

    Prior to joining Actus Digital, Gedanken held a variety of leadership roles in the industry, including former vice president at Scopus Video Networks and founder of the company's North American operation. His vast array of experience includes sales and management positions at Visionetics, Optibase, Adtec, and Sencore. Over the years, Gedanken has developed a deep understanding of broadcast workflows and expertise in providing simple and complex solutions for all levels of broadcasters, from single local affiliates to national networks.

    "I am excited to join Actus Digital's growing enterprise of respected industry professionals and add to their vast knowledge and experience in broadcast solutions," said Gedanken. "From day one, I have been impressed with the ease of use and the feature-rich media solutions that Actus Digital provides. Their intelligent media platforms go beyond simple compliance and monitoring, offering innovation in a variety of technologies, including content repurposing and AI."

  • BP Communications Limited Partners with MyBox to bring advanced digital set-top box technology to Bangladesh

    BP Communications Limited Partners with MyBox to bring advanced digital set-top box technology to Bangladesh

    MUMBAI: Cable Operator Association of Bangladesh (COAB) organized an event for Bangladesh cable operators in Kolkata recently to discuss the impending digitization in Bangladesh. MyBox Technologies, a leading R&D house backed by Hero Electronix, specializing in the research & development and manufacturing of set-top boxes was the title sponsor of the event. MyBox introduced its Bangladesh partner BP Communications Limited at the event.

    Bangladesh is moving towards cable digitization and approx. 35-40 million STBs would be seeded in the next 3-4 years. Seeking this opportunity MyBox has collaborated with BPCL to penetrate into the Bangladesh market addressing the need. MyBox offers HD STBs with its advanced features like Alexa Voice Service Solution, MyConnect middleware with features like Audience Measurement, Ad Book and Targeted advertisement & the Google certified OTT box.

    Mr. Pramit Reza, Chairman, BP Communications Limited said they are partnering with MyBox, for Bangladesh market, as MyBox understands the market dynamics and operators' expectation. Moreover, MyBox STBs are impeccably suitable to meet current and future business requirements of Bangladeshi distribution platform operators.

    Mr. Bankim Chandra Roy, Managing Director, BP Communications Limited said: “MyBox middleware has advertisements and TRP features and this will allow operators to add more revenue streams in addition to subscription.”

    Both Pramit & Bankim expressed their commitment to market MyBox STB and services to theBangladeshi customers.

    Amit Kharbanda, Managing Director, MyBox Technologies said: “We at MyBox are proud to be the pioneers of this offering to our esteemed partners BP Communications Limited. Our vision of being at the center of this smart digital entertainment convergence has a high resonance with this product augmentation that we are offering. MyBox believes that our solution offerings would help facilitate the urging cable digitization of the Bangladesh market and would enable the acceptance of ever-rising rapid digital evolution.”
     

  • Meet the World’s First Blockchain-Powered Smartphone, BOB, at CES 2020

    Meet the World’s First Blockchain-Powered Smartphone, BOB, at CES 2020

    As the world teeters around cyber threats in this digital age, more and more users online, across all demographics and generations, feel more vulnerable or have experienced data breaches and attacks on their privacy. According to a study, 8 out of 10 Internet users globally don’t even feel they have control over the data which they have shared online.

    While several steps have been taken to help users worldwide feel more secure online, from tighter regulation imposed onto Internet companies to the implementation of more cutting edge encryption and cybersecurity software, there doesn’t seem to be a solution that can help online users to regain data ownership or feel as secure as they were before the dawn of the Internet, until now.

    On the first CES (Consumer Electronics Show) event that is taking place in this new decade, the world is set to witness the unveiling of the world’s first blockchain-powered smartphone: Blok On Blok. It has been recognized as a CES 2020 Innovation Award Honoree in the CES 2020 Innovation Awards.

    Blok On Blok, or BOB, is Singapore-based blockchain startup Pundi X’s flagship smartphone product which was first introduced as the XPhone at the now historic Bali Blockchain Summit back in October 2018. During this summit, Pundi X demoed the world’s first ever phone call made over the blockchain.

    To ensure the utmost privacy of its users, Pundi X created a special operating system for BOB, called f(x) or Function X OS. This OS empowers BOB users to access the Function X ecosystem, thus every call, text, or action made online, either through a browser or an app is decentralized. Each BOB functions as a node and any action that takes place within the blockchain mode of f(x) OS does not require a centralized service provider or carrier. Hence, the more BOBs that have been deployed in the world would mean a stronger decentralized Function X ecosystem.

    “If there’s anything the last decade has proven, it’s that users now need to become extra careful on what they share online and try to secure all that’s left of their privacy and their lives. But they wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore with BOB as it allows users to reclaim their privacy,” Pundi X CEO & Co-founder, Zac Cheah said.

    “We believe, the data you have should be yours, and yours alone,” added David Ben Kay, President of Function X Foundation and Chief Legal Officer of Pundi X. “To push for this initiative, we’ve set up the Function X Foundation, a nonprofit, independent organization that supports the growth of the Function X Ecosystem and facilitates the usage of blockchain technology for good.”

    F(X) to Android 9 Pie to F(X)

    Since not everyone is ready to go off the grid completely just yet, BOB is developed with a function that allows users to switch between blockchain mode and traditional mode, the latter of which is made possible by Android 9 Pie OS. In the blockchain mode, users are assured that all calls, text messages and actions made are secure and private as they don’t go through any centralized service provider. And all these are made possible by Function X.

    “We are empowering the user and bringing back the control they once owned over their data.” Cheah said.

    Bringing Retro Back

    Aside from its homage to the very first promise of the Internet—data ownership and decentralized data transmission online— BOB has also taken inspiration from iconic 80s and 90s sci-fi films and incorporate into its design to create a retro-futuristic look. Each BOB package comes with a MOD assembly kit that includes the following core components: motherboards, display screens, cameras, audio speakers, buttons, and other related accessories. Once fully assembled, the BOB looks like every tech junkie’s phone in the next decade—functionally designed with a futuristic sci-fi feel. Think of BOB as the phone that perhaps would have been fitting for the Blade Runner 2049 or Back to the Future movies. BOB owners can choose to customize the look by 3D printing the different parts of the BOB phone.

    As part of the upcoming plans, Function X Foundation will invite designers worldwide to submit their own iterations of the BOB phone, which could then be integrated into the official MOD packages. By the end of this process, there could be around 5 to 10 official MOD designs for BOB. What we envision is a phone that empowers the individual and the user from data privacy to how it looks like.

    Pre-order on Indiegogo on January 7

    BOB is set to be up for pre-order on Indiegogo on January 7 at 9am PST with early bird discounts. Its retail price is at USD 599. The latest BOB prototype will be exhibited at the CES 2020 at Sands, Hall G – 52501 in Eureka Park in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    About Function X Foundation

    Function X Foundation is a nonprofit, independent organization that supports the growth of the Function X Ecosystem, a next-generation internet service framework, built entirely on and for the blockchain. It is a completely new ecosystem providing a novel service framework by improving the existing internet and blockchain architectures, combining the benefits of both and using the most commonly used technical solutions.

    The foundation is in the process of being set up to manage the usage of the Ecosystem Genesis Fund, which aims to motivate, encourage and facilitate service providers to join and get rooted into the f(x) ecosystem.

    For more information about Function X, visit https://www.functionx.io/#/.

    About Pundi X

    Pundi X is a leading developer of blockchain-powered devices, including the world’s first blockchain-based point-of-sale solution, the XPOS, which enables merchants and consumers to do transactions on the blockchain in physical stores.

    The XPOS has been shipped to over 25 countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Canada, Korea, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Uganda, the USA, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, and more; 100,000 devices are being targeted for rollout to the global retail market by 2021. The XWallet app from Pundi X has crossed the 700,000 registered user mark as of today.

    Pundi X is also the creator of the world’s first fully-functional blockchain phone, Blok On Blok (BOB for short) powered by the Function X decentralized protocol that is designed to empower users to reclaim their data privacy.

    The company is headquartered in Singapore. Its international presence includes offices in Cyprus, Jakarta, São Paulo, Seoul, Shenzhen, Taipei, and Tokyo.

    Listed as one of the top 50 innovative fintech startups in 2018 by KPMG and H2 ventures and recognized as a Cool Blockchain Vendors by Gartner, the company is also a member of the Singapore Fintech Association, Fintech Association of Hong Kong, and ACCESS. It is also a founding member of Asosiasi Blockchain Indonesia.

    For more information, please visit https://www.pundix.com.

  • Samsung launches ‘Age of Experiences’

    Samsung launches ‘Age of Experiences’

    Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced the “Age of Experience” at the opening keynote at CES. As the featured keynote speaker, Samsung Consumer Electronics President and CEO H.S. Kim heralded a decade of human-centric innovation that seamlessly combines hardware and software to create personalized experiences that make life more convenient, more enjoyable, and more meaningful.

    The Age of Experience will transform how we care for ourselves and our family, how we can customize our homes to meet our individual needs, and how we can build safer, more sustainable intelligent cities. By showcasing its latest advances in intelligent robotics, AI, 5G and edge computing, Samsung offered a glimpse into the not-so-distant future in which these technologies will come together to offer richer, more adaptive experiences for consumers.

    “In the Age of Experience, we need to re-think the space we have to accommodate our diverse and evolving lifestyles,” said H.S. Kim, President and CEO of Consumer Electronics Division, Samsung Electronics. “What makes Samsung’s approach unique is the fact that we have a very clear philosophy built around human-centered innovation. We build and create to solve problems and enhance people’s lives.”

    Events

    CES 2020See the News

    The Next Level of Personal Care

    At the core of Samsung’s human-centered vision is personalized care, enhancing the health and well-being of consumers by satisfying their individual needs. During his opening remarks, H.S. Kim unveiled Samsung’s vision of robots as ‘life companions,’ and introduced Ballie, a small, rolling robot that understands you, supports you, and reacts to your needs to be actively helpful around the house.

    Sebastian Seung, Executive Vice President and Chief Research Scientist at Samsung Electronics elaborated on Ballie, explaining that its On-Device AI capabilities enable it to be a fitness assistant and a mobile interface that seeks solutions for people’s changing needs. It does all this while maintaining stringent data protection and privacy standards.

    “We believe AI is the future of personalized care,” stated Dr. Seung. “We see on-device AI as central to truly personalized experiences. On-device AI puts you in control of your information and protects your privacy, while still delivering the power of personalization.”

    Dr. Tadashi Ted Funahashi, Chief Innovations and Transformation Officer for Kaiser Permanente, introduces HeartWise at CES 2020 in Las Vegas on Jan. 6th, 2020. The virtual cardiac rehab program was created through a collaboration between Samsung and Kaiser Permanente. 

    Samsung is also showcasing advanced and personalized health solutions. For example, the company has collaborated with Kaiser Permanente to develop a home-based, virtual cardiac rehabilitation solution that pairs a Samsung smartwatch with a smartphone via Bluetooth. Samsung’s HeartWise application sends reminders to the patient to exercise, collects activity data, and continuously displays the patient’s heart rate during workouts. This data is automatically uploaded via the smartphone to the patient’s chart so that clinicians, case managers and physical therapists can track the patient’s progress and engage with them accordingly.

    The program enables users to partake in cardiac rehabilitation at home without taking time out of their everyday lives to travel to a hospital or medical clinic. The positive results of the home-based cardiac rehabilitation program were published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Catalyst last year. Going forward, Samsung will continue to develop human-centric healthcare solutions that cater to the unique needs of the individuals who rely on them.

    A Home Tailored to You

    Samsung also offered a peek into the future home. Federico Casalegno, Chief Design Innovation Officer of Samsung Design Innovation Center, stated that the home will offer unique, immersive experiences with cutting-edge innovations like AI, sensors and data analysis: “As a living organism, the intelligent home will be a deeply personal space, tailoring experiences for each of us, according to our personal needs.”

    Dr. Casalegno highlighted how spatial boundaries of the physical and digital worlds are dissolving, transforming living spaces into bespoke experience-spaces, like an art gallery, yoga studio or other forms of imaginable space. Such blurring of the two realms, according to Dr. Casalegno, is what will transform the home in the next decade.

    He led the first-ever immersive demonstration involving Samsung’s GEMS (Gait Enhancing & Motivating System) technology. The demonstration showed how consumers can use AR glasses to work out with a virtual personal trainer, climb a mountain or walk underwater, from the comfort of their living room, while GEMS aggregated and analyzed results to give personalized action recommendations.

    Samsung also showed how a room can be transformed with a screen like its MicroLED display, a convergence of software, AI, IoT and hardware. “A screen is not a product – it’s your window to the world, allowing you to instantly connect to your loved ones and friends as if they are in the same room,” said Dr. Casalegno, emphasizing that smart rooms can provide boundless experiences. “People can see and experience almost everything in the world and even the unknown world through the screen.”

    Samsung also discussed the evolution of the modern culinary journey where appliances become cooking partners – a personal chef, nutritionist, and shopping assistant rolled into one. Intelligent and innovative technology can customize the entire food experience for consumers—from thoughtful recipe suggestions and meal planning tailored to personal preferences and what’s on-hand, to seamless grocery shopping, delivery and cooking. The company also highlighted a growing station for garden produce at home, and Bot Chef, a robotic food preparation assistant.

    Safer and More Sustainable Urban Life in Smart Cities 

    Pointing to increasing global urbanization, Samsung outlined its smart cities vision, where intelligent systems enabled by smart devices, platforms and data, will make city life much safer and easier. Emily Becher, Senior Vice President and Head of Samsung NEXT Global, said, “We have the tools and the knowledge to create intelligent systems that make living in the city more engaging, safe, and efficient – so that our children, and their children after that can love living in their cities as much as so many of us do today.” She added, “Smart cities that utilize AI, IoT and 5G will transform how we interact with the surrounding environment in ways that maximize convenience and enjoyment”.

    With IoT technology expanding its reach beyond the home to all types of buildings, Samsung’s core vision lies in saving energy, cutting down emissions and helping to achieve sustainability as populations grow.

    Speaking at the Samsung Keynote for CES 2020, Emily Becher, SVP and Head of Samsung NEXT Global, discusses how new innovation is transforming buildings, transportation systems and communities to be connected to infrastructure of a smart city. 

    Smart buildings will also make life more connected and convenient. For example, smart building residents will be able to call elevators, turn lights off, manage deliveries or check for parking spots with a simple swipe or voice command. Intelligent appliances installed in smart buildings will request repairs and address problems before residents even notice the issue.

    In realizing the goal of creating a smart city with smart buildings, Samsung emphasized the importance of open collaboration. The company is working towards building partnerships with builders and property managers like Greystar Real Estate Partners, a leading U.S.-based global real estate developer, with which it will devise smart building solutions. “With smart buildings, the residents’ experience will get smarter, more efficient, more effective, so they utilize less energy,” said Bob Faith, Chairman and CEO of Greystar. “Samsung has the ability to bring all the technologies together and that convergence of the technologies in one place is really critical.”

    Samsung also demonstrated how the combination of 5G, edge computing and AI will transform the urban transportation experience. Becher shared the company’s vision to lead the new era of vehicles, with 5G technology enabling Vehicle-to-Everything communication, which will seamlessly connect cars to the rest of the city.
    Becher added that smart cities combined with 5G will be able to provide experiences unimaginable a few years ago to communities. She noted, “Faster and easier digital connection with each other will strengthen our sense of community and create entirely new forms of interaction.”

    Building A Better Place for All

    Concluding his 2020 CES keynote address, H.S. Kim stressed that the company is focused on using technology to create a better place for all. He highlighted three key areas of importance for the company going forward: security and privacy, technology for good, and citizenship.

    Kim made clear that as an industry leader, the company’s commitment to data security and personal privacy will not waver, and that the protection of security and privacy will be a top priority as technology advances. He stated that the most important thing is putting people in control over their information, “Samsung will never share your data with third parties without prior and direct consent from you.”

    He further emphasized that Samsung Knox, the company’s defense-grade security platform, will continue to expand to protect a growing array of Samsung’s devices—from mobile and TVs to home appliances and more. “We will further ensure transparent data management and transfer by advancing our data protection efforts with on-device AI, edge computing, and blockchain technology.”

    Samsung also showcased how it is innovating for good, with technologies like Relumino, which can help the visually-impaired see; IGNIS, a tool that helps firefighters make their jobs safer; and GEMS that helps the elderly and disabled to move.

    Samsung also underscored a key pillar of its CSR vision, “Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People,” by announcing the expansion of the Samsung Innovation Campus program in 2020. Leveraging the success of the many educational programs from the last decade, Samsung Innovation Campus provides the next generation with training on the latest AI, IoT, and cloud technologies. Samsung said the campus has educated more than 20,000 students from 13 countries since its launch in 2019 and will double in size this year.

    By providing education for future generations, Samsung is furthering its philosophy that technology’s purpose is to solve social problems and empower people to achieve more to make a better world.

    For more information about the details disclosed at CES 2020, including photos and videos, please visit https://news.samsung.com/us/ces2020/. Samsung’s CES booth #15006 is on Level 1 of Central Hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center and will be open from January 7 10:00 a,m. till January 10 4:00 p.m, 2020.

  • Technicolor to showcase comprehensive range of technologies at CES

    Technicolor to showcase comprehensive range of technologies at CES

    MUMBAI: Technicolor Connected Home to demonstrate a comprehensive range of technologies — including DOCSIS 3.1,Android TV and Reference Design Kit (RDK), Wi-Fi 6, 6Ghz Wi-Fi, 5G, and Fiber Interoperability solutions at CES conference in Las Vegas January 7-10, 2020.

    “Over the course of 2020, the network service provider (NSP) community will continue to invest in open platform-based solutions thereby maximizing the number of revenue-generating services that can be delivered to consumers. This is true for access technologies that bring broadband performance over cable, fibre and wireless to consumers, as well as the set-top box (STB) and Wi-Fi infrastructures that
    ensure ubiquitous, intelligent and high-quality connectivity within their homes,” says  Technicolor Connected Home Deputy CEO and President Luis Martinez Amago.

    To support this trend, Technicolor is showcasing an extensive portfolio of offerings that integrate open technologies — like Android TV and RDK middleware – into customer premises equipment (CPE) that can be rapidly deployed by NSPs around the world.

    Specific solutions to be featured during CES 2020 include Technicolor Connected Home’s:

    ● JADE — a 4K Ultra HD STB that contains next generation 16nm silicon debuting the latest technology standards — such as Wi-Fi 6 and AV1 decoding in a small customizable design. This receiver, running on both Android TV and RDK, benefits from a powerful quad-core processor, Bluetooth 5.0 technology and an innovative stackable module enabling flexibility in the introduction of value-added services such as Digital Video Recording (DVR), far field voice control and Internet of Things (IoT).

    ● RUBY — an affordable yet fully equipped STB featuring Android P, Wi-Fi 5 as well as Bluetooth and Zwave technologies that support IoT use cases. The STB has integrated a range of proven technologies in a cost-effective manner to ensure high-quality connected experiences — from audio streaming with Bluetooth headphones to Wi-Fi babycam displays and IoT Zwave lighting systems. It is designed to support video services managed by operators as well as OTT offerings from providers like Google, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and others.

    ● Wi-Fi XL — a comprehensive wireless network solution that improves the coverage and quality of connectivity throughout the home while managing the complexity associated with the rapid rise of devices connecting to the Wi-Fi network. Wi-Fi XL (whole home coverage solution) demonstrates how gateways and extenders featuring Wi-Fi 6, EasyMesh and AirTies work together seamlessly. Wi-Fi 6 latency and throughput improvements are also being demonstrated in highly demanding situations such as when playing resource-intensive games like Fortnite while watching high-quality video programming.

    ● EasyMesh Roaming and Onboarding via NAVIGate — a demonstration of Technicolor Connected Home’s commitment to improving in-home wireless performance throughout the home in an intuitive manner. This will illustrate how a more user-friendly Wi-Fi environment lays the foundation for NSPs to deploy new services.

    ● Open Services Platform – a showcase the flexibility and power of containers and third-party applications (from key technology partners like CujoAI, Alexa, SmartThings) can enhance the relationship that NSPs have with their subscribers. In order to have a scalable model for delivering new application-based services, NSPs must decouple any dedicated dependencies between hardware and software. Technicolor has developed a broad set of offerings based on HOMEWARE and RDK-B to mix and match services involving different software developer-based communities.

    ● 5G Gateway — an exhibit of the role that this new fixed wireless access (FWA) technology can play in delivering broadband services to consumers.

    ● Technicolor Fiber Labs — an initiative that is being used by NSP customers and key technology partners to continuously test the latest developments in optical line termination (OLT) technology to ensure maximum compliance of all fiber products with widely deployed interoperability standards.

    ● Low Latency Demo with Google/3SS — a joint initiative that showcases a dual hardware decode and software decode function on top of Android TV to achieve a multi-screen presentation. The demonstration will compare the delay between live broadcast and live OTT.

    ● STB-based Targeted Advertising – a demonstration featuring the strategic relationship with Hoppr. This illustrates how NSPs can tap into new, important and sustainable streams of advertising revenue through dedicated STB-embedded software and dedicated backend components. The STB interacts with auction servers to support targeted advertisement insertion based on end-user consumption and behavior.

    These demonstrations will be featured at the company’s exhibit suites (30-315 and 30-317) located on the 30 th floor of The Venetian Hotel. Experts and executives will be on hand to discuss leading-edge developments on these connected home technologies and their impact on the industry.

  • TCL Electronics to showcase next-gen mini-LED technology at CES 2020

    TCL Electronics to showcase next-gen mini-LED technology at CES 2020

    MUMBAI: TCL Electronics, a dominant player in the global TV industry and leading consumer electronics company, will showcase the next generation of mini-LED technology among a full suite of flagship innovations at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, 7-10 January.

    Already one of the fastest-growing consumer electronics brands thanks to its advanced TV solutions, including bringing the world's first television utilizing high-performance mini-LED back-lights to North America and Europe earlier this year, TCL continues to improve and drive the penetration of mini-LEDs.

    With Quantum Contrast technology, a new standard for TV picture quality has been established with tens of thousands of individual Mini-LEDs powering TCL's most premium models for a display that delivers unrivaled contrast and brilliant clarity. The company will raise the bar once again and unveil the next generation of mini-LED performance at its CES press conference on January 6, 2020 where top media outlets from around the world will gather.

    "TCL is thrilled to be at tech's biggest show and stand on tech's grandest stage to share our latest mini-LED developments alongside our vision for the industry in the AI and IoT age," said TCL Industrial Holdings and TCL Electronics CEO Kevin Wang. "TCL is committed to offering a wider range of products to satisfy the needs of consumers and provide them with better, more personalized experiences. Like all of our products, I hope this new line of TVs improves their lives by bringing joy into homes worldwide."

    TCL's CES announcements will also be streamed through the company's social media platforms:Facebook – @tclelectronicsglobal; Twitter – @TCL_TV_Global and @TCL_USA and YouTube – @TCL Electronics and @TCL USA

    TCL Press Conference:
    January 6, 2020
    12:00pm PST
    Ballroom D, Oceanside, Mandalay Bay Convention Center

    TCL Booth:
    January 7–10, 2020
    Booth #12930, Central Hall, Las Vegas Convention Center

  • Over 20 Million Users in India Log on to 11.11 UC Shopping Festival

    Over 20 Million Users in India Log on to 11.11 UC Shopping Festival

    MUMBAI: Over 20 Million Indians logged on to UC Browser to take part in the recently concluded 11.11 UC Shopping Festival, part of Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. The 11.11 UC Shopping Festival, jointly presented by UC Browser, Paytm Mall, Paytm First, Lazada and AliExpress simultaneously ran across 5 key markets of India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. The partnership brought forth exclusive deals, huge discounts and multiple offers across different categories. Delivering on its commitment of a localisation plan, the festival was available in 14 popular languages – English，Hindi，Tamil，Telugu，Marathi，Gujarati，Kannada，Malayalam，Bengali，Punjabi，Bahasa，Thai，Vietnamese and Russian.

    Offering a comprehensive and enriching shopping experience, UC launched a slew of in-app activities. About 15 million Indian users took part in various in-app interactive activities on the UC Browser platform, including Treasure Hunt, “Invite Friends, Win free prize”, and Lucky Stars. UC distributed cashback and gifts of value in excess of Rs. 200 million, a jump of over 15x from the gifts and coupons distributed last year. Over 25 lakh Indian users took part in the popular Lucky Stars Game with over 700,000 users winning free prizes. UC also launched a “Mol, Tol” Challenge which became increasingly popular with the users during the course of the festival. The videos around the challenge generated over 10 million impressions.

    With its commitment to create a comprehensive content ecosystem across multiple categories, UC Browser generated over 40 million-page views for content related to the Shopping Festival. More than 3000 pieces of GIFs and memes were generated during the shopping period and more than 70,000 articles were created on UC’s highly popular Shopping Channel, helping users understand various products and deals to make informed purchase choices.

    “We are delighted at the overwhelming response to yet another edition of UC 11.11 Shopping Fest. The strong user participation has exceeded all our expectations and we are thrilled to announce that UC Browser generated over 1 billion viewable impressions for shopping fest-related content with over 700 million coming from Indian market alone”, said Mr Huaiyuan Yang, Vice President, UC Web Global Business.

    UC Browser is the world’s No.1 third-party mobile browser and a content platform from Alibaba Innovation Initiatives Business Group. UC Browser has clocked in over 1.1 billion user downloads worldwide (excluding China) with half of its global installs from India.

  • Canadian video-tech firm Nextologies eyes India’s growth opportunities

    Canadian video-tech firm Nextologies eyes India’s growth opportunities

    MUMBAI: Slava Levin is a familiar name for many distribution heads amongst Indian broadcasters. The Ukraine-born, Canada-bred entrepreneur has built a distribution of niche, country-specific channels into Canada of transport of video globally into a highly profitable group – called the Ethnic Channels Group which also includes a tech company called Nextologies.

    “Change is the only constant and as an entrepreneur, I believe we need to keep reinventing ourselves regularly,” says Levin.

    He is currently focused on building his India base of 40 staff as well offering the Nextology tech solution to an increasing number of India companies – not just in media, but in other sectors as well.

    “India has a lot of headroom for growth,” points out Levin. “The media vertical is doing extremely well but the company wants to expand our video transport and other solutions to other sectors like hospitality, medicine and transportation. We want to broaden our services and the sectors to become a tech company in general.”

     “The game plan in India is simple. We want to build a development hub in India. We want to grow our team here from 40 to 100, to 200 to 300 and be that development hub for the world. We want to build Indian businesses, want to help Indian companies here. We plan to take products that we build here and deliver them to rest of the world,” Levin adds.

    While the company has already invested quite a bit in India, it wants to ramp up its investments by putting in a minimum of $10 million over the next two-five years.

    “Our technology team is cutting edge and they found ways to help to cut cost for distributing the various channel video feeds over the years. Our 100+ partners who we were distributing for started to knock at our door asking us how are we able to deliver solutions at the prices we were? Some of them asked us to help them use it to reduce their transport costs in other regions. And that’s how we started our Nextologies business. Amongst the first Indian broadcasters to do so was Zee TV,” says Levin, talking about the early days of the company.

    He explains that Zee TV uses the technology to deliver to locations that don’t have huge South Asian population for example in the Caribbean which is a lot cheaper than delivering it via expensive satellite transponders or fibre.

    Today, Nextologies manufactures SD/HD encoders, decoders for cable TV and satellite TV services which help deliver video over the public internet using its da Vinci and TXR technologies,  an STB solution for digital signages, hotels, hospitals, restaurants/bars, foyers, offices and waiting rooms and professional grade compliant audio/video professional broadcast-grade compliant HD/SD video and audio transmitters/receivers. Nextologies also offers customisable turn-key IPTV and OTT solutions that enable media companies and service providers to rapidly serve new platforms. Amongst the clients for whom it has developed apps and OTT solutions include SBS Plus’ Arirang TV.

    Levin says he will be visiting India a lot more often, though he has left its management to Hari Srinivas, who has been responsible for building the number of Indian channels that are customers of Ethnic Channels and Nextologies businesses.

  • Life Church Selects VITEC Houses of Worship Streaming Solutions

    Life Church Selects VITEC Houses of Worship Streaming Solutions

    ATLANTA – Oct. 8, 2019 – VITEC, a worldwide leader in advanced video encoding and streaming solutions, today announced its MGW Ace Encoder and Decoder were successfully installed at Life Church and its four satellite campuses in Memphis, Tenn. Part of VITEC's Houses of Worship Solution, the MGW Ace Encoder and Decoder allow the church to live stream its services from the main campus to its satellite locations easily, affordably, and in the highest quality with perfect synchronization, providing an enhanced video delivery that truly engages followers.

    "The two most important things for us when we were looking for a streaming platform were reliability and performance," said Brian Pitre, Life Church's Creative Director. "VITEC, without a doubt, delivers on both. It's been more than a year, and we have not had a single issue. That's a testament of VITEC's absolutely flawless technology."

    Life Church's yearslong search for a streaming solution that would easily and reliably record a high-quality broadcast video from the main location and stream it live to multiple satellite locations simultaneously without errors and with delayed playback ended with VITEC. Well-known in the house of worship market, VITEC utilizes cutting-edge HEVC encoding technology and the industry-leading Zixi™ error-free streaming protocol to seamlessly and reliably transmit multiple independent IP streams in high quality to churches of any size over the existing IP infrastructure. At each Life Church location, the MGW Ace Encoder and Decoder were successfully installed. The Ace Encoder features VITEC's next-generation HEVC (H.265) compression, which reduces network bandwidth by up to 50% compared to H.264. Because it supports both HEVC and H.264, it's built for the future without losing support for legacy receivers and decoders. The MGW Ace Decoder's unique, flexible, 4K-capable FPGA architecture provides a future-proof solution and ensures multisite live streaming on private or public networks. When paired with MGW Ace Encoder, the set becomes an end-to-end streaming solution that affordably transmits bandwidth-efficient, artifact-free, time-synchronized video and playback that meet the demands for streamed worship services.

    Another factor that played into Life Church's decision was the seamless integration of VITEC's house of worship streaming solution with Renewed Vision™ ProVideoServer™ (PVS), a four-channel HD video server from the most trusted technology provider in the worship space. PVS enhances the VITEC system with recording, playback, and time-slip capabilities. This combination allows Life Church to easily record its high-quality broadcast stream with embedded timecode and multichannel audio and play it back with the necessary delay at each of the satellite campuses at any time, even as it records.

    "The latest advances in technology have allowed Life Church to expand their reach, but they needed a high-quality and reliable streaming solution to build a truly connected community," said Mark Robison, Broadcast Solutions Specialist, VITEC. "With VITEC's scalable streaming solutions, now staff or volunteers don't have to worry about glitches disrupting the service or relying on previously recorded services to fill the slot. They can enjoy an error-free, distraction-free environment where they can home in on one live message that is shared with the entire Life Church family."