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  • Discover the secrets of keeping ahead of HDTV competitors

    ADVERTORIAL

    In today’s HDTV marketplace, being flat and thin is the norm.

    Traditional consumer electronics channels face increasing competition from discounters and non-traditional retailers, while a new generation of users is quickly emerging with requirements that are still unclear.

    Amidst this shifting landscape how can you gain a unique standing and maintain competitive advantage?

    Anyone curious to find the answers to the above would do well to get along to DisplaySearch’s HDTV 2008 Conference Confronting the New Reality (September 15-17).

    Register by August 31 and Pay Only $2195 (Regular Price $2495)

    Held at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Spa in Hollywood, California, the two-day event features industry-leading speakers, exclusive exhibits, world-class analysis and unforgettable keynotes.

    As well as focussing on the challenges faced in the quickly transitioning HDTV industry, there will be sessions covering:

    * How can excitement and margin be realized when HDTVs have progressed from novelty to commodity?
    * How should TV set makers and retailers respond to proliferation of digital video beyond the traditional broadcast model?
    * How can the TV set makers deliver greater value and differentiation beyond the box?
    * In an age of infinite choices, how can TV stakeholders maintain an effective and engaging entertainment experience?
    * What will it take to deliver on the promise of the full HD entertainment experience?


    The event offers an exciting opportunity to explore how you can prosper in the reality of the new HDTV marketplace along with peers, analysts and the biggest names in the industry.

  • Dedicated video processing for HD in new Apple range?

    Apple may be about to upgrade the Mac’s graphic chipset in a move that would enhance its already high status for creating and editing home movies, according to reports.

    Gizmodo is suggesting that Apple’s new range of computers will have a dedicated chip specifically for decoding and encoding video, which should significantly reduce the time it takes to process HD content.

    The site compares the technology to the Quad Core HD Processor, which uses H.264 and MPEG2 encoders alongside the device’s CPU.

    It says mobile phones like the Nokia XpressMusic range also use a dedicated chip for processing audio, therefore increasing the battery life and allowing for far better quality playback.

    If true, the upgraded range could be released as soon as next month.

  • Viewers glued to HD Olympics coverage

    First all high definition Games proving irresistible as viewing figures climb

    NBC Universal is attracting an average of 29.1 million US viewers to its coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games, according to figures just released.

    While viewership was undoubtedly helped by the extravant opening ceremony and early coverage of US swimming star Michael Phelps, the unprecedented high def footage must take some of the credit.

    For the first time by a US broadcaster at a Summer Olympics, NBC is broadcasting the whole Olympic Games entirely in high definition.

    This will stretch to some 3,600 hours of Beijing coverage, the most ambitious single media project in history.

    The viewing results make it the most highly rated broadcast of the Summer Games held outside the United States since 1976.

    A total of 114 million viewers turned on their TVs for at least part of the broadcast in the first two days, about 20 million more than the 2004 games in Athens, NBC said, citing figures from Nielsen Media Research.

    Meanwhile, Fuji Television Network and NTT Corp are using the Games to test out “non-compressed HDTV video transmission using a wireless technology based on the 120GHz milliwave band” in live feeds from Beijing events.

    By utilising the technology, the duo say they have demonstrated “simultaneous, wireless transmission of multiple HDTV video channels without delay”.

    This enables camera-toting employees to capture footage from more places by being able to walk around untethered.

  • Blackberry dominates Apple – for now

    RIM’s Blackberry commands 46 per cent of a US smartphone market that shows strong growth, according to a report by Synergy Research Group.

    The US smartphone market grew 67.3 per cent in the first half of 2008 with RIM’s Blackberry the firm leader with nearly half of all sales.

    However, even with Q2 shipments dropping in anticipation of the new 3G iPhone, Apple retained the second place spot for the first half of the year with Motorola a close third.

    Aaron Vance, senior analyst, Synergy Research Group, said Apple’s performance since entering the smartphone market suggested RIM’s margin of lead may soon be under pressure.

    Apple’s iPhone continues to break records, shipping over a million units in 3 consecutive quarters.

    “Despite the rock star status of the Apple iPhone, the Blackberry dominates the US market with a market share of 46 per cent (for the first half of 2008) versus Apple’s 15 per cent,” he said.

    “But with iPhone’s continued strong success, which only took Apple a year to achieve a number two ranking, it may be sooner than later that Apple is challenging the Blackberry, a notion that would have seemed impossible to many a year or two ago.”

    Q2 2008 US Smartphone Vendor Shipment Growth
    Manufacturer Q-Q Y-Y
    Apple -64.2% 125.6%
    RIM 8.1% 92.1%
    Sony Ericsson 9.4% 32.9%
    Samsung -1.1% 31.3%
    LG 10.5% 29.4%
    Motorola -28.6% -18.2%
    Nokia 43.6% -24.5%

    The Synergy Q2 2008 Mobile Handset Market Share report said the strong first half performance was good news for operators having a greater opportunity to increase revenues per subscriber in a market that is a leader in consumer voice usage.

    Motorola, currently the number one US Mobile Handset vendor with 25 per cent share, is showing signs of difficulty in the fast growing US smartphone business.

    In Q2 2008, Motorola was the only vendor in the Synergy study posting double-digit drops for both sequential and annual growth.

    In the first half of 2008, the US smartphone market represented 12.2 per cent of total mobile handsets shipped.
    This compares to fewer than 10 per cent in the first half of 2007.

  • Broadcast and online TV can co-exist

    Reports suggests that VOD does not detract from broadcast TV

    Video on demand shouldn’t be viewed as a threat to broadcast TV but helps promote it, according to a report.

    Thinkbox, the marketing body for the UK’s commercial broadcasters, says that online VOD services do not detract from linear television viewing.

    It has released figures showing that the popularity of web services such as iPlayer, 4OD and Sky Player appear to be incremental to the broadcast television that people have always watched.

    The report says that both broadcast and online TV platforms are growing simultaneously, which it suggests underlines how the two fulfil different needs for viewers.

    It adds that this underlines “that they can co-exist and indeed promote each other”.

    Online TV services, according to Thinkbox, are primarily used as a means of catching up with the broadcast stream.

    Thinkbox recently announced that it has commissioned further research to examine how and why people use online TV, its relationship to broadcast TV and the advertising opportunities it affords, with preliminary results expected before the end of the year.

  • DisplayPort offers serious challenge to HDMI dominance

    Risk of consumer confusion unlikely to halt advance of DisplayPort


    hdtv.biz-news.com     asked Randy Lawson, senior analyst with iSuppli Corporation, about his new report Hogging the Spotlight: HDMI Growth Continues in Spite of DisplayPort.


    High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) has become the dominant interface technology for connecting HD devices, featuring in more than 70 per cent of digital televisions sold worldwide in 2007.

    It is consolidating its domination of DVD players and digital set-top-boxes and is the interface of choice for Blu-ray players, flat-panel HD televisions, video-game consoles and even PCs.

    Randy Lawson, senior analyst, Digital TV Semiconductor and Display Drivers, at iSuppli, has looked at whether HDMI’s commanding position can be maintained and what, if any, challenges it faces.

    He suggests that the main contender as an alternative technology – DisplayPort – offers a credible challenge to HDMI .
    Yet he concludes that while HDMI will lose some market share to its competitor, particularly in desktop and mobile PC platforms, it will continue to dominate in the near term.

    The iSuppli report suggests that both DisplayPort and HDMI will see healthy unit growth in the PC equipment space as more consumers jump on board the convergence bandwagon at home.

    It forecasts global shipments of DisplayPort-enabled equipment will grow to 263.3 million units by 2012, up from zero in 2007.
    Meanwhile, HDMI-enabled equipment will grow to 772.8 million units in 2012, rising at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 32 per cent from 193 million units in 2007.

    Lawson said there was a very real threat of consumer confusion caused by PC manufacturers choosing to incorporate DisplayPort into their products – and he questioned whether the industry really needed another new interface at this point.

    “However, there are, in my opinion, some strong arguments in favour of DisplayPort gaining share in the PC space over the next few years,” he said.

    HDMI to be overtaken by DisplayPort in the desktop and mobile PC market

    While HDMI has been adopted by desktop and mobile PC platforms and presently surpasses DisplayPort in this market, Lawson expects DisplayPort to take over the lead in this market after 2010, as PC OEMs move away from VGA interfaces and adopt HD solutions.

    Lawson said that the DisplayPort interface standard will be the successor to the VGA interface on PC monitors as well as desktop and notebook PCs.

    “Some interface will need to displace VGA’s dominant role and both Intel and AMD have up to three DisplayPort interfaces integrated into upcoming chipsets that would allow for two external DisplayPort ports and one internal/embedded interface,” he said.

    Lawson said that two of the largest PC OEM’s are fully backing DisplayPort – Dell and HP.
    “So they fully intend to expand DisplayPort’s presence in the space and I expect others will follow in time,” he said.

    “Some technical features of DisplayPort, such as scalability of the interface, embedded clock signal, fewer wires compared to HDMI at high bandwidth, packetised data carrying scheme, and high bandwidth auxillary channel, also offer functionality that is more important to PC/notebook applications.


    “DisplayPort adoption will additionally be hampered by costs of initial, first generation silicon, and I think DisplayPort will be very challenged by HDMI in the consumer/multi-function monitor product segment.

    “But in the PC/notebook segment, the scalability of the interface – where higher resolutions are generally always coming out, unlike CE where 1080p is an upper limit for the foreseeable future – the chip integration and the VGA-replacement need, and the backing of Intel, Dell, HP and AMD all argue in favour of a positive outlook for the technology in my opinon.

    “Slow uptake yes, but long term success in the IT segment I believe.”

    He said that DisplayPort’s potential largest market opportunity could be in embedded video/display interfaces, such as LCD panels inside TV’s and notebook PC’s, where legacy designs use older, bulkier, parallel LVDS-type interfaces.”

    He said this is a potentially huge opportunity for the technology, as iSuppli predicts more than 600 million mobile PCs and 550 million LCD-TVs will be shipped during the period of 2008 to 2011.

    Lawson’s arguments for HDMI’s continued growth and success include:

    – HDMI momentum developed over the past 2 to 3 years is staggering. The HDMI.org standard association now lists over 800 licensees, adding over 100 in the past 18 months alone.

    – HDMI has broadened in scope, now being found in portable CE products such as HD-capable camcorders, on video game consoles, and standalone DVR boxes (like a TiVo box). Sony even now has a Digital Photo Frame that has HDMI on it.

    – HDMI’s license fees not being a concern to component manufacturers

    He concluded: “So, within the high definition, consumer electronic product space, I don’t foresee any other standard really challenging HDMI in the near term.”

  • DivX certifies chip for HDTVs and STBs

    Broadcom’s high definition chip brings HD DivX certified video into the living room

    DivX has announced the high-definition DivX certification of Broadcom Corporation’s BCM7405 system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution.

    The BCM7405 provides advanced internet provider (IP) functionality and improved video and audio performance for satellite, cable and IP set-top boxes (STBs).

    It can support the playback of DivX 1080p content, and other key integrated features for digital television content such as recording, playback, time-shifting and trick modes.

    The HD certification is the latest addition to Broadcom’s stable of SoCs. These include the BCM7452 and BCM7403, which have already achieved standard-definition (SD) DivX Certification.

    Aidan O’Rourke, senior director of marketing, IPTV set-top box products for Broadcom, said DivX was a key player in high-quality digital content distribution and consumption.

    “We are pleased to continue collaborating with them to support our shared customers’ goals of supporting the widest selection of video and audio content formats,” he said.

    DivX technology significantly reduces the file sizes of digital video, and its certification enables consumers to play DivX video content on a range of entertainment devices such as digital video recorders, portable media players, digital televisions, Blu-ray DVD players, and mobile phones.

    This improved compression makes it easier to move and share high-quality content between devices, improving the entertainment experience for consumers.

    Kevin Hell, DivX’s chief executive officer, said Broadcom’s new DivX certified chip illustrated the digital media company’s commitment to ensuring a high-quality video experience across any device.

    “Working with Broadcom has afforded us the opportunity to meet the rising demand for our high-definition solution in the emerging product categories of digital televisions and set-top boxes,” he said.

  • Race towards OLED TVs quickens

    Sony set the pace with the launch of its AM-OLED TV last year, now momentum appears to be growing among TV manufacturers in the race towards mass producing larger OLED screens.

    According to recent reports in Japanese newspapers, Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic) has set internal directives to start offering OLED TVs by 2011.

    The company intends to use its R&D center in Kyoto as a base for a manufacturing plant solely for OLED panels.
    By next spring, the first prototype OLED TVs with a screen size of around 20 inches are expected to be produced there.
    Mass production of OLED TVs with a screen size of 40 inches and more is scheduled for 2011 in a factory in near Kobe in central Japan.

    Panasonic has said 200 engineers will be assigned exclusively for the development of the next-generation displays.
    While not denying the reports, the electronics firm did say: “Panasonic is continuing R&D on OLED panels with an eye toward the future development of the Himeji plant. At this time, there is nothing decided about how this R&D will develop into a specific business operation.”

    Meanwhile, activity in the OLED field seems to be having an effect on AU Optronics.
    The Taiwanese display panel manufacturer is reportedly considering re-opening its OLED product line.

    LJ Chen, president and COO of AUO indicated that the company has been monitoring the development of OLED technologies and, as they improve, is interested in re-opening its production line although a possible time-line is still unclear.

    HB Chen, vice-Chairman and CEO added that although AUO will not re-open the production line in 2008, the company will showcase its OLED developments in Yokohama, Japan in October this year

    But how realistic are the industry’s hopes for mainstream production of OLED TVs?

    Vinita Jakhanwal, principal analyst for mobile displays at iSuppli Corp, said the key factors determining the success of OLED in the market will be the display industry’s capability to address key issues like manufacturing costs, material lifetime and efficiency.

    “Furthermore, given that OLEDs are LCD replacements, the technology at least initially will be subjected to the price pressures placed on it by competing LCD panel products,” he said.

    LCD TV makers are introducing thinner models to compete with the flatter-than-flat OLEDs and other OLED products are making their way to market.

    These include an OLED-based DVD Global Positioning System (GPS) device for car navigation.

    Among the other initiatives is the collaborative push to promote the technology by some big name electronics firms and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

    Ten companies including Sony, Sharp, Toshiba and Matsushita (Panasonic) are collaborating on the five-year effort, which will likely cost ¥3.5 billion (US$32.8 million).

    The project is aimed at “developing a core technology to mass-produce 40-inch or larger OLED displays in the late 2010s”.

    The positive response to Sony’s launch of an AM-OLED TV late last year has built momentum in the industry.

    While small, the display quality of the AM-OLED TV is superior to anything anyone had seen to date—and extremely flat.

    Sony is now expanding on its OLED portfolio with a 3.5-inch, 0.2mm-thick panel that will be used in high-end mobile devices.
    The company has also released in Japan the 11 inch Sony XEL-1, which is expected to reach European markets in 2009.

    We are always interested in hearing your views – when and who will be first to market with a 40 inch OLED TV?

  • Garmin delays smartphone launch

    The GPS maker Garmin has delayed plans to launch its Nuvifone smartphone in the fourth quarter of 2008 until the first half of 2009.
    Obstacles in dealing with the various individual needs of each cell phone carrier were cited as the reason for the delay.

    Shortly before announcing its decision on the Nuvifon, Garmin posted weak second-quarter results and slashed its outlook for 2008.
    The company has been hurt by slower growth in the personal navigation device (PND) market.
    It results and the delayed launch of its smartphone sent its shares down more than 22 per cent.
    The biggest US maker of navigation devices said the PND market, which it dominates with Dutch rival TomTom, has not been growing as fast as expected.
    It said consumers were being more cost-conscious.

    The outlook cut follows a difficult year for Garmin, as macroeconomic difficulties, competition and several new entrants have affected its prices and margins.
    The stock has lost 70 per cent of its value since last October.
    Garmin has not yet disclosed pricing and carrier details for the Nuvifone, which will compete against Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Pearl 8110, Nokia’s N95 and N82 multimedia phones and Apple’s iPhone.

  • Carolyn Fairbairn appointed Freesat chairman


    ITV director of group development and strategy Carolyn Fairbairn will succeed Tim Davie as chairman of the UK’s free-to-air digital satellite television service Freesat in September.

    Davie, currently the BBC’s director of marketing, communications and audiences, will relinquish the Freesat chair – which alternates between the BBC and ITV annually – when he becomes the corporation’s new director of audio and music.

    Freesat was developed by the BBC and ITV plc. The service began broadcasting on 6 May 2008 and offers a satellite alternative to the Freeview service on digital terrestrial television.

    The service expects to have 200 channels available by the end of 2008 – including subscription-free high definition channels from the BBC and ITV- and 230 by early 2009, with around 30 channels added each month.

    Emma Scott, Freesat managing director, said: “Carolyn is a highly regarded industry figure and I’m certain that the strong strategic skills and expertise she continues to demonstrate at ITV will be of huge benefit to Freesat.

    “I’m delighted that she has agreed to become Chairman of Freesat. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Tim for the great support and wise counsel he has provided during Freesat’s development and launch.”

    Before joining ITV in 2007, Fairbairn worked at the BBC where she developed the corporation’s plans for Freeview as its director of strategy and distribution.

    Fairbairn said: “Freesat plays a crucial role in ensuring that UK viewers have access to free-to-air digital and high definition television.

    “After a successful launch earlier this year, the service has already proved itself to be popular with consumers and I’m delighted to be taking on the chairmanship.”