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  • ADVERTORIAL: IPTV World Forum North America – The Key Event For The IPTV Industry


    Both AT&T – now with over a million subscribers – and Verizon have made huge in-roads into the market with their IP based services.

    Largely as a result of these two companies’ successes, North America is expected to account for a large proportion of the world’s new IPTV subscriptions during the next few years.

    They join the significant number of regional and local telecoms operators in North America who pioneered this new digital TV platform – but the big question is whether any company bringing Pay TV to market this late – even those with the resources of AT&T – can gain significant market share on a national basis?

    The question also remains how regional telcos can build a compelling TV offering at a realistic level of investment.

    These are two of the many themes that will be addressed at the IPTV World Forum North America conference and exhibition being held 21-22 July 2009 at the Millennium Broadway Hotel, New York.

    The two-day event will draw together leading IPTV service providers, content providers, analysts and key technology vendors for what is expected to become one of the key events in the North American IPTV calendar.

    The programme will focus on all the key topical issues on IP&TV in North America, including:

    • monetising OTT in the TV experience
    • how to roll out whole home DVR
    • assessing the impact of the Broadband stimulus package on the US video market
    • hybrid solutions for the delivery of TV and IP and EPG2.0
    • content discovery and search

    A highly interactive, intensive, high level networking conference, it features quality case-study led presentations from carriers, service providers & content owners, interactive full value chain panel discussion and analyst roundtable briefings.

    A key feature will be the opportunities for delegates and all participants to discuss presentations and pose questions to the speakers after the sessions.

    Among the industry leaders participating are:

    • Terry Denson, VP of content Strategy and Acquisition, Verizon
    • Jeff Weber, Vice President of Video Product and Strategy, AT&T
    • Daniel O’Callaghan, Chairman IPTV Interoperability Forum (ATIS) and Principal Member of Technical Staff, Verizon
    • Franz Kurath, Executive Director, Broadband Content, AT&T Operations Inc.

    There will also be leading representatives from Surewest Communications, Cox Communications, Qwest Communications, OPATSCO and many more.

    The event also features an exhibition, where vendors, manufacturers and service providers can showcase their latest products and do business with a pre-qualified audience.

    During the conference sessions, a wide range of themes will be covered, such as considering how the influence of IP is being felt most keenly outside the managed telco services space.

    In particular, the rise of Over the Top TV services, delivered over the open internet, provides a potentially massive disruption to the traditional TV service model.

    Whilst these services clearly popular with the public, the search for successful business models – which enhance rather than undermine existing offers – remains a challenge that the industry must embrace.

    Then there’s the comparision between markets on either side of the Atlantic, with North American IPTV service providers facing a tougher test than their European counterparts.

    The latter have benefited from a natural watershed in the Pay TV marketplace thanks to the introduction of DVR (Digital Video Recorder), true VOD and Replay TV, and HDTV.

    In the US, VOD is an established cable offering and HDTV is available widely on cable and satellite.

    Cable operators have also pursued an increasingly aggressive triple-play strategy (they now have 24 million broadband Internet customers and 5 million telephone customers) and this makes it even harder to tempt customers from their legacy suppliers.

    Yet cable operators can also reap huge benefits from the implementation of IP, and potentially can enhance their services to combine IP efficiency & interactivity with existing bandwidth to deliver a highly compelling consumer solution.

    Also being covered is the new boom area in the global IPTV market, hybrid IPTV solutions – which combine managed IPTV with other delivery mechanisms such as DTH or Satellite.

    Already there have been landmark deployments from early IPTV adopters such as Orange/France Telecom, Portugal Telecom & BT Vision.

    Whilst SES Americom’s strategic withdrawal has marked an early failure in the US market, partnership models will increasingly be a feature of new TV service in North America, particularly in more circumspect times.

    This conference will provide participants with the opportunity to hear, learn from, and network with the leaders in the IP&TV American industry.

    IP&TV Forum North America is the second annual event and part of the IPTV World Series of events organised by Informa Telecoms & Media globally.
    For more information, please click HERE.

  • XStreamHD Strengthens Pre-Launch Executive Team


    XStreamHD has boosted its executive team ahead of a national launch with the appointment of Jude Panetta as vice president of operations and Jack Wrigley as vice president of business development.

    The direct-to-home Full HD transport network company is to launch later this year, offering 1080p images and 7.1 surround sound through a USD $400 box.

    George Gonzalez, XStreamHD founder and CEO, said the new appointments will play important roles in its launch.

    He said their past experiences in the satellite communications and the HD music industries would be invaluable.

    "Jude will lead our efforts to commercialize products that consistently exceed customer expectation," he said. "Jack will be instrumental in building strategic business alliances for XStreamHD."

    George Gonzalez, XStreamHD founder and CEO

    Prior to joining XStreamHD, Panetta held senior executive roles at business units with communications systems manufacturer Andrew Corporation.

    Before joining XStreamHD, Wrigley served as VP of sales at HDGiants.

    MusicGiants, a unit of HDGiants, was the first digital download service to offer high definition music direct-to-consumers from all of the major music labels including Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, EMI, Concord Music Group and Naxos.

    Wrigley drove substantial sales volume increases, while successfully introducing new product offerings.

  • Palm Entrusts Pre Success to New CEO Rubinstein


    Palm has appointed Jon Rubinstein, the man credited with delivering Apple’s iPod and iMac. as its new CEO amd chairman.

    He replaces Ed Colligan, who is stepping down after sixteen years leading the company.

    The executive changes come just a few days after Palm launched its Pre smartphone.

    Rubinstein, who joined Palm as Executive Chairman in October 2007 to help bring innovation back to the company, assumes his role as CEO on June 12.

    In his time with Palm he has been instrumental in the development and launch of the Pre and webOS.

    Palm said Colligan plans to take some time off, then join Elevation Partners, a major financial backer of Palm.

    Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is claiming that Verizon will end Sprint’s exclusive deal with the Palm Pre in January 2010.

  • Smartphone Ownership Now "Mandatory", Not Techie Toy


    Not owning a smartphone today is the social equivalent to not having email a few years ago – at least in the US.

    That’s the conclusion of a report in the New York Times, which says that having an iPhone, Pre or BlackBerry is pretty much mandatory these days unless you want to ostracise yourself from "society".

    It says the devices are no longer a status symbol or techie toy but have become mandatory equipment for belonging to society.

    David E. Meyer, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, told the paper: "The social norm is that you should respond (to an email) within a couple of hours, if not immediately.

    "If you don’t, it is assumed you are out to lunch mentally, out of it socially, or don’t like the person who sent the e-mail."

    The report comes, conveniently, as research shows that 41 per cent of consumers will make a smartphones their next mobile device.

    As a result, smartphone volumes will grow to 38 per cent of all handsets by 2013, representing the largest growth opportunity within mobile devices.

    This makes the smartphone category the most important competitive battleground in wireless today, according to the Yankee Group study.

    It also shows that trends within the smartphone ecosystem are profoundly impacting the power dynamics between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and operators.

    Traditionally, operators have had the upper hand when working with device manufacturers to bring a new device to market, but the power dynamics are shifting.

    With more competitive entrants, tighter budgets and increased consumer expectations, OEMs and operators need to work together, on equal ground, to thrive.

    Chris Collins, Yankee Group senior analyst, said the release of the Palm Pre spotlights the changes in the OEM-operator dynamic.

    "Sprint and Palm are two companies desperate for a blockbuster hit," he said. "And as such, they are either the perfect – or worst possible – partners for one another.

    "The fate of both companies relies on the success of their alliance around the Pre."

  • HiT Barcelona: Can Mobile Operators' New Openness Change Lose-Lose to Win-Win?

    Mobile operators are finally ditching proprietary operator APIs – so-called "Walled Gardens" – and moving towards exposing network intelligence to third parties.

    Next week’s HiT Barcelona: World Innovation Summit in Barcelona will be discussing the need for open networks in order to engage with the growing community of application developers.

    Representatives from the developer, operator and Internet communities are taking part in a panel discussion to develop the most effective approach for the GSMA’s One API initiative.

    Among them is Michael Crossey, chief marketing officer at Aepona, who spoke to smartphone.biz-news about some of the issues that will be coming under the spotlight.

    Mobile network operators seem to have done their utmost to prevent developers from innovating on the mobile Web.

    They have created barriers by using proprietary APIs – and contractual differences have limited the creation of cross-operator web applications.

    Equally, developers have been barred from accessing rich network capabilities such as authentication, seamless charging, location assistance, push messaging and connection awareness.

    This has undoubtedly been a lose-lose situation for both operators and developers.

    That is changing and according to Michael Crossey, chief marketing officer at Aepona, the whole mobile industry theme has moved towards one of openness in the past year.

    He told smartphone.biz-news that the main catalyst for this has been Apple’s desire to make it easy for developers to create applications for the iPhone by providing them with tools and a route to market for their apps.

    Michael Crossey, CMO at Aepona

    "This has sparked off a flurry of activity in the industry, with a lot of operators and other handset manufacturers announcing open strategies to help them tap into the activity of the developer community worldwide," he said.

    This is a marked change in tactic for carriers, whose expressions of interest in working with developers in the past have been superficial at best.

    "The reality has been that, while they welcomed creative thinking, they wanted to cherry-pick the best apps for themselves and bring them into their own networks to sell," said Crossey.

    This, obviously, hasn’t been in the best interests of developers and everyone from Google to the "two men in a garage" set-ups have found ways of getting around the networks.

    That realisation has finally hit operators, forcing them to "evolve their thinking", according to Crossey.

    Last Bastion Crumbling

    He said this has meant that the mobile operators "last bastion" – opening core network capabilities to developers – is crumbling.

    "Historically there has been a lot of resistance to that," he said. "But they are realising that unless they collaborate, they will get by-passed.

    "They look at the fixed-line world, where operators have lost the battle against over the top providers, and they are determined not to let that happen to them.

    "They realise that if they collaborate rather than close the networks, they can contribute to the process."

    It is widely accepted that one way to do this is to standardise API’s and interfaces within and across operator networks.

    The GSMA is leading the charge to adopt this approach – principally through its One API initiative, phase 2 of which has just been launched.

    Crossey said this strategy is seen as necessary because even if every operator opens its network, developers will still have problems because of the different approaches each carrier adopts.

    This would be both on the technical side and on the commercial one, because every operator’s interface is different – be that with regard to terms and conditions, payment methods, business models etc.

    Huge Breakthrough

    By creating a cross-operator API, Crossey said it is hoped the fragmentation that would otherwise exist between operators will be reduced.

    The GSMA is also proposing a common commercial framework to give developers a market for their apps.

    "The operator can be assured that if it complies with One API, this will be portable between operators – this is a huge breakthrough for operators and developers," he said.

    "If there is fragmentation, the whole ecosystem does not reach critical mass and the addressable market is not big enough.

    "If there is a single set of APIs, the internet model has shown that the developer community is huge."

    Operators may, understandably, be reluctant to embrace One API because of concerns that it would restrict them from differentiating their services from a competitor’s.

    However, Crossey said the technology means that it is possible to do both – have an API model for "commonplace" services such as messaging while still being able to differentiate on, say, video and multi-media capabilities because a particular operator has invested heavily in IMS technology.

    Crossey said that Aepona, as a specialist SDP (service delivery platform) provider, enables the operators make their network capabilities – communications, information and intelligence – available to developers.

    The Web Services-based APIs can then be used to telecom-enable both enterprise business processes and web-based consumer services.

    "We provide a technical platform that allows these capabilities to be exposed to developers in a way that they are familiar with on the internet," he said.

    On the web, developers use APIs to create apps that, for example, use Google maps and mash-up with PayPal or Amazon storage services.

    Crossey said that after preaching the message of openness to operators for a number of years, there has undoubtedly been a definite shift in operators’ willingness to embrace the concept.

    The Belfast, Northern Ireland headquatered company’s products have already been deployed by Tier 1 operators such as France Telecom/Orange, Sprint, Vimpelcom, Bharti Airtel, TELUS, TDC, BT and KPN.

    "We are having many other conversations now about operators using our technology," he said.

    Opening Up Potential

    Aepona is also working with developers to help them bring apps they have created to its operator clients.

    This involves showing developers how they can use network capabilities to greatly enhance their apps for use on the platforms Aepona has installed with operators.

    Crossey said a simple example is explaining that, rather than just relying on GPS data from high-end handsets for an app, developers can be shown that operator networks can provide location data for every handset.

    "So we can increase the addressable market to a huge degree," he said. "But very often the developer is not aware of what can be done."

    A shift towards openness has also to include ensuring developers feel they are sufficiently rewarded for their applications.

    If revenue-share models fail to do this developers will keep finding workarounds and alternatives to leveraging network capabilities.

    For more information on the HiT Barcelona: World Innovation Summit: June 17-19 FIRA Barcelona, click HERE

  • Vizio Launches New HDTV Lineup, Starts With $250 Model


    Value HDTV brand Vizio has introduced 31 new models, including its first HDTV with 240-Hz technology and an LED backlight.

    The company also announced that it has filed a patent-infringement suit against LG Electronics, and that a similar case against Funai is continuing.

    Often bracketed as a second-tier brand compared to rivals such as Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba, Vizio has gained a reputation for its good-value sets, which often contain features on a par with more expensive models.

    The company continues in this vein with its new HDTV lineup, which splits into three lines – the XVT, M and E series – with prices beginning at USD $250 and climbing to USD $2,200.

    All the new models boast Energy Star 3.0 certification.

    The new range’s value line – the "E" series – offers TruSurround and some models come with EcoHD technology for reducing power levels below Energy Star 3.0 requirements.

    The "M" series – with the VL and the VT sub-categories – has a USB multimedia feature that can play back content stored on a thumb drive or USB drive.

    HDTVs also have a Pause Live TV feature, for caching segments of live TV broadcast. Each model has multiple HDMI inputs and some include a side HDMI port as well. The contrast ratio is 50,000:1.

    At the high end of the line are Vizio’s premier XVT sets. The flagship VF551XVT is the only one of Vizio’s HDTVs to include both an LED backlight as well as 240-Hz technology.

    All the XVT models include dedicated USB inputs, a 2,0000:1 contrast ratio, SRS TruSurround audio and TruVolume.

  • Panasonic Introduces HD Camcorders Weighing 0.5lbs, World's Lightest


    Panasonic has announced the release of two of what it describes as the lightest HD camcorders ever made.

    Each model weighs just 0.5lbs (0.2KG) but boasts high-powered 16x optical zoom capabilities and can shoot 1920 x 1080 Full-HD videos.

    The HDC-SD10 uses an SDHC/SD Memory Card as recording media while the Twin Memory Type HDC-TM10 records onto both an 8 GB Built-in Memory and an SDHC/SD Memory Card.

    The 16x optical zoom of the HDC-SD10 and HDC-TM10 is supported by the Advanced O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) function for clear zooming – it minimizes the hand-shake that often impairs video quality.

    Panasonic says its Advanced O.I.S. detects and corrects for hand-shake around 4,000 times per second and works with the optical zoom to produce clear, stable zoom shots.

    The new Active mode also extends the hand-shake correction range to allow the shooting of images while walking or moving.

    Chuck Kirkman, senior product manager, Imaging, Panasonic, said: "We recognize that users are looking for camcorders that capture high-quality, High Definition video, but they also want something lightweight that has advanced, yet easy-to-use functions."

    The suggested retail prices of the HDC-SD10 and HDC-TM10 are USD $549.95 and $599.95 respectively.Both will be available in September 2009.

  • US Transition to Digital TV Alters Viewing Behavior


    This Friday sees US television going 100 per cent digital, a move that has impacted on over a quarter of households which have had to invest in new TV sets and/or services to prepare for the June 12th changeover.

    However, researchers say that the switch to digital has changed traditional viewing habits.

    David Tice, vice president of Knowledge Networks, said its report, How People Use HDTV 2009, will show that one-third of those with high-definition TV reception always check their HD channels first when channel surfing or checking for a program.

    He said the digital transition is bringing more channels – sometimes dozens more – into nearly one-quarter of US TV households.

    This is vastly expanding the numbers of programs and advertisements they can be exposed to.

    "And our research has shown that having high-definition TV (HDTV) reception changes viewing behavior, prompting many people to check HD channels first when they sit down to watch TV," he said.

    "The result is that the digital transition as a whole seems destined to alter long-standing TV behaviors in many US homes."

    The report will also indicate that those with HDTV reception are more selective about what they watch and more likely to plan viewing in advance. KN will be releasing the new HDTV report in July.

    A separate report from Knowledge Networks has found that 26 per cent of US homes invested in new TV sets and/or services in the past year to prepare for the June 12th changeover.

    The data, collected from February to April this year, shows that among TV households:

    • 18 per cent said they had bought a digital converter to adapt a standard definition set to receive digital signals
    • 8 per cent bought a digital or HDTV set specifically in preparation for the transition
    • 5 per cent started a new subscription to a pay television service such as cable or satellite TV, also specifically in anticipation of the switch to digital

    (There is some overlap among the above groups; the net value is 26 per cent)

    Awareness of the transition has increased to 91 per cent of all TV homes, up from 85 per cent in 2008 and 45 per cent in 2007. All subgroups – whether by householder age, race, ethnicity, or reception type – report awareness over 90 per cent.

    Among the 18 per cent of TV homes that bought a digital converter, most (80 per cent) utilized the government coupon program. In homes that still have only broadcast reception, three times as many (53 per cent) report they bought a digital converter in the past year, and 93 per cent of those used the coupon program.

    The number of sets per home relying on regular broadcast reception averaged 0.48 in the new survey; this is almost two-thirds less compared with KN’s spring 2006 survey, when the average was 1.32.

    The report said that between their awareness of the transition and evidence of adaptation to this new broadcast standard, it is clear Americans have received the message about the transition loud and clear.

  • Microsoft Unveils Motion Control Technology – Project Natal


    Microsoft has just unveiled what it describes as a revolutionary new way to play Xbox 360 video games on HDTVs without the need for a controller.

    Called Project Natal, the sensor, which combines an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor in one device, could have uses far beyond just gaming.

    One analyst, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan, said he thought Project Natal is intended less as a game control scheme than it is as an easy-to-use dashboard control scheme.

    He also sees it as a means for Microsoft to dampen the launch of an expected high definition upgrade to Nintendo’s Wii console.

    Unlike 2-D cameras and controllers, Project Natal tracks a user’s full body movement in 3-D, while responding to commands, directions and even a shift of emotion in the voice.

    The idea that the device could have an impact far beyond gaming was echoed by filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

    Introducing the device at the recent the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), he said it was a "pivotal moment that will carry with it a wave of change, the ripples of which will reach far beyond video games".

    Microsoft says that what sets the Project Natal sensor apart is the fact it’s not light-dependent. It can recognize users just by looking at their face, and it doesn’t just react to key words but understands what is being said.

    So, for example, if a user calls a play in a football game, players will actually respond.

    Spielberg said the next step in interactive entertainment is to make the controller disappear.

    "With Project Natal, we’ll see games that bring everyone together through technology that actually recognizes us," he said.

    During its briefing, signalled its strategy of turning the Xbox 360 into an internet and media hub for the living room by opening the Xbox Live dashboard up to the internet.

    It announced new Xbox LIVE services, including instant on 1080p HD streaming movies and television to Facebook and Last.fm tailor-made for a user’s TV.

    Starting this fall, a selection of movies and TV shows from Zune video on Xbox 360 will be available to start and stream instantly.

    Microsoft also announced it will more than double the number of markets where Xbox LIVE offers its TV shows and movies, growing from eight to 18, by adding Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

    Xbox LIVE members in these markets will have access to instant on 1080p video.

    New Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace advancements also came for the US,UK and Ireland.

    Microsoft also announced a new lineup of Xbox 360 games, including Forza Motorsport 3, Alan Wake, Halo 3: ODST and The Beatles: Rock Band.

    Below is a promotional video for Project Natal:

  • VoIP Equipment Sales Plummet, IMS Revenues Grow


    VoIP equipment purchases are decreasing at the expense of spending on the deployment of IMS (IP multimedia subsystem) technology, according to Infonetics Research.

    Worldwide sales of IMS equipment, including HSS (home subscriber servers), CSCF servers, and voice application servers, are forecast to jump 74 per cent in 2009 over 2008.

    However, worldwide VoIP revenue in Q1 totaled USD $600.4 million, down 33 per cent from the first quarter of 2008 – the sharpest quarterly decline ever.

    Diane Myers, directing analyst, Service Provider VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research, said no product segment or region was immune to declines in the service provider VoIP equipment market.

    Diane Myers, Infonetics Research

    Most large Tier 1 service providers are coming to the end of major VoIP projects and most ILECs and PTTs have put PSTN migration plans on hold.

    She said the service provider VoIP equipment market had a "rough" first quarter, declining 29 per cent sequentially in worldwide revenue. "The market pause for VoIP equipment is being exacerbated by the global economic downturn as service providers put VoIP equipment purchases on hold," she said.

    "We are beginning to see a noticeable shift in spending from stand-alone VoIP networks to IMS deployments."

    Myers said that while the core IMS equipment segments, CSCF and HSS, are still small compared to the service provider VoIP market, deployments remain strong in EMEA and Asia Pacific.

    Infonetics’ IMS Deployment Tracker shows Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens, and Huawei leading the way with core IMS equipment.

    "The core IMS equipment market had an impressive quarter with $63.7 million in revenue," she added.