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  • Scientific Atlanta adds HD encoding to support Fifa World Cup video project

    Scientific Atlanta adds HD encoding to support Fifa World Cup video project

    MUMBAI: Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco company, has expanded its support for video transport of the upcoming 2006 Fifa World Cup Germany matches to include high-definition (HD) encoding and delivery of video to German national broadcaster ARD/ZDF.

    Scientific Atlanta announced in 2005 that its iLYNX video adaptation platform had been chosen to support live video feeds from 12 German football stadiums to an International Broadcast Center (IBC) in Munich for distribution to soccer fans around the world.

    The new video transport project will use additional iLYNX systems to connect three ARD/ZDF regional broadcast centers with the IBC for delivery of coverage across Germany. More than 30 Scientific Atlanta HD encoders (Model D9050) will be used at the venues and in the IBC to deliver compressed HD video streams to maximise bandwidth use over the iLYNX platform and for satellite distribution worldwide.

    “Video compression, contribution and distribution are complex tasks, and MPEG encoding of HD video is even more demanding. Our decades of video transport experience, local presence in Europe and past successes with other 2006 Fifa World Cup projects give us the insight and ability to deploy a high-performance, all-in-one compression, aggregation and network adaptation platform, and encoding solution that can deliver an exciting entertainment experience for viewers across Germany and around the world,” said Scientific Atlanta Europe managing director of transmission networks Bart Spriester.

    In addition to the iLYNX platform and D9050 HD encoders, the nationwide transport network will use Scientific-Atlanta’s Rosa server-client network management for the 2006 Fifa World Cup video and audio feeds to manage and control any Scientific Atlanta equipment.

  • Alcatel, IBM and Microsoft Collaborate to deliver Integrated Server Solutions for IPTV













    MUMBAI: Alcatel and Microsoft Corp. announced they will harness IBM‘s server systems technology to deliver solutions for carrier-class triple play/Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) deployments. This announcement, combined with the existing OEM agreement between IBM and Alcatel, solidifies IBM as a key member of the joint Alcatel-Microsoft IPTV ecosystem.

     

    As a result, IBM, Alcatel and Microsoft will work together to deliver these advanced systems to carriers deploying triple play service offerings.


    The optimization of IBM‘s server and storage solutions will include the ability to provide superior support for the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform within Alcatel‘s overall Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture (TPSDA). The companies will also cooperate on global go-to- market efforts that will include joint selling and marketing activities, states an official release.

     

    The combination of Alcatel‘s network access experience, IBM‘s proven server solutions and Microsoft‘s software expertise and comprehensive IPTV Edition software platform is expected to speed time to market for IPTV services while improving system performance and architecture scalability for telecommunications service providers. In addition, with the pre-investment in performance testing and integration, the cooperation also has the potential to improve performance and lower CAPEX for service providers, the release adds.


    “As the key services integrator and partner to many of the world‘s largest service providers seeking to deliver triple play offerings, our customers rely on us for guidance across all areas of their projects,” says president for Alcatel‘s fixed solutions activities Monika Maurer. “By working with established leaders like IBM and Microsoft we maintain tremendous confidence in the capabilities of the ecosystem, while providing our customers with the flexibility and reliability necessary for their next-generation network deployments.”


    “IBM is pleased to be a key server platform and storage provider in delivering integrated IPTV solutions to Alcatel and Microsoft customers,” says IBM‘s Systems and Technology GroupVP Jim Pertzborn. “Leveraging the breadth of IBM‘s System x ™ and BladeCenter ™ technologies will enable Alcatel and Microsoft to deliver reliable, scalable and cost-effective IPTV solutions to their customers.”


    “Our joint collaboration with Alcatel and IBM is a significant validation of the growing IPTV industry,” adds Microsoft TV Division GM Marketing Christine Heckart. “By working with these industry-leading companies we can continue to strengthen the Microsoft IPTV Edition platform while enabling service providers to cost-effectively deliver exciting new TV experiences for consumers.”

  • OpenTV & MC3 Global team up for Play Platinum TV channel

    OpenTV & MC3 Global team up for Play Platinum TV channel

    MUMBAI: OpenTV Corp. and MC3 Global have signed a multi-year license agreement for the OpenTV Participate solution to manage Play Platinum TV, MC3 Global’s soon-to-be-launched TV gaming broadcast business.

    OpenTV Participate will be the core business management tool for Play Platinum, a UK-based fixed odds gaming and entertainment broadcaster and managed services provider. Play Platinum expects to broadcast programming such as virtual horse racing and numbers games, including Keno, to viewers on free-to-air satellite, broadband internet, and other distribution platforms.

    OpenTV Participate will process all transactions and provide modules for customer registration, customer care and bonus, and loyalty schemes. OpenTV Participate will also offer MC3 Global multiple finance functions, including billing (via credit cards and premium rate telephony), accounting, business and financial reporting, and risk management, all with real-time accessibility.

    “MC3 understands how OpenTV’s technology can help achieve their vision, and we are delighted to be working with them. OpenTV Participate has been designed to enable broadcasters to offer compelling interactive services with a customer-centric approach. We believe that OpenTV Participate will help Play Platinum achieve a large, loyal customer base, and will enable Play Platinum to manage those customers more efficiently than any other platform in the market today,” said OpenTV EMEA managing director Ben Bennett.

    Play Platinum, which expects to launch its service in multiple territories, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, will be broadcasting in several languages with customers able to engage with programming through the telephone, the internet and SMS. With its real-time processing of all participation, OpenTV Participate enables Play Platinum to broadcast live statistics to Play Platinum viewers synchronized with the programming.

    “As with most businesses, ours is designed to grow in stages with new formats being added as the business builds. OpenTV Participate is the perfect platform for such a strategy — the system is extremely powerful and modular in design. In the main package, we get all the systems we need to run a participation-based interactive TV business and can then add new modules quickly and with little additional effort — for example, new games engines or the very slick participation TV modules,” said MC3 Global managing director Jennifer Allsop.

  • GarageGames launches B.I.G Competition on 5 June 2006

    GarageGames launches B.I.G Competition on 5 June 2006

    MUMBAI: GarageGames has announced the launch of the B.I.G. (Break Into Games) Competition – a search for America’s greatest independent videogame developers on 5 June 2006.

    On the lines of an American Idol style finale, the entrants and winners will vie for prizes including professional gaming hardware and coveted publishing deals with GarageGames and its partners.

    All B.I.G. entrants will be given the opportunity to build their game prototypes with a free trial version of the impressive, new Torque Game Builder (TGB) from GarageGames, which will empower them to build amazing games from scratch and compete for top prizes and recognition, informs an official release.

    “We’ve seen compelling games prototypes created with TGB in one to two weeks,” said GarageGames president Mark Frohnmayer.

    The competition is said to be supported by a step-by-step tutorial to a fully developed online community, where designers are in contact with technical experts from GarageGames and the gaming community. Podcasts and white papers are also available for reference.

    Prototype games are due 25 August 2006, the top 10 finalists will be simultaneously announced at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Bellevue and at ShowDown in San Jose on 26 August 2006.

    The contestants will then have over one month to polish their final games before being flown out to compete at IndieGamesCon (IGC)– GarageGames annual version of Sundance for Indie game developers – in Eugene, Oregon from 6 to 8 October 2006.

    Only five contestants will be chosen to appear at the end of the Player’s Choice Awards and be part of B.I.G.’s ‘Indie Idol,’ judged by a panel of industry experts.

    GarageGames director of business development Jay Moore said, “This is the best opportunity for up-and-coming videogame developers to break into the business and for established developers to show their skills. We’ve made it totally free so that it’s possible for literally anyone to pursue the American dream. Furthermore, the support is there to make anyone a winner who has the passion for it.”

  • BVITV & Tohokushinsha ink TV broadcast agreement

    BVITV & Tohokushinsha ink TV broadcast agreement

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney’s Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) Japan, have closed a multi-year TV broadcast right agreement with Tohokushinsha Film Corporation for the provision of visual entertainment consisting mainly of live action and animated features.

    As announced at the LA Screenings, closure of this contract guarantees the provision of releases such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, National Treasure and Flight Plan. Disney/Pixar animated productions such as Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. will be also available for view through broadcasters distributed by Tohokushinsha.

    From this point on, a huge array of content from the Walt Disney Company will be delivered to a larger audience in Japan.

    BVITV’s main business is the distribution of content owned by The Walt Disney Company, for distribution by domestic broadcasters within Japan and the creation of original programs for distribution by terrestrial/satellite broadcasters.

    While, Tohokushinsha Film Corporation’s main businesses are concerned primarily with advertising production, digital technology, contents production, digital image processing, satellite broadcasting, retail merchandising and professional education.

  • BVITV & WOWOW ink new distribution agreements

    BVITV & WOWOW ink new distribution agreements

    MUMBAI: Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) Japan has closed new multiple-year agreements with fee-based broadcasting station WOWOW Inc., for provision of visual entertainment primarily consisting of movies, TV series and animated features.

    Content from The Walt Disney Company will be delivered to WOWOW audiences, as the agreements include the broadcast rights to entertainment including, the Annual Academy Awards. In addition, annual programming events like Japan’s Disney Special and the I Love Disney animated series, are also planned under the new agreement, informs an official release.

    Closure of these multi-year contracts imply that hit releases such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Chicken Little, National Treasure, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and the award-winning television series Grey’s Anatomy will be available to view in high definition on WOWOW.

    BVITV Japan MD Paul Candland said, “Via this multiple-year contract with WOWOW, a company that holds an extremely important position in the Japanese domestic media industry, I am very happy for the opportunity to further strengthen this strong partnership, and that a variety of BVITV programs will be broadcast in high definition through WOWOW to viewers nationwide over a long period.”

    WOWOW Inc. president Toshio Hirose said, “Thin type high definition TV is on the verge of widespread use. In this environment, the strength of WOWOW is definitely high definition and 5.1ch surround stereo, which means broadcast of high quality images and sound, and we deliver a wide variety of programs, from movies to music to stage performances, original dramas, and animation. Through the multiple-year contract with BVITV and through the digital broadcasting market that is rapidly expanding, we are able to have a great new variety of programs.”

  • Sybase honoured at the 2006 SIIA Codie Awards

    Sybase honoured at the 2006 SIIA Codie Awards

    MUMBAI: Sybase Inc., the UK-based company providing enterprise infrastructure and mobile software, has announced that its database and mobile software solutions received highest honours at the 2006 SIIA Codie Awards.

    Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise(ASE) 15 and AvantGo won as leaders in the Codie Awards’ in the “Best Database Management Solution” and “Best Mobile Solution” categories.

    “Sybase has secured its position as a leading database company and a cutting-edge provider of mobile industry solutions,” said Software Information Industry Association (SIIA) president Ken Wasch. “The company continues to be recognized for its innovative technology.”

    Commenting on this achievement, Sybase senior VP corporate development and marketing Marty Beard said, “We are extremely pleased about the SIIA’s recognition of our database and mobility solutions.”

    “These prestigious awards validate our unique ability to deliver best-of-breed data management and mobility solutions that span both ends of the solutions spectrum from the data center to the device,” he adds.

    The annual Codie awards showcase the software and information industry’s finest products and services, and remains the industry standard for celebrating outstanding achievement and vision. This year’s winners were chosen from a record 1,026 nominations for excellence of products, services, corporate leadership and philanthropy.

  • TiVo launches new Guru Guide recommendations

    TiVo launches new Guru Guide recommendations

    MUMBAI: TiVo is all set to launch the TiVo Guru Guide recommendations. TiVo’s newest feature will allow subscribers to discover exciting programming and automatically record great collections of shows, recommended by editorial experts at some of the nation’s top consumer magazines and news sources.

    Guru Guide recommendations will create a virtual television channel from each of these authorities, while leaving the ultimate selection and choice to the consumer.

    Gurus from Entertainment Weekly, Star, Sports Illustrated, Automobile, Billboard, CNET and others will offer TiVo subscribers program recommendations based on popular television categories including sports, films, music, comedies, drama and more. As an added benefit, TiVo subscribers will be able to automatically record Guru Guide recommendations via the company’s online scheduling feature.

    “TiVo is the proven brand for innovation and personalised home entertainment, making it the perfect partner to bring Star magazine to life on television. Making Star’s editorial experts available to TiVo subscribers is a unique, cutting-edge way for us to reinforce our brand awareness beyond print into a powerful electronic medium,” said American Media chief editorial director and executive vice president Bonnie Fuller.

    For TiVo, Guru Guide recommendations are the latest in a series of innovative offerings like recently announced TiVo KidZone and TiVo Mobile, and is designed to distinguish TiVo’s product and service from any other DVR in the marketplace.

    “Providing our users with a better, smarter way to enjoy their favorite television is at the core of what we do at TiVo and how we transform television viewing for consumers,” said TiVo president and CEO Tom Rogers.

    TiVo vice president and general manager programming Tara Maitra said, “By matching up TiVo technology with engaging Guru Guide recommendations from trusted sources, we are empowering TiVo subscribers with a brand new way to find, organize and view their favorite shows in an increasingly crowded television environment.”

    Each TiVo Guru Guide recommendation will offer between five and 10 programs of television per week and recommendations will be updated at least once per month to ensure that viewers always receive the freshest and most interesting content on television. Using TiVo’s online scheduling feature, subscribers will have the option of recording an entire TiVo Guru Guide selection, or they can pick individual programs from a given category based on their personal interests.

    “Music programming on television and the integration of music into shows has come a long way. Our recommendations are an eclectic assortment of programs aimed at enhancing the music discovery experience. Through Billboard’s Guru Guide recommendations, TiVo subscribers will enjoy some of the freshest new shows out there,” said Billboard Magazine group editorial director Scott McKenzie.

    “With so much sport-related content on television today, it’s easy to overlook some really great shows. Sports Illustrated’s Guru Guide will provide viewers with recommendations compiled by our editorial team which will feature an interesting mix of television programming-everything from the best match-ups of the week, to the history of rugby, to the impact of exercise on childhood obesity,” said Sports Illustrated’s website’s managing editor Paul Fichtenbaum.

    TiVo Guru Guide recommendations help viewers find engaging programming in popular content areas such as sports, music, TV, movies, beauty and fashion, technology, and urban culture. Other key partners to offer the very first TiVo Guru Guide recommendations include CNET, Automobile Magazine, and H20 (Hip Hop On Demand.)

    Additional TiVo Guru Guides categories will become available to subscribers throughout the year at no additional cost.

  • Tata Sky begins publicity, trade activities













    MUMBAI: Aasman se seedhe aapke ghar (straight to your home from the sky). This could well be the tag line for Tata Sky‘s proposed DTH service, slated to be launched June-July 2006.


    So what‘s new? Well, Tata, “India‘s most trusted company”, and Star, “India‘s No. 1 entertainment company,” feel the people of India should be told that the two entities have “come together to change the way in which television is watched in India.” And, Tata Sky has started the process of telling the tale of world‘s “most advanced” DTH service — one must admit quite engagingly so.

     

    The 40-slide presentation being made by Tata Sky to the trade affiliates, on the other hand, has upset the cable fraternity. At one place, to hammer home the point that cable operators get eliminated in a DTH service, some funny lines have been used (cablewallah to consumer: I don‘t have electricity, you can‘t watch TV or I fight with the channel for non-payment, you pay the price — here goes the cricket match) that presumably have not gone down well with cable ops of Mumbai.

     

    The text points out that a consumer need not “suffer a poor quality cable service” as he has the right to choose channels he wants to watch and pay only for those. “Could you ever imagine a choice like?” the text eggs on a consumer, who‘s then told after sales service means “problems are no problems.”


    Apart from the high quality programming and DVD-type visual experience, free onsite installation of the hardware and maintenance under warranty are thrown in as added sops.


    For the gaming freaks, Tata Sky promises a personal games parlour where new games will be made available periodically for the whole family at no extra cost.


    The presentation also goes to list step-by-step the installation process and how the digicomp is compatible with most varieties of TV sets.


    Unstated however, are the costs involved for a consumer, which is also an indication that the various packages, probably, are still being worked out.

  • Sybase honoured at the 2006 SIIA Codie Awards













    MUMBAI: Sybase Inc., the UK-based company providing enterprise infrastructure and mobile software, has announced that its database and mobile software solutions received highest honours at the 2006 SIIA Codie Awards.

     

    Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise(ASE) 15 and AvantGo won as leaders in the Codie Awards‘ in the “Best Database Management Solution” and “Best Mobile Solution” categories.


    “Sybase has secured its position as a leading database company and a cutting-edge provider of mobile industry solutions,” said Software Information Industry Association (SIIA) president Ken Wasch. “The company continues to be recognized for its innovative technology.”

     

    Commenting on this achievement, Sybase senior VP corporate development and marketing Marty Beard said, “We are extremely pleased about the SIIA‘s recognition of our database and mobility solutions.”


    “These prestigious awards validate our unique ability to deliver best-of-breed data management and mobility solutions that span both ends of the solutions spectrum from the data center to the device,” he adds.


    The annual Codie awards showcase the software and information industry‘s finest products and services, and remains the industry standard for celebrating outstanding achievement and vision. This year‘s winners were chosen from a record 1,026 nominations for excellence of products, services, corporate leadership and philanthropy