Content

Content in its shift to become digital

IDV Global Media-On-Demand: Chinese Seek US Content
A coalition of government policy makers, technology and broadband companies from China have rocked up to the NAB2005 Media Show in Las Vegas.
They’re in town to invite opportunity-seeking US companies to supply programming and interactive content to the Chinese coalition-backed IDV Global Media On-Demand platform, expected to launch in China early next year.
Developed by California-based IDV, the platform was a top-secret project until premiered at the China Media-on-Demand Coalition press conference last week in Beijing, and reflects China’s eagerness to create new technologies for the Internet and telecom.
IDV-Global Media – headed by ex-Microsoft’s Xbox game console designer, Kevin Bachus – expects the new technology to allow Chinese media companies to securely distribute programs worldwide, direct from publisher to consumer.
Bachus rose to media attention when he left Microsoft to start a rival games console business, Infinium Labs. Their product, the Phantom Game Service, downloaded game content directly over an Internet connection. Digital-Lifestyles has been covering the Phantom since the start of 2004, from its first demo, through the announcement of its launch, to them receiving a $50 million credit investment.
Some of the press had speculate that Bachus had left Infinium. At the start of this week he issued a statement denying that he had left Infinium for IDV Global Media.
Duncan Clark, managing director of the Beijing-based consulting firm BDA China Ltd., warned that IDV-Global Media will need support from a range of participants, including telecoms, media and electronics companies (and the government agencies that regulate them) for the project to work.
“What this initiative claims to attain, aligning the interests of many different players in the value chain, is something that has eluded many a media mogul outside China,” Clark sagely added.
IDV GMOD’s platform is an end-to-end solution that includes a second generation PC with a 3D “platform-on-platform” architecture developed by IDV – the first system to receive certification from China as the standard for second generation PCs.
Content will be delivered to consumers by digital feeds from global sources, including a next generation Internet, based on the IPv6 technology, with revenue sharing arrangements for partners.
This system will supply sports events, movies, TV shows, next gen games and other interactive entertainment direct to private residences or hotel rooms worldwide, with the same interface, in High Definition (HD) quality video.
The wonderfully named Dr Fan Yeqiang, deputy director of the China Institute of Policy Studies (CIPS), said in a statement, “Now US media publishers and distributors have a direct platform on which to earn millions of dollars in incremental revenues from their content in the China market. We are offering a safe, certified delivery system never available to US media companies before.”
NAB2005 Media show
21 April, 2005
Terraplay Supplies Motorola With Real Time Multiplayer Mobile Games
Motorola handset owners will now be able to go multiplayer bonkers, courtesy of a new selection of real-time, multiplayer games from Motorola’s consumer portal, www.hellomoto.com.
The company claims that the addition of multiplayer gaming will make “full use of the multi-media capabilities” of their devices, with the games delivering “a compelling, interactive gaming experience for consumers, which keeps them returning, consequently driving ARPU for operators.”
Based on Terraplay’s fixed line multiplayer technology (as used for online Playstation2 gaming), Terraplay MOVE supports mobile multiplayer gaming and is being used by a growing number of mobile operators on both 2.5G and 3G networks.
The technology lets users take part in multiplayer mobile gaming, supporting everything from turn-based games, sports games, action games and racing to full multiplayer games with thousands of concurrent players.
As well as playing directly against other phone users, game-hungry portal visitors will also be able to compete in ladder tournaments, view global rankings and chat in-game.
The service means that if Blodwyn in Bargoed fancies a quick bit of mobile fragging with Fritz from Frankfurt, she’ll either be able to do battle through hellomoto.com or via a mobile operator service.
“Motorola believes immersive human-to human-applications will be key drivers for growth in the mobile industry and we are very pleased to be offering such exciting multiplayer games to our customers.
As part of our ‘Innovate’ programme we are always looking for the very best technologies, such as Terraplay, to support the considerable capabilities of our handsets, and in addition drive additional revenues for our operator customers.” Says Ronan Smyth, Applications Manager, Motorola.
As part of the service, Motorola will provide a suite of well known games (such as ‘No Refuge’ and ‘Mole War’) available for its many handsets, on both 2.5G and 3G.
“This represents another major step forward in the development of Terraplay given the stature of Motorola in the global wireless market. Motorola’s initiative is excellent news for the growth of the multiplayer sector,” purred Jeremy Lewis, Chairman of the Advisory Board, Terraplay Systems, “Multiplayer gaming, offered as premium services, is a real revenue generator and an ideal path to higher ARPU for all service providers”.
The multiplayer gaming service is available now through Motorola’s consumer portal, www.hellomoto.com.
Availability is initially UK only with a roll-out to all other regions soon thereafter.
Terraplay Systems Technology
hellomoto.com
Motorola.
21 April, 2005
Electoral Commission Supports o2 WAP Site To Boost “Da Yoof” Vote
The Electoral Commission is supporting efforts to get the UK’s young voters well up for the forthcoming election by encouraging them to get down wiv their mobiles.
With voting turnout fairly miserable among 18-25 year olds, mobile operator o2 has tried to get “Da Yoof” interested by adding an election section to its O2 Active WAP portal.
This will include information on postal voting, how to find the nearest polling station, how to vote, how to obtain a postal vote and answers to frequently asked questions about politics.
Voter turnout fell to an all time low of 59% in the 2001 General Election, and recent polls have suggested that turnout in the coming general election may slump as low as 55 – 56%.
Turnout was lowest in 2001 amongst the younger generation of voters and a recent poll of 3,000 O2 Active users around the 18-24 mark revealed that only 38% intended to vote.
Becky Lloyd, campaigns manager at the Electoral Commission rapped: “It’s important that we communicate with the younger electorate in particular through a medium with which they are comfortable and familiar and mobile phones are a good way of doing this.”
Russ Shaw, Marketing Director at o2 beat boxed, “The Electoral Commission is trying to increase participation in the General Election. O2 Active provides a perfect mechanism for doing so by putting a simple tool for learning more into the pockets of 3.8 million people. This is just one way that this new, instant, always with you communications medium can be utilized by organisations and businesses trying to reach more people, particularly amongst younger audiences.”
It’s not the first time o2 have promoted the use of their mobiles for political discourse – in November 2004, the company hosted a “live text chat” with Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Wicked!
The UK’s mobile users are among some of the earliest adopters worldwide. According to new research by MobileYouth, a British child will own its first mobile at age eight, compared to a US child, who will own theirs at 12.
o2 WAP portal
o2’s “live text chat” with Tony Blair.
20 April, 2005
Springsteen DualDisc Album Market Test
US Record industry honchos will be taking a bigger interest than unusual in the new Springsteen release as they wait to see how the new DualDisc format goes down with Brooooooce fans.
“Devils and Dust,” the Boss’s 19th album, will also be released in the fledgling CD/DVD hybrid format, marking the first major change in retail music packaging since the compact disc was introduced more than two decades ago.
The format bolts together a standard CD with a DVD on the flip side, and fills it up with fan-tempting extras like video clips, surround-sound mixes for home theatres and lyrics etc.
Springsteen fans shelling out for new DualDisc release will be rewarded with video of their hero performing his new songs and discussing the making of the album.
Although “Devils and Dust” is not the first DualDisc to hit the market, it’s the first one released by a major artist exclusively in the format (there will be no traditional CD pressings available) and should provide a useful benchmark to see if the new technology has a viable future.
The four major record labels, EMI, Sony BMG, Universal and Warner created a consortium last year to launch the new audio-video hybrid in the US market, with Sony BMG claiming that where albums have been released in both formats, DualDisc purchases have accounted for around 30 percent of sales.
Of course, you don’t get something for nothing in the notoriously tight-fisted music industry, and punters will be compelled to shell out an extra dollar for the bundled DVD content.
The music business is hoping that the new format – and the extra cash – will help recoup the slice of the retail market lost to piracy and illegal file-sharing. “It’s harder to file-share DVD content and it’s virtually impossible for anyone to burn a DualDisc at home,” purred Thomas Hesse, president of global digital business for Sony BMG.
“We think all this will lure people back to the stores, because it’s a product you can’t really get in pirated fashion,” he continued.
But there’s a darkness on the edge of town, as critics complain that the DualDisc is just another industry wheeze to push consumers into repurchasing the albums they already have on CD.
Hesse was having none of it, reminding critics that because no extra hardware is needed, “it’s really a new product, rather than a new format”, adding that plans were looming to roll out the DualDisc in European markets.
DualDisc Bruce Springsteen
20 April, 2005
World’s First MPEG-4/AVC Broadcast on HomeChoice
Video Networks Limited (VNL), who operate the HomeChoice VOD service around London, have added the children’s animation channel Toonami to their line up using the MPEG-4 / AVC format, making it the world’s first television channel to be encoded with advanced compression technology.
The company teamed up with Harmonic to launch an initial video-over-xDSL service in 2004 using DiviCom MV 100 encoders configured with MPEG-2.
Since then, VNL has been using the MPEG-2 compression efficiency and picture-quality of the MV 100 to continually enrich the channel line-up of its HomeChoice service.
The MV 100’s architecture enables the progressive migration of HomeChoice’s existing broadcast channels to MPEG-4.
Additionally, the technology allows further compression improvements to extend HomeChoice’s picture quality and reach and range of service, with the Star Trek sounding “field installable software CoDec module”.
VNL told Digital-Lifestyles that the quality of the MPEG-4 picture is noticably better that the MPEG-2 stream that is currently used. They hope that the move to MPEG-4 will save them around 50% of their current bandwidth needs in the coming years.
VNL’s migration to MPEG-4 for its remaining broadcast channels, including the Cartoon Network and Boomerang, is expected to be completed within the next two months. In time the VOD service will also be moved to the new CoDec.
Roger Lynch, Chairman & CEO, Video Networks Ltd was absolutely delighted about what he described as a key enhancement to its platform, adding, “We are not simply adding yet another quality channel from the Turner stable but are creating a world first with the first ever broadcast channel to switch to MPEG-4 / AVC encoding.
The move to MPEG-4 allows us to provide superior picture quality, while reducing the bandwidth required to transmit our broadcast channels.”
Once VNL has made the switch to MPEG-4, the saving on bandwidth for them should be substantial. This brings the advantages of VNL having to push less bandwidth out and therefore less of the distribution network is taken up. These reductions in demands bring an opportunity for more TV channels, increased Internet delivery speeds, but most interestingly the chances to carry High Definition (HD) programmes.
We understand that VNL have been testing HD within their labs, but would not be draw on the possibility of its introduction. To us it would appear an obvious step, and given BSkyB’s very public launch of HD in the UK later this year, it would be a considerably marketing coup to launch in advance of Sky.
Dr. Yaron Simler – President of the Convergent Systems Division of Harmonic Inc and no stranger to the odd acronym or ten – had this to say:
“While much of the industry is still in a planning, evaluation or trial phase, Video Networks Limited is forging ahead with an advanced technology and pay-TV service platform.”
“The first commercially available encoding platform to support MPEG-2, MPEG-4/AVC and SMPTE VC-1, Harmonic’s DiviCom MV 100 enabled VNL to provision a compelling video-over-DSL service while in parallel developing the elements of an MPEG-4 environment.
It is rewarding to see that we are moving toward the world’s first broadcast TV service based entirely on an advanced codec. This has established both VNL and the DiviCom MV 100 as significant forces in shaping the future of the television market.”
Video Networks Limited
Harmonic Inc
20 April, 2005
UK Students Peruse Porn And Study Online: Research
A government-backed study has revealed that more than one in 10 UK teenagers frequently use the Internet to look at “adult-only” Web sites.
Interviewed by the National Foundation for Economic Research, some 12% of 13 to 18-year-olds admitted that the quest for saucy titillation was one of their main reasons for going online.
However, homework was the most common reason for Internet use, with just over three-quarters using the Internet for research (and, in some cases, to plagiarise!)
The NFER study discovered that 52% used the Internet for Instant Messaging (IM) services and 36% logged on to shop for goods or services.
Some 18% looked up news and current affairs sites on the Web with 9% visiting discussion forums.
When it came to trusting the media, television was seen as the most trustworthy form of mass communication, with 48% trusting it completely or a lot.
Older students – already building up a healthy head of cynicism – were less convinced than younger ones of the level of honesty in the media, with newspapers faring worst overall, trusted by just 13%.
The eight-year NFER study was carried out on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, and involved 6,400 pupils in 237 schools and 50 colleges in England.
National Foundation for Economic Research
Department for Education and Skills
19 April, 2005
BBC THREE Trials New Multi-Screen Application
BBC Three viewers will be able to schedule their own Sunday night viewing in a pioneering multi-screen application trial starting on 1 May 2005.
The service will work like a stripped down Video On Demand (VoD) service without the need for a dedicated infrastructure or additional consumer boxes.
From 9.00pm on Sunday nights, digital satellite viewers will be prompted to bash the red button on their remotes and be rewarded with a choice of three BBC THREE programmes, in addition to the channel’s live transmission.
The programmes will be categorised under Dramatic, Funny and Real, with the first night’s offering serving up the first two episodes of Nighty Night; the first and second episodes of the second series of Twisted Tales; and the first and second parts of the second series of Little Angels.
Stuart Murphy, Controller of BBC THREE, explains: “The ‘Best of Three’ multi-screen trial is a bold and ground-breaking new application which offers viewers more control and greater access to the wide range of programmes on BBC THREE.”
“In the future we believe viewers will want to watch their favourite show when they want it and not wait until a scheduler decides to transmit it.
“It’s a key stepping-stone to true video on demand in a free-to-air digital environment, and shows that we are serious about BBC THREE being the country’s most innovative digital channel, which evolves as fast as the audience’s tastes and needs.”
Emma Somerville, the BBC’s Head of Interactive Programming, added: “Interactive TV can really help our audiences engage with the BBC’s TV channels.”
“The ‘Best of Three’ multi-screen will test new ways of giving viewers more flexibility over when and how they want to enjoy our programmes.”
Viewers will be encouraged on air to try out the new service and the trial will last for six months.
The BBC hopes that the service will prove a showcase for the multi-genre offering of BBC THREE content and enable them to get more value from the full range of programmes that the channel broadcasts.
If all goes to plan, viewers will be encouraged to sample programming that normally wouldn’t whet their tele-whistles and also use the service to watch programmes that they might have missed.
If the trial is a hit, the BBC plans to roll out this application on Freeview and digital cable.
BBC Three
19 April, 2005
BBC Radio Times Partners With Gemstar Guide Plus+ EPG
Old school TV listings magazine The Radio Times, has announced a partnership with Gemstar, the Murdoch-owned electronic programme guide (EPG).
The deal – the first TV listings partnership of its kind – allows the Radio Times to provide listings, contents and reviews to the subscription-free, seven day Guide Plus+ EPG.
Gemstar will be building its EPG into a number of electronic devices such as digital TVs and DVD recorders. The EPG will allow consumers to browse and select their TV viewing for the next seven days.
Users will have access to seven-day listings, programme recommendations and a database of 24,000 film reviews with star ratings, with the service being compatible with all major channels on the terrestrial, cable, satellite and digital terrestrial platforms.
Simon Adams, deputy-managing director of Gemstar-TV Guide’s European division, said the move would benefit users by providing a “quick, easy, and free way to intelligently navigate what is an increasingly complex entertainment environment”. This partnership kicks the Radio Times firmly into the new digital age of television, with the company selling advertising on Guide Plus+ and boosting awareness of the EPG by plugging it relentlessly in its print magazine.
All concerned plan to expand the offering, with on exmaple given as onscreen adverts might eventually include clickable ads for programmes, letting viewers jump straight to the selected broadcast.
It is hoped that this synergetic partnership will expand what choca-mocha-latte supping advertising execs call the “brand heritage” of the Radio Times, which currently shifts over 1.1 million printed copies a week.
The BBC owned brand – the UK’s oldest radio and television listings magazine – has a presence across a range of media, with their website attracting nearly 600,000 unique users per month, and a text messaging service which allows readers to access listings. Radio Times was named as Britain’s “most reliable” media brand back in 2002.
Gill Hudson, editor of the Radio Times, declared: “There is now no format not covered by Radio Times – you can access RT via mobile, your PDA, online, and now the Guide Plus+ EPG.”
The Radio Times recently spent £1m (€1.44m) on a marketing campaign to promote the magazine in the face of a price war between the UK’s best-selling title, What’s on TV, and rival TV Choice. Clearly, the BBC hopes that this move into digital listings will provide a competitive edge.
Radio Times
Radio Times named Britain’s “most reliable” media brand
19 April, 2005
PC Sales Up, As Dell Slows: Report Gartner
Worldwide shipments of PCs rose by 10.3 percent in the first quarter, with global shipments increasing to 50.4 million units, up from the 45.7 million PCs shifted during the same period a year ago.
The research by Gartner Inc echoes the general trend reported by its competitor International Data Corp, which reported a slightly higher growth figure of 10.9 percent.
Market leader Dell, saw its worldwide growth rate slip below 20 percent for the first time in 10 quarters, as US companies shelled out less than expected on PCs.
Dell’s 13.7 percent growth rate was still enough, however, to inch up its market share to 16.9 percent from 16.4 percent, with the company continuing to grow faster than competitors and the market in general.
The lack of sales in the US was made up by increased sales in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with small businesses in Western Europe being the biggest contributor to the boost in shipments in the EMEA region.
The report notes that lower vendor prices and the strong Euro to the dollar exchange rate helped open up small business wallets over Europe.
With US corporations appearing to be at the tail end of their usual four-year replacement cycle, the report speculates that sales probably won’t pickup dramatically until around 2008.
The vast bulk of PC sales in 2004 – 69 percent – were by corporations, educational institutions, small and midsize businesses and the government with consumers buying the rest.
Notebook sales globally continued to be very strong with customers tempting by falling prices.
In the US market – the biggest in the world – Apple shimmied up to fifth position, elbowing Toshiba down a place.
As we reported last week, Apple had a bumper year, with shipments rising by more than 45 percent, driven by iMac and PowerBook sales. This success is reflected in the company’s increased market share, up to 3.7 percent from 2.6 percent a year ago.
Dell remains the biggest PC vendor in the world followed by, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens and Acer.
In the US market, the big boys are Dell, HP, Gateway, IBM and Apple.
Karine Paoli, research director for IDC’s Personal Computing group, took a very deep breath and delivered this exceptionally long sentence : “If 2004 has been a strong year for the PC market, boosted by a rebound in commercial investment and portable adoption across EMEA, and if growth is expected to be softer this year, 2005 will remain buoyant, and highlight key transitions which will shape the market beyond 2006 – expansion of broadband and digital entertainment in homes, while businesses will look increasingly at mobility and wireless as part of their overall IT strategies.”
Gartner
International Data Corp report
18 April, 2005
Advertising in Games Forum predicts $1Bn in revenue 2010
Last week, 250 executives from advertising agencies, game developers and publishers swarmed into the first annual Advertising in Games Forum on 14 April 2005 in New York City.
The audience, primarily made up of sharp-suited, silver tongued advertising agency executives, were there to discover more about market opportunities and expectations within the game industry.
According to the organisers, The Game Initiative, attendees were treated to a feast of ‘key facts, figures and estimates’ spun out by leading industry experts at the forum.
In a bullet point-laden onslaught of PowerPoint presentations, these key facts emerged:
According to the Yankee Group, advertising in games is expected to rise to US$800 million in 2009 from nearly US$120 million in 2004.
Around US$266 million – that’s more than one-third of advertising in games in 2009 – will come from (wait for it) “advergaming.”
For the benefit of buzzword-deficient execs, Yankee Group senior analyst Mike Goodman explained that this hideous word describes what you get when advertisers create a game around a product rather than place their brands within a well-known title.
Mitch Davis, chief executive of video game ad network Massive Inc., whipped the watching execs into a frenzy of monetary expectation when he revealed that the audience video game advertising would top US$1 billion in the United States by 2010, and approach US$2.5 billion worldwide.
Anita Frazier, Entertainment Industry Analyst, NPD Group opened up her big book marked ‘Facts’ and informed the Advertising In Games Forum audience that there are 100 million game capable cell phones currently in the Marketplace – with 65% of the population owning a cell phone.
The sound of keenly rubbing palms grew to a crescendo as Frazier announced that within 16 months all cell phones in the marketplace should be game capable and thus brimming with cash-raking, game-downloading potential.
Fact-bloated attendees also learned that the top selling 2004 game titles (according to the NPD Group) were:
1. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas – 5.5 million sold since launch
2. Halo 2 on X box – 4.5 million units sold since launch
3. Madden NFL 2004 on PS 2 – 3.5 million units sold since launch
4. ESPN NFL 2K5 -1.6 million units sold since launch
5. Need for Speed Underground 2 -1.7 million units since launch
The top selling PC title of 2004 was Sims 2 with 750,000 units sold.
The ‘best selling game title of all time’ title goes to Grand Theft Auto Vice City with a massive 6.5 million units shifted, with Super Mario 64 on the N64 coming in second with an impressive 6.0 million units.
Game Initiative
18 April, 2005