MUMBAI: Software major Microsoft will reveal, at the International Broadcasting Conference (IBC), new partner solutions built on Microsoft technology In tandem with announcements of US and European customers deploying solutions for the broadcast industry based on the Microsoft platform, delivering consumer experiences across PC, TV and mobile, Microsoft will showcase today the latest developments at the Microsoft exhibit in the Topaz Lounge, at the Amsterdam Rai Exhibition and Convention Centre. Microsoft will showcase four solution areas and across 14 different partner demonstrations: digital content management, search and monetisation, media business management, and digital content experiences. Microsoft senior director of the media and entertainment business in the communications sector Gabriele Di Piazza said, “Working with the organisations in the broadcast and entertainment world, we aim to deliver insights and innovations through technology, making content immersive and experiential for the consumer while also more easily managed and produced behind the scenes. Consumers can now access this new world of entertainment via the PC, through the TV or on a mobile device, a choice that allows them to enjoy content in a way they never have before.”Demonstrations will highlight the growing number of customers including Tesco, Canal+, France 24, ESPN, NBC Sports, ProSieben, Sat 1 and TV2 that are using the Microsoft platform including Silverlight and Internet Information Microsoft will also preview the latest media feature developments planned for Microsoft Silverlight 4, including native multicast support and support for offline digital rights management (DRM) powered by Microsoft PlayReady technology. The company claims that in three years, Microsoft Mediaroom has become the most deployed Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) software platform, according to data from Screen Digest, Microsoft will also be showing a number of live Mediaroom services, giving visitors the opportunity to see how global operators are delivering TV experiences on the Mediaroom IPTV and multimedia platform. In the 12 months since IBC in September 2008, Microsoft has seen the number of Mediaroom subscriber households more than double from 1.5 million to almost 4 million, of which nearly 2 million are in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, the company said.
Services (IIS) Media Services 3.0 to enable rich and compelling consumer experiences globally.
and with nearly 4 million of the total estimated 24 million IPTV subscriber households worldwide. At the current growth rate, Microsoft expects Mediaroom households to pass the 4 million mark in October 2009.
Category: Software
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Microsoft to showcase solutions for media industry at IBC
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Airtel Digital TV offers Kaminey on PPV
MUMBAI: Airtel Digital TV will show the UTV action thriller Kaminey on its pay-per-view (PPV) service.
The movie will be available starting 12 September at Rs 75.
Recently, Tata Sky had also announced availability of four recently release movies, including Kaminey, on its PPV platform Showcase.
Directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, Kaminey is a dark comedy showcasing the cunning side of humans to achieve happiness. The lead actors of this film are Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.
The film is about two identical twins – Charlie and Guddu (Shahid Kapoor) grown in the rugged streets of Mumbai, hoping to leave the squalor behind and move into a life of prosperity. This intercuts between the parallel stories of the brothers as they run to protect themselves, their dreams and their love. Until a point where it converges and the brothers meet to realise that they only have each other.
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Apple unveils iTunes9
MUMBAI:Apple has unveiled iTunes9, the latest version of software application to purchase, manage and play media.
“iTunes 9 is a great iTunes release that includes features that make using iTunes better than ever and iTunes content richer than ever,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
‘iTunes LP‘ lets listeners share an entire album with art, lyrics, liner notes, photos and videos. It also introduces ‘Home Sharing‘, which lets you easily transfer music, movies and TV shows among up to five authorized computers in your home. Another feature is the ‘Genius Mixes‘ which is created using the results of over 27 million music libraries with over 54 billion songs that have been submitted and analyzed by Genius.
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Ignitee partners Fox Star Studios for phase II promotion of Quick Gun Murugun
MUMBAI: Ignitee Digital Solutions, a digital marketing company, has partnered with Fox Star Studios India for the phase II promotion of their hilarious film Quick Gun Murugun on various social platforms. The company is leveraging the film on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and Bindass.com.
On the profiles created on the social media network prior to the release of the film, Ignitee in less than two weeks claims to have generated additional 50 per cent fans. They are participating in discussions with the characters of the movie and also in various contests.
Talking of the partnership, Ignitee Digital Solutions vice chairman V Ramani said, “We are thrilled to be partnering and promoting Quick Gun Murugun on various social platforms for Fox Star Studios. Social Media today is the fastest, spontaneous and most interactive platform and thus forms an apt opportunity for a movie like Quick Gun Murugun.”Adds Fox Star Studios India Head of distribution, marketing and syndication Vivek Krishnani, “There is a huge hype for Quick Gun Murugun and we are trying to capitalise the same in the online space. We are trying out some new things and hope to replicate similar success that Ignitee has had with some of their other clients.”
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CCTV.com, KongZhong to create new mobile internet site
MUMBAI: CCTV.com, China‘s news and entertainment new media platform, has tied up with KongZhong, a China-based mobile internet company to jointly develop and launch mobile internet site wap.CCTV.com.
CCTV.com GM Wang Wen Bin says, “wap.CCTV.com is a key project for us to leverage the synergies between new media (mobile Internet) and traditional media (TV) to provide a more integrated experience for our users.
“We expect wap.CCTV.com to become the primary platform for large events in the future which require mobile Internet interactivity. With this, CCTV users will not only be able to access our programming via the TV and the Internet, but now also on their mobile phones, anytime and anywhere.”
The new mobile internet site will deploy future 3G technologies, such as streaming audio/video and mobile social networking services (SNS).
Adds KongZhong Corporation CEO and chairman Wang Lei Lei, “I believe this strategic relationship is a pioneering effort to combine the interactive power of the mobile internet with the reach and content-richness of CCTV. I look forward to working closely with CCTV and our other partners to rapidly develop the Chinese 3G market.”
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Globecast strengthens resources on Eutelsat satellites
MUMBAI: GlobeCast, a content management and delivery company, and satellite operator Eutelsat have signed a three-year contract for two 36 MHz transponders on Eutelsat‘s Atlantic Bird 1 and W2A satellites.
The new capacity will be used for professional video services in order to boost GlobeCast‘s response to increasing requirements from client broadcasters and news agencies to deliver live coverage of sports, breaking news and special events across Europe.
GlobeCast‘s choice of additional Eutelsat satellite capacity brings extra flexibility for worldwide seamless delivery of content. The additional resources on Eutelsat‘s Atlantic Bird 1 and W2A will in particular support GlobeCast‘s response to the increase of contribution links in High-Definition that have grown four-fold over the last year.
Using Satellite News Gathering (SNG) vehicles and flyaway antennas, GlobeCast (a subsidiary of France Telecom) will leverage the new capacity for a full suite of occasional services in Standard Digital and High-Definition. GlobeCast‘s Europe-based fleet comprises 39 SNG vehicles and Flyaways of which seven are located in the UK, 10 in Italy and 22 in France. GlobeCast also provides global coordination services (logistics, dedicated teams, accreditation) and distribution by satellite or fibre to platforms located on five continents.
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Consumers in US prefer online TV: study
MUMBAI: As consumers prefer watching television as per their convenience, more and more consumers are turning to online TV in the US, reveals ‘The Consumer Internet Barometer‘ report.
‘The Consumer Internet Barometer‘ is a quarterly report brought out by the global business membership and research association, The Conference Board and global market insight and information group, TNS.
According to the report, being able to view favourite shows at any time, along with personal convenience and portability are the main reasons why they prefer online TV.
The study states that nearly one out of four US households watches TV online, up from 20 per cent last year. Nearly 80 per cent of consumers log on daily for entertainment.
Says The Conference Board Consumer Research Center director Lynn Franco, “Online viewing allows users to watch TV on their own schedule, catch up on missed content and focus on their favorite programmes. As a result, about 20 percent of consumers say their traditional TV viewing has declined.”
According to the report, of all the online programmes watched, news shows are the most popular online programmes -watched by about 43 per cent of online TV viewers. About 35 per cent enjoy sitcoms, comedies and dramas while 19 per cent of online TV viewers indulge in reality shows and 18 per cent follow sports.
The report states that more than two-thirds of online TV viewers access television content through the official TV channel‘s homepage. YouTube.com still retains second place, accessed by 42 per cent of online TV viewers. Meanwhile, Hulu.com has grown from 8 per cent of households to 32 per cent today.
Hulu.com is fast becoming the hot site, just behind YouTube for watching TV programmes, suggests the report.
“The rise of Hulu is not just a coincidence.Hulu.com and other online TV viewing options have created a user experience equivalent to how people self categorise content – sorting by brand, genre and popularity. This user experience, along with a deep library of branded content, has created a service that continues to resonate with users,” says TNS SVP innovation and product development Bernard Brenner.
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Big TV launches new packages for South India
MUMBAI: Big TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) arm of Reliance Communications, has launched new packages during the festive season for the South market.
The pay-TV company has introduced a 12-month package for Rs 2590. New regional channels introduced in south regional packs include UsheTV (Kannada), AdityaTV (Tamil) and GCV (Telugu). The package offers “maximum value” in all base packs to appeal to a wide spectrum of viewers in South, says the company.
The Rs 2590 South offer comes with a total of 120 channels including 15 Sun channels and more south regional language channels.
Also, Big TV has priced ‘Sun Bronze pack’ at Rs 127 for Southern customers. “Our latest offer gives more choices for Southern customers by adding new channels across regional platforms; we’ve simplified the packages besides maintaining flexibility for top up purchases. This is part of Big TV’s abiding commitment to deliver great value at affordable prices to its customers during festive season,” said Big TV senior VP Umesh Rao.
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SPE Networks – Asia expands distribution in Indonesia with Aora
MUMBAI: SPE Networks – Asia (Spena) has strengthened its presence in Indonesia as it brings its quartet of pay-TV channels, including the two newer networks AXN Beyond and Sony Entertainment Television (SET), to a second pay-TV service, Aora.
Animax and Sony Entertainment Television will be made available to subscribers in Aora‘s second launch phase, targeted towards the later part of the year. AXN and AXN Beyond are already launched on 15 August.
Spena senior VP, GM Ricky Ow says, “The effort to expand our reach in Indonesia is picking up speed. It is even more gratifying that all four of our channels have been picked up by key pay-TV platforms in this rapidly developing market. We are pleased to be in partnership with Aora as their subscription growth has been very impressive, and we expect our channels to help drive the growth momentum further.”
SPE Networks – Asia is home to AXN, Animax, and women‘s general entertainment channel SET.
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Hathway JV MSO in Gujarat to deploy NDS solution for digital cable
MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom-controlled Gujarat Telelink Private Ltd (GTPL) is deploying an end-to-end solution from NDS to power and protect its digital cable TV services.
GTPL, the largest multi-system operator (MSO) in Gujarat, plans to deploy NDS VideoGuard conditional access technology, NDS MediaHighway middleware, interactive applications including games and an NDS electronic programme guide (EPG).
VideoGuard will secure over 180 digital TV channels, including premium content such as international movies, as well as value added services including a ‘songs on demand’ service. GTPL also plans to launch video-on-demand (VoD), based on technology from NDS, in the coming months.
GTPL CMD Anirudhsinh Jadeja says, “We look forward to working with NDS to move our business forward. With NDS as our technology partner, we are confident in our ability to provide a compelling digital TV proposition to our customers.”
NDS senior VP, GM Asia Pacific Sue Taylor adds, “GTPL is committed to delivering a superior TV and broadband service to subscribers and we at NDS are looking forward to helping them achieve this goal.”
NDS is currently supporting four major operators to securely bring advanced TV to Indian subscribers.