Category: Software

MUMBAI: Mobile service firm Bharti Airtel has launched its ‘India-South Africa Series Cricket Pack‘ for its postpaid and prepaid customers in Delhi and NCR.

Customers who subscribe to this Pack can listen to ball-by-ball score updates for the entire series – five One Day Internationals and three Test Matches. Customers will also get free SMS Alerts after every six overs in each match of the series.

Bharti Airtel Limited CEO (mobile services) Delhi and NCR Christopher Tobit said, “Cricket has a fanatical following among all demographics. We are delighted that Airtel customers will now have the advantage of following the India – South Africa series while on the move.”

To subscribe to the service, a customer just needs to call a toll-free number 646601. The one time cost of the Airtel India-South Africa Series Cricket Pack is Rs. 99 and is valid till 6 January, 2007 i.e. the duration of the entire series. To listen to the ball-by-ball score updates, a customer needs to call the same toll free no. and the maximum duration per call is five minutes.

MUMBAI: Reliance Communications has announced the launch of Reliance Mobile ‘CricGenie’, a new service addition to its portfolio of cricket related mobile services. This application allows Reliance mobile customers to enjoy a match in progress in animated simulation format.

“In our effort to enrich cricket experience for our customers on Reliance Mobile World we have enhanced our services to offer our cricket fans an experience on the mobile that matches the excitement on the grounds. Reliance Mobile Customers now have the added advantage of visualizing the match in addition to getting match updates,” says Reliance Communications president, applications and solutions group, Mahesh Prasad. The initiative goes beyond the current mobile cricket offerings like cricket scores while on the move, expert comments or updated tickers on your mobile phone.

‘CricGenie’ is priced at Rs. 25 per India-playing match day and all A Grade match days. For other match days, Reliance mobile users can enjoy Cricgenie at only Rs 10. CricGenie is supported on most colour handsets and efforts are underway to bring this experience to other Reliance Mobile World supported phones. This application has been designed by Dhruva Interactive, a Bangalore based company, specializing in mobile games.

Apart from CricGenie, Reliance Mobile crickets lovers can also DIAL 1234 and say ‘SCORES’ and subscribe to special Cricket SMS updates for Rs 49 per month only. The pack is available throughout India and customers who subscribe to this pack would receive SMS updates after a certain number of overs.

MUMBAI: Yash Raj Music has unveiled the music of Dhoom:2 in the DVD-audio format. Surround Sound and audiophiles can choose from the audio menu the format they want to hear the songs in.

The album makes use of the DVD-Audio format in other ways as well. The lyrics can be viewed on-screen as the music is playing, thus enabling Karaoke sing-along. The theatrical trailer of the movie is also available on the DVD, as well as a credits page that can be viewed optionally.

Additionally, four tracks have also been include – Chand Sifarish (Fanaa), Kajra Re (Bunty aur Babli), Salaam Namaste (Salaam Namaste) and Halla Re (Neal ‘n‘ Nikki), the lyrics for which are also available on screen. Rounding up the package is a gallery of pictures from the movies, as an optional feature, states an official release.

This disc can be played on both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio Players. All tracks have been re-mastered in 5.1 Surround Sound. This DVD Audio disc features quality sound formats featured below (which can be individually selected from the audio menu options):

– Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP) 24 bit / 48 KHz.
– Dolby Digital 24 bit / 48 KHz.
– DTS Digital Surround Sound 24 bit / 48 KHz.

MUMBAI: To help mobile operators better manage their data traffic, Nokia is introducing a network solution that lets operators globally control the use of network resources by bandwidth hungry applications such as file sharing and Voice over IP telephony — giving operators the tools to maintain better control over their networks.

The Nokia Peer-to-peer Traffic Control is the industry’s first integrated solution to allow mobile operators to profitably manage the bandwidth available for peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic, and thus balance the allocation of network resources. The centralised solution is implemented as a software upgrade to the Nokia Flexi Intelligent Service Node (ISN) and will be commercially available during the first half of 2007.

Nokia VP, marketing and sales Roberto Loiola says, “With the explosion of affordable high-speed mobile data access, operators are now being challenged to make the best possible use of their networks, especially when peer-to-peer applications increase their traffic load and compete with their own services.

“The Nokia Peer-to-peer Traffic Control solution now gives operators the means to analyse and manage such traffic. It allows them to apply their business models by prioritizing the traffic of preferred services and partners, maximize their return on network investment, and avoid becoming only bit pipes for other content providers.”

The Nokia Peer-to-peer Traffic Control solution enhances the service, subscriber, and access awareness capabilities of the Nokia Flexi ISN to identify data traffic according to the type of service, for example file sharing, so that operators can treat that traffic in a way that best optimises the use of network resources according to the operators’ business strategy.

Nokia will be demonstrating the Peer-to-peer Traffic Control solution at Nokia World, the premier mobility event of the year for the press and the Nokia ecosystem of operators and partners. Nokia World takes place in Amsterdam from 2-30 November 2006.

Nokia recently concluded its 50th commercial Flexi ISN deal, cementing its leadership position in the Intelligent Packet Core market. The Nokia Flexi ISN, introduced in February 2005, is a high-availability, high-capacity connectivity and control element that offers service availability for mobile users independent of the access method.

It acts as a centralised control point for data services, providing cellular network users with data connectivity. The Nokia Flexi ISN also offers open interfaces to charging, provisioning subscription management systems. In addition to the Nokia Flexi ISN, Nokia has a total of over 120 GPRS packet core references

MUMBAI: Social networking site MySpace.com, has announced plans to launch a new tool for copyright holders that makes it even easier and faster to remove content they allege is unauthorised.

The tool is being tested with US broadcaster Fox and Major League Baseball (MLB) Advanced Media and will be expanded to include other verified copyright holders.

The new tool will allow copyright holders to digitally flag any user-posted video containing content that they own and allege is unauthorized. MySpace will promptly remove all videos flagged by a copyright holder. In addition, MySpace has implemented a proprietary system to block videos that are removed at the request of a copyright owner from being re-uploaded to the site by other users.

MySpace CEO and co-founder Chris DeWolfe says, “MySpace is firmly committed to protecting copyright holders’ rights. This is another important step we’re taking to ensure that those who create and own content are able to protect it.”

The new tool will allow MySpace to more efficiently implement its long-standing policy against users uploading third-party copyrighted material by automating the ‘notice and take down‘ process that has been in existence since MySpace’s inception.

In compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, MySpace has enforced copyright protection through a traditional ‘notice and takedown‘ process whereby copyright holders inform MySpace of infringing content and MySpace promptly removes it from the site. With the new tool, MySpace will make it even easier for copyright holders to identify and take down user-posted videos containing unauthorized content.

The announcement comes on the heels of MySpace’s landmark licensing deal with Gracenote, which implemented fingerprinting technology to help prevent unauthorised music from being posted by users to the site

MUMBAI: Electronic Arts and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in the US have announced that the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game is in development. The game is scheduled for a July 2007 release to coincide with the film based on J.K. Rowling’s fifth book of the same title.

EA UK executive producer Harvey Elliott says, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the first in the franchise that we have developed for the next generation consoles. Together with current generation versions, we are creating an immersive and, above all, faithful Harry Potter experience that will both accurately reflect the world showcased in the film and also delight fans of all ages.”

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment senior VP Jason Hall says, “Working with EA, we look forward to offering fans the most authentic Harry Potter game to date, one which captures the compelling story of the fiction and high visual quality of the movie. After reading the book and seeing the film, fans will be able to take advantage of the complete interactive experience with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix game.”

The close and synergistic relationship between book, film and videogame is more defined in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix videogame than ever before the two parties state. Players will be able to explore the many key locations within Hogwarts in minute detail, each one a visual match to its film equivalent, while being engrossed in the thrilling adventures outlined in the rich narrative of the book.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizarding community is in denial about the teenager’s recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort, preferring to turn a blind eye to the news that Voldemort has returned. Fearing that Hogwarts’ venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about Voldemort’s return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students.

But Professor Dolores Umbridge’s Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening them and the entire wizarding community, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves “Dumbledore’s Army,” Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.

With the ability to play multiple characters, including Harry Potter, Dumbledore and Sirius Black, the video game offers fans the opportunity to wield a wand, explore all around Hogwarts

MUMBAI: Junction Ltd has announced speakers from across the telecoms and broadcast industry for its March 2007 event IPTV World Forum.

The announcement comes as over 110 exhibitors have already confirmed their attendance at the show being staged at the Olympia in London from 5-7 March 2007.

The conference will feature over 40 worldwide telcos and ISPs discussing IPTV service deployment issues. Speakers include Telefonica, PCCW, Belgacom, BT, SaskTel, Deutsche Telekom AG/T-Com, Telstra, T-Online France, AT&T, Telecom New Zealand, NetCologne, Telekom Austria, Fastweb, BSkyB, Orange, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Siminn.

Junction MD Ian Johnson says, “IPTV is now a major industry phenomenon and next March’s London event will, I believe, be a major landmark for professionals from all over Europe – and beyond – to gather and discuss their experiences together”.

The speakers include Orange UK CEO Bernard Ghillebaert, PCCW head of strategic market development Paul Berriman and BBC director of future media and technology Ashley Highfield.

IPTV Junction notes is moving rapidly towards mass-market adoption. The involvement of incumbent telecoms operators in most major markets by 2007 (France, Spain, Italy, UK, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, for example) will provide the marketing, word-of-mouth and – for the many conservative-minded television viewers yet to switch to digital TV – the credibility that could boost the market for all IPTV providers.

Several early IPTV deployments are now reaching subscriber figures where they must be taken seriously, including Telefonica in Spain, which has over 200,000 subscribers for its Imagenio television service (launched commercially November 2004). The Spanish company is predicting one million customers by 2008. France Telecom (launched December 2003) doubled its customer count during 2005, ending the year with 200,000 subscribers for its MaLigne TV service too.

The pace of deployment is accelerating: Telekom Austria launched its aonDigitalTV video-over-DSL service in Vienna in March 2006 and KPN in the Netherlands is preparing for a second quarter (2006) commercial launch. Deutsche Telekom is hoping to roll out its 100 channel broadcast TV (including HDTV) and VOD service late summer 2006 and BT has scheduled late summer/autumn for its hybrid DSL/DTT offering.

Competition is also increasing. Utility companies continue to launch television services but the main rivals to the big telcos are alternative broadband providers using Local Loop Unbundling (LLU). The second half of 2006 and 2007 will also see the expansion of incumbent telcos into territories outside their domestic markets – where necessary using LLU to compete with their peers on ‘leased’ networks.

France Telecom has already announced that it will launch IPTV in Spain, the UK and Poland this year, followed by the Netherlands (not to mention Mauritius, Senegal and the Ivory Coast). Meanwhile Telecom Italia – through its subsidiary HanseNet – is adding television to its existing telephone and DSL services in Germany, starting in Hamburg. Telecom Italia also launched television services in France (via Telecom Italia France’s AliceBox triple-play service) in January. Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Online is taking IPTV to Hungary, with a planned commercial roll-out of TV-over-DSL in Budapest and other major cities later this year.

And to add further spice to this market, existing Pay TV operators from the satellite and cable world are buying into DSL. BSkyB bought UK DSL network provider Easynet in January (2006) to give itself a two-way network and exploit the “exciting opportunities that now exist to combine quality entertainment with significant high-speed connections.” Europe’s largest satellite TV provider has told investors that it intends to introduce IPTV some time after 2007. Meanwhile, UPC Austria (part of the pan-European UPC group owned by Liberty Global) has agreed to acquire the Austrian xDSL provider Inode – so establishing a national footprint, initially for high-speed data and voice.

All this activity is underpinned by network upgrades across Europe. BT in the UK is now committed to delivering ADSL speeds up 8Mbps from 5,300 telephone exchanges in the UK – putting broadband in reach of 99.6 per cent of the country. France Telecom and Telefonica, among others, are using ADSL2+ and Deutsche Telekom will deploy television services exclusively on VDSL, using the 50Mbps fibre/copper network being built by its fixed network infrastructure division, T-Com. T-Com expects VDSL in 40 cities by the end of 2007, putting 11 million homes within reach of the planned IPTV service.

So with high-speed networks available and expanding their reach, multiple service launches and growing subscriber figures, the big questions are how much market share IPTV providers can take from satellite and cable, and whether they can make money – if indeed, video revenues are their real motive rather than simply reducing churn on voice/data customers. Are there digital TV newcomers who will choose IPTV ahead of digital terrestrial – and are these the customers IPTV providers want? And can companies differentiate their services sufficiently from cable and satellite to tempt existing Pay TV subscribers away from them?

These are among the many topics that will be discussed at the IPTV World Forum 2007 in London – the No.1 conference/exhibition for the IPTV community. You can read more about the 2007 conference theme elsewhere on this site.

IPTV World Forum 2007 provides a chance to assess the lessons learned from video-over-DSL and FTTH deployments in the preceding 18 months. With incumbent telcos like BT and Deutsche Telekom preparing to deploy during 2006, and an increasing number of ISPs using Local Loop Unbundling to offer competitive services, the conference will assess the impact of new services, the business models used, marketing strategies and the many technology issues that determine the service offer and IPTV economics.

By next year, it will be clear what impact telecoms giants like France Telecom and Telefonica are having in the Pay TV market and what effect their video offers have had in terms of reducing customer churn and cementing relationships with voice/data subscribers. With some business analysts suggesting national telcos should retreat from the video business as fast as they got into it, a key theme for IPTV World Forum 2007 is whether telco TV is working.

So for 2007, the forum will be assessing the motives of incumbent telcos, utility providers and ISPs and asking whether their business objectives are being met, at what cost, and whether IPTV looks sustainable in the face of content-rich satellite operators, modernising cable companies and increasingly successful free-to-air and Pay TV digital terrestrial platforms.

IPTV World Forum 2007 will consider the threats and opportunities facing new video providers – including the emergence of ‘over-the-top’ video services from Internet-based content aggregators/downloaders like Google TV and Apple iTunes. The conference will look at how incumbent telcos in particular handle their relationships with these companies – including how they can partner with them, seek to obstruct them, or beat them at their own game.

The conference will focus heavily on how IPTV operators differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded television marketplace. We will look at integrated voice/data/video services, assess the full potential of IMS (Integrated Multimedia Subsystems) and look at how some telcos are seeking to put each consumer at the heart of their own, personalised video universe that stretches beyond the home to their mobile devices and remote Internet connections.

The confeernce will assess service strategies including how HDTV can be monetised most effectively, and how PVR, network PVR and Video on Demand can be harnessed to provide seamless on-demand experiences. The conference will examine how operators can link live broadcast TV with on-demand TV and on-demand/interactive advertising, and how interactive applications can be exploited to increase customer satisfaction and revenues.

Network economics (including technology developments in content distribution, headends and backbone/last mile networks) will be assessed. The conference will also consider home networking strategies, including the best way to move video around homes – and how the video experience can be extended to portable devices. Customer Premise Equipment and Digital Rights Management technology and strategies will be assessed.

Content strategies are another important subject that will be covered at IPTV World Forum 2007 – including availability, pricing, bundling, up selling, loss-leading and promotions. The conference will look at what type of content is working on IP networks today, and what kind of content can help drive ambitions for whole-home and mobile video experiences. The conference will assess locally created IPTV content and assess whether telcos should make content king – or focus on building services (like home networks) that lock customers in.

MUMBAI: New alternative technologies will contribute just six percent of the forecast 500 million mobile broadband users globally by 2010, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

Technologies such as mobile WiMAX and UMTS TDD will lead the alternative technology camp, but enhancements to existing technologies, including HSPA and EV-DO Revision A+ will comprise the bulk of the market and are where the money lies in the short-term, asserts an official release.

Strategy Analytics senior industry analyst Sara Harris said, “We‘re not likely to see technologies like mobile WiMAX or indeed, anything else, really take off until the next decade. However, HSPA and EV-DO will be more than acceptable for most users, giving them the speed and flexibility they want to use their fixed Internet applications on the move.

MUMBAI: On its one-year anniversary Xbox 360, is digitally delivering an initial lineup of TV shows and movies to gamers in the U.S. via Xbox Live, the online games and entertainment network from Microsoft.

Xbox Live Marketplace will now provide gamers with easy access to hundreds of full-length TV shows for download to own and movies for download to rent from CBS, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment with more content rolled out through Xbox Live Marketplace every week, asserts an official release.

Expected to be available in 37 countries, Xbox 360 continues to retain record game and accessory attachment rates, according to NPD.

Examples of the download-to-own TV shows and download-to-rent movies available on the network include the following:

– CSI, CSI: Miami,CSI: New York, NCIS and Star Trek from CBS

– Chappelle’s Show, Drawn Together and South Park from Comedy Central

– Pimp My Ride and Punk’d from MTV

– Avatar: The Last Airbender and SpongeBob SquarePants from Nickelodeon

– Skyland and Invader Zim from Nicktoons Network

– Chinatown, Star Trek VII: Generations, Patriot Games, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Sum of All Fears, The Untouchables and We Were Soldiers from Paramount Pictures

– Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Frisky Dingo, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Sealab 2021 and The Venture Bros. from Turner Broadcasting

– Some of the fights from Ultimate Fighting Championship

– Breaking Bonaduce and Hogan Knows Best from VH1

– Perfect Storm, Poseidon, The Shining, Three Kings and V for Vendetta, as well as The Nine and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip along with the CW show Veronica Mars from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Using the family settings feature, parents and individuals can choose the video content that can be played on their family’s Xbox 360. With the availability of this new entertainment content, gamers now can set controls based on movie, TV and video ratings, or they can entirely block explicit and unrated video content for themselves or their children, adds the release.

Pricing is competitive and will vary based on format, media type and whether the content is a new release movie or a classic feature film. High-definition TV shows will be 240 Microsoft points per episode, and standard-definition TV shows will be 160 Microsoft points per episode.

New release movies in high definition will be 480 Microsoft points, and standard-definition new release movies will be 320 Microsoft points each. Classic feature films in high definition will be 360 Microsoft points, and standard definition will be 240 Microsoft points. After purchasing a high-definition TV show or movie, gamers can download the standard-definition version at no additional charge.

Microsoft points can be purchased at retail or via Xbox Live. Gamers can get a 1600 Microsoft points card at retail for $19.99 or 1000 Microsoft points through Xbox Live for $12.50.

MUMBAI: SWAY Studio, one of North America’s visual effects studios has announced its contribution to the new U2 and Green Day music video titled The Saints are Coming.

For this production, SWAY has integrated many photo-real CG elements, including Harrier jets, Apache helicopters, Stealth Bombers and tanks into existing news footage from hurricane Katrina. The result is a thought-provoking and emotional video that shows what it might have looked like had the government responded differently to the disaster, asserts an official release.

Directed by Radical Media‘s Chris Milk this video was produced to raise funds for Gulf Coast musicians affected by the hurricane Katrina disaster. The Saints are Coming has been featured on newscasts such as CNN and is currently airing on VH1 and MTV. It can also be viewed online at mtv.com or vh1.com.

SWAY Studio owner and creative director Mark Glaser said, “This project had a very tight deadline of two and a half weeks from start to finish. This made our work particularly challenging because the CG elements that were integrated into existing news footage needed to have a very high degree of photorealism to be successful.”

SWAY’s main challenge was to make the Iraqi desert storm aircraft and tanks look like they were actually there in New Orleans for the rescue and mass evacuation. Every shot was scrutinised, worked and reworked to ensure its believability, adds the release.

“SWAY also added video degradation to the CG elements so that they would match the original footage, which varied substantially from shot to shot,” added Glaser.

SWAY utilized a variety of off-the-shelf and proprietary hardware and software to compete the project. The most prominently used tools were 3ds Max, V-Ray, Flame, NUKE and After Effects. All of the water effects were done using Real Flow 4.

All proceeds from the sale of The Saints are Coming will go to Music Rising, an instrument replacement fund for musicians located on the Gulf Coast.