Category: Software

MUMBAI: In what could mark a serious push for high definition technology in the country, ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has signed deals with Tata Sky and Airtel Digital TV to bring to their viewers the football World Cup and Wimbledon tennis grand slam in HD mode.

ESS had initially done a deal with Dish TV, India‘s leading direct-to-home (DTH) operator.
 
Earlier, Tata Sky’s move to obtain high definition feed of the soccer World Cup from ESS was turned down by the Delhi High Court. “Tata Sky is not yet ready to provide HD channels as the company lacked the infrastructure that is required,” the court said. This basically forced Tata Sky to launch their HD service in a hurry. 
 
ESPN Software India MD RC Venkateish told Indiantelevision.com the deal is just for these two events.

“Subsequently, we will decide on what to do with our other properties like the Champions Twenty20 League. If there is sufficient demand, we will offer it in high definition. It allows the operators to offer top notch sports content,” he said.

DTH operators are set for a cut-throat price war on the HD front with Tata Sky offering the set-top box at Rs 2599. Now with sports broadcaster ESS widening its HD content, they will need to push their HD services more aggressively to expand the market for this premium product.
 

MUMBAI: Anil Ambani is not only scouting for investors in Reliance Communications (RCom) but is also planning to restructure the company.

The direct-to-home (DTH) and IPTV businesses are likely to demerge from RCom which is in the process of diluting 26 per cent stake.
 
The DTH and IPTV businesses will likely move to a new company, Reliance Digital Works.

The plan is to get a clutch of investors including multi-system operators (MSOs) and foreign investors for funding the expansion plans. The market buzz is that the company will offer a 25 per cent stake to overseas investors and 10 per cent stake to MSOs. 
 
The DTH business operates under the brand Big TV, a subsidiary of Reliance Communications, and has about 2.3 million subscribers.

When contacted, Big TV CEO Sanjay Behl declined to comment on the issue.

MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports (ESS) and SpeedCast have announced an agreement to deliver live premium mobile sports content across Asia.
 
ESS‘ mobileESPN will showcase live streaming content from its television networks, delivered via satellite to operators‘ streaming platforms across the region.

SpeedCast will provide technical services using SpeedCast‘s MobiCast platform to stream top-class live sports events, such as the FIA Formula One, MotoGP, and the English Football Association (FA) Cup.

ESS executive VP, head of sales Adam Zecha says, “We are delighted to work with SpeedCast as this presents a great opportunity for us to deliver the premium live sports content to fans wherever they are. SpeedCast‘s extensive reach across the region and expertise with mobile content delivery will play a key role in our goal to maximize the availability of world-class premier sports programming, engage sport fans beyond our broadcast channels, and expand our audience demographic across Asia.” 
 
SpeedCast CEO Pierre-Jean Beylier says, “We are thrilled to welcome ESPN Star Sports to our portfolio of premium digital content providers to distribute their content across Asia. SpeedCast‘s expertise in the secure delivery of premium digital content in key markets across Asia-Pacific will help ESPN Star Sports save both time and resources, and help them to expand their broadcast reach in new regions in Asia and with new delivery channels.”
SpeedCast will provide the channel downlink, live encoding and delivery services as well as 24/7 monitoring and operations out of its world-class Network Operations Centre and teleport facilities in Hong Kong.

SpeedCast will support ESS for its encoding requirements and distribution of the channel in the Asia Pacific region. Dealing with more than 50 international and local channels, SpeedCast is a recognized and reliable partner for TV channels looking for expansion into Asia, offering a one-stop solution with post-production, broadcast and distribution services.

MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom will be on an overdrive to ramp up its digitisation, last mile ownership and broadband subscriber base this fiscal.

India’s leading multi-system operator (MSO) plans to invest Rs 2.15 billion during the year, a bulk of which will be towards acquiring local cable operators (LCOs).
  
Hathway plans to pump in Rs 1.2 billion towards acquisitions, hoping to take its primary direct points to half a million. The last mile access directly to the customer homes will allow it to offer value-added services and create a window for lifting the ARPUs (average revenue per user) in future.

“We plan to invest Rs 1.2 billion for acquisition of last mile in FY’11. We should have half a million primary direct points by then,” says Hathway Cable & Datacom managing director and chief executive officer K Jayaraman. 
 
For boosting its cable Internet presence, Hathway will invest Rs 600 million during the fiscal. The plan is to have a subscriber base of half a million.

“The broadband division will be a separate SBU. Our focus will be to increase our net subscriber base. We expect the ARPUs to stay flat at Rs 330,” says Jayaraman.

Hathway will need to fund only Rs 350 million for seeding a million digital set-top boxes (STBs) this year. “We have got into a financing arrangement with the vendor (NDS). We will pay a limited percentage upfront while the remaining amount will be paid over 36 months. This will allow us to conserve capital,” says Jayaraman.
 

NEW DELHI: Samsung moblie has launched two smartphones in the Indian market – Galaxy S and Wave.

The handsets are priced between Rs 19,000 and Rs 31,000.

On the sidelines of the launch of the smartphones in the presence of Aamir Khan, Samsung Director (Mobile and IT) Ranjit Yadav said that the new television commercials with the Bollywood actor would be aired shortly.
 
Khan, who is the brand ambassador of Samsung Smartphones, said he will endorse only those products which fit his image. He also said he would not endorse a product which he does not himself use, and would therefore want to see if the brand actually fulfils the promises it stands for.

The various features of the two phones were introduced in the form of a live conversation between Khan and Samsung VP marketing Asim Warsi, accompanied by an audio-visual presentation.

Apart from other features, the phones have a facility where the subscriber is woken by an alarm and then told of his day’s engagements, thus acting like a private secretary. Reacting to Warsi’s comment that a tall sexy voice would wake him up, Khan added humorously: “A short sexy voice wakes me up everyday at home. So if you have a tall one, it will make life interesting.’ 
 
Earlier, Samsung President and CEO JS Shin said India was a very important market for his company. He said it was estimated that around 40 million touchphones were sold in 2009 and Samsung formed a major part of that.

Talking about India plans, Yadav said that around 2.5 million sets may be sold this year in India and Samsung hoped to get 20 per cent of that in the second half of the year.

He claimed that around five to six per cent of Samsung‘s total turnover every year is spent on marketing and advertising.

The Samsung Wave has been launched on the ‘Bada’ platform – Samsung’s proprietary open OS, while Galaxy S functions on the Android platform.

Samsung Wave is the first Smartphone with Samsung’s own proprietary operating system – bada (which in Korean means ocean). Samsung’s bada platform allows mobile users to simply and easily download an abundance of applications from Samsung Apps, an integrated application store accessible from the device and online. Featuring a wealth of games, social networking, health and lifestyle applications, Samsung Applications give users instant access to a huge choice of mobile experiences.

The Android powered Samsung Galaxy S has the power to enrich people’s lives through its best-in-class services and technologies. It will introduce people to the concept of the “Smart Life” – a Smartphone experience that is simple, organized and integrated; one that enriches the lives of users. It features a dazzlingly bright 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, a 1 GHz application processor and Samsung’s latest intuitive TouchWiz 3.0 user-interface (UI), giving users instant access to their mobile lives.

MUMBAI: Astro, the Malaysia-based cross-media broadcaster and direct-to-home (DTH) satellite pay-TV operator, has partnered with Irdeto, the firm which deals in securing and delivering premium content and digital assets.

Astro will use Irdeto’s content management solution to power the live streaming and on-demand broadband delivery of all 64 FIFA World Cup 2010 matches on the Astro B.yond Player.

Additionally, Irdeto will power mobile access to live matches via Astro sister company Maxis, offering exclusive streaming of all matches, replays and highlights.
 
  “Astro understands platforms in terms of TV, radio, online and other media; we understand our customers and their surrounding communities, their diversity and their trends. At the same time, Astro is unique because we’ve had the privilege of starting operations and growing within Malaysia. We target ‘best in class’ partnerships and strive for integration within our partner roadmaps, leveraging our regional expertise,” said Astro CTO Paul Dale.

“We are happy to partner with them to take the World Cup experience far past traditional broadcast for Malaysians,” Dale added. 
 
As Astro’s content hub for the ingestion, preparation and delivery of all World Cup matches to new media services, Irdeto is working with Akamai’s HD Network for live streaming in high definition and Microsoft Corp’s customised player experience with Microsoft Silverlight and Microsoft PlayReady for content protection, Irdeto is supporting the first regional deployment of Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) Smooth Streaming, an adaptive bitrate technology that detects a consumer‘s broadband data transfer rate in real time and adjusts the quality of a video stream for an uninterrupted, unparalleled user experience.

The Akamai HD Network offers the largest video distribution capacity and global scale, and is optimised to help broadcasters increase audience engagement and expand revenues by complementing traditional mediums such as TV and DVD with the internet. In addition, Conviva is providing real-time audience monitoring, analytics and reporting and EVS is delivering on-demand broadcast highlights and clip packages.
 

NEW DELHI: While today 75 per cent of all households have a TV, only 25 per cent have Internet access. In the developing countries, home Internet penetration is as low as 12 per cent.

The World Telecommunication Development Report 2010 released in India recently has noted that while major achievements have been made over the past five years, substantial efforts are required in developing countries to achieve the goals and targets by 2015.
 
The report makes three main recommendations on the policies and measures needed to help achieve the targets: ensure that half the world population has access to broadband by 2015; Build an ICT-literate society globally; develop online content and applications.

For this, governments can take a number of concrete steps such as ensuring access to broadband infrastructure for all citizens. Policy-makers in developing countries, in partnership with the international community, should continue to commit resources to connecting educational institutions to ICTs and to adapt the curriculum. The development of online content and applications in local languages should be promoted, for example, through the digitization of books and documents to create an e-culture. With more than half of the Internet users speaking languages with non-Latin scripts, the recent opening up of Internet domain names to non-Latin script characters is an important development.

Finally, highlighting the importance for setting clear policy targets and monitoring progress, the Report proposes a list of 50 concrete indicators to monitor the targets over the next five years, until 2015.  
 
The report comes in the wake of a consultation paper by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India expressing concern that broadband penetration in India is low in spite of the fact that 104 telecom service providers are providing broadband services. The broadband penetration is just 0.74% when compared with teledensity of 52.74%. A need is being felt to identify impediments and create an environment to encourage broadband growth.The net broadband addition per month is just 0.1 to 0.2 million in contrast to approximately 18 million mobile connections per month.
Though 70% of Indian population lives in rural areas; broadband facility is limited to metro and major cities. Availability of broadband is critical for development of rural areas. Out of total 9.0 million broadband subscribers at the end of April 2010, just 5% are in rural areas. The low broadband penetration in rural areas is attributed to non availability of transmission media connectivity upto village level.

The Report further pointing to the lack of local content, in local languages says the web is still largely dominated by the English language, though only around 15 per cent of the world’s population understands it. The declining proportion of English-speaking Internet users suggests that non-English speakers are increasingly going online. The growing number of websites that are registered under country domain names is another indication for the web content diversification.
 

MUMBAI: CommunicAsia2010 and BroadcastAsia2010, which deal with television technology and telecom, have kicked off in Singapore and are showcasing the newest technologies, products and solutions at the Singapore Expo.
 
The exhibitions will feature almost 2,000 exhibiting companies from 57 countries and regions, keen on unveiling their latest offerings. These companies, ranging from market leading multi nationals to innovative small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), will take up nine per cent more space within 58,000 square metres of hall space.

The growth in exhibition space taken up mirrors the positive outlook of Asian infocomm and broadcasting industries and is an indication of exhibitors‘ focus on the region for expansion.

Reflecting a stronger participation from international groups, a total of 35 pavilions will be present at the events this year. New entrants include Bangladesh, a group led by India‘s Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion (TEPC), and South Korea‘s Gwangju Info and Culture Industry Promotion Agency (GITCT).

Some 54,000 business leaders, government officials and trade professionals are expected to attend CommunicAsia2010 and BroadcastAsia2010 to network, discuss critical industry issues and explore opportunities for growth.

Singapore Exhibition Services (SES) CEO Stephen Tan says, “CommunicAsia2010 and BroadcastAsia2010 together present the next wave of convergent technologies that will shape the future of communications and the way we work and play.

“Our exhibitions serve as the launch pads for international companies that are eager to gain a larger share of the Asian market and explore cross-industry collaborations to stay relevant in this dynamic environment. We are thrilled to present new exhibition highlights and conferences to this year‘s CommunicAsia and BroadcastAsia that address prevalent industry needs.” 
 
Highlights of CommunicAsia2010 : Some of the key satellite players, mobile handset makers, telecom service providers and key infrastructure solutions providers that will be making key announcements and showcasing their latest products and solutions at this year‘s show include Asia Broadcast Satellite, GlobeCast, Huawei, Intelsat, Inmarsat, Measat, NTT DoCoMo, PCCW Global, Research in Motion (RIM), Samsung Electronics, Skype, Telekom Malaysia and ZTE.
CommunicAsia2010, with support of the Mobile Alliance Singapore (MA), Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) and Wireless Industry Partnership (WIP), will show the latest developments and innovations in mobile applications and solutions by mobile developers, content providers and independent software vendors from around the world. The event will also present WIPJam sessions held in Asia for the first time.

These sessions consist of interactive discussions on opening up the mobile ecosystem and connecting developers with industry experts and decision makers. In addition, trade visitors can look forward to key technologies and solutions at new technology clusters – FTTx and Sustainable ICT.

Held in conjunction with CommunicAsia2010 once again is EnterpriseIT2010 which showcases innovative enterprise solutions that meet the evolving needs of businesses. Exhibitors from this segment offer a breadth of solutions from network security to managed services to telepresence, and include companies like AEP Networks, DIGILINK, Extreme Networks, Nete2 Asia, NComputing, Webvisions, QNO Technology, OPUS IT, Sai Infosystem, SQL View and TANBERG.

Highlights of BroadcastAsia2010

Reflecting the global attention on 3D content broadcasting and delivery, the highlights at BroadcastAsia2010 include a new 3D feature to showcase various acquisition process and streaming media platforms.

Global solution providers and manufacturers launching new solutions and equipment for content creation, distribution and display at this year‘s BroadcastAsia include Assimilate, Chyron, DVS Digital Systems AG, KIT Digital (formerly known as Benchmark Broadcast Systems), Monarch Innovative Technologies Pvt Ltd, Panasonic Systems, Pixel Power, Playbox Technology, Quantel, Screen Subtitling Systems and Sony Electronics.

The spotlight will also be on the latest digital signage technologies, touch screens and professional display applications for Asia; and the latest digital and high definition equipment and integrated workflow solutions for the broadcasting, production and post-production industries. Visitors will see displays from companies like Harris, Living Life Concepts, Magna and Media Architects.

Promoting Knowledge-Sharing and Thought Leadership : Held alongside the exhibitions at the Singapore Expo are the acclaimed CommunicAsia2010 Summit and BroadcastAsia2010 International Conference which feature a larger offering of over 150 conference sessions and workshops and a stellar line-up of more than 200 veteran industry speakers from leading companies and organisations.

The CommunicAsia Summit will feature engaging new sessions such as Cloud Computing, Mobile Value Added Services and Converged Device Management – all topics that address current topics and effervescent issues among ICT players. This year‘s visionary address on the future of communications and disruptive innovations is set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing communications landscape and evolving consumer needs.

The BroadcastAsia2010 International Conference is themed “Integrating Technology, Experiencing Content” with topics such as 3D and multi-platform content delivery taking centre stage. Over 70 industry experts will engage delegates in active discussions on various topics including the challenges and business opportunities from digital TV and 3D TV; the influence of social media on the broadcasting industry; and the technical implementation of workflow and digital asset management.

With the increasing demand for quality content, the new Creative Content Production Conference, held alongside BroadcastAsia2010 at the Singapore Expo on 16 – 17 June, will engage industry professionals in sessions that focus on cost efficient ways to create and produce content across multiple distribution and delivery platforms, as well as new technologies and opportunities for film makers in Asia amidst the current economic climate.

CommunicAsia2010 and BroadcastAsia2010 are part of the Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX). It is an infocomm and media business platform that brings together business leaders, companies and industry professionals to showcase their latest innovations, network, exchange ideas and tap new markets.
 

MUMBAI: Essel Group’s direct-to-home (DTH) company Dish TV is taking Ericsson’s services to ramp up its efficiency.

The leading DTH player, which recently started offering high-definition (HD) services, said Thursday it has roped in Ericsson to improve its satellite bandwidth efficiency, increase channel capacity and offer more choice to its subscribers in HD as well as standard definition (SD). 
 
With the head-end upgrade, company claims that 7.5 million subscriber of Dish TV can enjoy new HD services. Also, viewers can access new SD channels without the need to swap existing MPEG-2 set-top boxes (STBs).

Dish TV has selected Ericsson’s EN8100 MPEG-2 and EN8190 MPEG-4 AVC encoders, and is launching a combined SD MPEG-2 and HD MPEG-4 AVC system in the same transponder space. The EN8100 and EN8190 optimise bitrates and deliver greater performance to strengthen Dish TV’s business case by maximising current bandwidth capacity. 
 
Dish TV president projects Rajiv Khattar said, “Ericsson’s solution will help us to roll out several more channels to our subscribers and to give us capacity to offer new HD services. This presents significant savings and will further enhance the consumer experience. We are pleased to partner with Ericsson, who has significant experience in this field, for this important upgrade.”

“The EN8100 offers leading levels of performance that enable operators to maximise bandwidth utilisation without the need for new customer equipment. This improvement in service, with zero disruption to the subscriber, reduces churn and attracts new customers,” said Ericsson head of compression, solution area TV Eric Baron. “We are pleased to provide Dish TV with the capability to deliver more HD and SD services to its subscribers, offering them greater choice, and in turn a further improved overall experience.”

NEW DELHI: Astroyogi.com. the astrology portal from Netway India, has tied up with Airtel Digital TV to give access to AstroYogi.com content on iAstro interactive services that are bundled free with all Airtel digitalTV tariff packages.

Currently iAstro offers daily horoscope, numerology and panchang to its viewers. This association will enable Airtel digital TV users to also access their forecast from the astrology portal, AstroYogi.com.

Services such as daily predictions for individuals, information on Rahu kaal and simplified Hindi Panchang are available to Airtel digitalTV customers at all times. Among other services, one can also access their fortune for the day, along with results for the most compatible partner.
 
Netway founder and CEO Meena Kapoor said, “We have an opportunity to expose an entirely new audience to the excitement of AstroYogi content via Airtel digital TV across the country. AstroYogi.com is completely focused towards delivering groundbreaking content through new platforms, and has launched its services both on cable television, IPTV and now Airtel digital TV.”  
 
Bharti Airtel CMO – DTH Sugato Banerji said, “iTV applications and services are our focus area for providing relevant content for the consumer to enrich her utlisation of the TV for more than viewing programmes. iAstro is part of our endeavor to incorporate customer preferences across genres. iAstro as a part of our interactive features, provides not only daily predictions but also detailed description about one’s sun-sign. Airtel digital TV will continue to offer exciting and relevant content that add value to the interactive experiences for our customers.”