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  • Soccer fans enjoy ITV's first HD programming as Euro 2008 matches broadcast on Freesat


    The UK’s ITV network has launched its HD service on Freesat by broadcasting the opening games from Euro 2008.
    Freesat is a subscription-free, digital satellite TV service from ITV and the BBC.
    Viewers can see all the games the BBC has rights to in high definition on Virgin Media and Sky, but ITV announced that its debut HD programmes would be matches on the opening few days of the football tournament.
    The first HD offering from ITV was the Portugal v Turkey match on Saturday.
    Following this, ITV’s games through to the 13th of June will also be available in high definition, by pressing the red button on ITV1 when viewing on Freesat.
    Although Euro 2008 will occupy the channel for the next few weeks, Simon Fell, Controller Emerging Technologies, ITV Consumer, said there would also be HD coverage of England football internationals, the Champions League football and selected dramas.
    Speaking at Understanding and Solutions’ Driving Digital Content event, Mr Fell said the red button strategy was made necessary by the structure of the ITV Network. “We’re a regional business funded by advertising and that’s the model we have to keep to,” he said.
    Once an HD broadcast has completed, viewers will be returned to their local ITV region.

  • Consumer group claims Sony PS3 uses five times more energy than a fridge

    An Australian consumer body has called for small consumer electronics devices to carry energy-usage labels following a survey into power consumption.
    Tests carried out by Sydney-based CHOICE showed that a PlayStation3 left on but not in use would cost Aus$250 annually in electricity – over five times more than a medium-sized fridge.
    The survey found the usage cost for the Xbox 360 was not much lower.
    In Australia, white goods must carry the energy-efficiency star labels by law, but while the Federal Government has recently discussed introducing such a scheme for computers and monitors, currently there is no such requirement.
    Christopher Zinn, CHOICE’s media spokesman, said consumers were unaware of consumption rates for some smaller electronic devices.
    He said mandatory energy-usage labels should be introduced for computer products sold in Australia.
    “While we hope no one actually leaves their games console on for a whole year 24/7, the figures are indicative of just how much electricity these small devices can chew their way through,” he said.

  • Japan's HD offerings boosted by launch of new VOD service

    The growing market for high definition television in Japan has received a further boost with the start of a VOD service by the country’s largest retail chain, Tsutaya.
    Users will be able to download titles from home using the acTVila portal that is popular on Japanese plasma and LCD HDTVs.
    They will have 48 hours to watch the films or TV shows as many times as they want.
    The new service from Tsutaya, which counts 27.2 million members at its 1,330 branches across Japan, is the latest sign of the growing popularity of HDTV in the country.
    The retailer plans to make deals with four Hollywood studios – Paramount, Warner Brothers, Walt Disney and NBC Universal – to expand its available online library to 2,000 titles by the end of the year.
    It added that high-speed fiber-optic connections are required for use of the service – which are currently available in about a quarter of Japan’s 48 million homes.
    The service launched with downloads of the first season of hit US series “Heroes”, “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives”.
    Each full length movie will cost 735 yen (about $7 USD) with other prices still to be announced
    Tsutaya hopes that the new service will pull in more customers with higher disposable incomes in the 40-50 age range.
    AcTVila was developed by Japan’s major television makers – Sharp, Sony, Matsushita, Toshiba and Hitachi – and is compatible with several dozen models of plasma or liquid crystal display sets.

  • Intelsat announces appointment of acting Chief Financial Officer

    Intelsat, Ltd., the world’s leading provider of fixed satellite services, has appointed its Chief Executive Officer, David McGlade, as acting Chief Financial Officer.
    The announcment follows the resignation of Jeffrey Freimark from the position of CFO, a move that was effective from June 5. He is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
    Mr McGlade will also continue to serve as CEO while an external search for a permanent CFO is carried out.
    In a statement, Mr McGlade said: “Jeff’s oversight of the PanAmSat acquisition financing and his involvement in the integration process, together with his focus on assuring our compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, were important factors in our corporate success over the past few years.
    “We thank him for his contributions to Intelsat, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. Our business is performing well.
    “Last month, Intelsat reported a strong quarter with record revenues and successfully launched the Galaxy 18 satellite.
    “We remain focused on executing our proven business plan.”

  • Leading HDTV manufacturers take legal action against Vizio over patents


    Mitsubishi, Samsung, Sony, and Philips have filed a patent suit against low-cost HDTV maker Vizio claiming the company is violating 15 patents key to supporting MPEG-2 video in its products.
    The legal action is seeking an order to prevent Vizio from using the patents, as well as financial compensation.
    According to the complaint – other parties to which also include Columbia University of New York, Victor Co. of Japan, and Thompson – the individual companies have pursued Vizio about licensing the patents, but the company has refused to deal with them.
    It is claimed that Vizio has also declined to discuss the matter with the MPEG Licensing Authority trade group.
    In response to the suit, which was filed in federal court in Manhattan on June 2, Vizio said it doesn’t need licenses for the MPEG-2 patents.
    It claims its suppliers have licensed the patents and those licenses extend to Vizio’s products.
    The company said it will fight the suit and expects its partners will support and cooperate in the defence.
    Earlier this year, the MPEG LA trade group filed suit against Target over its Tru-tech brand of televisions (PDF) on similar patent infringement claims.
    Vizio has made a name for itself in the US by selling comparatively low-cost high-definition televisions through mass retailers like Wal-mart, Costco, and Circuit City, often substantially undercutting prices for similarly-featured models from competitors. During the first quarter of 2008, Vizio was ranked as the number three seller of LCD televisions by DisplaySearch and iSuppli.

  • Chinese firm launches USB dongle for live HDTV


    European viewers can now watch live high-definition television programming on their mobile devices using a USB TV dongle developed by the Chinese company Aigo.
    The dongle, first released for the Chinese market in April, is compatible with European HDTV standards.
    It will enable users to watch live HDTV on their laptops, desktop computers, portable video players and portable navigation (GPS) devices.
    Viewers simply plug the device into their PC or portable video player’s USB port to capture HD programming wirelessly from local TV stations.
    Feng Jun, president and founder of Aigo, said: “People across China, and now also in Europe, will have access to live HDTV on their laptops and portable video players.”
    The new product costs approximately USD 100 and requires no subscription fee.
    Legend Silicon was involved in the design of the dongle receiver.
    The company, in conjunction with Intel, has been working with laptop computer manufacturers and USB dongle receiver manufacturers to build an ecosystem that promotes HDTV on laptops.
    A key element of this has been the Intel Centrino platform, whch has advantages in supporting mobile HDTV on laptops.
    The platform allows speedy decoding and smooth displaying of HDTV and is capable of running multiple tasks while displaying a TGV program.
    The Centrino platform’s low power consumption technology makes the laptop thinner, lighter and offers a longer battery life, as well as improved mobile reception.
    In addition, advanced wireless technology offers a smooth upstream channel, allowing audiences to interact with programs that they are watching.
    Major laptop manufacturers have shown their willingness to collaborate with Legend Silicon and Intel to promote this new usage model.
    Lenovo, HP, ASUS, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, among other major brands, all agree that the advanced Intel Centrino platform, integrated with the HDTV DTTB USB dongle, will expand the multimedia and entertainment functionality of laptops.
    The HDTV viewing feature is expected to be a stimulus for laptop sales.
    Aigo, a brand of Beijing Huaqi Information Digital Technology Co. Ltd, is headquartered in Beijing’s Zhong Guan Cun – a technology hub known as the “Silicon Valley of China”.
    Founded in 1993, the company has established itself as China’s strongest consumer electronics brand through aggressive R&D investment, coupled with strong marketing and branding.
    It is the first Chinese partner of the F1 McLaren Mercedes team (Hamilton, Alonso),
    Huaqi sales revenue has increased 60 per cent annually for the last decade. Its products are exported to North America, South America, Europe, SE Asia and various other regions.

  • Launch of Sony PS3 TV show may be pre-cursor to further HD programming


    Sony is to launch an original High-Definition TV show on gaming for the Play Station 3 video console.
    Called Qore, the monthly programme will offer news on the latest PS3 games, game reviews and interviews with game developers. The first episode will be available on June 5.
    The show, which can be purchased at the online Play Station store for $2.99 each or annually for $24.99, is being seen as a signal that Sony is preparing to compete with Microsoft’s XBox 360 programming service.
    In addition to games, XBox 360 offers TV shows and movie downloads over the Internet, something Play Station 3 hasn’t done until now.
    However, Sony has hinted that it might begin offering both SD and HD downloads sometime this year.
    Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing for Play Station Network, said: “Original content, community-related services and innovative products are a major focus for the Play Station Network this year and we are pleased to introduce Qore exclusively for our customers.
    “Qore is the first step in providing original content dedicated to the Play Station community and evolving the network into a place where our customers can gather, share and discover new forms of entertainment.”

  • Starz Entertainment becomes latest cable network to adopt MPEG-4


    The move towards the new compression standard continues as Starz Entertainment invests in a four-channel, HD MPEG-4/AVC encoding system from cable-equipment manufacturer Motorola.
    The premium programmer has become the latest cable network to adopt MPEG-4 compression to conserve satellite bandwidth as it expands its HD offerings.
    The Motorola system – already being used for Starz’s existing HD channels Starz E, Starz Kids and Family HD, Starz Edge HD and Starz Comedy HD – compresses, encrypts, modulates and receives HD signals within a single integrated transmission system.
    The new transmission system also includes DVB-S2 satellite modulation gear, which can increase a satellite transponder’s output by up to 50 per cent.
    Starz said upcoming HD channel Encore HD will also be launched using MPEG-4.
    Ray Milius, senior vice president of programming operations and information technology for Starz, said a key selling point for the Motorola MPEG-4 system was its development of an integrated receiver/decoder for affiliates, the DSR-6050.
    This is able to receive the MPEG-4 signals and then transcode them to MPEG-2 compression for delivery to existing digital cable set-top boxes.
    The importance of such backward-compatible receivers was mentioned by HBO when it selected Motorola last year for its conversion to MPEG-4 delivery for all of its networks.
    “Motorola’s highly efficient MPEG-4 encoding system allows us to seamlessly migrate from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 with the video quality that we require while conserving satellite bandwidth to deliver diverse additional HD content for our customers,” said Milius.
    He said MPEG-4 was “all about how much can we squeeze out of the satellite”, a necessity as the network was running out of capacity on its [VOD] pitching distribution.
    HBO was the first programmer to announce plans to adopt MPEG-4 for most of its planned HD feeds.
    By the end of June, the programmer will offer all 26 channels in MPEG-4, although it will retain the primary HBO and Cinemax feeds in MPEG-2.

  • Blu-ray awareness and potential rising in the US but barriers remain


    High cost and a belief that standard-definition DVD is “good enough” are the main barriers to US consumers purchasing Blu-ray players.
    These are the conclusions of a study by the NPD Group, which found that manufacturers still face challenges despite rising awareness of Blu-ray.
    The market research company found that 45 per cent of HDTV owners in the US now claim to be familiar with Blu-ray Disc (BD), up from 35 percent in June 2007.
    And, while only 6 per cent of all consumers surveyed said they plan to purchase a BD device in the next six months, NPD found purchase intent to be higher among the growing population of HDTV owners, boding well for the future of the format.
    The report reveals that 9 per cent of HDTV owners plan to buy a BD-capable player in the next six months.
    Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD, said: “With HDTVs now in approximately 40 million US households, that percentage translates to a pool of almost 4 million potential BD player buyers.”
    While manufacturers still face the challenge of convincing some consumers to ditch standard-definition DVD players and content, those who do appear pleased with the move.
    Consumers who purchased a BD set-top player cited “leading-edge technology” and a “superior viewing experience” as primary reasons for making the purchase.
    And they indicated a clear preference for BD content. In fact current BD set-top player owners expect that 80 per cent of their upcoming purchases will be in BD rather than standard DVD.
    By comparison, 43 per cent of PS3 owners use the BD capability in their consoles at least once a month; however, they do not view BD movies as often as set-top device owners do.
    “The door is open for studios to feed the consumer’s appetite for Blu-ray content, and we expect sales to increase, as prices for hardware and software moderate in the coming months,” said Crupnick.
    “Even so it will take a concerted effort by manufacturers and retailers to ratchet awareness even further and convince all of those potential buyers of the superiority of Blu-ray Disc versus standard DVD.”

  • Australian market first to get recordable Blu-ray player outside of Japan


    Panasonic is to roll-out sales of a range of Blu-ray recorders in Australia, making it only the second country after Japan to receive the devices.
    A 500GB Twin High Definition Tuner and VIERA Link model is to go on sale this month as well as various lower-spec recorders, the first 46” plasma TV and new 37” Full HD LCD TV models.
    Paul Reid, Panasonic Australia’s Director for Consumer Electronics Group, described the move as a “significant breakthrough” for Blu-ray.
    “Panasonic has led the way in home entertainment products and continues to bring innovation to the market with Australia’s first Blu-ray recorder for the living room,” he said.
    Other overseas markets, including Europe and the US, are to receive the new model shortly.