ITV

Category: Software

  • ‘Play with Chhota Bheem’ on Windows smartphones and tablets

    ‘Play with Chhota Bheem’ on Windows smartphones and tablets

    NEW DELHI: The animation character Chhota Bheem is coming on the Windows platform with his gang on the ‘Play with Chhota Bheem’ app.

    With the introduction of the brand new app on Windows 8 and Windows Phone, children can interact with Chhota Bheem via fun games and other interactive content.

    The app has been designed as children love the eminently lovable Chhota Bheem. It will show Chhota Bheem’s mood change with each tap of a finger, dancing and singing, and will help kids hone their learning skills along the way with games like ‘Memory game’, ‘Bulls-Eye challenge’ and a set of jigsaw puzzles. With every level that they complete successfully, kids can unlock Chhota Bheem’s most popular moves – ranging from juggling and eating laddoos to pulling the moon down to earth. 

    Talking about the app, Green Gold Animation VP – business development Govinda Talluri said, “Our association with Microsoft goes a long way and we are committed to work more closely with them in future to bring our hugely popular kids icon Chhota Bheem closer to kids. We are confident that our latest offering for Windows 8 and Windows Phone – ‘Play With Chhota Bheem’ will be loved by all the kids.”

    On the partnership with Green Gold Animation, Microsoft Corporation India director – Evangelism Harish Vaidyanathan said, “We are proud to partner with Green Gold Animation to create this engaging and interactive app for children. This app is available exclusively on Windows 8 and Windows Phone, underlining our commitment to bringing unique app experiences on the Windows platform. We are sure that kids will enjoy the app greatly.”

    This app can be downloaded on the Windows Phone 8. The Kid’s Corner feature on Windows Phone 8 allows you to store apps and other content meant for children separately that can be accessed by swiping left from the lock screen of the phone. 

  • TiVo enables viewing of recordings outside home

    TiVo enables viewing of recordings outside home

    MUMBAI: TiVo is enabling a feature that lets people watch recorded movies and shows while they’re away from home.

    The feature comes with higher-end models of TiVo’s Roamio digital video recorders, but wasn’t working when the devices launched in August.

    TiVo faces more competition than it did when its first DVRs came out in 1999. Among other things, cable and satellite TV companies are improving their own DVR offerings, while devices such as Roku, Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast seek to simplify internet streaming on TV.

    TiVo touts its DVRs as gadgets that offer both streaming services and recorded shows on the same device. The ability to watch recorded shows remotely helps TiVo differentiate its machines from generic cable company DVRs.

    TiVo said that starting Thursday, users will be able to download a free app for iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices.

    With it, people can stream shows from their DVRs while on a wi-fi network away from home, such as at a hotel or coffee shop. Over cellular connections, people must download the show first. It’s possible to start watching before the download is completed, but there’s a delay of several minutes. Instant streaming over 4G LTE cellular networks is coming in 2014.

    Support for Android devices is also coming next year.

    The new feature is available with the $400 Roamio Plus and the $600 Roamio Pro. Owners of the basic, $200 Roamio model and older TiVos will need a separate TiVo stream unit, which costs about $130. Out-of-home streaming through the separate device won’t start until November.

  • VivaConnect wins Mobbys award for ‘LiveTalk’

    VivaConnect wins Mobbys award for ‘LiveTalk’

    MUMBAI: It’s celebration time for VivaConnect as its innovative product ‘LiveTalk’, wins Mobbys Award 2013 for ‘Best New Service’ in mobile industry. ‘LiveTalk’ was developed to allow live audio streaming of events over mobile through a phone call for individuals who can’t make it to the event. It establishes an on-demand service without charging any cost for the facility.

    Of recent ‘LiveTalk’ connected lakhs of callers to Narendra Modi’s speeches held at different locations across India. The product connects masses with live events such as political campaigns, music concerts, business conferences, conventions, spiritual meets, educational lectures, etc.

    VivaConnect is a creative mobile marketing company from Mumbai which has India’s largest infrastructure for voice and missed call services. They ideate and execute creative mobile marketing campaigns for numerous banks, FMCG, media houses, TV channels, etc.

    Mobbys is an annual award hosted by World Brand Congress, CMO Asia and CMO Council, that celebrates the excellence in Mobile Entertainment and Technology with over hundred participants each year.

  • Not just couch potatoes

    While watching television is the main source of entertainment for millions of Indians, the sheer number of channels and programs from which one has to choose makes for a rather mind-boggling exercise. But don’t fret for there’s help in the form of a new platform where people with similar viewing preferences can exchange views and stay updated with the latest developments.

    Founded by BIT-Meerut B.Tech graduates Rabi Gupta and Ashish Kumar in May this year, iCouchApp helps television viewers engage with the programs they are watching, get TV program alerts, and have loads of fun while they are at it.

    Audiences are attracted more towards a product that has official link-ups explain Ashish and Rabi

    Television enthusiasts Rabi and Ashish wanted more from TV shows than just nicely packaged programs, which is why they entered the domain with iDubba, a platform designed to bridge the gap between television and audiences. “We launched iDubba last year and it basically worked as a TV guide. Like viewers could set alerts for their favourite shows, movies, etc,” says Rabi, who not only was not satisfied with the existing shows but also curious to know more about them.

    Within sometime of launching iDubba, the duo noticed a change in the behaviour of their users, who started interacting on the platform about their likes and dislikes with respect to certain shows. “We came to the conclusion that while TV audience requires information, they also want an interactive platform. And that was the germ from where we started working on the iCouch app,” says Rabi about the genesis of the application, which has now found popularity among more than 25,000 android phone users.

    With very few contacts in the television industry, the duo first ran the idea through Zee Café and found it was taken in good spirit. “The channel was in the process of launching the new season of their popular show, Grey’s Anatomy and tied up with us for the same,” reveals Rabi.

    Zee Café found it an exhilarating idea as it would help them expand their viewer base. Business head Zee – niche channels Anurag Bedi says: “The rate at which various communication vehicles are seeing a decline, this initiative was taken to give the viewers a personalised bite into their TV viewing experience. This differentiated app has been developed in a creative and nimble way to get viewers talking about the show real time. With majority of the urban population now making a shift to smartphones, creating such an app was an obvious choice for engagement for this kind of a show,” adding that the app was meant to unite all fans of Grey’s Anatomy on a common platform and keep them glued to the show.”

    Before taking their plan ahead, Rabi and Ashish interacted with different TV channels to understand their problems in engaging with audiences. “It basically required building a kind of trust with the TV audience. Audiences are attracted more towards a product that has official link-ups. So we made sure to promote the app on the TV screen as a ticker while the show was on air,” says Rabi, adding that since the app is still new, their associations with channels are free of monetary give and take.

    After Zee Café, History Channel followed suit, partnering with iDubba for their series Ancient Aliens.

    Says A+E Networks TV18 VP and head marketing Sangeetha Aiyer: “We’re always on the lookout for ideas and activities which can help increase the overall engagement and help make the process of receiving viewer feedback more efficient. In this case, we were looking to integrate the social interactions with television directly, and iCouch solved this problem efficiently. Apart from being a novel experience for our viewers, it helped us receive direct feedback from the viewers – something that regular social interaction was not equipped to deliver efficiently.”

    Social analytics data derived from audience interactions helped the channel to analyse the mood and reception more accurately. “While the App helped us engage with viewers, the ticker playing live during the telecast helped the App accrue more downloads, making it a truly symbiotic relationship for both parties,” says Aiyer, highlighting that the business arrangement between both parties is pretty basic and their prime objective at the moment is to increase engagement.

    Rabi and Ashish were able to generate funds from many people in the industry like Ashok Kurien and Rajan Anandan.

    Currently, the app is really popular with audiences and is promoting few non-partner shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati and Bigg Boss Season 7 that are helping the duo increase their user base. “These are non-partner shows but they have become really popular and have picked up a lot of traction because of the interesting concept,” says Rabi, who has huge plans for the app in future. “It is not just exciting for viewers but broadcasters too. In the time to come, we are going to build a lot of things inside the app which would amplify engagement,” he concludes.

  • Reliance Games’ ‘Real Steel: World Robot Boxing’ steps into the ring on iOS and Android

    Reliance Games’ ‘Real Steel: World Robot Boxing’ steps into the ring on iOS and Android

    MUMBAI: Reliance Games has officially released Real Steel: World Robot Boxing (WRB) on iOS and Android, making the robot-brawler franchise free-to-play! WRB comes from the studio, which developed Real Steel; the App Store was a big hit with over 10 million players worldwide.

    Real Steel: WRB offers outrageous finishing attacks, piston punching actions and high definition visuals of nuts and bolts flying all over the ring, as well as the rush of boxing with your friends/frenemies in real-time multiplayer.

    “WRB is going to set a milestone in the robot boxing brawler genre and I am very confident that gamers would feel the adrenaline rush in every moment of their gameplay experience while they are it,” stated Reliance Entertainment Digital CEO Manish Agarwal. “We at Reliance Games are thankful to the millions of fans who have played the Real Steel game and enriched our learning on their expectation from robot boxing. We hope WRB will be a fitting tribute to their love for Real Steel.”

    “The mobile game series have become a key extension of the Real Steel franchise,” said DreamWorks Studios president and COO Jeff Small. “With Real Steel: World Robot Boxing, Reliance Games have delivered another exciting game to entertain game and movie enthusiasts.”

  • ‘Made for mobile’ campaign emphasises efficiency and performance management capabilities

    ‘Made for mobile’ campaign emphasises efficiency and performance management capabilities

    NEW DELHI:  ad2c mobile advertising and marketing agency, has launched a “made for mobile”, single view, campaign management platform ad2campaign to enable better campaign planning and execution on the mobile advertising ecosystem.

    This platform intelligently tracks, monitors and helps optimise campaigns to serve the evolving mobile advertising and marketing industry in India. The platform is mobile ready and all the dashboards are optimised for smartphones and tablets.

    Affle Group founder & chairman Anuj Khanna Sohum

    It is one of the first mobile centric brand side platforms allowing for a single view to monitor entire mobile campaigns. The platform provides tracking and attribution primarily for four types of campaigns: Branding Campaigns that are CPC or CPM led; App Install Campaigns that are CPI (cost per install) based; Lead Campaigns; and VAS Activation Campaigns.

    Each of these campaign types is customized to serve the requirements of a particular industry segment. For example, the App Install Campaign allows app developers, or .coms that are driving focus on mobile, to promote their apps by buying on a Cost-per-Install model across the entire mobile display ecosystem. It integrates over 11 ad networks and publishers including leading networks like Ripple, vServ, InMobi and Millennial Media. Similarly, the VAS Activation Campaign tracker is meant for Operators and Mobile VAS companies to manage not just cost, but also measure revenues on the same interface, thereby allowing for easy optimization and more effective use of their media spends.

    ad2campaign plugs important and critical gaps in the mobile ad ecosystem where measurability and accuracy are still challenges by keeping to its mobile first philosophy that relies on native technologies than heavy use of java scripts. It attributes all data points and results of these campaigns back to the source, which makes optimization easier for brands, and enables publishers/ networks to monetize better. The platform does all of the above on a real time basis giving clicks, installs, leads or activations as they happen. In keeping with the mobile first approach the analytics platform is accessible over tablets and mobile devices so you can monitor your campaigns on the go.

    ad2c cofounder & MD Madan Sanglikar

    Affle Group and ad2c founder and chairman Anuj Khanna Sohum said, “The excellence and effectiveness of any campaign management revolves around an accurate media buy and meticulous monitoring of the campaign KPIs. ad2c’s expertise and industry relevant experience ensures an accurate mapping of the target audience and the pre-determined objectives with targeting parameters and properties that can help deliver results. With established processes and systems to help manage these aspects, we will ensure that ad2c helps in achieving the outcome of the advertising campaign which is in sync with the expectations and aspirations of the brand. This campaign will bring an optimum degree of transparency to the way mobile media is managed, thus allowing the market to grow with the right fundamentals in place.”

    This solution enables ad2c to further bolster the value proposition of its service solutions with a critical technology layer that is a must in an industry moving fast towards programmatic buying. It presents a significant opportunity for brands to reach out to consumers in a creative, engaging, interactive, and measurable way, at all times ensuring that spends on mobile media are delivering in the best possible manner. The platform already services ad2c’s existing 30+ brands such as Samsung, Yahoo, Cadbury, adidas, Max Bupa, and Aircel to drive, measure, quantify, analyse and improve efficiency of their respective campaigns on the mobile medium. Each of these brands has seen a significant benefit either in terms of scale or efficiency for e.g. Yahoo saw a growth of over seven times in daily downloads while promoting its cricket app while Aircel improved its ROI for its content download campaigns by over 300 per cent simply by having a real time view of what was working and what wasn’t.

    ad2c, a joint venture between Affle Group and D2C Inc cofounder and MD Madan Sanglikar said, “The mobile advertising industry is yet to realize its full potential due to many factors such as lack of mobile-ready brand assets, understanding of the medium, complexity of the formats, etc. Mobile, is not a linear medium and the complex ecosystems of apps have made the evolution of standard rating / measurement metric very difficult. Considering the lack of any standard measurement metrics, performance becomes a key metric and with ad2campaign, now brands will know what’s working for them. As paid media is getting more & more programmatic, ad2campaign will enable it by allowing real time optimization. We will be able to plan and place campaigns across multiple publishers, ad networks, apps and ad exchanges, for any TG with much greater efficiencies. ad2campaign brings authenticity to campaign metrics, hence building confidence on the medium & enabling performance led deals. It also brings transparency to the way mobile media is managed, thus allowing the market to grow with the right fundamentals in place.”

    With these and many more benefits, ad2c will continue to bolster the platform with newer features keeping to a mobile first approach and endeavour to deliver a best in class solution for the mobile marketing ecosystem.

  • Anti-Piracy Day launched with campaign ’Don’t Steal It, Spuul It!’

    Anti-Piracy Day launched with campaign ’Don’t Steal It, Spuul It!’

    NEW DELHI: Spuul streaming service for Indian movies and TV shows online is kick starting a campaign called ‘Don’t Steal it, Spuul It!’ To extend its support towards the Global Anti-Piracy Day today with the aim of combating the illegal trade of pirated content on the internet.

    Approximately 160 million Indians globally are internet users. With more and more people consuming content online, it is inevitable to ignore the growth of the digital space. However, the biggest battle that the digital age is fighting is against piracy.

    Calling itself the legitimate way of watching Bollywood Movies, Spuul provides legal online Indian content to anyone in the world. The website has an exhaustive list of movies and popular television shows which can be viewed for free. Shemaroo Entertainment is the content partner for the platform also comments on the campaign.

    With this initiative, Spuul is encouraging fans of Indian Cinema across social media platforms to watch their favourite Bollywood movie ranging from the romantic Hum Aapke Hai Kaun to B.A Pass on Spuul.

    Commenting on this, Spuul India CEO Prakash Ramchandani said: “Digital space internet piracy is at a rise across the globe. The volume of pirated movies, TV shows, music, books, etc online is growing at an alarming rate. This is a severe threat to the business and economy. Spuul is a legitimate content provider and we are glad to extend our support to such an initiative that aims to educate consumers about the value of intellectual property.”

    Shemaroo Entertainment director Jai Maroo said: “Piracy is a serious issue that needs to be addressed and curbed. India is the fastest growing Internet market in the world. Shemaroo is constantly striving to provide convenient, high quality and legal alternatives to consume entertainment digitally. Spuul propagates legal content on the web space. With this campaign we, along with Spuul, are requesting people to consume entertainment lawfully and support anti-piracy.”

  • Cisco increases its reach to 100 million digital TV homes in Asia Pacific

    Cisco increases its reach to 100 million digital TV homes in Asia Pacific

    MUMBAI:  In the rapidly-growing digital television industry in Asia Pacific, Cisco, a provider of conditional access (CA) and digital rights management (DRM) solutions, has secured content that is delivered to more than 100 million digital homes in the region.

     Using an industry-estimated average of 3.3 people per household, Cisco’s VideoGuard conditional access and digital rights management technology now provides the critical protection of premium content to over 340 million viewers.
    Cisco has also developed a research and development (R&D) center in Bengaluru that is dedicated to the development of video technology. According to the MPA report of May 2013, the company currently enjoys the largest market share of the estimated 257 million digital TV homes in Asia Pacific.

    Service Provider Video Software Solutions vice president sales, Asia Pacific Sue Taylor said, “Achieving the milestone of over 100 million digital homes in this region is a testament to our commitment to Asia Pacific over the past 20 years, and our partnerships with some of the most successful cable TV and DTH satellite platforms in the region. This industry in Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic in the world. We look forward to serving million more households that can benefit from Cisco’s enhanced TV-viewing experiences, as the demand for advanced services and applications surges.”

    BOX

    • Cisco® VideoGuard conditional access and digital rights management solutions make Cisco the leading CA provider in Asia Pacific with a market share of 31 per cent (Source: Screen Digest Report 2013 and Cisco’s internal subscriber data).
    • Cisco is a trusted pay-TV technology partner for over 150 Pay-TV operators as well as media and entertainment companies worldwide, including leading Direct-to-home (DTH) and cable operator customers in Asia Pacific like Airtel Digital TV, Astro, Foxtel, Hathway, Oriental Cable Network, Sichuan Cable TV, Tata Sky and DEN Networks.

    Cisco recently announced the key milestone of over 30 million digital TV homes in India with an estimated 150 million viewers.

  • Socialsamosa.com to host ‘Social Media Mentoring’ session for start-ups

    Socialsamosa.com to host ‘Social Media Mentoring’ session for start-ups

    MUMBAI: 15 experts over five days will give an insight to businesses on the new tool of communication: social media. Conducted by Socialsamosa.com starting 21 October, the social media mentoring session aims at aiding start-up companies with an opportunity to enjoy a private 30 minute session with a social media expert from within the industry.

    With social media transforming into serious business and a platform to engage and retain customers along with being cost effective, small business entrepreneurs are adopting it instantly. The social media mentoring session will help companies in finding answers to the ever changing and evolving platform.

    Speaking on the event Socialsamosa.com co-founder Aditya Gupta said, “Start-ups are often overwhelmed with the growing number of social platforms and fail to strategise and create power packed campaigns that can lead to fulfillment of crucial business goals. For instance, Myntra derives a good amount of its web traffic through social media and likewise e-commerce start-ups can boost their footprints too. To facilitate this process we have initiated private mentoring sessions which I believe can truly build social media marketing direction for any start-up brand.”

    Participating companies can choose slots between 11 am and 3 pm during the five days of the session. 45 start-ups can choose a slot and a speaker depending on the area of expertise and business strengths.  So for those interested in understanding how listening, monitoring or analysing social conversations can help their business, can book a slot with someone working with analytics tool/platform.

    Socialsamosa.com co-founder Ankita Gaba added, “We realise that there is a need within the start-up ecology to understand and acquire a thorough understanding of social platforms and hence we have organised this knowledge sharing activity through Social Samosa school, our sub-portal. The private hangout will ensure a healthy interaction through a two way knowledge sharing and building exercise. We did a twangout [combination of live Google hangout and tweets] with Harshil Karia on how startups can use social media. But that was one to many, one expert answering multiple questions of multiple start-ups. This time we have gone beyond the general sharing of knowledge and moved to business specific mentoring, ensuring a highly personalised brand experience.”

  • ICANN & CDAC to establish Center of Excellence to thwart cyber attacks

    ICANN & CDAC to establish Center of Excellence to thwart cyber attacks

    NEW DELHI: Coordination plans for the creation of a Center of Excellence in Domain Name System Security in India are to be put together by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in partnership with the Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC).

    The Center of Excellence is expected to work alongside ICANN security staff to design research projects intended to solve critical Domain Name System (DNS) security issues, such as thwarting cyber attacks. The center is also envisioned to be home to a state-of-the-art research laboratory to evaluate and test security solutions.

    In the presence of Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, ICANN president and CEO Fadi Chehadé and CDAC DG Dr. Rajat Moona today signed a letter of intent regarding the building of the center during a signing ceremony at the ‘Internet, Mobile & Digital Economy Conference’ (IMDEC) organised by FICCI in association with the Ministry. The theme of the conference was ‘Internet to Equinet: Empowering A Billion Online’.

    Sibal said India is fully committed to freedom of expression to work towards creating equality of opportunity, and there is a need to create systems for encouraging free flow of information, moving away from the traditional idea that knowledge is a personal asset.

    He said that the way forward is to take the consensual approach where all the stakeholders including the government will have an equal say while deciding the institutional framework. Creating an inter-governmental group is not a solution because governments will have their differences. Besides, the industry forms the crux of cyber space and without them feasible policy cannot be conceived.

    Sibal said the spread of internet and technology is creating awareness among people; they now know of the public services that are available to them, and this was leading to the development of a transparent society.

     

    Speaking about the relevance of the centre, Chehadé, said, “This center will play a central role in ensuring the security and stability of the Domain Name System. The Internet has become one of the world’s most valued resources and it is deserves nothing less than full global cooperation and collaboration in developing concrete solutions to combat threats to the DNS.”

    Nehchal Sandhu, Deputy National Security Advisor to the Government, said equal, unrestricted, affordable and sustainable access to ICT are needed to give equal opportunity to the people of India. Equal opportunity means democratic, transparent, collaborative and participatory way of knowledge sharing.

    M F Farooqui, Secretary in the Department of Telecommunications, said internet and telephony are interconnected and people at the bottom of the pyramid can be empowered by granting them access to these tools. The National Optical Fibre Network tends to provide connectivity to 600 million people by 2020, which would open new choices for people.

    J Satyanarayana, Secretary, Department of Electronics & IT, Ministry of Communications & IT, Government of India, said, “We are always in doubt when accessing the internet whether whatever is being shared is visible to someone else far off. We need to dispel this fear, which is associated to the internet.”

    He said, “Last week, the Union Cabinet approved the National Policy on Universal Electronic Accessibility that recognizes the need to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disabilities as well as to facilitate equal access to electronics and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). It is a step towards shifting emphasis from internet to equinet.” He added that the policy will facilitate equal and unhindered access to electronics and ICT products and services by differently-abled persons (both physically and mentally challenged) and to facilitate local language support.