Digital-Lifestyles

Distribution

The new digital ways content was becoming distributed

  • AT&T Introduce DIY VoIP Service

    Initially only available to New Jersey residents, AT&T’s new CallVantage service allows subscribers to call other areas of the country using their broadband connection.

    The service comprises of a plug in adapter that allows the user to make calls to any other telephone – and interestingly the adapter can be moved to other locations with a wired broadband connection, though the user’s number and area code stay the same.

    The service is being introduced at US$19.99 (UK£11, €16.40) for the first six months, rising to US$39.99 (UK£22, €32.80) thereafter, for unlimited domestic calling. Other features to be introduced include voice mail, presence (being able to ring the phone closest to a user) and video conferencing capabilities for up to nine callers.

    More details from AT&T

  • George Bush: Universal Broadband by 2007

    Although George Bush didn’t say how it would be achieved, he announced in an address he was giving in Mexico that all Americans should have broadband internet access by 2007, as it is essential for the country’s economic growth. This new call for universal coverage echoes similar announcements made in other countries giving deadlines for complete broadband access.

    Many have drawn a parallel between this announcement and Al Gore’s “information superhighway” calls in 2000. America has its work cut out for it: there are currently 20.6 million homes with broadband access, out of a total of 101 million. Many remote rural areas will be difficult to bring broadband access to, and so the solution will have to take many forms: cable, satellite, DSL and wireless.

    It’s not clear who will pay for it either: the Universal Service Fund subsidizes telephone access to rural areas and for those who can’t afford it, but it is yet to be decided whether or not the fund should cover internet access for citizens.

    MSN on the announcement

  • South African Telco Declares Voice Over IP Illegal

    South African telecommunications provider Telekom has threatened to lodge a formal complain with the country’s regulator over programs such as Skype, which it claims are used as “network bypass software”.

    Telkom have stated that VoiP does not have any impact on its revenues, but will file a complaint with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa if necessary.

    ITWeb on the story

  • Fraunhofer Institute Develops “Fair Use” DRM System ***Update***

    Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute, creators of the phenominally successful MP3 music format, has developed a content protection extension to MP3 – and it could end the controversy over file sharing.

    The Light Weight Digital Rights Management (LWDRM) system is based on a principle which has been used in video and audio media for some time – and in fact is already built into Microsoft’s Window Media platform.

    Users pay for an audio file and can use it as they wish, but if they want to transfer it to another device or give it away to someone else, they must download a certificate from a certification body. Because the file is signed with your identity, if several thousand copies of an MP3 you once bought are found on the internet, then they know whose door to knock on.

    We really think that Fraunhofer are missing a trick here. Rather than just flagging who once owned the file, why not make it so that an unauthorised recipient must download and pay for a license before they can play the media? This is already implemented in various ways in Windows Media, and we’re a but baffled why the technique isn’t employed here.

    The system was originally developed for MPEG4, but has adapted it for use with MP3. Fraunhofer say that LWDRM will allow users fair use of the media they have bought whilst protecting the artists’ and record labels’ investments.

    To support adoption of the new system, Fraunhofer aim to launch their own online shop, which will be free to small labels.

    Fraunhofer on LWDRM

    Fraunhofer on the MP3 standard – recommended reading!

  • Japan Agrees on Digital Terrestrial TV Standard… for Mobile Phones

    Japan’s six major television networks have agreed a standard for broadcasting and receiving digital television for mobile phones.

    Fuji TV, NHK, NTV, TBS, TV Asahi and TV Tokyo have all signed up for the standard. “I think this will raise awareness among viewers about digital broadcasting and we hope it acts as a spur,” TV Tokyo managing director Katsumi Ueda told a news conference.

    Services are due to start in April 2005, and will be free – but as yet, no handset or network providers have signed up. Interestingly, NEC released a prototype mobile phone that was compatible with Japan’s existing digital TV standard, but it suffered from power problems. See our recent article on DVB-H, linked below.

    NEC’s digital TV mobile

  • Sony Launches Hard Drive for PlayStation2 in US

    Sony have finally launched the PlayStation2 hard drive in the US, some might say a little late into the console’s life cycle. The drive is identical to the one that has been shipped with the Linux kit for the last 18 months – but then the drive in the Linux kit wasn’t compatible with game saves or downloading content.

    So why now? The hard drive is needed to play Final Fantasy XI, the first online iteration of the baffling (hey, only if you don’t play it) role-playing game, and sales of the FF series more than justify marketing a $99 peripheral that was already in production. The drive comes with FFXI pre-installed, and players will be able to sample the game free for 30 days – but will have to cough up $12.95 a month as a subscription to keep going.

    But that’s just one game – there will be a huge range of downloadable content and media available for subscribers: new levels, music, perhaps even full-length films. Given that the average game save is about 200kb and you could fit roughly 200,000 of those on the new disk. Sony obviously have a lot planned – and if the peripheral takes off, suddenly Sony has a potential installed base of more than 70 million broadband-enabled, game playing media hubs in living rooms and bedrooms around the world.

    We’ve been quite looking forward to the hard drive, the endless fiddling about with memory cards is annoying: one card for RPGs, one card for all our EyeToy pictures, and Bahamut help me if I lost Sesame’s card with her Grand Theft Auto and Silent Hill saves on it.

    Sony’s press release

    “But your chocobo just squashed my level 76 Beastmaster!”

     

  • Two Way TV diversify to content from iTV

    Two Way TV, well know producers of interactive TV content, have announced two content deals.

    First up is an interesting and significant deal with long-standing UK commercial network ITV which moves them away from just iTV (interactive TV) content to using the interactivity to supply additional types of content. The exclusive ITV contract allows viewers to browse and buy content through their remote control, whilst watching ITV interactive content and have it delivered to mobile handsets.

    Initially video clips, ring tones, logos, wallpaper and Java games, will be offered to ITV viewers through an interactive service behind ITV1 and ITV2 on Sky Satellite. It will also be available through ITV’s 24:7 interactive services menu.

    The first service to launch will be based around ITV’s football programming. Football fans will be able to buy classic terrace tunes, download pictures of their favourite players and buy video clips of classic football moments. They will also be able to get football related Java games.

    TwoWayTV will also be offering a pop-themed service to provide chart ring-tones, celebrity logos and Java games.

    Jane Marshall, the controller if ITV Interactive, said about the deal: “Interactivity is all about providing extra value for viewers and giving them more of what they want. This is a great way for us to broaden our relationship with our viewers, as well as creating new revenue streams for us.”

    The ITV mobile content service will launch during the second quarter of this year. Two Way TV will also launch similar services on NTL and Telewest in the walled garden under the Two Way TV brand. Viewers will be able to buy games and ring tones from these services.

    Secondly, Two Way TV is renewing its partnership with the Israeli broadcaster Connect-TV and is licensing of a new set of games to the company. Connect-TV has been broadcasting Two Way TV’s games services on the MATAV and TEVEL cable networks in Israel for the last two years.

    “Two Way TV’s games have proved very popular in Israel and we are delighted that they have agreed to renew our games licenses. Their innovative games have carved out a strong niche in the marketplace.” says Tammy Friedman, the chief operating officer of Connect-TV.

    Two Way TV

  • CeBIT: Unless Vendors Work Together, Push-to-Talk is Dead in the Water

    Push to Talk Over Cellular (PoC) has exciting implications for phone and network providers: the technology allows subscribers to send a voice message to someone in their address book. The message travels over the network’s data service, so doesn’t require real-time processing and is obviously not interactive – it’s a bit like a walkie-talkie.

    Network providers are already enthusiastic about the new services they will be able to create around this service – and the new revenue streams it will bring them. However, there is already some disagreement over what standards will be adopted and how network providers will exchange PoC messages between networks.

    Herman Weiffenbach, vice president of Motorola highlights the problem in CeBIT News: “We now have eight launches in prospect, with 18 active trials under way, 12 of which are in Europe. We also expect a further 16 in the first half of the year. It is all looking very promising, but without standardisation, it won’t fly.”

    One of the things that will kill PoC for sure if it’s not sorted out quickly is the current lack of cross-network service. For the time being, you can only use PoC services with recipients on your own network. Nokia, Sony, Ericsson, Motorola and Siemens signed an agreement to enable cross-vendor operability, but this seems to be all they’ve done – there’s been no progress since.

    One of the great things about standards is that there’s just so many to choose from: Nokia is not taking part in trials with Ericsson, Motorola and Siemens – because they believe their solution is already the best. The three other companies probably have “En usko” to say to that.

    Nokia Push to Talk at 3g

    Siemens’ attempt to get into the lead

  • CeBIT: DVD Burners Maturing, New Products on the Way

    More manufacturers are producing multi-format DVD burners than ever before and prices for the hardware are falling rapidly. Some of the uncertainty has been taken out of the format as Sony and Pioneer make drives that support both DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW disk creation and reading.

    However, 16x drives (rotating at 10,800 revolutions per second!) are near the maximum speed possible for DVD, so since we can spin the disk much faster, the next battle is to fit more on the disk. Storing data more densely on the layer will allow faster read times (the laser doesn’t have to travel so far) and higher capacities (smaller pits mean more data in the same area).

    Double-sided, double-layer disks are possible (DVD-18) but are currently expensive to produce – though DVD mastering techniques (both home burning and commercial production, though these use completely different techniques) are improving all the time. Dual-layer disks used to be much more expensive to produce than they are now – remember the first DVDs you bought where you had to flip the disk over half way through the film? Cheaper mastering techniques were so that Warner Brothers could sell yo that disk for £25 and still make a profit – never mind you had to get out of your seat half way through Goodfellas.

    The next format up will be Blu-ray, from the Blu-ray Disk Founders (BDF – including Dell, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi, LG, Philips, Pioneer and Sony amongst others). As the name suggests, Blu-ray uses a blue laser to read data. Blue light has a shorter wavelength, so can read smaller pits – and tha means denser data: a dual-layer disk will store 50gb. As the data pattern is s intricate, this makes them more vulnerable to data destroying scratches. The format is currently available in Japan and the USA, but the disks are cartridge based – the next iteration of the format will not use a cartridge as it will have a coating supplied by TDK.

    Naturally, the step to the next level will not be that simple: NEC and Toshiba are promoting HD DVD at CeBIT. This new format uses the same optical head as a conventional DVD player, and a dual-layer disk will store 30gb. Look forward to seeing HD DVD burners on the market in 2005.

    We hope that backwards compatibility is high on each one of these manufacturers’ lists.

    Sony’s domestic Blu-ray recorder

    DVD Demystified on the five (no, six! Isn’t it seven?) proposed for high density disks

  • UK’s Voice Over IP Sector Sets Up Trade Association

    Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony is growing rapidly in the UK, but has yet to reach mass market – currently six million people worldwide make VoIP calls, mostly in the USA and Japan. In years to come this could be the number of people making VoIP calls in Britain alone. Ofcom have reports and suggestions on how the sector should be managed – including setting aside a block of non-geographic numbers for VoIP services.

    To promote the sector and effectively lobby Parliament, thirteen UK companies have grouped together to form the Internet Telephony Service Providers Association (ITSPA). The thirteen founder members are Call UK, ET Phones, Gossiptel, Gradwell.com, Idesk, Imass Telecom, Intervivo, Magrathea, Mistral Internet, Speak2World, Telappliant, Telco Global and T-Strategy. It is not yet known if BT will be permitted to join the group.

    The ITSPA hopes for a self-regulating sector, known for innovation: spokesman Kim Thesiger said “Internet Telephony providers now offer a serious alternative to the existing telephone companies, and we need to look at the levels of regulation and encouragement that this industry needs. This technology will revolutionise the way in which consumers and businesses make voice calls over the next few years ushering in far cheaper prices for phone calls and offering a wealth of new products and services that were only available to the biggest corporations until now.”

    E-Consultancy’s Guide to VoIP

    The state of VoIP worldwide