New Delhi: There’s good news for those who use cable television services. You can now check your Gmail, watch YouTube videos or connect with friends on Facebook at the cost of the regular cable subscription of Rs. 150-200 per month – without having to pay extra for an internet connection.

Logic Eastern, a Noida-based manufacturer of cable infrastructure, has developed special set-top boxes which come with an in-built patented hardware that enables connections to Gmail, Facebook and YouTube. The company has made possible two-way flow of data, that is, from websites to cable operators to consumers and return by using the existing cellphone technology.

The company has installed large servers which download Gmail, YouTube and Facebook pages on behalf of its subscribers and pushes them on to their television screens. For now, consumers can access this service with a special remote control. However the company is developing a wi-fi keyboard that will be given along with the set-top boxes. Also, apart from the remote control, consumers can use their mobile phones to surf channels or access these websites.

Logic Eastern has already deployed 60,000 such set-top boxes across South Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar and Jammu. The company has roped in ICICI as an investor. It has bought a 20 percent stake, which is helping Logic Eastern monetise these services that even existing Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) companies and the Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators have not been able to achieve.

“We believe it will be critical for cable operators to differentiate their services by leveraging the massive bandwidth that their cables take to each home. This is something that even DTH cannot do,” says Vineet Wadhwa, Chief Technology Officer and Promoter of Logic Eastern. Instead of value-added services, the company prefers to call them ‘enhanced services.’ But how safe is accessing your email via cable? It is as safe as logging on to the internet on your home computer or laptop, says Wadhwa.

Why?  Because of one simple reason…mass media is loosing its mass appeal! 

Yes…more people are watching more screens in more places.  But…with more choices, well… that gives viewers more control over the content they watch! 

BUT more viewer control is not what has TV Executives sweating.  What has them sweating is WHERE broadcast media content is coming from. Producers now have more choices for WHAT they produce and HOW they distribute that content. News, Sports, Entertainment… all are moving away from table-top TV and towards more targeted content and more potent distribution models. 

Live Internet broadcasting is one of the most potent of these distribution outlets for the following reasons:

1. Live internet broadcasting gets closer to the 1-on1 relationship that associations, corporations, events, athletes, and celebrities have sought.  It’s interactive; it’s powerful! 

2. Live internet broadcasting lifts the restraints of television broadcasting, such as FCC rules, time constraints, costs, and strict adherence to distribution outlets.  It’s innovative! 

3. Live internet broadcasting differentiates your unique event or programming from the rest of the vast menu of options by essentially creating your own broadcast channel or brand.  It’s your own broadcast channel! 

At Terra Firma Media Group, we love technology…BUT only if it is part of an overall “Solid Ground Success” strategy that we can craft to help your events reach their full audience and their full potential. 

Is it time for your events, your staff, your sites, and your sponsors to become more energized? 

Then its time you called Terra Firma Media Group!

Here’s a look at the some of the stories that I’ve found this week that I thought many of you may enjoy or should read if you get a chance. Some of them are videos, so that’s the fun part.

One of Iowa’s largest employers in Dubuque, Waterloo, Davenport, Ankeny and Ottumwa reports a 4Q loss, but a gain for the year. Deere and Company (which pays my mortgage, full disclosure) posted the results Wednesday. Here’s the QC Times story.

An assistant principal in the middle of a strip search incident involving an Atlantic student has resigned. IBNA board member Ric Hanson has the story on Radio Iowa from his KJAN post in Atlantic.

He may be gone from the Des Moines School Board, but Jonathan Narcisse is now hitting the road to debate Republican Candidate for Governor Chris Rants. Here’s a story from the Iowa Republican. Jon has not said if he will challenge Chet Culver for the Democratic nomination, but is leaving it up to the media to decide. If you’re not from DM, you can see the debates in Bettendorf, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Waterloo and Ankeny and Council Bluffs.

Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa also has a report on the Lincoln/Douglas type debates.

And some of the Iowa Film program is rolling again. Mostly paying what’s already been done and lifting the suspension. The state moved a tiny step forward in re-instating the movie tax credit.

This almost seemed like a no-duh type story, but was confirmed by data this week that Iowa’s community college enrollment is up. Traditionally enrollment at community colleges goes up in a down economy. NIACC is Mason City is seeing the same thing as others as reported by KIMT-TV

An environmental group says Iowa’s power plants are some of the oldest and most polluting in the country. Radio Iowa reports.

This one may end up on the comedy circuit from the DMR.  Man with bloodshot eyes charged with stealing Visine.

I have a couple of videos to watch this week, music videos. The first is about the Decorah Middle School as reported by the CR Gazette. The students are trying to win a technology grant and used Coldplay’s Viva La Vida to help tell their story. The school actually used students to help play the instruments.

Another music video involves the Muppets. If you know Queen, you know the melody, but this Bohemian Rhapsody is a little different. The video appeared only Tuesday and now is well over 1 million views. I’m sure that’s something people will be talking about this holiday around the table.

And this music video, maybe also another conversation piece, involves some late night fun at the J-lab at Wartburg College in the Communication Arts department. Good stuff. Enjoy waiting for Miley, even if the song will be stuck in your head.

El Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) sostiene que en el segundo trimestre del 2010 (abril – junio) sus clientes podrán adquirir servicios de televisión por Internet (IPTV).

Dicho servicio ofrece señal de televisión digital mediante la misma conexión de banda ancha que tienen los usuarios de Internet en sus casas o negocios.

A diferencia de la televisión tradicional, en IPTV el cliente solo recibe los programas o películas que desee, sin necesidad de depender de un horario.

Fuente: La Nación.

Aunque a paso lento, el ICE va avanzando en cuanto a los servicios de Internet se refiere, esta noticia evidencia el caso con la tecnología de IPTV, servicio que permitirá que los usuarios seleccionen los programas que desean ver, y a la hora que lo desean ver. Cabe destacar que a través de este servicio se puede eliminar o evitar la publicidad tradicional que vemos hoy día en televisión.

Kemajuan yang pesat di bidang IT secara terus-menerus menelurkan berbagai jenis media baru.  Salah satunya adalah IPTV.  IPTV atau Internet Protocol Television adalah suatu sistem dimana layanan digital televisi dikirimkan menggunakan internet protokol melalui jaringan infrastruktur diantaranya termasuk koneksi berkecepatan tinggi.  Jika sebelumnya tv biasa, penonton hanaya bisa pasif pada program-program yang ditampilkan, maka dengan adanya IPTV, penonton dapat menikmati program-program dengan lebih aktif sesuai keinginan dan pilihannya.

IPTV berbasis internet dengan kecepatan minimal 2 Mbps.  IPTV memanfaatkan jaringan internet yang dikombinasikan dengan kabel telepon dan tv kabel  atau satelit.

Kelebihan IPTV dibandingkan TV biasa :

• Mampu merekam dan menghentikan gambar saat tayangan tersebut sedang disiarkan,
• Dapat diakses secara mobile, melalui alat seperti decoder yang terhubung dengan internet,
• Bersifat personal dan interaktif,
• Ketajaman gambar yang sangat tinggi,
• Komunikasi 2 arah dan multiple stream.

Cara mengakses IPTV :

Diperlukan sebuah PC dan set top box yang terhubung pada TV.  Set top box harus di lengkapi Internet Protocol Multimedia System(IMS) untuk mengkombinasikan antara mobile internet dan content broadcast.  Penonton dapat menngunakan remote untuk menontrol sistem yang ada dalam set top box, seperti merekam, browsing, chatting, dsb.

Jenis layanan yang menunjang IPTV :

1. Siaran TV yang dipancarkan stasiun-stasiun tv biasa,
2. Siaran musik dan video sesuai permintaan,
3. Siaran berita sesuai permintaan,
4. Voice Over Internet Protocol, yaitu teknologi yang memungkinkan komunikasi suara dan fax dengan menggunakan jaringtan berbasis Ip, yang dapat mengubah suara atau fax menjadi format data digital yang dapat dikirim melalui jaringan IP.
5. Network based Private Video Recorder(NPVR), yaitu fitur untuk merakam siaran langsung,
6. On Line Games,
7. Parental Guide, yaitu layanan untuk melindungi anak dan remaja dari siaran yang tidak diperuntukkan bagi usia mereka,
8. Shopping on line.

Pihak-pihak yang berperan dalam pengoperasian IPTV :

1. Content provider, yaitu penyedia program-program tv dan kontent multimedia
2. Service provider, yaitu pengatur dan pengendali layanan IPTV
3. Network provider, yaitu pengirim dan pendistribusi
4. Costumer, yaitu pelanggan layanan IPTV.

Kesimpulannya, IPTV adalah tv masa depan yang akan menjadi layanan yang dinanti-nanti oleh penikmat yang sudah bosan dengan layanan tv biasa, dikarenakan manfaat yang sangat besar dan sifatnya yang personal dan interaktif.

shop now – save up to $50 on Select wireless phones, devices, or accessories. Online Only!

Il mercato della tv italiana si popola a passo di lumaca di decoder unici, quel tipo di apparecchi che sono in grado di ricevere i segnali televisivi attraverso differenti fonti di emissione (internet, digitale terrestre e satellitare). Questi apparecchi, reclamati a gran voce dalle associazioni di consumatori del nostro paese, sarebbero la soluzione definitiva per gli utenti tagliati fuori dai segnali del dtt, ma potrebbero essere anche una valida alternativa nel campo delle offerte tv, e sarebbero soprattutto uno strumento concreto per abbassare il divario digitale che affligge l’Italia.

Il lancio nell’aprile 2009 del decoder XDome, dell’omonima azienda italiana, ha introdotto il primo apparecchio con sintonizzatori digitale terrestre e satellitare. Successivamente il decoder BlobBox della società italiana TvBlob (Tilsey) ha presentato dtt e Internet nello stesso ricevitore/modem (digitale terrestre, Web Tv e applicazioni espandibili Open Source della rete).

Ed ecco la novità: questo settembre la società svizzera 3-D Enter ha presentato la nuova offerta tv con decoder unico chiamato TvSurf, che unisce il digitale terrestre alle potenzialità delle rete Internet. Il decoder è dotato di un hard disk da 160 Gb (ci sono versioni anche da 500 Gb e 1 Tb) che regala la possibilità di archiviare e vedere i programmi in modalità on-demand (come e quando desideri); è già pronto per l’alta definizione; punta a divenire un media center da collegare alla tv di casa.

L’apparecchio potrebbe sembrare a prima vista simile al BlobBox ma in realtà offre un approccio differente al Web: infatti è dotato di un browser web  (Firefox) per navigare liberi senza restrizioni; ha un accesso diretto a Wikipedia e a news in tempo reale. La particolarità di TvSurf è insita in un motore di ricerca interno per la Tv che è in grado di semplificare il ritrovamento dei programmi del dtt, ma anche delle Web Tv, degli eventi sportivi live, dei video di You Tube e su Megavideo, consentendo all’utente l’uso contemporaneo (multitasking) dei contenuti.

I punti deboli che limitano fortemente la diffusione di questi decoder unici sono sempre gli stessi: il prezzo elevato, 439 euro, e l’impossibilità di usufruire delle offerte pay del digitale terrestre.

Caratteristiche tecniche di TvSurf

I’m going to try and keep a tab of stories through the week that are interesting or stories I think you should know that are happening in the state. These are stories that likely would have been in the news analysis portion of The Iowa Journal, but since we don’t do that anymore, I’ll compile them here.

Even though Thomson is in Illinois, it does have an impact on Iowa. The Obama administration is pushing for a plan to convert the Correctional Facility to become the new Gitmo.

This was a big deal during most of my time in the Quad Cities. I know the Watermelon Cafe was on TV and in print several times, all hoping for economic benefit of a new prison coming to the region that badly needed the jobs.

Here’s a story out of the Clinton Herald. Lots of media stories have been done about this proposal.

A lot of the hub-bub is over jobs and fear. This area of Illinois has seen some rough economic times, even before this latest downturn.
John Carlson of the DM Register takes a visit to Thomson.

School districts are looking at a few options for saving money. One that’s gaining some attention is sharing superintendents. Mason City and Clear Lake are larger schools, but the two are looking at the idea. Clear Lake has an interim super this year and he’s warm to the idea.

Here’s KIMT-TV’s story.

Did Webster City ignore warning signs about a company’s role in their economy? Electrolux was the major employer in town and recently announced they are closing and moving operations to Mexico. A few are wondering if the community economic officials should have removed some of the eggs out of the town’s basket and diversified the community’s economy. They city says they didn’t want to upset their employer by bringing in competition for workers.

The Des Moines Register raised this thought earlier this week.

Ever get asked to write a recommendation for someone you may not know that well? Maybe a LinkedIn note or on another site. Here’s a story from the NY Times about their advice.

Between OK Henderson and Dave Price, they’ve brought up an idea floated by Ed Failor, Jr about merging the 3 public universities into one. Failor cites the Wisconsin or somewhat how Missouri runs things.

Here’s Kay’s blog post on the subject.

Here’s Dave’s discussion on his show, Purple Matters, on Des MoinesLocalLive.com.

The city of Cedar Rapids is still rebuilding and now they are thinking about going green in the process as well, looking to expand into some LEED construction standards. That’s being good citizens and leaders.

The issue came up in this Cedar Rapids Gazette story.

Adam Belz of the Cedar Rapids Gazette looks at how combing some of Iowa’s counties may save money and make sense. Here’s the story that may leave your home county merged with another.

And finally, a shout out to the Iowa Journal for looking at all tax credits, not just the movie tax credit. Now the Governor is wanting to examine all the credits. Here’s the DM Register’s story. Here’s ours. Enjoy.

What did I miss that the state should care about?

var sc_project=5321802;
var sc_invisible=1;
var sc_partition=59;
var sc_click_stat=1;
var sc_security=”fa4d6669″;

In questa era digitale contraddistinta da Internet pian piano sta mutando il concetto di diritto sui contenuti, ed è in continua mutazione l’economia dello scambio di prodotti intellettuali coperti da nuove forme di tutela come i copyleft, le licenze GNU, l’Open Source. La grande industria musicale e cinematografica, creatrice di molti di questi contenuti diffusi nel mondo, si sta opponendo con forza a questa rivoluzione dei diritti (oltre i diritti d’autore), cercando di arroccare le proprie risorse chiuse, facendo pressione sui governi dei paesi industrializzati, perchè mettano in opera leggi di tutela del diritto sui contenuti anche sulla piattaforma delle rete (come le recenti vicende della legge Hadopi in Francia). Il processo di liberalizzazione dalle vecchie concezioni di diritto d’autore e di copyright però, a mio parere, sarà inarrestabile quanto più la nostra società sarà connessa alla rete.

La tv italiana sta passando al digitale e questo comporterà una più facile diffusione e uno scambio più rapido dei contenuti trasmessi, anche attraverso la rete. Ma la più grande azienda privata media tv italiana, Mediaset, non è intenzionata a farsi coinvolgere da questa inevitabile morte del diritto d’azienda (non d’autore). La società guidata da Pier Silvio Berlusconi e Confalonieri ha deciso di percorrere la strada del digitale tutelando i propri programmi con ogni mezzo e tipo di tecnologia, agendo da paladina del copyright, ma danneggiando in questo modo anche la fruizione dell’utente.

La battaglia del biscione a favore del copyright è iniziata nel luglio del 2009 con la causa intentata dall’azienda italiana nei confronti di Google e di You Tube per violazione dei copyright sui programmi prodotti, una causa da mezzo miliardo di euro di risarcimenti.

Tra pochi giorni invece verrà introdotto nel mercato il nuovo decoder per il digitale terrestre Mediaset On Demand che offre agli abbonati un catalogo di film on demand. Il sistema è già proposto dalle IPTv (Alice Home Tv, Fastweb Tv, Infostrada Tv) e da Sky (col decoder MySky), ma al contrario della concorrenza, il telespettatore non potrà disporre a piacimento dei film (registrare, archiviare e rivedere i contenuti), avrà solamente un sistema push on demand. I contenuti verranno registrati automaticamente nel dispositivo e cancellati e rinnovati a discrezione di Mediaset, in modo da impedire qualsiasi tipo di manipolazione e copiabilità dei film.

Tra dicembre 2009 e gennaio 2010 Mediaset sbarcherà direttamente sul web, con Mediaset Web Tv, prima con un sito che trasmetterà i canali in streaming, poi successivamente con un IPTv che sfrutterà un decoder/modem/router proprietario. In entrambi i casi Mediaset assicurerà i limiti e le tutele dei suoi contenuti con tecnologia chiusa e proprietaria. In particolar modo con l’offerta Mediaset Premium Web Tv l’azieda di Cologno Monzese filtrerà il traffico web per ottimizzare il flusso dell’IPTv, limitando la libera navigazione dell’utente.

Mediaset ha tutto il diritto di tutelare i propri contenuti con i mezzi che considera più consoni, ma le sue politiche e strategie aziendali confermano quanto sia bloccata nell’antiquato modello di società broadcast, e quanto sia distante dalle nuove filosofie economiche dei nuovi mercati dei media del terzo millenio.

]]> http://publicpaulandmedia.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/tax-credits-to-get-a-review/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:51:15 +0000 paullynnyeager http://publicpaulandmedia.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/tax-credits-to-get-a-review/

We know we have at least one viewer of the Iowa Journal – Gov. Chet Culver.

Late Thursday afternoon the Governor’s press office sent out a release about an examination of all tax credits the state offers.

That sounds a lot like a recent Iowa Journal program. We looked at all tax credits in the state and discussed what is good and bad about offering them. That was back on November 5th, 2009. Producer Sara Frasher did a great job of breaking down what tax credits are and then we featured Newton’s efforts with credits.

You can view the program right here.

Here’s the blog post about the program here with a great West Wing clip just for Michael Graham.

Also, the Des Moines Register is writing about the story as well. Here’s their story.

Here’s the Governor’s full release.

GOVERNOR CULVER ORDERS REVIEW OF STATE TAX CREDITS
State agency directors to submit report, provide recommendations on credits

DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver today ordered a comprehensive review of each of the state’s 30 tax credit programs. He asked the Directors of the six state agencies that oversee the tax credit programs to submit a review of their respective department’s tax credit programs. Those Directors will then serve on a panel to review the programs and submit a report to the Governor addressing oversight, accountability, transparency, public reporting, cost-benefit, and which programs should be continued, curtailed, and or eliminated.

The Governor named Iowa Department of Management Director (IDOM) Dick Oshlo to chair the panel. The review will be due to IDOM at the close of business on Dec. 4, 2009. The panel will hold two public meetings to discuss the review in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids the week of Dec. 7, 2009. Dates and locations of the public meetings are yet to be determined.

The following letter was sent to agency directors today:

Dick Oshlo
Iowa Department of Management
State Capitol
Room G13
Des Moines, IA 50319

Fred Hubbell
Iowa Department of Economic Development
200 East Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50309

Jeff Ward
Iowa Agricultural Development Authority
505 Fifth Avenue, Suite 327
Des Moines, IA 50309-2322

Bret Mills
Iowa Finance Authority
2015 Grand Ave.
Des Moines, Iowa 50312

Cyndi Pederson
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
600 East Locust Street
Des Moines, IA 50319

Mark Schuling
Iowa Department of Revenue
Hoover State Office Building
1305 East Walnut
Des Moines, IA 50319

Rob Berntsen
Iowa Utilities Board
350 Maple Street,
Des Moines, Iowa 50319

Dear Agency Directors:

During recent months the Culver-Judge Administration has worked to address the budget challenges facing the State of Iowa. In preparation for submitting my budget to the general assembly in January, we are reviewing all areas of state spending, including annual state investments in the form of tax credits. It is essential that we evaluate the expense and effectiveness of each tax credit program to ensure that Iowans are receiving an appropriate return on our investment.

Today I am announcing the creation of a tax credit review panel to be headed by Department of Management Director Dick Oshlo. As Directors of tax credit administering agencies, you will also serve on the panel. The panel is to prepare a report to the Governor with recommendations for each tax credit program, including oversight, accountability, transparency, public reporting, cost-benefit, and which programs should be continued, curtailed, and or eliminated.

There are many stakeholders in the state tax credit programs and we need to hear from each of them. The panel will meet once in Des Moines and once in Cedar Rapids during the week of December 7th to allow the tax credit program participants as well as the general public to voice their opinions and concerns.

To assist the panel with their work, I am asking you to submit information on your respective departments’ tax credits to the Iowa Department of Management by close of business December 4, 2009. Submissions should include the following information for each tax credit program administered by your agency:

· General description of the purpose of the tax credit
· Minimum, maximum and average value of tax credits issued
· Contingency liability for each tax credit
· Number of tax credits issued each year
· Number of individuals and/or businesses served by the tax credit
· Whether the tax credit is transferable and, if so, how many times
· Whether the tax credit is refundable
· Processes for oversight and regulation of the tax credit
· The Return on Investment for the tax credit
· Data on the fiscal impact of the tax credit for the past ten years, if available
· A description of what information is currently made available to the public for the tax credit(s) administered by each agency.

If you have any questions, please contact Dick Oshlo at 515-281-5201.Thank you for assistance in this important matter.

Sincerely,

Chester J. Culver
Governor of Iowa

var sc_project=5321807;
var sc_invisible=0;
var sc_partition=59;
var sc_click_stat=1;
var sc_security=”16b7c7cf”;

Alguns Utilitarios de Cardsharing.

Obs: Apenas indico tais programas para serem utilizados

no aprendizado da tecnologia.

Qualquer utilização de forma ilegal

fica por responsabilidade do usuário.

1. CS Gbox:

GboxControl_win32_v1.9j.zip (1,77 MB)

2. Manual CS com Azbox:

MANUAL_SHARING_em_PC__Gb@x.zip (654,4 KB)

3. Sharing Dreambox para Azbox e outros:

Sharing_Dream_FTA_xe_d_sono_v2.pdf (225,7 KB)

4. Manual Azetheca:

Azetheca_manual_do_utilizador.pdf (273,8 KB)

5. Manual cabo RJ-45 Azetheca:

CABO_REDE_MODEM.pdf (389,9 KB)

Who are Visionaries in Iowa?
Who can see where the state is going and what needs to be done to get there?

We are looking for some people who you may consider having good vision for the state.

We hope to bring a few minds together to talk about the future of the state for an upcoming Iowa Journal.

Any ideas?

We are looking for someone who is not just an entrepreneur, but more with vision of ‘we’ve got these problems, here’s how we solve it,’ type of thing.

For example, someone who can say “we’ve got these water quality issues, its going to be painful, here’s how we fix it.”

In the past we’ve turned to think-tank types or college professors who can study these issues and offer solutions who are not tied to an electorate to keep their jobs.

If you’ve got an idea on someone, send it to iowajournal@iptv.org

Thanks for your time.

IP video is the topic that keeps on giving for tech journalists, and I’ve read any number of articles lately addressing different aspects of IP delivery. Here are a few I’ve run across, compiled with some of my own commentary.

IPTV Discussion Gets Real

Jonathan Tombes over at Communications Technology magazine has an excellent article out detailing cable operator discussions of IP video delivery. He covers everything from consolidating CPE, to the role of the CMTS, to creating more efficient networks. On that final point, Tombes cites a statistic saying that variable bit rate encoding (VBR) can enable 50% more video streams than constant bit rate encoding (CBR). According to a Motorola paper presented back at SCTE, however, that projection for VBR might be a bit rosy. Factoring in packet recovery appears to reduce those gains to a more realistic 20-25%. As Tombes points out, though, VBR is not the only efficiency-driving technology on the horizon. Operators are also looking at IP multicasting.

thePlatform Plugs in TV Everywhere

Jeff Baumgartner weighs in today on an announcement from thePlatform that the company is releasing its own, um, platform for enabling programmers to offer TV Everywhere content on their own sites. The key component of the new solution appears to be its Authentication Adapter. While executives moaned a mere few months ago about the problems of authentication, including its complexity and the fact that operators are approaching it from different angles, it now appears that we’re well on our way to having those dilemmas solved. The Authentication Adapter is designed to validate legitimate subscribers, authorize video playback, and match up video title data with the right channel line-up and subscription package. As Jeff explains, the new solution means that the same type of authentication system could be used whether on-demand content is aggregated or doled out individually by programmers.

The End of the Broadband Buffet is Nigh

Finally, Stacey Higginbotham posted yesterday on hints that the flat-price model for broadband fees may be on its way out as video demand increases. The debate between flat-fee service and tiered pricing (or metered broadband) has been going on for some time, but Stacey specifically points out Verizon’s reasons behind its support for consumption-based billing, and why having plenty of bandwidth doesn’t mean the company thinks flat fees are the right long-term answer. In short, Verizon has spent a lot of money on its fiber-to-the-home network and sees tiered broadband as the “fairest cost recovery model.” With the wave of TV Everywhere services on its way, there will soon be serious value in having higher bandwidth limits in consumer broadband service plans. Perceived value signals to providers that they should consider premium prices. It’s the very simple law of supply and demand. Will consumers pay? The history of the cable industry suggests they (we) will.

Motorola Home and Networks Mobility went through a big acquisition phase a couple years back, but since then things have been somewhat quiet on the M&A front. That changed today with the announcement that Motorola is in the process of acquiring BitBand. As with previous acquisitions, the BitBand purchase fills out a critical segment of Motorola’s video portfolio. BitBand is a content management and CDN provider focused on IP video on demand.

There are several ways that BitBand ties in with Motorola’s existing business:

1. As an extension of the company’s on-demand portfolio
   Remember, Motorola’s focused a lot of attention on VOD this past year, introducing the Adaptive Media Management framework and passing the  milestone of one million on-demand streams shipped
2. As an extension to Motorola’s IP video portfolio
   This includes IP set-tops, DOCSIS video delivery, the transport gateway, the Storefront service delivery platform, and Microsoft Mediaroom integration expertise
3. As a bridge to the next generation of TV delivery
   Television of the future includes both traditional TV and over-the-top video

BitBand brings an impressive CV with it to the Motorola family. The IP video specialist has more than 60 commercial IPTV deployments worldwide, with a particularly strong base in Europe (a useful complement to Motorola’s access network customer footprint there). BitBand has also won a number of awards in its ten-year history, including the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer award, a listing among Harvard Business School Alumni Club’s “25 companies that will transform the world,” and the VentureWire Investors’ Choice award.

More to come after the deal closes. The acquisition is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

A quick round up of some TV topics I am watching unfold.

Since the demise of video-on-demand TV platform planned between the BBC, C4 and ITV titled ‘Project Kangaroo, which was bought down by the monopolies commssion in 2008 , the idea of  IPTV collaborations between the major UK brodcasters has been on a rollercoaster of reinvention in preperation for online and overseas competitors making a bid to seduce your eyes across an array of IPTV and VoD viewing platforms.

Following hot on the very well connected heels of BBC i-player which has already been rolled out across partnerships with Nokia handsets and Virgin Media – cue Project Canvas.

Described as Freeview MKII – this on demand service would be viewable through a set top box. It proposes to bring together content from some a wider selection of  UK channels including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five. Its possibly only a matter of time before this would be rolled out across partner broadband network’s and other TV platforms. This causes great debate about the BBC overstepping its remit, killing competition and potentially profiting from the overseas export of content paid for by UK licence fee payer which in turn could be a threat to the BBC licence fee itself. Critics also observe that while the BBC’s digital strategy is powerful, leading the charge for accessible content across multi-platform, their programme making has suffered incredibly. USA TV series producers and channel HBO is arguably making the best TV content in the world at present.

Who’d of thought that a British public instiitution could be too succesful – maybe rasing hope for the concept of a working nationalised industries!

Also in the news, Media Week reports that ITV and the much talked about overseas IPTV competitor Hula are ready to sign a deal. Currently only available in the USA but with an imminent launch in the UK soon to be announced, Hulu is a website that offers commercially-supported streaming  of TV shows and movies from NBC, Fox, ABC and many other networks and studios.

Meanwhile Sky has launched a live TV i-phone app reported as the first of its  kind, and C4 has signed up its first roster of brands to advertise on its landmark full-length programming deal with YouTube.

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is a system where a digital television service is delivered using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. A general definition of IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks.

For residential users, IPTV is often provided in conjunction with Video on Demand and may be bundled with Internet services such as Web access and VoIP. The commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP and Internet access is referred to as “Triple Play” service (when these three are offered with mobility, the service is referred to as “Quadruple Play”). IPTV is typically supplied by a service provider using a closed network infrastructure. This closed network approach is in competition with the delivery of TV content over the public Internet, called Internet Television. In businesses, IPTV may be used to deliver television content over corporate LANs

Right now I am experimenting with the WordPress format of blogging instead of the Blogger that I first started with a few months ago.

If you are looking for past posts, check out here

Waiting for Miley with Wartburg College Comm Arts 11/23/09

Chronic Care diabetes, health care 11/16/09

More Sesame Street memories Sesame Street, West Wing 11/15/09

Public Art – What does it do for you? art 11/13/09

Sesame Street Turns 40 Sesame Street 11/11/09

Public Art on The Iowa Journal 11/9/09

Football friday, baseball is all OK angerer, baseball, levine 11/6/09

Tax Credits and Deducations on the next Iowa Journ… tax 11/4/09 Kathryn Koob and Terrorism on the next Iowa Journa… 10/23/09

H1N1 and the Midwest League. 10/19/09

The World Food Prize and a guy named Bill Gates Bill Gates, World Food Prize

Upcoming Iowa Journals 10/14/09

I’m Back Levi

What role does Social Media play in your smart life.

Health Care and a trip in the time machine Iowa Journal 9/24/09

The Iowa Film Industry Part Deux IMPA, iowa film office 9/21/09
Take Out the Trash Day? economy, IDED, iowa film office

Microsoft fared badly trying to break into the cable TV world, but it’s had a great deal more success with IPTV. And now that its Mediaroom software has gained widespread global adoption, Microsoft is anxious to keep developers engaged with the platform and pumping out new TV apps. Last month the Redmond giant hosted its third annual Mediaroom Developers Conference. Tracy Swedlow, long famous in the interactive television industry, reports that three applications earned top honors in the event’s ritual app contest.

Coming in first was ES3’s Interactive Workout application for creating a personal workout routine with how-to videos. Second prize went to Pushbutton’s Time Capsules app, which provides a way to navigate content created at specific moments in time. And third-place honors went to Accedo Broadband’s ZapClub application, featuring social networking features for TV shows including live tweets, Wikipedia information, and the ability to rate and share shows.

In the US, Microsoft’s primary Mediaroom deployment comes through AT&T’s U-Verse service. While not as aggressively marketed as the other big stateside telco TV offering, U-Verse continues to plug along quite successfully, with projected revenue hitting $2 billion this year. The continued development of TV apps for U-Verse is what should help set AT&T’s service apart from its cable competitors in the near future. In particular, the IP foundation makes these apps theoretically portable. Want to access that Interactive Workout on both your TV and your iPhone? There’s an app for that… or there soon will be.

via There’s a Mediaroom App for That.

Gestern habe ich es nun endlich geschafft. Ich kann ganz ohne zusätzliche Kosten, Software oder Geräte öffentlich rechtliches Fernsehen schauen. Und das an jedem PC/Abspielgerät das in meinem LAN ist und RTP-Streams wiedergeben kann.

Motivation/Hintergrund

Seit Längerem wohne ich nun alleine und habe seit dieser Zeit kein Fernsehen mehr zur Verfügung. Eigentlich bin ich damit gut zurechtgekommen, doch die ein oder andere Sendung möchte man doch mal sehen. Sei es zum Einschlafen oder weil der ganze Flash-Quatsch in der Mediathek von ARD/ZDF zu träge ist (Neues aus der Anstalt).

Zuerst startete ich einen Versuch mit einer DVB-C TV-Karte von Terratec. Leider ohne Erfolg. Der Kabelanschluss in meiner Wohnung ist unbenutzbar für Digital-Fernsehen. Es kommt kein brauchbares Signal an. Zynisch, dass UnityMedia immer wieder meinen Briefkasten mit Werbeflyern für superschnelles Internet über Kabel zuballert. Es geht ja nicht einmal das eigentliche Produkt TV.

Mein Glück, wie sich herausstellen sollte, dass ich einen Alice Fun Tarif mein Eigen nennen darf. Als ich im Alice Kundencenter meinen Vertrag begutachtete (im Zuge einer Vertragsumstellung) entdeckte ich unter “Mein Produkt” den Punkt “Aktivierte Optionen: DVB-IP    (bereits aktiviert)”.

Anhängig war ein PDF welches doch sehr technisch (ich konnte immerhin schon mal was mit ATM und soweiter anfangen) nahelegte wie man seinen Anschluss für die Nutzung von IPTV zu konfigurieren hat.

Wie sich herausstellte haben verschiedene deutsche Provider wohl Multicast-Server die öffentlich rechtliche TV-Sender (und gegen Kosten auch Private) ihren Kunden zur Verfügung stehen. Diese Server befinden sich im für Multicast-Adressen reservierten Bereich von 224.0.0.0 bis 239.255.255.255.

Erstaunlicherweise bietet auch die ARD auf ihrer Website ard-digital.de/iptv eine kurze Einführung in das Thema und stellt hier Playlists für Alice- und T-Home-Kunden bereit.

Nur wie das Ganze umsetzen. Nirgends gab es Tutorials die mir das Thema ordentlich erschlossen haben. So etwas selbst herumprobiert und Forenbeiträge gelesen. Aber schlussendlich hat es geklappt und läuft nun wirklich flüssig. Wenn auch bisher nur mit VLC. XBMC macht unter Ubuntu 9.04 noch Probleme (starke Schlieren).

Voraussetzungen

• Siemens C-010-i Modem (mein Standard-Modem von Alice)
• Player der RTP-Streams abspielt (VLC, MPlayer)
• DSL-Leitung ab ca. 5000kBit/s
• Playlist der ARD-Streams

Durchführung

Das Modem erreicht man über:

IP: 192.168.1.1

Benutzername: alice@13184

Passwort: hnto$mgmt@lice

Nun wird das Modem als Router umkonfiguriert. Das heißt unter Advanced -> ATM VCC erstmal alle Verbindungen löschen. Anschließend werden zwei neue Verbindungen eingerichtet. Die erste auf PVC-0 ist für die normale DSL-Verbindung, die zweite baut einen zusätzlichen ATM-Kanal zum Alice-IPTV-Netz auf.

Erste Verbindung

PVC-0

VPI: 1

VCI: 32

Virtual Circuit: Enabled

WAN Setting: PPPoE/PPPoA

Username: Einwahlnummer

Password: beliebig

Connection Type: PPPoE LLC

MRU: 1492

Authentication: CHAP

Obtain DNS Automatically: Enabled

Default Route: Enabled

NAT: Enabled

IGMP: Enabled

Zweite Verbindung

PVC-1

VPI: 1

VCI: 34

Virtual Circuit: Enabled

WAN Setting: Bridge Mode

Connection Type: 1483 Bridged IP LLC

Jeweils die Einrichtung mit Apply bestätigen und danach den nun erschaffenen Router neu starten. Nun sollte alles funktionieren. Also einfach die Playlist öffnen und glücklich sein.

Als zusätzliche Einstellungen empfiehlt es sich die Firewall zu aktivieren da das ehemalige Modem nun die Einwahl übernimmt und kein anderer Router mehr dazwischen geschalten werden muss.

Ich habe das ganze mit einer etwas neueren Firmware als der ausgelieferten durchgeführt. Sollte aber auch mit der Standardfirmware funktionieren. Falls es doch zu Problemen kommt bitte ich um Feedback.

Anschließend habe ich noch den eingebauten DHCP-Server aktiviert und sogar DYNDNS lässt sich mit Modifikationen der config-Datei möglich sein.

Ist der TV-Stream verzerrt empfiehlt sich das Aktivieren von Deinterlacing.

– david

Motorola has worked in conjunction with Microsoft for many IPTV deployments, both in providing IP set-tops and in doing back-office integration with Microsoft Mediaroom and Motorola’s CCE software. However, today there’s a press release out announcing a more formalized relationship. Motorola is now officially providing systems integration support for Mediaroom deployments.

While an IT services contract doesn’t sound like big news, it does hint at some of the software complexity in IPTV delivery, particularly as operators add increasingly more content and consumer services. Actually, the issue isn’t really one of IP delivery; it’s relevant for any kind of TV offering. Cable industry folks were discussing the same challenges in content and service management and back-office integration at the recent SCTE show. Television used to be so straight forward. Those days are long gone.

On Thursday, November 5, I attended the AT&T Technology Showcase in San Francisco. The Tech Showcase presents some of the latest cool inventions coming from AT&T Labs. Imagine a highly professional, well-resourced Maker Faire. AT&T calls the showcase, “The Art of the Possible”, stressing the experimental nature of this stuff.

While I’m not actually a geek, there were some cool things there. And notice the iPhone usage in these inventions.

For easy reference, I’ve included some anchor links below:

• iPhone Microprojector
• iPhone as Voice-Powered TV Remote
• Ad Hoc Social Networking
• Internet Protocol TV
• Telehealth Remote Monitoring
• GeoCasting

iPhone Microprojector

This was really cool. It’s a device that lets you broadcast video and images on any surface. You insert your iPhone into the microprojector and point it where you want to display. It uses three-color lasers to display images. With lasers, the image is always in focus, regardless of distance from the display surface.

The inventor stressed the medical uses of it. He showed how a brain scan would look. Doctors can view results on-the-fly, on any surface. This gives them the ability to react much more quickly to medical conditions.

But another guy watching this and I both had the same thought: this would be great for business. Sales presentations held on your iPhone. It also seems like something that work at trade shows.

And how about watching videos through your iPhone? Not on the small iPhone screen, but broadcast on a nearby wall or a screen in the back of a car seat? That would be pretty slick.

iPhone as Voice-Powered TV Remote

For the ultimate in minimizing the steps needed to find a show: the voice-powered TV remote. Here’s how I saw it work:

• Say something like “basketball this evening”
• System searches a show schedule for “basketball” instances
• It’s intelligent enough to understand “evening” as a set of defined hours
• Serves up a list of programs that match the voice-entered search
• Pick the one you want, watch or record it

To use this, you need an Internet Protocol (IP) TV. For a demo, see MG Siegler’s YouTube video, taken as part of his TechCrunch coverage:

Ad Hoc Social Networking

Under the research initiative, “Just in Time Mobile Services”, is this wild concept.You ask total strangers to provide you with information about some location in which you’re interested. Here’s a process flow:

Say there’s some place you want to go to, but it can be hit-or-miss there. Maybe too crowded, not enough people, delay in some event, etc. You reach out this Ad Hoc Social Network. The Network system finds people who are in that location. They agree to answer a question. You check out the ratings for those people, select the one with a sufficient rating. You then ask them about the location. After they give you an answer, you determine whether the answer was good, and rate them.

All of this done anonymously.

Key here are the ratings. Your rely on those with better online reputations. As for incentives to participate, maybe there’s some lessons in foursquare (points, badges, mayors).

Internet Protocol TV

AT&T offers a digital TV content  delivery service called U-verse. It uses Internet Protocol to deliver signals, and competes with Comcast and other cable providers, as well as satellite TV providers. There are some cool experiments developed for U-verse, including a few they aren’t ready to make public.

Here are some of the cool things they’ve done in the Lab for IPTV:

Use iPhone pictures to find programs: The monthly U-verse guide provides information on upcoming programs, including photos from those programs. Use the iPhone to snap a picture of a program. Send it to the application in the  IPTV. The TV matches the picture from the iPhone to a program, and shows a list of upcoming episodes. Record the ones you want.

Twitter: Add a scrolling ticker to the bottom of your screen. You when this would be good? When BIG stories break that capture the nation’s attention. They invariably have # hashtags. Have a running ticker of hashtags across the bottom of your screen while watching live coverage from a new station.

Throw media objects from phone to TV: Say you have a video on your iPhone 3GS. With this app, you simply “throw” it to the IPTV. The video will be loaded to the TV, and begins to play. If you had an IP stereo, this would work for music.

FamilyMap: Want to know where your kids are? This app tracks the signals for your family’s phones, and plots their locations on a map. A FamilyMap. I’m going to remember this for my kids in about a decade.

Telehealth Remote Monitoring

At the World Innovation Forum, futurist Paul Saffo said that sensors are the BIG next technology wave. The telehealth remote monitoring project shows one way this will be true.

At the Technology Showcase, one Labs researcher showed off a sensor that tracks the foot signature of people (“smart slippers”). With four sensors in a slipper, it tracks the unique foot signature of an individual. The sensors will measure the footstrike, and provide data that can identify if something is off. If something is off, family and care providers can be alerted.

AT&T has a vision to develop sensors that can track a number of health related conditions. I took a picture of a poster that gives a high level view of their direction. Notice the age demographic of the couple under “You” to the left of the picture:

This is an area of growth, not just for AT&T, but for the technology industry overall. The New York Times just ran a story about this topic, Watch the Walk and Prevent a Fall. The article noted:

Researchers are beginning to apply the digital tools of low-cost wireless sensors in carpets, clothing and rooms to monitor an older person’s walking and activity. The continuous measurement and greater precision afforded by simple computing devices, researchers say, promise to deliver new insights on risk factors and tailored prevention measures.

If The Graduate were remade today, the man at the graduation party would whisper “sensors” in Dustin Hoffman’s ear.

GeoCasting

Finally, I took in the GeoCast demo. What is GeoCasting? It allows you to communicate between mobile handsets without the need for a cell or data network.

Sort of like an updated version of walkie talkies.

This is essentially a very localized peer-to-peer way of communicating. It relies on sensing nearby phones. The use case demo I saw related to public safety. Imagine there is a disturbance of some type on a college campus. School authorities would have access to a broadcast application, which would localize instructions to students on the campus. If you were inside a building where the disturbance was occurring, you’d get one set of instructions, perhaps telling you the safe way out. If you were on a different part of campus, away from the problem, you’d get instrucitons to stay in your room and lock it down.

GeoCasting is an innovative way to localize information out to mobile handset holders. One could see interesting commercial applications for this, such as retailers sending messages to consumers nearby.

Good stuff coming from the AT&T Labs guys. Look forward to some of this becoming commercial. I may seriously have to get U-verse TV when it becomes available in my neighborhood.

Microsoft ha deciso di entrare nel mercato tv, e lo farà con l’Xbox 360, la sua console di videoludica di punta che sempre più aspira ad essere il mediacenter del focolaio. L’azienda di Redmont  questa estate ha stipulato un  accordo commerciale con Sky per trasmettere i programmi della tv satellitare attraverso lo Sky Player.  Da fine ottobre il nuovo servizio tv è disponibile in Inghilterra, ma a breve sarà introdotto nei mercati irlandese e italiano. La programmazione comprende film on-demand e Sky Sports, che si sommano ai servizi di comunicazione on-line di Xbox Live. Per ora è esclusa l’alta definizione per consentire alle trasmissioni uno streaming fluido e efficiente, offerto a scelta in tre formati di compressione.

Gli utenti della Xbox avranno accesso ai canali Sky grazie a una connessione ADSL minima di un Mb/s e potranno acquistare i format in pay-per-view. L’offerta appena uscita in Inghiterra comprende 24 canali e un catalogo di film on-demand. Il servizio tv è gratuito per gli abbonati Sky. La finestra televisiva sulla Xbox punta a interagire con gli strumenti e le applicazioni del web 2.0: chat, ambienti virtuali con avatar, Facebook e Twitter saranno le prime opzioni crossmediali che stimoleranno la comunicazione sociale unita all’intrattenimento ludico e televisivo.

Tenendo conto dei limiti della banda larga italiana, Sky su Xbox potrebbe essere una valida alternativa, forse un pò costosa, per l’accesso ai contenuti della tv e alla multimedialità e interattività della rete. Nel Regno Unito la Playstation 3 della Sony e la Wii della Nintendo già offrono contenuti televisivi on-demand grazie all’accordo con la BBC e il suo iPlayer. In Italia Xbox e Sky non hanno un concorrente, forse solo Mediaset Premium Web Tv il prossimo 2010 si confronterà con il suo set-top-box nel nascente mercato italiano dell’IPTv e del video on-demand.