Business News Holding

Tag: streaming

  • BBC Launches Live Wi-Fi TV Service For Smartphones

    The BBC has launched a service that allows UK viewers to watch live TV programs from suitable Wi-Fi connected mobile phones.

    BBC Live TV is available in a beta test form, offering a limited number of the broadcaster’s channels, plus its radio stations.



    Some smartphones already support use of the BBC iPlayer catch-up TV service over a Wi-Fi connection, but this is the first time the corporation has offered live streaming of programmes to mobile phones

    The service currently only works over a Wi-Fi connection and broadcasts a 176 x144 image, but the broadcaster hopes to extend Live TV out to 3G networks and to add more channels during the coming months.

    Live TV is thought to work with a selection of smartphones, including the Android G1 and Nokia N Series devices. It is also supposed to work with Apple iPhone soon.

    There is no need to install any applications in order to watch the channels.

    The service is only available to UK audiences and requires viewers to hold a current television licence.

  • Europe's HDTVs "Starved of HD Content"


    FutureSource Consulting has produced an interesting chart (see below) that highlights the gulf between HDTV ownership and the penetration of Blu-ray disc players in Europe.

    It shows that there are 69 million HD-ready TV sets but just 8 million Blu-ray players,including PS3 consoles – prompting the title: "61 million TVs starved of HD content".

    While HD content is obviously available from other sources – such as VOD and HD broadcasting TV stations – the chart clearly shows how much work remains for backers of Blu-ray to get the high-def format into the mainstream.

    The UK tops the chart with 42 per cent of households owning a HDTV and 9 per cent a Blu-ray player.

    Germany comes bottom with 24 per cent with HDTVs and 3 per cent with a Blu-ray player.

    FutureSource is bullish that the numbers of HDTVs seemingly devoid of HD content will soon be reduced.

    It forecasts a strong rise in Blu-ray Player sales – up to 19 million in Western Europe for 2009 and 45 million players by the end of 2011.

  • BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand Coming Through TiVo


    Blockbuster is to be the latest online video-on-demand service to appear on TiVo DVRs.

    The pair announced today that they are working to make Blockbuster’s service available on all TiVo Series2 and Series3 DVRs (including the HD and HD XL models) in the second half of 2009.

    The deal means TiVo’s hardware will appear on the shelves of local video rental stores, while Blockbuster’s service will get exposure to millions of new users.

    It also means that TiVo adds Blockbuster to a list of available streaming video that already includes Netflix, CinemaNow and more.

    In November, Blockbuster launched a movie rental service via set-top boxes.

    It offered a STB made by 2Wire that plays downloaded movies.

    Jim Keyes, Blockbuster chairman and CEO, said working with TiVo enabled subscribers to access movies not only through his company’s OnDemand service but also from their stores and by-mail service as well.

    "Regardless of a film’s availability – through VOD or on DVD – we want to work with TiVo to provide their subscribers unprecedented access to movie content," he said.

    Tom Rogers, president and CEO of TiVo, said joining with Blockbuster made TiVo a "one-stop shop" for any content thru broadband or linear distribution straight to the TV.

  • On2 Technologies 1080p Video Encoder Improves Image Quality and Compression Performance


    On2 Technologies has announced a 1080p video encoder aimed at improving image quality and compression performance in battery operated devices and consumer electronics.

    The new hardware design, the Hantro 8270, supports H.264 Baseline, Main and High Profile video along with 16Mpixel JPEG still images.

    Mika Hakala, SVP and general manager(Embedded Solutions) at On2 Technologies, said it incorporates proprietary technologies for video stabilization and automatic scene change detection.

    With a minimal clock frequency requirement – less than 250MHz needed for 30fps 1080p video – Hakala said the Hantro 8270 is highly suited for low powered chipsets and is intended for wireless, consumer and surveillance applications.

    The technology is designed to improve the viewing experience for transcoded content such as movies and TV shows, and consolidated streams from multiple cameras typical to surveillance systems and live event coverage.

    The video stabilization feature improves the quality of captured video by counteracting the effects of camera shake.

    Analyzing each frame of raw video, undesired movement is removed by cropping and re-positioning the frame. The process is executed prior to encoding, and thereby increases overall compression efficiency.

    "With power consumption a critical design issue for semiconductors, maintaining a low overall clock frequency is an imperative," said Hakala.

    "A key challenge in designing a 1080p encoder is the transfer and encoding of the data needed with a clock frequency acceptable to the chip manufacturer.

    "Through efficient pipeline utilization and smart parallelism for key functions, we have not only met, but exceeded our customers’ expectations for 1080p video."
    The Hantro 8270 will be available for licensing from March.

  • Young Lead Shift Towards Internet TV Viewing


    Internet television viewership is increasing rapidly in the US due to better content and improved viewing quality, according to Move Networks.

    The Internet TV service provider has released figures showing it streamed more than 100 million hours of high definition content and over 180 million total hours of content in 2008.

    It experienced 100 per cent growth in the number of people watching Internet television delivered via Move’s adaptive streaming technology – up from 25 million unique viewers in 2007 to 55 million unique viewers in 2008.

    Not surprisingly the shift to Internet viewing is even more dramatic among younger viewers.

    According to Move, 70 per cent of the college-age demographic have watched television online and 55 per cent watch more than half of their television programming via the Internet.

    Move Networks streams 60 per cent of the US’s most popular television shows and 11 of the top 20 primetime TV shows, including Fringe, Lost, Gossip Girls and Ugly Betty.

    The company also streams an average of 600 live events every month, including concerts, political conventions, educational series, sporting events with Fox Sports, the NFL, ESPN and more.

  • LG Broadband HDTVs To Stream Netflix Movies


    LG Electronics has announced the first broadband-enabled HDTVs with Netflix streaming software embedded directly in the set.

    The new LCD and plasma “broadband HDTVs” will be able to show Netflix’s library of movies, TV episodes and HD content directly on the set without needing an external device.

    The HDTVs will join the Korean companies LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player, the first high-def format player to stream movies instantly from Netflix.

    LG is also preparing five new models of Blu-ray Disc players and home theater systems for 2009.

    Netflix members pay from USD $8.99 per month for unlimited instant streaming and unlimited DVDs from a catalog of more than 100,000 DVD titles in more than 200 genres.

    LG Electronics and Netflix will demonstrate the broadband HDTVs this week at the CES in Las Vegas.

  • XStreamHD Beams "Blu-ray" Quality Video Direct-to-Home


    XStreamHD has successfully tested a transport system that delivers Full HD movies, music, and games directly to subscriber homes via satellite.

    The system, tested on the AMC-16 satellite at 85 degrees west ongitude, will be able to provide content throughout North America.

    XStreamHD, which first announced its plans for the innovative new satellite delivery system in January at CES 2008, had expected to launch the service in October.

    George Gonzalez, founder and CEO of XStreamHD, said today that the service will be able to deliver Full HD (1080p) content to homes, independent of Internet or cable congestion, by unlocking existing FSS (Fixed Satellite Service) capacity.

    He said the XStreamHD test had shown that the network’s could deliver Blu-ray quality video with up to 7.1 lossless channels of DTS Master Audio.

    The company is to offer its customers access to movies, HDTV, music and electronic games.

    There’s no word yet about partnerships for movies or HDTV content but as XStreamHD will be showcasing its transport system next month at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, more might be revealed then.

  • Netflix Beats Blu-ray Target – Hopes High For 2009


    Netflix has reached its target of 500,000 Blu-ray subscribers ahead of schedule.

    The retailer’s chief financial officer Barry McCarthy said subscribers had added the option of paying an extra USD $1 to receive Blu-ray Disc titles at a quicker rate than Netflix forecast in October.

    While prices of Blu-ray players have dropped sharply recently, the same has not been true of disc prices. This may have benefitted Netflix’s HD rental service as new Blu-ray player owners look to rent moviest rather than buy them.

    Netflix expects the Blu-ray service to help boost total subscribers to about 9 million by the end of the year.

    To continue its high-def push, Netflix will promote Blu-ray inside its mailing envelopes next year.

    As well as providing the Blu-ray option, the company has boosted subscribers by offering its listing of over 12,000 video-streaming titles available for TV viewing through TiVo digital video recorders.

    Last week, Netflix also began offering an HD download service on two Samsung Blu-ray players.

  • Blockbuster Launches On-Demand Service


    Blockbuster is rising to the challenge posed by cable companies and Netflix by launching a movie rental service via set-top boxes.

    It is offering a STB made by 2Wire that plays movies downloaded over a broadband line.

    Available only in the US, Blockbuster is offering the MediaPoint digital media player for "free" if you pre-pay for 25 movies at the cost of USD $99.

    It claims the movies available will be "hot new releases".

    After the initial 25 rentals, films will be available from USD $1.99 each.

    Able to use either Wi-Fi or Ethernet, Blockbuster says the set-top box delivers DVD quality to your screen.

    Since it’s a download rather than streaming, users will get full quality even if slower internet connections mean downloads will take longer.

    It will be interesting to see how Blockbusters’ decision to avoid a monthly subscription works, especially with regard to the timing of new movie releases.

    Netflix’s service is both streaming and by subscription.

  • HDTV Owners Prefer Blu-ray….They're Just Not Buying Them


    The latest survey from SmithGeiger shows that HDTV owners would rather watch movies on Blu-ray Disc than stream content directly to their TV.

    Well, hardly any surprise there. There’s never been any doubt about the phenomenal quality of Blu-ray images – but that still doesn’t seem to be translating into sales.

    Even with price drops in the US of between USD $200 and $300, the HD players aren’t rushing off the shelves.

    Texas superstore Bjorn’s and Pennsylvania-based Gerhard Appliances reported no sales change after Sony and Samsung cut USD $100 off their respective BDP-S350 and BD-P1500 models to USD $299 at the end of September.

    US consumer electronics retailers are hoping the fast approaching Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving Day and traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year – will prove to be a sales bonanza even with the current economic troubles.

    Yet, while SmithGeiger’s survey of 1,600 HDTV owners revealed a 10-to-1 preference for Blu-ray over streaming content it underlines Blu-ray’s problem.

    Too many consumers seem happy with their DVD players and appear unwilling to fork out for another machine – even if Blu-ray prices are now dropping rapidly.

    This reluctance is a barrier that the consortium of companies behind the HD technology have so far been unable to overcome.

    So perhaps the news that the movie studios and consumer electronic makers are going to begin a USD $25 million advertising promotion for Blu-ray is a step towards addressing what could be a fatal flaw.

    Especially since more set-top boxes are focussing on offering streaming digital content, with the cost of the services decreasing.

    A monthly subscription fee to Netflix is seen by many as a cheaper alternative to purchasing a Blu-ray player and discs, not least if you already own the movie on DVD.

    Streaming content is going to continue to expand and will become more lucrative, especially as a wider library of TV episodes and movies becomes available.

    Blu-ray beware – time is running out.