28 September 2000
Available from October 2000 , TiVo Inc.in association with
British Sky Broadcasting will launch TiVo, the first ever Personal Television
Recorder (PTR) and service in the UK. (see
press release)
27 September 2000
New Jersey's K-12 students have a new gateway to learning
through a statewide video portal and "virtual academy" that is claimed
to be the first of its kind in the United States. The video portal, provided by
Verizon New Jersey, enables schools around the state to hold live, interactive
video classes for students statewide without incurring long-distance charges. (see
press release)
26 September 2000
e-Vue, a specialist in MPEG-4 multimedia
tools, has announced the availability of the first MPEG-4 still image encoding
and decoding products in the marketplace.
Developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group, MPEG-4 is the internationally
recognized ISO standard for creating and delivering multimedia content over
networks. Unlike proprietary streaming technologies, MPEG-4 provides a streaming
standard that promotes interoperability between vendors. MPEG-4 defines a
baseline standard for streaming a broad range of digital multimedia: audio,
video and still images; natural and synthetic; 2D and 3D. Key features include
highly efficient compression, object-based interactivity, error resilience,
bandwidth scalability (5 kbps to 20 Mbps), network and transport protocol
independence, and content security. (see
article)
According to an article
in The Guardian Blockbuster is to launch a video-on-demand service in the
UK, competing with Video Networks and Yes Television, early 2001. Blockbuster
intends to use the power of its brand in the video rental community.
Broadband provider Videonet has launched its fully commercial ADSL-based
video-on-demand service HomeChoice in the London region. It will be priced at £6
per month with a £40 one-off installation fee. It promises to give access to
800 films, over 1,000 music videos, ITN news programmes and a raft of sports
programming on demand via telephone lines. (see
article)
25 September 2000
Barry Kiefl, director of research with the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation considers the past, present and future of Canadian TV (see
article with extracts)
18 September 2000
TiVo Inc. the creator of personal television, has announced the
implementation of TiVo Direct, what they claim to be the first interactive
program that allows advertising content to be delivered to users via the TiVo
Personal TV Service. TiVo Direct gives advertisers, cable and network
programmers and content providers the opportunity to utilize personal TV to
produce in-depth content as well as offer promotions and merchandise
specifically designed for TiVo viewers. (see
press release)
Two Way TV is to create a
number of new interactive games based on hit BBC shows following an agreement
with BBC Worldwide.
For example, the definitive BBC quiz series Mastermind becomes a
challenging question and answer game that up to four players in a home can play
against each other. They will also be able to pick their own
"specialist" subject for which the programme is known. Scores are
registered as the game develops and are compared against other players in other
homes.
Two Way TV launched on NTL's CWC digital network in March 2000.
It will roll out on Telewest's 'Active Digital' network during summer 2000.
Early results show that an average subscriber plays three to four games in a
one-and-a-half hour period. (see
press release)
13 September 2000
BT's Ignite business has
teamed up with The Fantastic Corporation - provider of broadband data
broadcasting software - to launch BTMediacaster. BTMediacaster enables companies
in the UK to broadcast broadband content - such as real-time audio, video and
high resolution graphics - via satellite to multiple sites at the touch of a
button. It is claimed to be the first service of its kind in the UK, and, with
satellite technology, even the most remote locations, ordinarily inaccessible
via land-based broadband technology, can be reached within seconds.
This discussion group provides a network for
researchers and developers who are interested in the human factors issues
relating to interactive TV (iTV) services.
The network aims to promote the user-centred design of
interactive TV services by:
- sharing the findings of usability studies
- promoting discussion of iTV research issues
- facilitating collaboration between researchers and
developers
Further details
12 September 2000
Direct Movies Online.com Inc. has announced the launch of its
website, directmoviesonline.com.
This innovative site provides near DVD quality streaming video to the public on
a pay-per-view (PPV) basis, which no other company can do today. Direct Movies
Online.com (DMOL) was created to address the demand for an increase in the
quantity and quality of streaming video content available to consumers via
broadband Internet access.
United Pan-European Communications (UPC)
has signed with Liberate Technologies for
its cable TV software and firmware. (see
press release) (see
article)
It is being reported that BT may
distribute BSkyB channels via BT ADSL enabled telephone lines. (see
article)
8 September 2000
BSkyB plans to start including personal TV
recorders (PTR) inside set-top boxes used by its satellite TV subscribers from
early 2001. It will combine an enhanced digital satellite set-top decoder with a
40 gigabyte advanced hard-disk recording facility (press
release) (see
article)
Microsoft
today announced at International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) 2000 that it
plans to make available a set of software components that enable any PC-type
device to deliver Enhanced TV. The software, Microsoft® TV
Technologies, is scheduled to be available in select future versions of the
Windows® operating system and will enable users to enjoy the
functionality of Microsoft TV from their PC. (see
press release)
Philips Electronics and Microsoft
Corporation have announced agreements designed to encourage the cable and
satellite industry as well as consumers to adopt Enhanced Television products
and services.
The Philips/Microsoft Enhanced TV platform
will support a wide range of emerging product categories, including:
- Interactive TV: Programming enhanced with interactive content for
richer viewer participation
- Personal TV: Services including hard-disk based digital video
recording, favorite channels and customized electronic program guides that
enable viewers to personalize their TV experience
- Internet on TV: Access via the television to Internet browsing and
services
(see
press release) (see
article)
As ONdigital launches its own version of Internet
via the TV, this is reopening the Net on TV debate at a time when PC-based
Internet services are at their lowest ebb due to the failure of unmetered access.
(see article)
7 September 2000
EUTELSAT and Nera
have recently announced their strategic partnership for the development of
broadband access via satellite. At the core of this agreement is a contract to
build a pilot satellite network based on the new international open standard
DVB-RCS (Return Channel over Satellite).
Recently approved by the DVB Organization, the DVB-RCS
standard establishes an open specification for a new generation of versatile and
low-cost broadband satellite terminals. These terminals are capable of receiving
digital TV and IP-data at bit-rates up to 50 Mbit/s, and can transmit up to 2
Mbit/s IP data via a satellite return channel. The partnership between EUTELSAT
and Nera will ensure the availability of DVB-RCS equipment and support the
foothold of the DVB-RCS standard in the market, worldwide.
In their common project, Nera will develop and deliver
to EUTELSAT a complete DVB-RCS network, including both hubs and terminals.
EUTELSAT will contribute satellite capacity, backed up with its strong
technology capability and market awareness. The DVB-RCS terminals will be
powerful tools for corporate, institutional and home office users. (see
press release)
6 September 2000
UK's digital TV company ONdigital has
announced surfing for £5 a month for Internet access on the TV. (see
press release) (see
article)
5 September 2000
It appears that Microsoft is soon to announce a digital
TV component to its next version of Windows. (see
article)
A tie-up between media giant Sky and BT could intensify
the broadband war (see
article)
1 September 2000
BT is now moving towards becoming a media
company capable of broadcasting - which the launch of BT Openworld. (see
article)
It is being claimed that Microsoft is
re-engineering its X-box spec. to provide the games console with digital VCR
functionality. According to a revised specification apparently leaked to X-box
365, Microsoft's games division has upped the console's hard drive
capacity from 8GB to 40GB. (see
article)
