ITV

Tag: IPTV

  • ESS announces executive appointments; Vijay Rajput made COO

    ESS announces executive appointments; Vijay Rajput made COO

    MUMBAI: ESPN Software India, today announced the appointment of Vijay Rajput as COO, Sricharan Iyengar as vice president and business head of the consumer business group and emerging technologies and Rajesh Kaul as vice president, affiliate sales.

    Commenting on the the executive changes, ESPN managing director RC Venkateish said, “These senior management appointments will help us focus our efforts on key growth areas, both for the present and the future and positions us to effectively evolve our organization to maximize new opportunities.”

    Vijay Rajput joined ESS as director finance in 1997. In his new role Rajput will be responsible for handling the finance, administration, HR and legal divisions at ESPN in addition to playing a pivotal role in the strategic management of the company. Rajput has considerable management expertise as he has an industry experience of nearly two decades.

    Iyengar, associated with ESS since 2000, was earlier overseeing the marketing & distribution functions of ESPN & STAR Sports across South Asia. While continuing to handle consumer marketing and direct to consumer services of DTH/Broadband and IPTV, Iyengar will lead the company’s thrust into the emerging technologies of mobile, wireless and internet.

    “We realise there is a big business opportunity on the emerging technologies. As a leading sports broadcaster, we will have to be omnipresent on all the delivery platforms. We will also have to plan for content on new media. This will require proper focus,” Iyengar says.

    Rajesh Kaul, who was earlier reporting to Iyengar, is given independent charge of affiliate sales. Matters relating to multi-system operators (MSOs) and cable TV operators will, thus, be handled by him.

    ESS recently tied up with mobile phone operator Airtel to offer voice-based update system during the Fifa World Cup. “Wireless can become a big platform. We tied up with Airtel during the football World Cup. We will see how this service evolves. CDMA mobile operators like Reliance Infocomm can offer video clips. We will have to create products for these new media vehicles,” Iyengar says.

    Value-added services on mobile phones is still evolving. “Sports and news will drive the mobile business. When we sort out the bandwidth issue, video-based applications will become popular,” he adds.

  • Ceva & Astri in alliance to develop new generation multimedia for Hong Kong & China

    Ceva & Astri in alliance to develop new generation multimedia for Hong Kong & China

    MUMBAI: Ceva, Inc., the California-headquartered licensor of digital signal processor (DSP) cores, multimedia and storage platforms to the semiconductor industry, and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Ltd (Astri) have announced the Ceva-TeakLite DSP and associated multimedia software. The software will be developed into a fully integrated, low power audio SoC platform solution.

    This is one of the projects driven by Astri IC Design Group’s Multimedia Platform (MMP) initiative. The mission of MMP is to enable a platform-based solution with comprehensive video/audio codec Intellectual Properties (IP) for semiconductor companies in Hong Kong and Greater China. This solution is for developing a cost-effective SoC for a wide range of multimedia applications, including portable multimedia players and IPTV, informs an official release.

    The Ceva-TeakLite’s unique feature, which combines optimal performance and complete audio and imaging codec software, is the key factor for Astri’s decision to licence the DSP. Using a single source for both the DSP and the software, the platform offers Astri the benefit of a highly optimized system that delivers power and performance advantages, and ease-of-integration — all crucial factors in the successful development of a product for the highly competitive portable multimedia markets, the release further informs.

    “By collaborating with a world-class IP company like Ceva, we are able to provide state-of-the-art technologies for manufacturers that compete at the highest level within the semiconductor industry,” says Astri IC Designs Group VP and R&D director Raymond Chiu.

    “Partnering with Astri is of significant importance to our expansion strategy into the growing semiconductor industry in Greater China,” says Ceva CEO Gideon Wertheizer. “Astri’s relationship with local China-based fabless companies and proven track record in IP deployment provide an excellent platform from which we can deliver our Ceva-TeakLite DSP and multimedia software in highly optimized and affordable solutions to the portable multimedia markets.”

  • Asia-Pacific leads IPTV growth: In-Sat research

    Asia-Pacific leads IPTV growth: In-Sat research

    MUMBAI: The Asia/Pacific region is leading the global revolution of IPTV in infrastructure deployments, applications development and subscriber adoption, reports global research firm In-Stat. The study reveals that the region’s broadband penetration and regulatory support help to foster the fastest-growing IPTV market in the world.

    “With IPTV, incumbent telcos have the opportunity to fundamentally change their broadband customers’ video service experience from the traditional video clip streaming and downloading model,” says In-Stat analyst Bryan Wang. “IPTV is expected to be the real killer application in the telcos’ broadband services portfolio that will increase ARPU and preserve user stickiness.”

    A recent report by In-Stat found the following:

    — By 2011, the Asia/Pacific market is expected to reach 39 million IPTV subscribers.

    — Total IPTV revenue in the region will reach US$8.1 billion by 2011.

    — Providers will need to find a unique approach to packaging and bundling in order to attract customers and maintain a competitive edge. As a result, most IPTV service providers have strategically integrated services in their triple-play bundled offerings.

    The research, “Asia/Pacific IPTV Market: Hype and Hope?”, covers the market for IPTV in the Asia/Pacific region. It contains forecasts for IPTV subscribers for the region and by major national markets, along with revenue for the region through 2011. It includes analysis of market drivers, challenges, and the regulatory environment. Also included is a look at specific conditions in major regional markets including China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, states an official release.

  • KT-Korea campaigns for faster IPTV adoption

    KT-Korea campaigns for faster IPTV adoption

    MUMBAI: The South Korean fixed-line & broadband carrier KT Corporation has called for the government to speed up introducing Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), claiming that a one-year delay would cost the nation about 1 trillion won (US$1.07 billion).

    An Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union report quotes The Korea Times on KT’s warning that Korea might suffer a loss of more than 1 trillion won, if the adoption of IP-based media services was delayed by one year, hurting related equipment makers severely.

    Korea has been slow to adopt the cutting-edge services largely due to the protests and lobbying efforts from terrestrial TV and cable service providers, who fear their market share might decline and profits shrink. KT and other telecom operators with solid IP infrastructure want to use their facilities to expand their service coverage and broaden income bases.

    Korea is now expected to allow operators to launch IPTV as early as in 2007 and KT plans to invest 300 billion won (US$319 million) into IPTV infrastructure this year for a faster service launch, the report adds.

  • China Telecom, Utstarcom to expand commercial IPTV coverage in Shanghai

    China Telecom, Utstarcom to expand commercial IPTV coverage in Shanghai

    MUMBAI: The IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and services provider Utstarcom has announced that it has signed a follow-on contract to deploy its RollingStream end-to-end IPTV solution to China Telecom, the largest fixed-line telecom operator in China.

    The commercial IPTV network is initially designed to support 51,000 users in Shanghai, which is also the largest city in China with a population of approximately 18 million. The number of broadband users in Shanghai continues to grow at a rapid rate approaching two million subscribers at the end of first quarter of 2006. UTStarcom believes these factors provide a solid foundation for the IPTV market in both Shanghai and China.

    “We believe the opportunity to deploy a commercial IPTV network with China Telecom for a large number of additional subscribers in Shanghai will lay a solid foundation for UTStarcom’s future market development of IPTV in China,” says UTStarcom China chairman & CEO . “We believe that RollingStream is the best-in-class IPTV solution in the market. It is a mature, IP-based platform that is designed to provide carrier-class, end-to- end triple-play services to carriers worldwide.”

    Prior to this deployment, China Telecom Shanghai selected UTStarcom to deploy an initial 5,000-user IPTV network in November 2005. During the first stage of deployment, UTStarcom’s RollingStream solution was put through a rigorous series of technology tests, states an official release.

    Partnering with Shanghai Media Group (SMG), China Telecom Shanghai plans to offer subscribers a service package of live broadcast television and videos-on-demand. Additionally, the service is designed to offer subscribers “time-shift” capabilities — the ability to pause and rewind live television, as well as an expansive amount of storage to record any program and watch on each subscriber’s own schedule. Shanghai is the largest city of China with a total population of approximately 18 million.

    The number of broadband users in Shanghai approached two million at the end of first quarter of 2006. UTStarcom believes these factors provide a solid foundation for the addressable market of IPTV in China, adds the release.

  • KyLinTV signs Woman TV to provide Chinese fare via IPTV

    KyLinTV signs Woman TV to provide Chinese fare via IPTV

    MUMBAI: KyLinTV, which provides Chinese programming in North America, has signed on Woman TV via IPTV to give viewers a taste of the largest selection of Chinese entertainment in North America: 26 live broadcast channels and a vast video library that offers subscribers more than 20,000 hours of choice. Woman TV is the first channel in China catered specifically to women.

    Woman TV was launched in March of 1999, and is the only broadcast channel in China completely devoted to women. With content that covers topics from education, occupation, fashion and family to stories about famous female figures, Woman TV has programs for all types of women. It serves as a platform to let the public know what women need, states an official release.

    Prominent programs include a talk show program that tackles everyday issues that men and women face in their relationships, Formula-E is hosted by Li Jing and Dai Jun. Other shows are Pretty Women, a show devoted to the latest fashion styles and trends with up-to-date information from fashion experts, Stories of Women, an in-depth documentary program featuring stories on the lives of women who have persisted and fought to overcome hardships, coming out stronger on the other end.

    KyLinTV subscribers will have direct access to the most popular broadcasts from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In addition, KyLinTV will broadcast US Chinese channels with programs produced exclusively for North American consumers.

    Viewers can tune in to live broadcast channels on KyLinTV and watch the programs as they air. If they miss the program they wanted to watch, subscribers have the option of using the broadcast channel companion which preserves the lineup of news and entertainment programs for 24 hours, and is a feature that is unique to KyLinTV. In addition, KyLinTV subscribers can take advantage of the broadcast channel on demand, an exclusive library of the most popular programs from that channel.

  • Trai to revisit consultation paper on IPTV

    Trai to revisit consultation paper on IPTV

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will ‘revisit’ the consultation paper on IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) to examine the legal changes which might be required, Trai chairman Nripendra Misra said today.

    Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Telecommunications (APT) and ICT Development Forum (ADF) in New Delhi, Misra told wire agency Press Trust of India (PTI) that Trai has sought the opinion of stakeholders on the legal changes which might be required, either in the Indian Telegraph Act or the Cable TV Act with respect to IPTV. This would in no way affect the scheduled rollout of IPTV, he said.

    “Possibly the paper needs to be revisited regarding both access and content. We will be seeking the comments of cable associations, broadcasters, telecom service providers, ISP’s apart from NGO’s who are interested,” Misra said.

    Earlier, addressing the Forum, Misra dubbed the Indian telecom sector as the “Poster Child” of development in India.

    Misra’s comments on IPTV are significant in the light of the fact that in the absence of consensus from broadcasting and telecom industry, Trai was set to withdraw a consultation paper on IPTV it had issued some time back.

    Prior to this, Trai had proposed making changes to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, plus the existing telecom licenses, so as to facilitate growth of IPTV services in the country.

  • IPTV survey reveals limited initial revenue expectations

    IPTV survey reveals limited initial revenue expectations

    MUMBAI: Accenture and the Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a global survey of 302 technology and media firm executives. All of them are involved in or close to the IPTV business—network operators, equipment vendors, consumer electronics firms, broadcasters/studios and content providers.

    Key Findings:

    There is long-term optimism in IPTV: 34 per cent of the executives we surveyed believe IPTV will generate “significant revenue” by 2009 and another 57 per cent are at least “somewhat confident” that this will be the case.

    But, few companies expect a substantial IPTV impact on their bottom line. Rather, most see the larger impact being on top-line growth. Network operators also hope IPTV will drive the take-up of broadband access connections and help reduce customer churn.

    Content is critical to network operators’ business model. They are currently acquiring it however they can, and the largest proportion of respondents say distribution without rights of ownership will be the primary means of sourcing IPTV content over the next year, according to an official release.

    Video-on-demand is expected to be the chief money-maker among different IPTV services, both today and over the longer term. There is little consensus on other likely revenue sources. Respondents did not see advertising as a potential money-earner.

    The chief hurdles to IPTV consumer adoption: a dearth of compelling content and lingering quality-of-service problems. Not a single respondent from this group is very confident that IPTV will spur significant revenue growth within a year of launch and no more than half are fairly or very confident of generating substantial revenue by 2009.

    Despite respondents’ pessimism that IPTV will spur growth in the near-term, major players are in various stages of testing IPTV. These include Verizon, AT&T, Telecom Italia, France Telecom and China Netcom, the release adds.

  • Trai withdraws paper on IPTV

    Trai withdraws paper on IPTV

    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.

  • Optibase IPTV platforms enable Real-Time Video Traffic Monitoring in Korea

    Optibase IPTV platforms enable Real-Time Video Traffic Monitoring in Korea

    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.”