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Tag: technology

  • Avid unveils upgraded digital audio and video technology at NAB

    Avid unveils upgraded digital audio and video technology at NAB

    MUMBAI: Avid, the creator of digital audio and video technology, has introduced a new and upgraded solution for audio production, professional editing, multi-platform content distribution, on-air graphics production, and asset management at the Nab television technology trade convention in Las Vegas.

    The company also shared its strategic vision, termed “Avid Everywhere,” which expresses the company‘s commitment to create the most fluid end-to-end, distributed media production environment in the industry.

    ‘Avid Everywhere‘ recognises that flexible deployment options, including remote and cloud-based collaboration technology, have become critical to content creators and distributors as they face relentless pressure for operational excellence.

    Intense cost pressures and content creation complexity are key challenges for media and content professionals in this ever more mobile and social world. ‘Avid Everywhere‘ helps our customers meet these challenges by empowering distributed work teams, multi-platform delivery, and the ability to work in any production environment.

    Avid president, CEO Louis Hernandez Jr said, “Over the past 25 years, Avid has built a strong heritage of industry leadership; we‘re proud of the role we play in empowering our customer community to create the most compelling media in the industry. As a critical element of Avid‘s growth strategy, Avid Everywhere inspires our next phase of innovation around our entire product suite. We look forward to sharing more announcements over the next year.”

    Specific new and upgraded products announced at Nab include:

    Creative Tools-Avid‘s professional creative tools set the industry standard for the highest quality content creation and production solutions to power the complete professional content creation environment.

    • Avid Media Composer 7 – The nonlinear editing solution is now available and the aim is to bring value to post production editors. The new version features accelerated and simplified file-based workflows including optimised HD delivery from high-res source material and automated media operations. The new release also offers Interplay Sphere for Mac support, extending real-time production everywhere.
    • Avid Pro Tools 11 – Avid‘s digital audio workstation features audio and video engines, 64-bit architecture, expanded metering, and direct HD video workflows.
    • Avid Motion Graphics 2.5 – Avid‘s next-generation platform of on-air graphics production includes a new dual-channel configuration option and stand-alone playout engine to increase deployment flexibility and speed graphic workflows, to create stunning imagery and get work quicker to air.
    • Avid Fast Track Solo and Duo – Avid‘s two new portable audio interfaces for composing and recording high-quality audio come equipped with Pro Tools Express software for Mac and PC, and connect directly to the iPad, providing high-quality I/O for any iOS app.Media Management Solutions-From the largest media enterprises to independent professionals, Avid provides the most open, flexible, and scalable solutions in the industry.
    • Avid Interplay Production 3.0 – Avid‘s latest version of the production asset management solution simplifies and speeds file-based workflows for post production and broadcast customers, and offers Interplay Sphere with full Mac support.
    • Avid Interplay Pulse – Avid‘s enhanced multi-platform content distribution solution delivers content to online, mobile, and social platforms everywhere, in the right form and format for each, while featuring integration with Avid‘s connected newsroom solution set and unified web client.
    • Avid AirSpeed 5000 2.5 – Avid‘s latest-version video server delivers slow motion playback for SD and HD, fast media replay, and continuous record.
  • MSN appoints NowThis News as video content partner

    MSN appoints NowThis News as video content partner

    MUMBAI: MSN, Microsoft‘s information and entertainment network, has appointed NowThis News as the network‘s video contributor.

    NowThis News, the new video news network built for the digital generation, will provide MSN and its hundreds of millions of users with original, distinctive reports on topics ranging from breaking news to politics, entertainment, technology and viral videos.

    “NowThis News is thrilled to work with MSN, one of the world‘s most popular outlets,” said NowThis News GM Eason Jordan. “As consumption of on-demand news videos skyrockets, this partnership will introduce MSN‘s massive user base to NowThis News‘s unique take on the news, while significantly expanding the reach of NowThis News.”

    “Offering high-quality, informative, and entertaining video is core to the MSN promise of keeping our audience in the know,” said MSN GM and Executive Producer Rob Bennett. “NowThis News is a perfect addition to MSN Video and our MSN News line-up in the US.”

  • DD to launch English news channel by July

    DD to launch English news channel by July

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan hopes to launch a separate English news channel by July this year by splitting the present bilingual English-Hindi news channel.

     

    DD News Director General S M Khan told indiantelevisiom.com he was confident of achieving the target of July for creating two news channels – English and Hindi – from the existing DD News channel.

     

    He said the public broadcaster had conducted a survey which showed that viewers favoured separate channels for the two languages.

        
    He was also confident that both the news channels — DD Samachar and DD News — will continue to get adequate advertisement support.

     

    Khan said the two channels would pool news and work in unison. Some new programmes were also being planned as there would be more time available on both the news channels.

     

    DD Director General Tripurari Sharan said that discussions and news will be presented in one-hour format for both Hindi and English news.

     

    Attempts have also been made to make use of appropriate technology to upgrade the standard of presentation, Sharan said.

  • Full circle marketing integration is a necessity: Tim Love

    Full circle marketing integration is a necessity: Tim Love

    VARCA, GOA: In a world where out of seven billion global citizens nearly five and a half are connected to the web, there is no denying that technology is affecting our way of life. But while we go gung-ho about digital and strive to integrate in the marketing plans, we must sit down and realise that while using digital, especially social media, a frame of reference is of paramount consequence.

    Speaking at Goafest 2012, Omnicom Group vice chairman (APIMA) Tim Love touched upon the concept of ideas that impact the full circle.

    “We live in a world where people and individuals are interconnected and interdependent. What the economic crisis has taught is that our behaviour is definitely going to have an effect on other people, the geography notwithstanding. In this case, full circle marketing integration becomes a necessity. We live in a post-digital world, we are up to our eyes in it. Digital is the air we breathe,” explained Love.

    Also with the advent of technology, not only has the interconnectedness increased, but there is also a higher level of transparency. This also needs to be taken into account while planning and executing marketing. A misstep may be magnified manifold, thanks to the reach and use of social media today.

    “I would say that we live in a post digital world. The digital wave has already hit us and we are riding it as we speak. We are surrounded by digital and in my view it offers more depth to marketing,” offered Love.

    One of the consequences of the proliferation of digital media is that people have become the first media. Digital has enabled us to live in a borderless multicultural universe of individual all connected through the web. According to Love, the industry we operate in has become an exchange of ideas among the people, corporations, brands and nation.

    The growing penetration of digital also begs us to have a look at the dynamics that govern networking. Of all the theories, Metcalf’s theory is most accepted and is also the basis of the advent of the Internet. According to this theory, as the number of connections grows, the value of the network grows as the connection itself also has value. Thus a network of one individual will have the value on one, while a network of two people will carry the value of three (two for the individuals and one for the connection itself). Similarly a network of three people will have the value of six and that of four people will have the value of 10 and so on and so forth.

    According to Love, apart from the connection, in today’s multicultural borderless online world, one should also consider the emotional reactions and cultural background of the individuals in the network. This will increase the value of the networks exponentially and make them richer in experience. “This is what I like to call Love’s Law,” he quipped.

    Research also shows that individuals that function in a multicultural atmosphere have richer experiences and broader perspectives and may even be better thinkers. It has also been established that the first language a person learns affects his/her thinking and processing habits to a great extent. In view of this, Love’s Law finds further proof.

    Having established that operating in the full circle is the need of the hour, one needs to look at the challenges this task offers. Firstly, there is the challenge of integration which transcends functional and geographical boundaries. Secondly, one is faced with the challenge of efficiency in terms of cost and speed while the third challenge comes in the form of mastery. Last but not the least, one must also solve the puzzle of targeting and planning the marketing plan for the TG.

    Love explained how Omnicom deals with such challenges. The ‘trick’ is in six tenets that the company follows throughout its verticals namely – consumer is the client, brand first, share and re-apply, let ideas lead and trust. Applying these concepts in tandem, Omnicom has been able to integrate functionally and geographically with efficiency.

  • Erik Huggers is BBC Future Media and Technology director

    Erik Huggers is BBC Future Media and Technology director

    MUMBAI: Erik Huggers has been appointed director of BBC Future Media & Technology.

    Erik, who is currently Group Controller of the division, takes over from Ashley Highfield, who has left the BBC to become CEO of Kangaroo, the working title for a proposed new video on-demand service owned by three broadcasters.

    In his new role, effective from 1 August 2008, Erik joins the BBC Executive Board.

    He will be responsible for the BBC’s output on the internet, interactive TV, mobile, broadband (including the BBC iPlayer) and other emerging platforms.

    He will also be responsible for the BBC’s enterprise and broadcast technology strategy and delivery.

    BBC DG Mark Thompson said, “Erik has been a very strong group controller, FM&T for the last year. He has shown tremendous commitment championing the iPlayer amongst many other projects. I look forward to him bringing his drive and determination to this new role, helping ensure the BBC is fit for the digital future.”

    Huggers said, “It is a tremendous privilege to be asked to lead such a talented and dynamic team in Future Media and Technology. Since I joined the Corporation, I have been struck by the energy and skill that BBC staff are devoting to make sure the Corporation meets the challenges of the on-demand world.

    “I now look forward to, along with my team, collaborating with colleagues across the BBC to ensure we respond to audience demands in providing exciting and innovative new ways of delivering the BBC’s content across a range of media.”

    Huggers joined the BBC last year from Microsoft Corporation, where he worked across a wide variety of industry changing digital media initiatives.

  • Greater Boost to e-governance, new scheme for software export industry

     

     

    NEW DELHI: The Government today announced its proposal to enhance the allocation for e-governance from Rs. 395 crore in the year 2006-07 to Rs. 719 crore in 2007-2008.

    Presenting the Budget proposals in the Lok Sabha today, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the Government had launched an ambitious programme for e-governance with the objective of improving efficiency, convenience, accessibility and transparency in Government functions and take Government services to the common citizen. He said the Central Government supports e-governance action plan at State levels and therefore it was proposed to increase the allocation for such support from Rs. 300 crore in 2006-07 to Rs. 500 crore in 2007-08.

     

    The Minister also proposed to provide Rs. 33 crore for a new scheme of manpower development for the software export industry.

     

    Mr Chidambaram noted that e-filing of corporate returns introduced this financial year had been a resounding success and until January 31, 2007, 301,736 returns were electronically filed by corporates. The Ministry’s analysis showed that ‘the effective rate of tax paid by all corporates, thanks to numerous tax concessions and exemptions – several of them well-intended – was only 19.2 per cent’. He therefore decided to extend Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) to income in respect of which deduction is claimed under sections 10A and 10B of the Income Tax Act.

    MAT had been introduced in 1996-97 for companies with book profits, and its purpose was to bring about horizontal equity in taxation.

     

    Extending service tax to renting of immovable property for use in commerce or business, the Minister excluded residential properties and land for entertainment.

     

    While bidding goodbye to 200,000 assesses through service tax proposals, the Minister said he proposed to bring new assesses into the fold by extending service tax to fields like the Development and supply of content for use in telecom and advertising purposes; asset management services provided by individuals; and

    Design services.

     

    The Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers had agreed to work with the Central Government to prepare a roadmap for introducing a national level Goods and Services Tax (GST) with effect from April 1, 2010.

     

    Keeping in mind the special needs of several sectors and the interest of the consumers, the Minister mooted a proposal to raise the exemption limit for small scale industry (SSI) from Rs.1 crore to Rs. 1.5 crore. The exemption limit for small service providers was being increased from Rs. 400,000 to Rs. 800,000. While noting that this will mean 200,000 assesses out of a total of 400,000 assesses will go out of the service tax net, he said he was happy to give away the revenue loss of Rs. 800 crore in the interest of the small service provider and the consumer.

     

    The Minister said the telecommunications industry had repeatedly requested that the multifarious taxes, charges and fees applicable to the industry should be unified and a single levy on revenue should be collected. He had accepted this proposal and proposed to request the Department of Telecommunications to constitute a committee to study the present structure of levies and make suitable recommendations to Government.

     

    He proposed to exempt from service tax all services provided by technology business incubators to encourage innovation. Similarly, their incubatees whose annual business turnover does not exceed Rs. 50 lakhs will be exempt from service tax for the first three years.

     

     

    As a measure to encourage small and medium enterprises to invest and grow, the Minister said the surcharge on income tax will be removed on all firms and companies with a taxable income of Rs. One crore or less, benefiting about 1,200,000 firms and companies.

     

    Since VAT (Value Added Tax) had proved to be an unqualified success and VAT revenues of the implementing States increased by 13.8 per cent in 2005-06 and by 24.3 per cent in the first nine months of 2006-07, the next logical step was to phase out Central Sales Tax (CST) and the Central Government had reached an agreement with State Governments in this regard. Consequently, the CST rate will be reduced from 4 per cent to 3 per cent with effect from April 1, 2007 and Rs. 5,495 crore had been provided for compensation for losses, if any, on account of VAT and also on account of CST.

     

    Noting that venture capital funds were a useful source of risk capital for start-up ventures in the knowledge-intensive sectors, the Minister said it was necessary to limit the tax benefit to investments made in truly deserving sectors. He therefore announced that among other industries, information technology relating to hardware and software development would be given pass-through status to venture capital funds only in respect of investments in venture capital undertakings.

  • HP launches entertainment notebook PC

    HP launches entertainment notebook PC

    MUMBAI: Hewlett-Packard (HP) India has introduced the HP Pavilion tx1000 Entertainment Notebook PC.

    It has what the company calls a ‘twist and touch’ screen. the aim is to enhance the world of digital entertainment and the mobile lifestyle

    The lightweight Pavilion tx1000 seriesthe firms says is targetted at young professionals, entrepreneurs, who have frequent meetings and presentations with clients.

    They may like to take notes or mark comments and would like to carry a lightweight yet fully functional notebook. The notebook PC also allows one to enjoy the freedom of wireless mobility, movies and music on the go.

    The PC is also handy for students to jot down class notes, carry easily within the campus and stay connected to email and the Internet almost anywhere using the latest wireless technology. The Pavilion tx1000 is HP’s premium offering, which combines superior technology with affordability, at an exciting price point.

    Offering the technology to help the user “the way he works” rather than adapting his work to the technology available, the Pavilion tx1000 is a must-buy for people seeking convenience with technology. With a touchscreen that does not require a stylus; the Pavilion tx1000 with its twist feature enables easy sharing of presentations across the worktable. With an integrated fingertip reader that allows multiple assigning of individual fingerprints for user accounts and private files, the Pavilion tx1000 is as secure as a safety vault.

    The launch of the tx1000 series is targeted to further strengthen the position of the HP Pavilion brand in the ‘Personalised Digital Entertainment’ space. HP India country category manager – consumer portables Rajiev Grover says, “As the leaders in the notebook segment with a market share of 40.5 per cent in unit shipment terms, we are targeting a 20 per cent rise in the sales contribution of the Pavilion brand with our slew of next generation models. This will be supported by an aggressive Go-To-Market”.

    The product enables users to launch music, photo and video files at the push of a button without booting the notebook. It has a high definition display with HP BrightView technology.

    A mini remote control allows users to easily control and navigate multimedia features and adjust volume levels. there is also an integrated webcam and dual, omni-directional microphones for easy video-conferencing.
     

  • France to set pace for digital TV in Europe: Study

    France to set pace for digital TV in Europe: Study

    MUMBAI: France has set a new benchmark for European digital television (DTV) policy.

    Strategy Analytics Broadband Media and Communications service has come out with a study Digital TV Transition: Europe Watches France’s Mandates As Terrestrial HDTV Arrives.

    France’s new ‘TV of the Future’ law has taken an important step towards high definition television (HDTV) on the digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform by allocating capacity for HD channels and mandating HD tuners in HD-Ready TV sets.

    These decisions will have ramifications for other countries in Europe, which will watch these developments with interest. There will also be important lessons from the French approach to licensing HD channels that takes place over the next few months.

    According to this report, the decisions made in France will put increased pressure on other European countries to accelerate their own policies towards HD on DTT platforms.

    Strategy Analytics principal analyst David Mercer says, “Most other European countries are still at the discussion stage regarding the introduction of HDTV on their DTT platforms.

    “France has taken an important lead by allocating the capacity for HDTV and ensuring that future HDTVs will be able to receive these new channels. The industry will be satisfied that France has set clear policy goals on these important issues.”

    Also according to the report, France’s plan to switch off analogue television broadcasts by 30 November, 2011 remains an ambitious goal, given much of the country’s still heavy dependence on those signals. But the country’s aggressive top-down approach to policy setting gives much-needed clarity to industry decision makers, which will allow technology vendors and service providers to plan with confidence.

  • Cartoon Network characters to take over mobile content with ‘CallToons’

    Cartoon Network characters to take over mobile content with ‘CallToons’

    MUMBAI: Cartoon Network New Media has announced that it has created CallToons, a new mobile application that integrates technology with entertainment, essentially allowing Cartoon Network characters to take over a mobile phone.

    According to an official announcement by the network, Cartoon Network New Media has developed CallToons in conjunction with Turner Platform R&D, and has been in discussions with Ericsson regarding concept refinement and content delivery options. The technology takes Cartoon Network New Media into mobile licensing as the product will be available to non-Turner companies in the future.

    At launch, CallToons will feature characters from Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, and will be offered as separate services for each brand. CallToons is targeted to be available to consumers in Q4 2007.

    Using patent pending technology, CallToons creates a user experience that replaces ordinary mobile phone functions (such as ringtones and wallpapers) with an entertainment platform provided by the users’ favourite character.

    CallToons ties together mobile content such as ringtones, ringbacks, wallpapers, and audio and text alerts into a character-driven narrative experience. Cartoon Network New Media will introduce additional functionality to the CallToons application in the coming months, adds the release.

    “CallToons extends our fans’ relationship with our characters in a personal and interactive way through a mobile phone,” said Cartoon Network New Media senior vice president and general manager Paul Condolora. “With this application, we are developing a novel approach to the mobile experience. CallToons is a natural next step for the company and offers limitless cross-platform entertainment possibilities with cartoon characters, celebrities, sports figures and beyond.”

    “CallToons does more than set a character’s voice to a ringtone. CallToons allows a character’s personality to take over the mobile phone’s functionality so that they actually interact with the user and incoming callers in a unique way,” said Cartoon Network New Media senior director of entertainment products Ross Cox.

     

  • Cas workshop on 12 February in Mumbai

    Cas workshop on 12 February in Mumbai

     MUMBAI: While the first phase of Cas (conditional access system) rolled out on 1 January, the Indian cable TV industry is now looking at headends outside these areas in smaller cities and towns which are now keen to transition to an era of structured organizations and revenues that digital cable provides.

    Several large cable TV headends countrywide now plan to install digital headends.These new headends require a complete technology shift To facilitate the transition, Satellite and Cable TV magazine is organizing a workshop on “Cas and digital CATV” at the Hyatt, Sahar International Airport, Mumbai on 12 and 13 February.

    The workshop will have a round table discussion on Cas roll out by WWIL MD Jagjit Singh Kohli, Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO K Jayaraman, Incablenet head Ravi Mansukhani and Trai representatives.

    Additional sessions will have international speakers from SIMAC Netherlands, Teleste Finland, Rover Italy, Telemann Korea as well as leading industry players such as NDS, Magnaquest, Catvision and others.