Category: Software

MUMBAI: US broadcaster Voom HD Networks has inked a carriage agreement with Orbit to launch its VOOM HD channel in the Middle East.

The agreement, brokered by international broadcaster and distributor of thematic channels Zonemedia, heralds Voom HD as the first high-definition channel in the region.

Orbit president, CEO Samir Abdulhadi says, ” Voom HD is the ideal collaborator for introducing HD programming to our growing viewership. With its reputation for stellar HD production and the great diversity of programming in its extensive catalogue, Voom presents a compelling, high-quality offering.”

Voom HD delivered in 1080i format high-definition with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio delivering six channels of surround sound—will offer its diverse collection of HD programming on such topics as adventure travel, fashion, luxury lifestyle, art, live concerts, action sports and video gaming.

Since initiating its global expansion effort in October 2005, the Voom HD brand has seen exponential growth in the international marketplace. More than 500 programming hours have been sold into more than 50 countries.

The global Vom HD channel has launched in Scandinavia, Estonia, and Latvia, and will soon launch in Hong Kong later this month and in Singapore. Voom HD has also been deployed in Canada on three branded channels operated by High Fidelity TV, and Skylife‘s SkyHD deployed a daily primetime Voom HD branded programming block on Korea‘s first and only HD programming service last September.

MUMBAI: US media firm Warner Bros. and Pathfire have teamed up to create a full-service, end-to-end high definition (HD) programming distribution network, capable of delivering
content to over 1,400 broadcast facilities.

This partnership enables Warner Bros. to deliver High Definition (HD) Syndication via Pathfire‘s Digital Media Gateway (DMG) network of servers.

The service was launched a few days ago when Warner Bros. delivered long-form programming encoded at its Los Angeles-based Global Digital Media XChange facility (GDMX) to WSB-TV in Atlanta. The delivery utilised the existing Pathfire infrastructure to enable the satellite delivery of the programming. The content arrived on the Pathfire DMG Server located at WSB, and was transferred to a Grass Valley Group K2 Media Server via Pathfire‘s DMG HD Server Connect for Programming.

This strictly file-based process enables stations to benefit from a streamlined workflow by cutting the time and hands required to get a program ready for air.

Pathfire chairman and CEO Mike Eckert says, “An HD store-and-forward delivery platform capable of delivering long-form programming is a first for our industry. This is a tremendous
accomplishment for Pathfire and our partners. We continue to hear a growing demand for HD programming and ads from the stations we serve. This announcement demonstrates that we are listening and delivering a solution that is ready for the ever-increasing appetite for HD content.”

GDMX senior VP and GM Paul Saccone says, “Global Digital Media XChange is proud to highlight our ability to distribute long-form syndicated programming along with ads via the Pathfire DMG platform. Our customers are looking for a way to efficiently and affordably deliver HD programming and our GDMX facility can provide the required service.

“We are pleased to be working with Pathfire in this area. This test served as a proof of concept and we will continue to work with Pathfire in order to maximize our HD/SD work flow processes.”

Utilising the Pathfire DMG HD delivery network, GDMX delivers file-based HD content on-demand, virtually without delay. Pathfire provides end-to-end technology to enable this delivery all the way to the station‘s play-to-air server, providing delivery confirmation to the providers.

Pathfire enables native integration into play-to-air servers, as well as providing transcoding to either 1080i or 720p to match a station‘s infrastructure. Pathfire‘s DMG HD product line has been shaped, developed, and released with guidance from the industry‘s top technology leaders. The Pathfire-led, HD Conclave — comprised of experts from content providers, content distributors, and broadcast groups — has provided Pathfire with industry validation in the form of technical guidance for the Pathfire DMG HD product roadmap.

The successes so far in HD distribution are a direct result of the industry working together to create a standard platform for HD distribution. The Conclave‘s efforts enabled a superior solution for the challenges associated with HD content distribution.

MUMBAI: fix8, which recently introduced User-Generated Reality, a new media category that all started with its free downloadable software combining video, animation and Instant
Messaging, has now unveiled AuditionsTV.

This is a platform for broadcasting high quality, real-time media to support interactive TV. Shanghai Media Group in China will offer interactive TV programming based on the fix8 platform for youth markets across Shanghai cable networks.

AuditionsTV has been designed for broadcast quality output. The software allows producers to select media content from thousands of users on the Internet and integrate it into live or produced TV programming.

fix8 CEO, Linh Duy Tang says, “Studies show that TV is losing viewers to the Internet. AuditionsTV will bridge the gap by integrating TV, Internet and mobile technologies for audience participation across reality,talk, game and dating shows.”

AuditionsTV is currently being used on Shanghai Media Group‘s midnight talk show, Stay with You Till Dawn. The fix8 platform enhances visual effects and audience interactivity. Shown on Channel Young, a lifestyle and fashion channel, Stay With You is the first UGC programme in China.

SMG will also use AuditionsTV to offer interactive content on In Star TV, an MTV-like Music Channel targeting high school students and youth markets across Shanghai. fix8 will allow viewers to record funny video clips, which will be used to create a special subprogramme within the show to air every weekend.

Viewers will participate in real-time from the Internet across various formats including talk shows, talent contests, games, shopping and auctions. The show will air on SiTV‘s Game Channel.

MUMBAI: At the ongoing media show Nab in Las Vegas Scopus Video Networks, a provider of digital video networking solutions, is showcasing its fully integrated IP video networking solution.

This addresses broadcast, satellite, cable and telecom infrastructures.

The company is also demonstrating its newly released second-generation SD H.264 and its upcoming HD H.264 encoders. Scopus‘ IP headend solution provides full IP connectivity between digital headend components enabling flexible programme routing and fast redundancy and eliminating the need for expensive audio/video matrices.

Scopus‘ solutions address the needs of cable, satellite, terrestrial and IPTV operators and allow them to benefit from emerging converged delivery infrastructures, simplify their operations and enhance their offerings.

At the show, Scopus is demonstrating both SD and HD H.264 encoding platforms as well as a suite of digital video network solutions:

* UE-9810 – This is Scopus‘ new H.264 HD encoding platform. The UE-9810 enables broadcasters and operators to offer premium high definition content. Featuring ASI and IP outputs for channel redundancy and network support, it offers operators integrated, advanced multiplexing capabilities for flexible and easy creation of various services. The platform provides picture quality at low bit rates to better utilise bandwidth.

Suitable for broadcast, satellite, cable, and IP contribution applications, it will also be available in a DSNG version housing DVB-S/S2 modulation schemes. This platform is expected to be available later this year.

* UE-9410 – Scopus‘ second generation, SD H.264 encoding platform. With IP and ASI outputs, the UE-9410 offers high picture quality and improved compression capabilities that result in low bit rate to better utilise bandwidth.

Suitable for satellite distribution, IPTV and DVB-T applications, the unit also features DVB-S/S2 modulation schemes for DSNG
applications.

MUMBAI: At the 2007 National Association of Broadcasters conference (Nab) electronic media show in Las Vegas software major Microsoft has announced additional technology suppliers providing technologies that support the Microsoft TV Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Edition software platform

This is being deployed by several service providers worldwide. Microsoft says that the announcement illustrates the accelerating growth of the IPTV industry and Microsoft‘s commitment to work with a broad range of solutions providers to ensure ongoing industry innovation while allowing service providers the flexibility to choose from a variety of technologies to deploy IPTV services.

The announcement features new Microsoft IPTV partners or solutions in the following categories:
* Server processors. AMD and Intel Corporation provide leading chipset solutions for server and storage infrastructures for the IPTV Edition ecosystem. Their processors are key to the scalable deployment of live and on-demand TV applications.

* Encoding solutions. Thomson Grass Valley‘s standard definition encoders support the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 standard used in IPTV Edition.

* Set-top boxes. Pirelli Broadband Solutions will provide set-top boxes supporting Microsoft TV IPTV Edition. Pirelli‘s portfolio of hybrid decoders brings together IPTV and digital terrestrial TV in one multimedia platform, enabling a wide range of content bundles to be secured through conditional access system standards and digital rights management technologies.

Pirelli‘s set-top boxes are based on single- chip technology and support legacy and new encoding standards such as H.264 and VC-1 at both standard and high definition. Pirelli set-top boxes can be equipped with hard drives of various storage capacities, providing additional capabilities such as local video recording, recorded-services playback, live TV pause, and time-shift recording.

* Servers and storage. Sun Microsystems Inc.‘s Sun Fire x64 servers are the newest carrier-class servers to have been tested against the high-performance IPTV platforms from Microsoft.

Research firm Yankee Group senior analyst Vince Vittore says, “With IPTV deployments now happening in most major regions around the world, the market is entering a new phase. The addition of these new technology companies to Microsoft‘s IPTV ecosystem is a clear indicator that the IPTV industry has reached a new level of maturity.

“Service providers will benefit by having more technology options and the flexibility to deploy a solution that best meets their specific business objectives and the needs of their
subscribers.”

Microsoft TV Division director of the Worldwide Partner Ecosystem Joe Seidel says, ” Microsoft‘s commitment to the IPTV industry is not only to deliver a comprehensive end-to-end IPTV Edition software platform, but to constantly ensure that industry-leading solutions in all areas can work with our platform to enhance its features and functionalities.

“With the relationships we are announcing we add another layer of support for our service provider customers as they continue to deploy IPTV services to consumers worldwide.”

MUMBAI: Give this round to Sun TV in its ongoing legal tussle with DTH operator TataSky pertaining to the supply of its signals. The Supreme Court today refused to give any interim relief to TataSky in its challenge of the stay granted by the Madras High Court in favour of the South Indian broadcast major.

A two-judge bench of the apex court comprising Justice BN Agarwal and Justice PP Noalekar posted the matter for hearing on 27 April.

TataSky had approached the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court‘s decision early this month to stay broadcast tribunal TDSAT‘s directive that Sun stream its signals to TataSky.

The Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal had issued an interim order on 19 March directing Sun TV to stream its signals on an a la carte basis to TataSky at 50 per cent of the cable charges.

MUMBAI: Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd has set up with Malyasia-based Asian Integrated Industries a joint venture company to digitalise 50 theatre screens in Malaysia.

The new company, Pyramid Saimira Theatre Chain (M) Sdn. Bhd Ltd (PSTL), will be investing Rs 125 million for the project which is expected to complete in the next 60 days.

It also plans to produce their first ever Malay language film “Berikan Hatimu”, in Malay language. The romantic comedy movie, featuring leading Malaysian film personalities, is expected to hit the theatres by September.

The JV will also be producing the first Tamil film fully in Malaysia for international release. Says Pyramid Saimira chairman V Natrajan, “It will be the first Tamil movie to be fully produced in Malaysia. The hero in this movie will be from India whereas the rest of the film crew would be Malaysians. This movie would be released simultaneously in Malaysia and the rest of the world. The work on this film will begin in the month of June.”

Adds Pyramid Saimira MD P S Saminathan, “Digital cinema will take films to all neighbourhood regions, thus improving the collection of local Malay and Chinese language films.”

The JV has also bagged the exclusive distribution rights for the Tamil blockbuster movie Shivaji, starring superstar Rajnikanth in Malaysia. It is set for release during the second week of May.

MUMBAI: Global market research company Synovate, has announced its two regional media surveys PAX and EMS, to synchronise their offerings to cover affluent digital consumers.

Both the Synovate PAX and EMS media surveys will now probe into the digital media consumption and lifestyles of affluent consumers and top business decision makers in Europe and Asia Pacific, says Global head of media Steve Garton, and head of EMS, Reinier Schaper.

The addition of digital media to the current TV and print audience measurement will make EMS and PAX full cross-media planning tools. Synovate has confirmed that CNN will be the first sponsor to commit to PAX and EMS Digital, states an official release.

The new digital component of the surveys will commence fieldwork in July this year while the first results will be delivered to clients in early 2008.

“Synovate is moving quickly to address one of the most important things on its clients‘ minds – digital media and how its consumption impacts on other media and purchase habits,” said Garton.

While there are other digital media surveys, this one will be unique as it covers upscale audiences – a crucial target group – across an enormous geography,” he added. “We will be able to provide multi-regional reports to clients – which makes a great deal of sense as many campaigns are multi-regional in scope.”

PAX Digital and EMS Digital will include additional information covering detailed online behaviour, sites visited and the influence of the web on purchase decisions.

“Companies are naturally very interested in the buying intentions of upscale consumers and senior business professionals, who are the early product adopters and trend setters,” he added.

Synovate‘s PAX media survey has been running for over ten years and is the currency for upscale audiences in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. It launched in Latin America in January 2007.

MUMBAI: Samsung Electronics Co., LTD., the global company in consumer electronics and digital media technologies and the company to introduce a Blu-ray disc player, will introduce a dual format High-Definition optical disc player in time for the holidays.

Samsung‘s duo HD player will fully support both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats and their interactive technologies, HDi and BD-Java. With the duo HD consumers can get additional studio content such as trailers, director‘s comments, more elaborate interactive menus and behind the scene footage. The new duo HD joins Samsung‘s next generation DVD line-up which includes Samsung‘s second generation Blu-ray player available at retail this month

“We welcome Samsung‘s duo HD player as another solution in the marketplace that will help reduce consumer confusion and buyer hesitancy towards HD media,” said Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders, “This is an innovative product that can move us closer to mainstream consumer adoption of HD technologies.”

MUMBAI: Reliance Communications announced its tie-up with SUN Network Limited to beam all the programs of SUN TV, the 24-hour Tamil entertainment channel online on Reliance Mobile handsets. This comes as an advance New Year gift by Reliance Communications to the people of Tamil Nadu.

Hosted on the Reliance Mobile World the multimedia suite of applications of Reliance Mobile, the Mobile TV menu offers unique experience in viewing SUN TV‘s popular soaps, latest flicks, news, debates and various other interesting programs. As the streaming is on-line 24×7, the Reliance Mobile customers can watch their favorite programs conveniently from anywhere even while on the move within the state or traveling across the country.

Speaking on this occasion, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Reliance Communications hub head V G Somasekhar remarked, “Through our association with SUN TV, we have embarked on a special journey that would offer exclusive, localized flavored value added service to our subscribers. Bringing the leading entertainment channel online on Reliance Mobile handsets is indeed our surprise New Year gift to the people of Tamil Nadu where we have been adding more than one customer a minute since launch of service four years ago. Also our mega network roll-out in the state will expand our coverage to all 832 census towns, 130 SDCAs, 201 Taluks by September, 2007. So we want the people all over Tamil Nadu to enjoy the experience of mobile TV from our alliance with SUN TV.”

Supplemented Reliance Communications applications, solutions and content group president Mahesh Prasad, “Mobile TV is the latest breakthrough in mobile entertainment that combines the best of TV with the mobility and functionality of a wireless device. Reliance Communications has pioneered video based content on mobile phones in India since its inception. With this major initiative, our mobile phone has become an entertainment station in itself. This is in line with Reliance‘s pursuit of making mobile TV a reality in India.”

SUN TV vice president Saxena said, “Entertainment on mobile phones is the next era of the media industry. Apart from offering easy access and convenience, it paves the way for making people technology savvy which would help them redefine their lifestyle.”

Worldwide trend showcases how consumers are upgrading from ringtones and wallpapers, the mainstays of the mobile entertainment, to more advanced features like mobile TV and propelling the growth of TV on the mobile by leaps and bounds. In countries like South Korea and Japan, Mobile TV is already a way of life. Other countries in the Americas and Europe are fast catching up. In India, Reliance Communications is providing such content. Video content on Reliance Mobile World is already a very popular service representing different genre of content such as movie clips, TV news and shows, music, videos, cricket and sports fashion, glamour and animation.