Category: Technology

MUMBAI: Australian integrated media firm Seven Media and Tivo which creates digital video recorders, have announced that Seven will be bringing Tivo to Australia next year.

Under the mutually-exclusive agreement, Seven Media Group will lead the creation of the digital platform to enable Tivo‘s digital video recorder and service, including the Tivo user interface.

The platform will be available for use by other broadcasters and broadband content owners to create a compelling, interactive, free to air digital terrestrial television offering. The TiVo Service will be available across Australia and will include internationally recognized TiVo features like SeasonPass recordings and WishList searches and allow users to access broadband content on their TV.

Through its new partnership with TiVo, Seven will deploy TiVo‘s leading interactive advertising capabilities to develop new integrated interactive advertising strategies for their very substantial number of broadcast advertisers.

Tivo president and CEO Tom Rogers says, “Every night, the vast majority of Australians turn to free to air broadcasters for their television entertainment. The Australian television market is on the cusp of a significant migration to digital television that will greatly expand the choices available on free-to-air television.

“We are excited to play a key role in driving this transition by partnering with the top television network in the country to establish Seven‘s leadership of this transformation.

“This new partnership with Seven will utilize Tivo‘s content search and discovery features, Tivo‘s powerful advertising capabilities and broadband video straight to the TV set. This relationship demonstrates our ability to deploy the Tivo service on the digital terrestrial, or DVB-T standard, which has now been globally adopted and will represent more than 100 million homes by 2009. It demonstrates the opportunities Tivo has to work with leading broadcasters who have substantial marketing clout to drive Tivo DVR penetration by adopting our hardware and software approaches to this globally important standard.”

Seven Media Group CEO David Leckie said, “This association unites the strengths of free to air television and Tivo to deliver new digital services to the Australian consumer. Free-to-Air television is well positioned in Australia to benefit from the Tivo service in offering viewers the chance to easily find and automatically record the programming they want, schedule their viewing time and vastly extend their overall television viewing experience.

“Through TiVo, Seven will leverage our broadcast television and publishing businesses, deliver new advertising and marketing solutions, and expand our presence in new communications platforms, as we work in partnership with Yahoo!7 and Engin. As a broadcaster, we are uniquely positioned to promote DVRs while simultaneously defining the future of television advertising.”

A number of major media organisations have expressed interest in participating on the platform. Engin will play a pivotal role in distribution and support of Tivo in Australia . Seven and Engin are finalizing distribution arrangements with other partners.

MUMBAI: Sydus, the creative streaming media that bridges the gap between mobile and web, has penned a deal with the Indian Music Industry (IMI), led by Saregama, Universal, Tips, SonyBMG.

This allows Sydus to access their entire catalogue of music tracks from the last 60 years. With over 500,000 tracks consumer will have access to classics of Lata, Asha, Rafi, Kishore Kumar etc apart from the latest hits like Awarapan, Kailash Kher etc.

Available on both mobile and web players, the relationship will allow users to access digital content like never before through OnDemand and free music service supported by advertisers. This collaboration between Sydus and the $1.56 billion Indian Music Industry covers tracks in 12 different languages by 139 member record labels and allows branded consumers greater diversity with which to create channels reflecting their brand values.

Sydus president Saumil Nanavati says, “Digital platforms are where the young adult market is today and music marketing is the way to reach them. With 150 million mobile users and 35 million internet users, we are providing to the Indian business community is a way to tap directly into that market and get their message across to the right audience.”

IMI chairman Subroto Chattopadhyay says, “This is a great leap forward into the digital world for the Indian Music Industry. With an experienced partner like Sydus, we believe customers will have greater choice to engage with our creative works in a fashion that is most relevant for India‘s youth: mobile phone and the internet.”

IMI president V.J. Lazarus says, “We are extremely happy with the collaboration with Sydus. This new avenue allows our partners to reach out to the biggest audience – the Indian youth, with minimal cost to them, thereby increasing desirability for and an affinity with the brand.”

SonyBMG India/Thailand MD Shridhar Subramaniam says, “With their professional content programmers, Sydus is providing IMI content for their digital platform that allows brands to provide customised music to Indian consumers. This collaboration is a win-win situation and an an innovative and equitable revenue share for the content owners.

“Working with a trusted partner, such as Sydus, allows us to offer a more intimate connection to a brand‘s target Audience.”

With the consolidation of 60 years worth of Indian music under Sydus, consumers are now able to get what they want, when they want it. At the same time, it provides greater control over content, significantly aiding in the fight against music piracy. Both these services will be available simultaneously on web and mobile platforms, making it a truly digital offering.

Sydus‘ free-to-consumer software is available through their website, with OnDemand Music Streaming and content from IMI becoming available in the third quarter of this year.

MUMBAI: The BBC has selected Capita Group as the supplier to UK‘s first area which is making the digital switchover in October.

Whitehaven, Cumbria, falls first under the Digital Switchover Help Scheme.

Support will be offered to those who are 75 and over, the severely disabled, and those who are registered partially sighted and blind.

The support includes:

A Help Centre located in Whitehaven to provide easy access to information for eligible customers as well as support with any queries and concerns;

The necessary equipment to convert one television set to digital and support with installation, where required;

Follow up support, where required, once switchover has taken place.

BBC Group Finance director Zarin Patel said, “Following a very competitive tendering process, I am pleased to announce that this first Digital Switchover Help Scheme has been awarded to Capita.

“I am confident they will deliver a scheme that ensures the most vulnerable residents of Whitehaven receive the support they need as the switch to digital begins.”

This contract will run for 10 months from June 2007 and will cost approximately ?1m.

Capita was selected from a shortlist of four companies (BT, Capita, EAGA and Vertex), all of whom are eligible to continue to bid for the national contract to deliver the Help Scheme for the roll-out across the rest of the UK between 2008 and 2012.

The procurement process for selecting the supplier to deliver the UK-wide Help Scheme is ongoing, with the contract expected to be awarded towards the end of 2007.

The scheme will be funded by ?600m ring-fenced for this purpose in the Licence Fee settlement.

The process of digital switchover will take place between 2008 and 2012, TV region by TV region. The exception is Whitehaven, Cumbria, which becomes the first place to switch in October 2007.

Switchover is a complicated process, and needs to be done in stages so that everyone in the country will be ready for it.

MUMBAI: BBC World News has launched an information channel on YouTube. Around 30 news clips, gathered from the BBC‘s 58 international news bureaux and its 250 correspondents worldwide, are available every day.

Users can select any of the latest breaking news whenever they want to and comment on clips, rate them and post their own video responses.

The launch of the BBC World News channel on the online video platform is part of a non-exclusive partnership between the BBC, BBC Worldwide and YouTube to create BBC branded channels online.

BBC Global News development SVP Michele Grant says, “The BBC has more journalists in more places than any other broadcast news organisation in the world. As part of our mission to find new ways to engage audiences around the world, we are delighted to be able to offer a dedicated BBC World News channel on YouTube that gives viewers the freedom to see our first-hand reporting whenever they want.”

The clips on the BBC World News which is available to users outside the UK only, and BBC Worldwide channels will benefit from Google and YouTube‘s advertising platforms, generating new revenues for investment in BBC programme development and creation.

MUMBAI: ZTE Corporation, the global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, is this month raising product awareness to highlight its range of value-added services (VAS).

As an integral part of the global tour, ZTE is offering a series of technical workshops to major operators in nine countries around the world, focusing in detail on the uses and benefits of its latest network solutions and technologies like IMS SOFTDA, Handset Television, NGCC(Next Generation Call) and OCS(Online Billing system).

With a theme of “Information, Content and Entertainment”, the 2007 tour following two similar and highly successful events in previous two years, and will cover major cities around the world including United Arab Emirates, Egypt, India, Bengal? Brazil, Vietnam, Algeria, Kenya and Pakistan.

“In the converging telecoms world, traditional voice and data services can no longer be regarded as the revenue-generating services that they once were,” said Mr Huang Dabin, CEO of ZTE India. “In the on-going effort to retain customers and increase ARPU, services that add value on top of voice and data are fast becoming the key to the creation of future-proofed, profit-generating networks. Our VAS forum places the new breed of services in context for national operators who are seeking an economically viable means to scale services in a way which meets customer expectations.”

ZTE delivers its value adding technology through its Anyservice solution, a system which enables multiple services such as polyphonic ringtones, SMS, 3G data services, prepaid services, intelligent public phone services and a number of corporate solutions to streamline communications in the enterprise. Demonstrating ZTE´s ability to meet the diverse demands of local customers, ZTE´s VAS forum highlights the full portfolio of VAS solutions, simultaneously focusing on one or two specific customised solutions for local markets.

To date, ZTE´s Anyservice VAS solutions have been deployed for around 70 carriers in over 60 countries around the world.

MUMBAI: Adobe Systems has updated the Camera Raw 4.1 version which includes improved noise reduction, sharpening tools and raw file support for 13 additional camera models like Canon EOS-1D Mark III, Fuji FinePix S5 Pro, Nikon D40x, Olympus E-410 and many more along with camera backs from phase one, including the H20, H25, P20, P21, P25, P30 and P45 models

This update also builds on the raw file support integrated in the Photoshop family of products. Camera Raw plug-in is available for immediate download on Adobe.com.

The camera raw functionality in the Adobe Photoshop software provides an easy access within the Photoshop line of products to the raw image formats. Working with the digital negatives will allow an artistic control and flexibility while still maintaining the original raw files. Camera Raw 4.1 plug-in also supports the same functionality for TIFF and JPEG files, says an official release.

NEW DELHI: Cable Operators have been banned from operating in the Kashmir valley by the Al-Badr militant outfit which has warned them of consequences if they continue operations.

‘‘You are directed to stop all operations and close down your offices within 24 hours or face consequences,‘‘ a spokesman for the Al-Badr said in a statement in Srinagar.

He claimed that the ban was being imposed because the operators had failed to stop airing obscene channels as directed earlier.

Reports from Srinagar and the valley said the networks were functioning normally till this afternoon, according to a Delhi-based spokesperson of an organisation of Cable Operators who did not want to be named.

The cable operators in Kashmir had stopped beaming all news and entertainment channels on May ten last year following militant threats despite the state government‘s assurance of complete protection, but had resumed this a day later after the Hizbul Mujahideen termed the ban as ‘unnecessary‘

MUMBAI: SafeNet, Inc, and Irdeto, the content security for digital TV, IPTV, and mobile, have announced their partnership in mobile TV protection.

The resulting joint solution unites two normally competing technologies: conditional access and digital rights management to reduce risk and uncertainty for broadcasters and operators, and enable mobile TV to reach its potential, a press release said.

According to SafeNet Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Global Outsourcing VP Deepak Prasad “Each solution has strengths: conditional access brings the experience of decades of deployment in cable, terrestrial, broadband and satellite, while DRM exploits open standards favored by the mobile community.”

Under the partnership, SafeNet‘s DRM Fusion Toolkit4TV will be integrated into Irdeto‘s mobile broadcast conditional access solution, therefore supporting all networks – Irdeto and SafeNet together having deployments over DAB, DMB, DVB-H, and MBMS

The joint solution will support conditional access using DVB-OSF and DRM using DVB-18Crypt, MBMS Security, and OMA BCAST.

“SafeNet and Irdeto bring complementary skills to the table. Irdeto has decades of experience in the day-to-day operation of broadcast systems, and protects the world‘s largest mobile TV deployment. SafeNet is the recognized leader, driving deployment, innovation, and standards in DRM for mobile TV. This fit makes a compelling partnership, both for us and for our customers,” said Irdeto CEO Graham Kill.

Under the terms of the partnership, Irdeto and SafeNet will also collaborate on an end-to-end OMA 2 DRM solution, integrating SafeNet‘s DRM Fusion Toolkit server solution, and Irdeto‘s mobile DRM client solution.

“Mobile TV is a compelling revenue opportunity for broadcasters and operators, which risks being derailed by the acronym soup of standards and interoperability issues,” said SafeNet DRM MD Simon-Blake Wilson.

Irdeto and SafeNet will be demonstrating an OMA BCAST smartcard profile-enabled Irdeto Mobile TV system at the bmcoforum TestCamp in Berlin in June.

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has directed cable operators to carry the Doordarshan channels on their networks as per the various notifications issued by the Prasar Bharati.

Cable networks are required to carry a set of DD channels in the prime and non-prime bands, according to the regulations.

The order says that it has come to Trai‘s notice that some cable operators are not following these notifications.

Non-compliance of these notifications by the cable operators result in the poor reception of these channels in some cases. Some viewers are also totally deprived of the DD channels, Trai has said.

All cable operators are required to follow the notifications of Prasar Bharati as mandated by sub-section (3) of section 8 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.

Trai, in order to ensure adherence with the provisions of the Cable Act by the cable operators and to protect the interests of the viewers in particular, has directed all the cable operators to strictly follow these notifications of Prasar Bharati.

Any violation of this direction may lead to prosecution of the errant cable operators under section 29 read with section 34 of the Trai Act, 1997.

MUMBAI: Hungama Mobile has entered into a partnership with du, the new telecom operator in the UAE to provide exclusive access to Spiderman-3 based mobile content. This content would be made available across various spectrums such as games, images, videos, and ringtones in English and Arabic language.

As part of the tie-up, du customers will also have exclusive access to a world of Spiderman 3 content through the MyWorld mobile portal. Downloads will include the Spider-Man 3 mobile game, animations, ring tones, videos, theme music and the from the film. In every category, du customers would be able to download some of the content for free.

Hungama MD and CEO Neeraj Roy said, “The tie up with du in UAE is yet another milestone for the company and will further establish Hungama Mobile‘s leadership in facilitating the entertainment industry reach out to the global audience.”

According to Roy, with a global business of $ 23 billion, the mobile entertainment industry is expected to grow to $ 42 billion by 2010.

du CEO Osman Sultan said, “We are delighted to partner with Hungama Mobile as now our customers can look forward to digital content for their mobiles from upcoming SONY movies like the next James Bond movie, Zorro series over the course of the year. We are excited about this new world of mobile content and constantly pushing the boundaries of what we as a service provider, offer our customers.”

In India, the movie is available in English language to all the Hutch subscribers and will now soon be made available in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Bhojpuri languages also on the mobile platform.