Category: Software

MUMBAI: The National Association of Boradcasters (Nab) in the US has announced the formation of a long term technology advocacy programme.

The overall mission of the program will be to seek and facilitate development and commercialisation of new technologies that can be exploited by broadcasters

The multi-year, multi-million dollar program will be named Nab Fastroad (Flexible Advanced Services for Television and Radio On All Devices).

It is a product of the efforts of Nab’s Technology Advocacy Committee in accordance with the sustained priority placed on technology by Nab joint voard chairman Bruce Reese and Nav president and CEO David K. Rehr. Consisting of Nav Board members, the Nab Technology Advocacy Committee held its first meeting in March 2006 and subsequently conducted a year-long deliberative decision-making investigation, including briefings by outside consultants, economic and technical analysis of technology developments, and technical review of potential projects through a technology discovery group process.

Based on this work, the NAB Board of Directors decided unanimously in January 2007 to launch the program and NAB’s Executive Committee approved organisational details in late March.

Rehr says, “As we move into the digital era, the most successful local broadcasters will be those who continue serving the core audience in their local community while aggressively embracing new technologies to expand the reach of their high-value content. This programme will play a key role in the acceleration and adoption of new broadcast technologies and NAB is proud to spearhead its formation.”

Nab Fastroad will be managed overall by a steering committee consisting of NAB executive staff, Board members and other representatives from Nab broadcast member organizations. Project selection and implementation will be handled by a technical committee of selected NAB member company engineers and staff from the NAB Science and Technology Department. Participation by NPR Laboratories and MSTV has also been established to coordinate with other ongoing technical programmes in the radio and television broadcasting sectors. The programme will principally concentrate on technologies and services related to over-the-air digital transmission.

MUMBAI: Honestech, which develops digital video software technology for multimedia content and Internet Protocol (IP) solutions for PCs and Handheld devices in the US has unveiled a trial version of its Burn DVD 3.2 easy to use DVD creation utility software.

The trial version of Burn DVD provides 30 days of full functionality and is available from more than 200 download web sites.

Honestech’s Burn DVD 3.2 features a Graphuic User Interface. This enables novice users to easily create DVDs and Video CDs. Burn DVD 3.2 combines DVD, Video CD, and SVCD production into a single integrated package. The automatic format conversion eliminates the need for additional Codecs or conversion software to convert MPEG, AVI, DV-AVI, WMV and ASF files to DVD format. Users can easily back-up and share their favorite Videos, Music and presentations on computers and DVD players.

The menu and authoring tools enable users to select videos from Windows Explorer by simply dragging and dropping them. Multiple video files with different file format can be selected simultaneously with Burn DVD 3.2 automatically converting them to your specified output format compatible with your player. Burn DVD supports multiple output file formats including DVD, VCD and SVCD with the ability to set the number of copies to be burned easily selected from the menu.

MUMBAI: Wire & Wireless India Ltd‘s plans to raise Rs 4 billion through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) is delayed due to regulatory hurdles. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has said that the company can‘t come out with fresh issues till completion of six months of listing.

The Zee Group‘s demerged cable company, which got listed on 10 January, wanted to come out with a QIP at Rs 122. But regulations require a six-month wait from the listing date as the pricing of the issue is arrived at based on an average during this period.

For the same reason, a preferential issue of convertible warrants to Jayneer Capital (a promoter group company) translating to five per cent of the company‘s existing equity could not be undertaken. The conversion price at Rs 122 per share (higher than the average for fhe first two-week listing period) would have meant that the promoter group would have put in Rs 1.31 billion for this.

“The promoters hold 43.79 per cent (till 31 December) in WWIL and would like to hike it up to 51 per cent. But SEBI wants a six-month wait from listing even for the proposed QIP issue as it is a regulatory requirement,” says a source close to the company.

WWIL was also considering a rights issue but decided against it because it would take a longer time. The company would have to submit its audited results, file the document and wait for regulatory approval. “If WWIL was to go ahead with the rights issue, it would have had to wait till September. For a QIP, it can do it earlier. The company is most likely to decide on this as a fund raising option,” the source says.

The QIP issue would help WWIL fund its expansion programme including digitalisation and acquisition of cable operators. WWIL has aggressive plans to expand its digital cable business and had earlier projected a fund requirement of Rs 7.14 billion over two years.

“Through the new console cycle, we see an increasing opportunity to incorporate both integrated and dynamic in-game advertising into many of THQ‘s owned franchises,” said THQ North American sales and distribution senior vice president Scott Guthrie, “We look forward to working with Double Fusion and their prominent group of advertisers to deliver programs that both drive awareness for our ad partners and serve to enhance players‘ overall gaming experience.”

Double Fusion will offer marketers the opportunity to reach players of THQ‘s leading properties by incorporating their brands into actual gameplay. The games will also feature an array of dynamic advertising placements, allowing advertisers to reach millions of gamers through real-time media buys. Double Fusion also offers consumer targeting, measurability, and flexibility in delivering advertising content. Says an official press release.

“THQ‘s top games reach an enormous audience, critical to effective advertising,” said Double Fusion president and CEO Jonathan Epstein, “The addition of these next generation franchises allows us to offer an even more robust network to brands and marketers.”

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal today gave Sun TV a week‘s time to produce before it the court stay order it states it has procured against TDSAT‘s directive that Sun stream its signals to DTH player TataSky.

The matter was heard on an application filed by TataSky requesting the sector tribunal to order a blacking out of Sun TV channels from all cable and DTH platforms for non-compliance with the TDSAT‘s orders passed on 19 March and 3 April.

While TataSky senior counsel Ramji Srinivas had filed the application yesterday, which came up for hearing today, Sun TV senior counsel Vivek Sibbal told the court that the appellant was quite aware that Sun TV had on 5 April procured a stay order from the Madras High Court on TDSAT‘s order.

TataSky has been misleading the tribunal, Sibbal argued.

TataSky has been demanding that if indeed the South Indian broadcast major had secured a stay, it needed to be produced, but that has not been done so far.

The tribunal, on hearing both parties, ordered Sun TV to place with it the order from the Madras HC within the next seven days.

The issue of the appeal would be now heard only once Sun produces the order.

From Chennai, Anil Kumar, legal head of Sun TV told indiantelevision.com: “We have not yet received the order copy from the court. Hopefully, we shall get it this evening and place it with TDSAT after that.”

In the original case, TataSky had filed an appeal that Sun should stream its signals to the DTH platform on an a la carte basis in a non-discriminatory manner within the framework of the Trai Act.

The tribunal had issued an interim order on 19 March, saying Sun TV must stream the signals on the basis sought for and since the determination of price per channel has not been done by Trai, the court asked Sun in the interim to give the signals at 50 per cent of the price it charges cable operators.

TDSAT had discussed the issue of price at length, saying that cable TV (in non-Cas areas) is not an addressable system an under-declaration is massive, but DTH is addressable and broadcasters would get to know 100 per cent of who is viewing their channels.

On that ground, TDSAT felt that the charges should be much less for DTH than what the high price the broadcaster charges the cable operators to offset their losses, and had asked Trai to state what it intended to do about controlling tariff on the DTH platform.

In the meanwhile, TDSAT had said that till Trai files its reply on tariff, Sun may be asked to charge at 50 per cent of what it charges cable operators.

Sun had not complied with the 19 March order, and during the course of the 3 April hearing on the review application filed by it, the TDSAT judges went tough about non-compliance of interim orders. The tribunal then ordered Sun to stream the signals to TataSky latest by 6 April.

MUMBAI: Breakthrough Animation Inc. has announced that its has started development on two new animated properties The Orphanage and Foolz ‘N The Hood, as a conscious effort to meet the demand for primetime programming targeted at the 18-35 year-old, says executive producer and managing partner Kevin Gillis.

Breakthrough will be seeking development partners for Foolz ‘N The Hood and will be offering the series for pre-sale at MipTV this year. Both the shows will be available for broadcast, broadband and mobile platform formats, informs an official statement.

The first project, The Orphanage, is an edgy animated comedy that is being developed with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), while Foolz ‘N The Hood, is a humorous animated series that satirizes pop culture.

NEW DELHI: TataSky has moved an application with TDSAT today saying that Sun TV has neither complied with the sector tribunal‘s order of 2 April to stream its signals to the former, nor has it produced a copy of the stay order that it says it has procured from the Madras High Court on 5 April.

Sun had alleged that TataSky was aware of the stay, and yet had given out a report to indiantelevision.com saying it would move the court for blacking out Sun from all platforms for non-compliance of the court‘s orders, threatening to take legal action against the DTH player.

When asked if Sun had produced the stay order, TataSky‘s legal mandarins told indiantelevision.com: “The TDSAT order had been issued on Tuesday. If Sun TV had indeed procured the HC stay, as they claim, they had from Thursday to this morning to produce it to us because it directly concerns us.

“They had not produced any such order in all these days. This morning just before we were going to the court, the Sun official called us and said they have procured the order, and we said we have no problem, let them produce the order in the court.”

TataSky sources said that at the court today, Sun official Vivek Sibbal was present and when TataSky counsel informed the court of its desire to move the application for penalising Sun TV, they argued that either the latter should produce the order or be penalised.

At the time of filing this report, TataSky counsel confirmed that Sun had not yet produced any copy of the order.

Asked about TataSky‘s statement that neither had they been told before this morning that Sun had procured a stay order, nor did they give a copy to TataSky, Sun TV legal head Anil Kumar stated: “Ramji Srinivasan is misleading the court and the media is suppressing the facts, because TataSky‘s lawyer was there at the Chennai court and knew the stay had been issued.”

As to why Sun had said that Sibbal would hand over the copy to TataSky by this afternoon, Kumar denied that anything of that nature had been said at all. “We are yet to get a certified copy of the order,” he said.

Asked why something as urgent as a stay order copy had not been issued by the court, which is normally done, Kumar said: “It does not happen like that in Chennai HC. First of all, there were three holidays from Friday.

“Besides, here the practice is that the judge will dictate the order, which will be typed and then signed by the judge and then we shall get it. We are still waiting for the copy of the order. TataSky can also get their copy by applying for it in the prescribed manner.”

MUMBAI: Namastey London, underwent the digital intermediate process at Pixion, the state of art post production facility in India.

The movie was shot in the greens of Punjab and the unpredictable weather of London eventually needed to be colour graded at Pixion. The Film being what it is, there was no room for experimental grades and fancy single tone colours. Jonathan Bloom the director of photography of the film envisioned a very straight forward grade and the directions from Vipul A Shah were very clear, he wanted London to be appealing to the people in India and Punjab to be appealing to the NRI‘s abroad.

The film was shot well and all the constraints the production were manageable in the colour matching process. However, the London weather, which changes by the hour, guaranteed that there were some tough times on the matching of the scenes. Through time and repeated tries the digital intermediate process used at Pixion ensured a systematic approach to handle such scenes. The team at Pixion worked out a bluish tone for a futuristic scene of Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, the stars of the film. The sequence was presented to director Vipul A Shah for his inputs and he instantly approved of it. Another experimental grade was done to the chakna chakna song which was given the golden yellowish brown look. For the Punjab sequences a technicolour look was decided upon.

Vipul A Shah states “Pixion is a studio which makes you feel at home, their work ethics are very strong and commitment levels are extra ordinary”.

“It has been a great pleasure to have been associated with Vipul A Shah on this prestigious project. His amazing clarity of approach and desire for perfection has been our sole motivator and we look forward to many more such occasions when he would allow us to be an integral part of his team” said Pixion CEO Naresh Malik.

Pixion‘s state of the art post production facilities are used to provide major broadcasters and animation design filmmakers.

MUMBAI: Arianespace has reiterated its commitment to supporting the future evolution of the mobile satellite services (MSS) industry, offering reliable access to space on its heavy-lift Ariane 5 and medium-weight Soyuz launch vehicles.

At the Mobile Satellite 2007 conference in London, Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said the increase of Ariane 5 mission capacity to eight launches annually by 2009 will provide significant payload launch opportunities for MSS satellites of various sizes. Ariane 5 is operated from Europe‘s Spaceport in French Guiana, with six missions planned in 2007 and seven for 2008.

Le Gall says, “This increase in production capability – coupled with the available performance of the Ariane 5 at about 10 tons and its 5-meter fairing – makes Ariane 5 the vehicle of choice for MSS satellites with their large antennas and high masses.

“On the lower end of the mass range between 5,500 kg. and 6,000 kg., the MSS satellites remain compatible with our dual launch offering on Ariane 5, hence providing our customers twice the launch opportunities and significant cost savings.”

For smaller MSS satellites, Arianespace also offers launch services with the Soyuz vehicle, operated by its Starsem affiliate. Starsem missions currently are performed from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and this workhorse medium-lift vehicle will join Ariane 5 in service from the Spaceport in French Guiana.

Le Gall noted that Arianespace‘s involvement with the mobile satellite services industry started in December 1981 with the launch of the first mobile satellite – Marecs-A for Inmarsat, and has continued successfully through the years with many Ariane missions performed for Inmarsat, as well as six Soyuz flights for Globalstar.

“Our future involvement in the MSS industry will be no different; last year, we signed new agreements to launch the TerreStar-1 spacecraft and two further launches for Globalstar. These contracts continue our long and fruitful partnership with the MSS sector. I thank both TerreStar and Globalstar for their confidence, and look forward to follow-on TerreStar satellites and Globalstar 2.”

Le Gall also raised a red flag about MSS satellites that are not compatible with the Ariane 5‘s dual launch capability. These spacecraft are not equipped with the necessary systems to perform the North/South station-keeping maneuvers that keep them positioned in the equatorial plane in their inclined orbits.

Without such ability to perform the station-keeping maneuvers, the spacecraft need to be launched into a specific orbit and inclination – making them incompatible with the Ariane 5‘s standard dual launch orbital parameters.

“For a small additional increase in cost and mass, these satellites can be made compatible with the dual launch, providing MSS operators the full flexibility and availability of Ariane 5 to support their launch and avoid any delays in the deployment of their systems,” Le Gall said.

He added that compatibility with Ariane 5 is not only important from an operational point of view, but also is relevant from the financial perspective. “As some mobile satellite ventures are highly leveraged, the financial community has to pay greater attention to the deployment of these systems and wants to be sure it can rely on the leader of the industry, Arianespace, for the launch of these satellites,” Le Gall stated.

Le Gall pledged the support of Arianespace‘s technical teams – which are available to address this issue with MSS operators and the satellite manufacturers, and to highlight the benefits of restoring such dual launch capability for these spacecraft. He noted that Inmarsat‘s satellites have always carried the capability of North/South station keeping, and thus have always retained complete compatibility with Ariane.

This is a new pricing model that allows advertisers to pay only when predetermined actions are completed on their site.

The pay-per-action model gives advertisers the option of paying when a customer makes a purchase, signs up for a newsletter, or completes any other clearly defined action the advertiser chooses.

Advertisers have the freedom of defining the value of a completed action, ultimately giving them more control over their advertising costs.

Designed to complement Google’s existing cost-per-click and cost-per-impression pricing models, pay-per-action pricing offers advertisers yet another choice, enabling them to reach their customers in a new way, and thereby better meeting their goals and objectives.

Pay-per-action ads are only shown on Google AdSense for content sites. AdSense publishers are able to choose whether they want to serve pay-per-action ads on their sites. Publishers can select between an individual ad, a shopping cart of ads, or a specific term or phrase that is relevant to their site’s content. Prior to ads being shown on their site, publishers can view the specifics of the ad, including company name, logo and products or services being sold. This visibility provides publishers with control over which pay-per-action ads are shown on their site.