ITV

Category: Software

  • BIS certification mandatory for all STBs from 3 April

    BIS certification mandatory for all STBs from 3 April

    NEW DELHI: Cable TV networks will need to have their set-top boxes (STBs) conformed to the standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) by 3 April. If they fail to do so, the STBs will not be valid.

    An order issued in October last year that all specified electronic goods including STBs have to conform to standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards will come into effect from 3 April this year.

    The order of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology had said on 3 October 2012 that all specified electronic goods including STBs imported or domestically manufactured must bear a self Declaration “Confirming to IS…….. Registration Number”.
     
    This covers video games, LCD and LED Plasma television sets, visual display units, laptops, optical disc players, amplifiers, and electronic music systems among other things.

    Thus after 3 April, it would be illegal to place these goods in the market without BIS clearance.

  • Times Internet launches Speaking Tree app for iPad

    Times Internet launches Speaking Tree app for iPad

    MUMBAI: Times Internet Limited (TIL) has launched spiritual networking website speakingtree.in as an application for iPads.

    The application hosts a plethora of useful spiritual information such as tips on meditation, spiritual blogs, forums, master discourses and, most importantly, it enables one on one conversation between spiritual seekers and masters.

    The Speaking Tree app is quick and easy to use even for users who are not technology savvy. Users can create and share their personal spiritual diary with friends and acquaintances and help spread words of wisdom.
     
    “The Speaking Tree iPad application enables one click access to spiritual conversations. We hope that it will revolutionize the accessibility of spiritual information on the web and help users gain answers to pertinent questions in today’s materialistic world,” said TIL VP Archana Vohra.

  • CBS in content licensing deal with Amazon for Under the Dome

    CBS in content licensing deal with Amazon for Under the Dome

    MUMBAI: Amazon Instant Video, the digital video streaming service, has entered into a content licensing agreement with CBS for its television series Under the Dome, establishing an in-season, online subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD) window for the show on Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service.

    Prime Instant Video will be the exclusive online subscription home for Under the Dome.

    The serialised drama from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television, based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel of the same name, will premiere on the CBS Television Network on 24 June.

    Amazon Prime members will have unlimited streaming of all the series’ episodes four days after their initial broadcast on CBS, at no additional cost, and will be able to enjoy them on hundreds of compatible Amazon Instant Video devices including Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii U gaming console. Episodes of Under the Dome will also be available for purchase and download exclusively at Amazon Instant Video.

    Under the Dome tells the story of a small New England town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. Under the Dome earned widespread critical acclaim and No. 1 best-seller status when it was first published by Simon & Schuster‘s Scribner in 2009 and was an Amazon.com bestseller in both Books and Kindle Books in 2009.

    “Amazon has the distinct combination of having a terrific video service with a huge fan base among their customers for Stephen King’s book, making them the perfect partner for this summer programming event,” said CBS Corporation Chief Corporate Content Licensing Officer Scott Koondel. “With this innovative agreement, we’re giving fans more options to watch and stay current with this serialized series, and doing so in a way that protects the Television Network’s C3 advertising window.”

    “With creative forces of Stephen King and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television behind Under the Dome, we think our customers will love this new show and we’re excited to be able to offer this ighly-anticipated series at no additional cost to Prime members,” said Amazon Director of Digital Video Content Acquisition Brad Beale.

    “Adding a current season major network TV series like Under the Dome to the Prime Instant Video library so shortly after its live airing enables us to increase our exclusive selection of great TV shows and give customers access how, when and where they want to watch it.”

    Just last week, Amazon announced that Prime Instant Video will soon become the exclusive online subscription home for PBS hit Downton Abbey.

    The Prime Instant Video library now features more than 36,000 movies and TV episodes including shows such as Downton Abbey, Fringe, and The West Wing and blockbuster movies including Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Rango and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, for Amazon Prime members to stream, commercial free at no additional cost on Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U, among other devices.

    Under the Dome is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television. Neal Baer,

    Stephen King, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Stacey Snider and Brian K. Vaughan, who wrote the television adaptation, will serve as executive producers. Acclaimed director Niels Arden Oplev will direct the first episode.

  • Netflix teams up with DreamWorks for original Kids series

    Netflix teams up with DreamWorks for original Kids series

    MUMBAI: Online content platform Netflix has partnered DreamWorks Animation to create the first ever Netflix Original Series for kids based on the highly-anticipated DreamWorks Animation movie Turbo.

    The Netflix series titled Turbo: F.A.S.T. (Fast Action Stunt Team) debuts exclusively this December in the United States and across the globe in the 40 countries where Netflix offers its service.

    “Families love Netflix, so creating an original series for kids was a natural for us. And we‘re doing it in a big way by adapting Turbo, this year‘s DreamWorks Animation summer tent pole movie,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos.

    “DreamWorks Animation has a long track record of creating incredibly successful characters and stories that delight people of all ages. We‘re thrilled to add Turbo the series as well as all new DreamWorks Animation films, starting with their 2013 slate, to Netflix.”
    “Netflix boasts one of the largest and fastest-growing audiences in kid’s television. They pioneered a new model for TV dramas with House of Cards, and now together, we‘re doing the same thing with kids‘ programming,” said DreamWorks Animation‘s CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.

    DreamWorks Animation‘s Turbo is a high velocity 3D comedy about an ordinary snail who dares to dream big – and fast. After a freak accident miraculously gives him the power of super-speed, Turbo kicks his dreaming into overdrive and embarks on an extraordinary journey to achieve the seemingly impossible: competing in the Indianapolis 500.

    The film, which stars Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Luis Guzman, Bill Hader , Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez , Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Kurtwood Smith, Snoop Lion and Samuel L. Jackson, comes to theaters on 19 July.

    Turbo‘s pursuit of racing greatness continues in Turbo: F.A.S.T.: an episodic animated television series that picks up where the feature film leaves off. It showcases the world-traveling exploits of our snail hero and his tricked-out racing crew as they master outrageous new stunts and challenges any villain unlucky enough to cross their path.

    In addition to the original TV series Turbo: F.A.S.T., new DreamWorks Animation feature titles will be made available for Netflix members in the U.S. to watch beginning with the studio‘s 2013 film line-up.

  • Generation C powers YouTube’s growth in India

    Generation C powers YouTube’s growth in India

    MUMBAI: Search engine giant Google has released new insights into India’s audiences on YouTube that reveal major opportunities for brand advertisers. More than 70 per cent of YouTube’s viewers in India are under the age of 35, while 72 per cent have a college degree or higher, according to an online survey by Google of more than 2000 Indians.

    The research paints a picture of a new type of consumer Google terms Generation C: a young, tech-savvy group of trendsetters who define what’s popular in content and culture. This group thrives on 4Cs, each of which represents an opportunity for brands to reach and engage Gen C on YouTube.

    Creation: YouTube users are deeply engaged with online video, spending hours watching, creating and uploading video on YouTube and creating opportunities for advertisers to engage with this prized demographic in the process.

    Three quarters of Indian web users say YouTube is their first stop when looking for videos online. The same proportion claims it’s one of their favourite websites. The research also revealed that one in five Indian YouTube users creates video content on a daily basis.

    Community: India’s Generation C constitutes an active online community, swapping videos with friends via email and social networks. More than half of Indian YouTube users share videos on social networks, and the same proportion also shares videos from YouTube over email.

    But that’s not the end of the story: About three quarters of Indian YouTube users go on to visit the site mentioned in a YouTube video and a whopping 3 in 5, posted a comment about the video, while 7 in 10 scroll down to read comments others have written.

    Curation: India’s Gen C cares about finding videos that matters to them, using subscriptions help manage their interests and content preferences–including branded content.

    Connection: Gen C switches between devices 27 times a day, and Indian users watch nearly 30 per cent of their YouTube videos on mobile. Smartphone owners spend one quarter of their YouTube time on mobile, while tablet owners spend about 20 per cent.

    YouTube Vice President of Marketing Danielle Tiedt said, “If brands create videos that Gen C loves to share, they will. If you create communities around your brand, Gen C will join and participate.” And with 2 in 3 Indian users visiting websites mentioned in the videos they watch directly, that’s a major opportunity.”

    Google predicts that as smartphone penetration continues to rise in India, so will the opportunities for brands to personally reach Gen C. That’s good news for advertisers, because greater connectivity across multiple screens create more opportunities for brands to communicate with this crucial audience.

  • Kids spent more than $1.5 bn on digital gaming across 7 key markets

    Kids spent more than $1.5 bn on digital gaming across 7 key markets

    MUMBAI: Children are increasingly important drivers of digital gaming consumption. In the first half of 2012, kids in the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, South Korea, and Japan spent more than $750 million on different digital gaming activities, including downloading mobile gaming apps, purchasing virtual items in free-to-play computer and mobile games, subscribing to premium memberships, and acquiring digital games and DLC content for console and portable game devices.

    With growth accelerating, this will translate into over $1.5 billion for the year in these markets, according to GameByte, a syndicated global research product from Interpret which studies digital gamers ages 6-64 in ten global markets, including high-growth emerging markets China, Brazil, and Russia.

    “Among the 112 million kids in these markets, 86 million have adopted at least one form of digital gaming and the majority of them have spent money on their hobby. Despite the impressive aggregate numbers, an average kid in the aforementioned seven countries only spent $25 on digital games in a six month time frame, disproportionate to the amount of time they spent on such content, suggesting a significant monetisation opportunity,” said Interpret VP of Research Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai.
    Mobile games, already accounting for one third of digital gaming revenue, are important growth drivers given the rapidly increasing penetration of smartphones and tablets globally. “In addition to apps and in-game items, smart toys that combine physical toys, virtual gaming worlds, and mobile devices, such as Skylanders Lost Islands from Activision, Mattel’s Apptivity, and Infinity Project from Disney, will propel the industry forward. Let’s also not forget about the huge market in China, where close to one half of these young digital gamers reside,” commented Cai.

    GameByte is a research product designed to understand cross-platform digital gaming adoption and behaviour across global markets.

    It includes market and revenue sizing, as well as attitude and behaviour data for digital gaming business models including downloadable game apps and in-app purchases, subscription MMOs, freemium online games, downloadable content (DLC) on consoles, casual games, and social games. Kids 6-12 and teens/adults 13+ are included in the sample, and countries covered include US, UK, France, Germany, China, Japan, Brazil, Australia, South Korea and Russia. GameByte is available as a subscription, or you can purchase custom data or reports.

  • Hungama, Gameshastra form JV to launch games for Indian market

    Hungama, Gameshastra form JV to launch games for Indian market

    MUMBAI: Hungama Digital Media Entertainment (Hungama), India‘s leading digital entertainment company, has formed a joint venture with Gameshastra, India‘s largest game studio, to create multi-platform games for the Indian market.

    The new alliance brings together Hungama‘s strengths in digital entertainment, with expertise in the area of mobile and online gaming and Gameshastra‘s expertise in game development to deliver localised games across various platforms.

    Speaking on the alliance, Hungama MD & CEO Neeraj Roy said, “The concept of gaming has caught on across the world and is gaining rapid pace especially in the mobile and connected devices environment. Through our partnership with Gameshastra, we will create a bouquet of games that are engaging and addictive for the average gaming enthusiast. We hope to provide them with the ultimate gaming experience in the comfort of whichever connected environment they choose.”

    Through the joint venture with Gameshastra, Hungama will bring their exclusive IP across various genres – Bollywood, celebrities, sports, and lifestyle, in console gaming and games for the iOS and Android platforms.

    Hungama‘s expertise in content development for the digital platform will be coupled with Gameshastra‘s strength in sales and distribution of games across mobile, web portals, DTH, Smart phones and feature phone devices.

    Gameshastra CEO Prakash Ahuja said, “The sophisticated devices and seamless connectivity has brought us to a whole new age of gaming. This partnership between Hungama and Gameshastra will strive to provide this new age gaming experience across genres and platforms to the Indian audience. We see a huge demand, for localized content and our partnership shall definitely be the starting point of an emerging trend in the Indian gaming arena.”

    Gameshastra is India‘s leading game development studio with expertise in game development across platforms like PSP, PS2, PS3, Wii, Nintendo DS, Android, iPhone, iPad, Facebook, Xbox 360, and PC/Mac. They have developed titles like DesiAdda and Cart Kings which are still popular on PS2 platform.

  • RComm signs $1 bn deal with Ericsson to manage network services

    RComm signs $1 bn deal with Ericsson to manage network services

    MUMBAI: Billionaire Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Communications today signed an eight-year full-scope managed services agreement with Ericsson for $1 billion to operate and manage the wireline and wireless networks in the Northern and Western states of India.

    As per the contract, Ericsson will manage the day to day operations across wireline and wireless networks and will take over responsibility for field maintenance, network operations and operational planning of Reliance Communications 2G, CDMA and 3G mobile networks.

    This agreement is aimed to meet the fast evolving customer demand for communications applications and services in one of the world‘s most dynamic telecom markets.

    Reliance Communications will benefit from Ericsson‘s world-class processes, methods and tools and the partnership will allow Reliance Communications to free up resources to focus on user experience, as well as improving innovation power, agility and speed across the specified geographies. Reliance Communications‘ infrastructure covers 24,000 towns and 600,000 villages in India to which it offers converged services including voice, data and video.

    Ericsson will streamline Reliance Communications‘ operations by bringing all aspects of fiber, tower operations, wireless networks and wireline access networks to Reliance Communications‘ wireless and global enterprise business, across differentiated product lines. Ericsson will also drive a modernisation of the tools, processes and best practices that are applied across the business resulting in operational efficiencies by managing cost through consolidation.

    Commenting on the agreement, Reliance Communications CEO – Wireless Business Gurdeep Singh said, “We are happy to announce our partnership with Ericsson to manage our wireline and wireless network enabling us to provide a higher level of customer experience in terms of network and services. Given the complexity of network increasing with platforms, technologies and application offerings, we are banking on the experience, innovation and technical expertise of Ericsson to improve the productivity of our network and ensure that it delivers to its full potential. We are confident that they will exceed the expectations of our customers through optimization of resources and provide us cost effective solutions.”

    Ericsson EVP and Head of Business Unit Global Services Magnus Mandersson said; “We are excited to partner with Reliance Communications for this strategic multi-technology managed services deal. The increasing uptake of new technologies requires an increased focus on customer experience management in the hyper competitive and highly dynamic Indian telecom market. With this partnership Reliance will increase focus on their core business and innovation. We are pleased to welcome more than 5,000 employees who will join us from Reliance Communications and support our long term commitment to India‘s ICT market.”

    This agreement will be driven by defined service level agreement governance. Ericsson will be responsible for improving network performance and ultimately service quality, with the goal of increasing customer satisfaction and retention. Ericsson will also work closely with Reliance Communications to identify opportunities to introduce new services and expand its existing businesses to help realise the full potential of its network.

    “This partnership will enable our enterprise customers to deploy state-of-the-art data services on our integrated network through the global expertise of Ericsson. This is one of the first times that wireless and wireline enterprise network is being outsourced to deliver world-class service and performance assurance,” added Reliance Communications CEO, Global and Enterprise Business Punit Garg.

  • Social media sites refuse to share information about Indian users

    Social media sites refuse to share information about Indian users

    NEW DELHI: Social media websites Google, Facebook and Twitter have declined to share information sought by the government about individual users in India or block their sites.

    It is learnt that a review committee had approved the decision to block 306 accounts on the social media site Twitter. The review committee consisted of the cabinet secretary Ajit Seth, Telecom Secretary R Chandrasekhar and the Legal Affairs Secretary B A Agarwal.

    After reviewing the 310 accounts that were blocked after the communal clashes in Kokrajhar district of Assam, the Committee found that some of these Twitter accounts had uploaded few of the altered pictures which played a part in sparking the clashes last year and it believes that these Twitter accounts have the potential to further inflame communal tension in the country.

    The review committee met with Google, Facebook and Twitter representatives and requested them to provide details of the said accounts but the companies had apparently not complied with these requests.

    Twitter mentioned that it had received requests for disclosure of user information from the Indian government during July to December 2012, but it complied with none of those requests. Google also stated in December that it had received 2,431 requests for disclosure of user data of 4106 accounts from the Indian government during July to December 2012 and it had complied with 66 per cent of the requests.

  • Hathway Cable in process of finalising fresh terms with LCOs in digital markets

    Hathway Cable in process of finalising fresh terms with LCOs in digital markets

    MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom, India‘s leading multi-system operator (MSO), has said that on account of digitisation it is in the process of finalising fresh terms with local cable operators (LCOs) in Mumbai and Delhi, the only cities in first phase where it has a direct presence. In Kolkata, Hathway has a presence through JV partner GTPL KCBPL.

    Pending such finalisations, the management has on estimated basis recognised activation fees and subscription income in these two cities, which is based on on-going discussion with LCOs, market trend and considering the collection made till date.

    The management has reasonable certainty of collecting the amount recognised as income, Hathway said.

    Meanwhile, the company has seen its fiscal third quarter net loss widen to Rs 74.2 million from Rs 17.8 million in the preceding quarter on account of foreign exchange loss and decrease in other income.

    Hathway suffered a foreign exchange loss of Rs 14.89 million compared to a gain of Rs 44.78 million during the fiscal second quarter. The company‘s other income decreased to Rs 13.55 million from Rs 30.63 million.

    Net income from operations during the quarter, which saw the roll-out of first phase of digitisation, rose to Rs 1.53 billion from preceding quarter‘s Rs 1.3 billion.

    Led by increase in pay channel cost and purchase of stock in trade, the expenses for the quarter also jumped to Rs 1.47 billion from Rs 1.37 in the earlier quarter.

    The pay channel cost increased to Rs 429.6 million from Rs 390.4 million while the purchase of stock in trade grew to Rs 43.06 million from Rs 16.48 million.

    The exceptional item includes the amount company spent on Digital Addressable System (DAS) which is Rs 26.79 million for the quarter as opposed to Rs 7.61 million in the previous quarter.

    As of 31 December 2012, Hathway has utilised the entire amount of Rs 3.25 billion from the IPO proceeds that it had proposed to spend on development of digital capital expenditure, services and set-top boxes as well as development of broadband infrastructure.

    The company has spent Rs 124.86 million on customer acquisition out of the proposed Rs 150 million.