Category: Software

MUMBAI: Tata Sky, an 80:20 direct-to-home (DTH) joint venture between the Tata‘s and Star Group, is moving ahead step by step towards a launch, the date for which is still being closely guarded by the company.

While most of the money is now riding on an August-September commercial kick-off, the latest on the Tata Sky front is that it has earmarked approximately Rs 1.5 billion for marketing the DTH service across all platforms, traditional and non-traditional. From pilot MDU (multi-dwelling unit) projects in some cities of India to educating an average Indian about the advantages of a DTH service supported by the Tatas and Star, the game plan covers the full gamut.

Tata Sky sources reveal that a major part of the Rs 1.5 billion marketing budget is likely to be spent during the festival season in India, starting late September and lasting till Christmas-New Year, when consumers have a tendency to splurge on goodies.

Meanwhile, apart from Zee Turner family of channels, most other major TV channels are almost sure of finding a berth on the Tata Sky platform from day one of launch. Apart from the news channels, the likes of Times Now and Disney are already part of the test signals, people in the know say.

It needs noting however, that except for ESPN Star Sports, no other broadcaster (and that includes the Star Network channels) have signed commercial agreements wth Tata Sky as yet.

ESPN Star Sports, a joint venture between Disney and News Corp in Asia managing the two sports channels, have also to take a call on whether to bring in a new interactive sports channel, or confine the interactive aspects to the two existing channels. “We are still weighing all options,” a Singapore-based source in ESS said.

Zee channels‘ appearance on Tata Sky, meanwhile, would depend on how soon (or how late) Star comes to an agreement with Dish TV, now that Discovery-Sony One Alliance has come aboard country‘s first DTH platform.

MUMBAI: Telenity, a provider of next generation converged services platforms and applications for communications networks, will be providing location-based services (LBS) solution to India‘s state-owned telecom giant, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) through its partner Tier 1 network equipment providers (NEPs).

Telenity provides its Canvas LES, Location Enabling Server, and 14 location-based services to BSNL that will enable the operator to offer personalised value added location-based services to its mobile customers. This highly scalable location solution will serve BSNL network infrastructure expected to grow from approximately 14 million to 70 million subscribers, and is expected to support world‘s largest deployment to date.

“Location-based value added services are absolutely essential for carriers to effectively compete and differentiate in the wireless marketplace. Worldwide carrier revenues from location-based services are expected to climb from a little less than $1 billion in 2005 to nearly $8.5 billion by 2010,” said Telenity CEO Dilip Singh.

“Our converged location and presence solution supports complete and total privacy of location-based services across any network. It not only increases BSNL‘s enhanced service offerings and ARPU, but just as significantly, enables BSNL to aggressively pursue a wide variety of new business models, including resale and revenue sharing options. This deployment shows Telenity‘s commitment to serve one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world,” he added.

Telenity‘s LBS solution is a crucial part of BSNL‘s expansion of its GSM/GPRS digital wireless network in the south, east and north zones of India. It includes Telenity‘s Canvas LES, which ensures subscribers can easily find, locate or monitor phones and other assets based on their geographic position, points of interest and securely fine-tune their privacy profile on the fly when they want it and 14 location-based services including:

• Real Time Fleet and Asset Management – enables enterprises to locate, monitor and manage their mobile assets and employees in a secure way using a simple Web browser.


• Friend Finder – alerts subscribers when one of their friends in their buddy list is in close proximity to their location or vice versa.


• Mobile Yellow Pages – allows subscribers to get the location of the closest service point of their interest.
  


• City Sightseeing – provides subscribers with the location information of a place of interest – restaurant, museum, theater, park, etc.
  


• Telenity‘s LBS solution is developed utilizing the Canvas service creation environment, telephony applications server and service delivery gateway. Telenity‘s LBS solution is the most comprehensive and advanced in the world today and is positioned for VAS in IP Multimedia Subsystem enabled and 3G networks.

“As we expand our network, our main goal is to meet the personalisation needs of our fast growing subscriber base and strengthen our position in the industry as an innovator and leader in mobile value added services. The location-based services solution from Telenity will allow differentiate BSNL mobile value added services and increase average revenues per user,” said BSNL general manager mobile services S. Krishnan.

“Within just more then a year of operation in India, Telenity has expanded its workforce to fully support customers in India,. We are rapidly moving ahead with our commitment in the region by establishing center of excellence for APAC in India. This will ensure BSNL services are up and running all the time” said Telenity general manager Asia Pacific Ashwani Vachher.

India is among the fastest growing telecommunications markets in the world. In a country of over one billion people, teledensity now stands at about eleven percent or around 120 million people. This figure is expected to grow to 30 per cent by 2010, according to the Department of Telecommunications of India

MUMBAI: The online marketplace eBay India and Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies) unveiled the ‘eBay eCommerce Guide‘.

Launched by Nasscom president Kiran Karnik and eBay India Marketplace country manager Gautam Thakar at the Nasscom eCommerce seminar, the eBay eCommerce Guide aims to spread awareness and educate internet users on the various elements of eCommerce.

According to an official release, the eBay eCommerce Guide spells out the basic business models of eCommerce, benefits to users, profiles of sellers & buyers & industry statistics. In addition, there are chapters on technology trends and resources which will assist consumers in understanding the newer developments in eCommerce.

eBay eCommerce Guide includes eCommerce – Anytime, Anywhere, Anything Marketplace, eCommerce- Benefit from It, Reach of eCommerce in India, Real People in the e-World, Guidelines for Online Transactions, Technology and Trends, Resources and Guides and Glossary of eCommerce Terms.

“eCommerce is of growing importance and online market places can be of immense help, especially to the SME sector and rural craftsmen who cannot afford other expensive channels of marketing,” Nasscom Karnik says. “eBay India as a pioneer of a new paradigm of ecommerce into India, has provided a revenue generation platform for thousands of Indians sellers both in India and globally. I congratulate eBay on their initiative of bringing out a eCommerce Guide, and hope that this will encourage even more Indians to adopt eCommerce.”

The eBay eCommerce Guide is currently being distributed among influencers and media through Nasscom and other industry bodies. To avail a copy, one can mail to mediacentreindia@ebay.com

MUMBAI: UFO Moviez, the digital cinema network launched by Valuable Media Pvt Ltd. (an Apollo International subsidiary), announced the release of Krrish, the latest blockbuster starring Hrithik Roshan, directed and produced by Filmkraft Productions (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Krrish went out on 87 UFO screens in the first week and 90 UFO screens in week two. These UFO screens account for 15 per cent of the total number of screens that the film opened with and also marks the biggest ever digital release of a Bollywood blockbuster on a single digital network platform.

The movie has received one of the biggest openings in the history of Indian cinema – grossing close to Rs 700 million in its first week alone. Krrish opened at theatres across the world with 790 prints, 250 of them in overseas screens alone.

Also, Krrish was released for global digital screening with 925 cinema screens exhibiting the film worldwide. Thus, the network has made its presence felt by accounting for 10 per cent of the total digital film screens in the world to exhibit Krrish since its release two weeks ago.

UFO Moviez, spearheaded by founder directors Raaja Kanwar, Sanjay Gaikwad and Usman Fayaz, plans to create the largest chain of digital cinemas houses worldwide by 2007 in India. It is part of Group Apollo‘s Media Initiative and was launched by the company‘s chairman and managing director O S Kanwar and Yash Chopra in November 2005.

Having initially set up 500 digital movie halls by August 2006 at an investment of Rs 800 million, UFO plans to scale it up progressively to 2000 cinema halls across the country at a total investment of Rs 3 billion.

UFO International CEO Aditya Shastri said, “It is has been our privilege to be part of this success and bringing the latest in digital projection technology has surely been an advantage. We are proud of our association with Krrish and remain committed to ensuring pristine quality images with perpetual life with no compromise in quality. With Krrish‘s trouble free shows under our belt, we can definitely stake our claim to a stable and rugged technology of digital viewing. The overall response towards digital cinema has been extremely positive and will be a constant source of motivation for us.”

NEW DELHI: In view of divergent and contradictory view from broadcasting and telecom industry, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is set to withdraw a consultation paper on IPTV that it had issued some time back.

Though this can be viewed as a small victory for the broadcasting and cable community, which was resisting pressure from telecom companies to take IPTV out of the ambit of Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act.

The decision of Trai, which was seeking opinion of the industry on IPTV at an open house today in Delhi, also means that it would not be submitting any recommendations to the government on this particular consultation paper.

However, the step is being seen a “positive one” that would facilitate inclusion of IPTV and even mobile TV in a Broadcast Bill that the government was proposing to bring in, Indusind Media and Communication Ltd executive director corporate services and MSO alliance president Ashok Mansukhani said.

In its consultation paper, Trai had asked whether it’s feasible to take IPTV out of the purview of the Cable TV Act and have separate licensing norms for it for its growth.

The basic intention behind the proposed amendments in the Cable Television (Regulation) Act, 1995 was to keep the IPTV service outside the definition of `cable services’.

Today’s development notwithstanding, the regulator played down the issue. “The chairman has indicated that probably the consultation paper needs to be revised. We would take a final decision soon,” a Trai official told Indiantelevision.com in the evening.

The consultation paper on IPTV had drawn varied comments from stakeholders with broadcasters and MSOs saying IPTV should not be separated from cable TV and laws regulating it.

On the other hand, the likes of Internet Service Providers’ Association of India and telecom companies wanting a slice of IPTV had pitched for separating it from cable services.

MUMBAI: The California-headquartered Optibase, Ltd., one of the leading providers of advanced digital video solutions, has announced that Korea Highway Corporation (KHC) has integrated the Optibase MGW 5100 carrier-grade IPTV streaming platform to enable live video monitoring of the country‘s highways.
 
The KHC has stationed analog video cameras alongside the highways to collect traffic information in real-time. The video feeds containing this information are delivered over a fiber network to centrally control information for processing and analyzing. The Optibase MGW 5100 encodes the feeds into both H.264 and Windows Media format for the delivery of high quality video streams, in real time, to KHC‘s Regional Control centers, monitoring the traffic conditions from afar, informs an official release.

Additionally, an on-board Windows Media Server, fully supported by the advanced architecture of the MGW 5100 platform and WMT encoders, enables viewing of traffic conditions on the KHC Web site using any PC or PDA running a Windows Media Player. This provides drivers with maximum traffic information before they approach the highways. Samsung Networks provided integration for the video deployment, the release adds.

“KHC needed a solution that would enable streaming a large number of channels in low bit rates while maintaining superior quality,” says S.T. Kim, GM of Diginix, Optibase‘s partner in Korea. “The system had to be extremely stable as we rely on it to provide accurate information in real-time. The Optibase platform provided us with high quality encoding and streaming, and high availability and reliability, all packaged in a compact chassis that results in lower operating expenses. Furthermore, we can now easily monitor traffic conditions using a single management system which is a significant benefit.”

“We are pleased to have an opportunity to demonstrate how our IPTV streaming solution is not only a major requirement of Telecom operators for IPTV deployments worldwide, but is also sought by corporations and agencies such as KHC that need high quality and high stability video applications,” says Yossi Aloni, VP of marketing at Optibase. “Through close cooperation with our partners, we have provided a sophisticated video system tailored to KHC‘s needs.”

MUMBAI: The Hot Bird 8 broadcasting satellite built by EADS Astrium for Eutelsat Communications has arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for launch on a Proton M Breeze M vehicle provided by ILS. The launch is scheduled in the early hours of 5 August.

Weighing in on the launchpad at 4.9 tonnes and equipped with 64 Ku-band transponders, Hot Bird 8 will be the largest satellite yet orbited by Eutelsat, states an official release.

Designed for television and radio broadcasting it will be positioned at 13 degrees East, Eutelsat‘s prime video neighbourhood, which delivers 950 television channels and 600 radio stations to 110 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

The satellite‘s mission is to replace the 20 transponders on the Hot Bird 3 satellite, which will continue service at a new location. In conjunction with Hot Bird 7A, which was launched in February 2006, it will also contribute to raising in-orbit redundancy at Eutelsat‘s Hot Bird neighbourhood, the release adds.

Eutelsat Communications is a leading satellite operator with capacity commercialised on 23 satellites providing coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas. The Group is one of the world‘s three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues. Its satellites are used for broadcasting nearly 1,800 TV and 900 radio stations to more than 120 million cable and satellite homes.

MUMBAI: Further to the license agreement between Visiware and Universal Studios Consumer Products Group to bring Universal Pictures properties to interactive TV gaming, Visiware has driven its latest game, The Fast and the Furious to the starting line.

Inspired by the action film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, this sporting arcade game challenges players to experience the atmosphere of the underground Tokyo drift. For the uninitiated, this is a form of racing that replaces simple drag racing with a rubber-burning, automotive art form that consists of an exhilarating balance of speeding and gliding through a course of hairpin turns and switchbacks racing world. Viewers can do this all on their television screens.

The game features three different modes in which the goal is to become the new Drift King. In Drift King mode, players race head-to-head against one to three opponents. In Pursuit mode, players must prevent their opponents from catching their car, while in Time Attack mode, players strive to set the fastest lap time. Authentic sound effects and images from the film are featured in the game.

Visiware chairman Laurant Weill says, “We are happy to be partners with a group that has really made efforts to understand the interactive TV gaming market. It is a pleasure to work with Universal‘s creative and professional team, especially on such an exciting project as The Fast and the Furious. We believe this is the best racing game available to date on interactive TV.”

Universal Studios Consumer Products Group VP interactive Bill Kispert says, “The new film is an adrenaline ride, and Visiware embraced the challenge of creating an innovative racing game for iTV.

“Whether racing against the clock, or fender to fender with an opponent, it‘s fantastic that players can become armchair racers — and experience The Fast and the Furious brand — all with a click of their TV remote controls.”

NBC Universal director of interactive TV, Jon Dakss says, “Visiware continues to push the boundaries of gameplay on the iTV platform. This game has wonderful balance and will appeal to racing fans and casual gamers alike.”

The Fast and the Furious is the third game released by Visiware in collaboration with Universal. The first two games developed under the partnership were based on the blockbuster King Kong — included a quiz game and an arcade game

MUMBAI: Archer Entertainment Media Communications which works in different areas of digital content has launched an IPTV platform, www.IndiaTVLive.com, in the US to distribute Indian content.

Full-time broadcasting, in every Indian language, to 40 million Indians living outside of India and 1.2 billion Indian subscribers in India via www.indiatvlive.com and www.indiaradiolive.com will begin by 15 August 2006, marking the 59th anniversary of India‘s independence.

www.IndiaTVLive.com will stream Indian TV, radio and internet content to subscribers over IPTV. It will enable all Indian media via Internet Protocol to deliver television and radio channels real time, live and direct from India in as good as high definition television quality on wired, Wi-fi and cellular devices worldwide. The content will comprise news, sports and entertainment in all Indian languages.

IndiaTVLive.com‘s content and marketing partners include Shama Broadcast & Content Service India and Creative Content Services India owned and operated by Kedar Nath Gupta. Abhesh Verma is the CEO of India Broadcast Live, an Archer supported company.

Archer Entertainment COO Munish Gupta said, “Teaming up with Abhesh, Archer was able to put together a state-of-the-art digital technology platform to broadcast the top channels from India. We will deliver channels real time and live from one of the fastest growing and dynamic countries in the world but also guarantee terrific consumer experience in terms of quality. This is the first time that the world will watch news and events as they unfold in India on any device connected by high speed Internet. This is just the beginning of what Archer and www.indiatvlive.com intend to deliver.”

India‘s Union Cabinet minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vyalar Ravi expressed delight that this new (IPTV) platform will connect expatriates with instantaneous news and information from India thereby making the ministry‘s job simpler. “I personally know both the promoters, father (Kedar Nath Gupta) and son (Munish Gupta), and their hard and consistent work in media and for the community.” The Indian Minister added that the service could further enhance the fast-growing relationship and investment by overseas Indians into India.

Verma said, “The platform provides us the extremely lucrative opportunity to reach both inside and outside of India. Overseas Indians represent the most affluent ethnic consumers of any expatriate group. Within India, we will target a whopping 500 million consumer class with a steadily rising broadband connectivity. There‘s no doubt we will become the voice of India and Indians across the globe.”

Archer Entertainment provided the initial funding for the launch and marketing of http://www.IndiaTVLive.com. Archer Entertainment CEO Michael Selsman said, “We remain committed to growing and diversifying the (IndiaTVLive.com) platform.”

MUMBAI: Mobile sports fans around the globe are experiencing the first major international sporting event being broadcast live to mobile phones worldwide, from Europe to South Africa to North America, in the palms of their hands. Texas Instruments which manufactures wireless semiconductors hosted a press event yesterday 4 July 2006 on the potential of mobile digital TV in Munich, Germany.

Today there are approximately 16 countries with Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) mobile TV networks in place. DVB-H is an open standard developed by the DVB Project with broad industry support among hundreds of companies worldwide. The advantages of DVB-H compared to other mobile TV standards were addressed in a panel discussion led by David McQueen, principal analyst for Informa Telecoms and Media, with representatives from TI and Nokia. The panel also discussed the potential of the emerging mobile Digital TV (DTV) market with on-the-go consumers who are hungry for content to fit their interests. Following the panel, attendees were able to experience how sports fans‘ lives are changing with mobile TV from demonstrations of TI‘s Hollywood DVB-H single chip and Nokia‘s N92 mobile device.

McQueen says, “2006 is the year the mobile DTV picture will start to become clear with strong industry traction and international sporting events serving as the catalyst for mobile DTV growth. In fact, Informa expects $300 million in operator revenue to come just from users accessing streaming and broadcast services in June and early July to watch their favourite team play in international competition.”

In order for mobile DTV handsets to be embraced by the mass market, the service and the technology must be affordable. Nokia director, Multimedia Harri Mannisto says, “At Nokia we firmly believe that mobile DTV will deploy beyond the initial uptake the market is currently experiencing. From the numerous consumer pilots in which Nokia has been involved, it has become clear that mobile TV is a very exciting and interesting mobile service which consumers are ready to pay for.”

Christian Dupont, European director for TI‘s Wireless Terminals Business Unit, indicated that while the market‘s real growth will take place in the next five years, major international sporting events are sparking shorter term development. “This year we expect a substantial increase in consumer awareness for mobile broadcast TV that will in turn drive broader adoption of mobile DTV with DVB-H.

“We are seeing the impact the first live mobile TV broadcast of a major global sporting event is having which is evidence that the entire ecosystem has taken a major step together to bring mobile TV to consumers worldwide outside of initial trials.”

At every level of the mobile DTV value-chain, carriers, handset providers, infrastructure owners, content providers, broadcasters and semiconductor suppliers are putting increased efforts behind their mobile DTV plans supporting DVB-H. Informa believes for good reason – they predict 210 million mobile TV subscribers by 2011 and that by then ten percent of all mobile handsets sold will have a broadcast receiver, with DVB-H accounting for 63 per cent of broadcast receiver sales.

Demonstrations shown at the press included:

* Nokia showcased live broadcasts on its innovative Nokia N92 mobile device, the first DVB-H enabled device in the Nokia Nseries portfolio.

* TI demonstrated its Hollywood technology – the industry‘s first single-chip mobile DTV solution on the market – and its high performance OMAP2420 processor to provide a crisp, clear viewing experience. This demonstration was displayed using a DLP Pocket Projector linked to a demonstration unit and used technology from TI‘s partners PacketVideo and Silicon and Software Systems Ltd. (S3).