Global growth for on-demand services

Global revenues from on demand video services are set to rise by as much as 24 per cent by the end of this year, despite the decline in TV subscriptions. This is according to new research from Informa Telecoms & Media this week.

On-demand services have enjoyed a phenomenal success in the UK this year, the BBC iPlayer received 139 million requests for TV and radio programmes last month. Not only this but viewers have been accessing the content across a wide range of platforms, including Virgin Media, Wii, PS3, computing and mobile platforms, confirming that viewers want to consume their content in more than just the traditional formats.

The majority of on-demand services still come from cable TV subscriptions (around 51%), which is expected to rise as more viewers make the switchover to digital services. However, there are likely to be changes in the platforms viewers can access on-demand content. At the recent Morgan Stanley TMT conference, ITV’s chief executive Adam Crozie, commented on its plans to create a new micropayments system, so it can sell its content across a wider range of platforms and reduce its dependence on advertising revenues.

But, to be successful in any of its target platforms, ITV will need to invest in creating popular new content. Something they are clearly keen to address, with the recent appointment of Denise O’Donoghue to lead commercial strategy at production arm ITV Studios.

What would you vote for?

As TV viewers get to grips with a new era of interactive TV delivered by hybrid STBs and connected TV’s we’re also seeing developments in the smartphone market. A new ruling by Ofcom means that viewers will now be able to vote on their favourite TV Shows via mobile applications.

TV shows such as the X Factor and Big Brother have always encouraged viewers to interact via telephone and text voting. But now smartphones are set to get in on the action too, with the development of voting apps.

Ofcom is keeping a close eye on developments. Viewers will be clearly notified of the costs and in order to keep everything fair, the app should only be one of several voting possibilities so that consumers are not pushed towards a particular platform.

It’s almost a surprise that this has taken so long, although the highly publicised fake phone-in scandal in 2007 may well have played a part in the delay.

This is another interesting new development for the mobile and TV industries and as app developers look to create new content, perhaps more interactive apps can be shared between the TV and mobile. What new apps would you like to see?

Every penny counts – credit crunch helps drive digital TV sales

18 months ago, as consumers we were being inundated with credit crunch survival tips – how to save more, go out and spend less, or make our nights in more entertaining. For the digital TV market at least, it seems, the latter has proved extremely fruitful.

New research released by Informa Telecoms & Media has found that despite the global economic downturn, the uptake of digital TV around the world has continued to grow. By December 31st this year, Informa calculates that approximately 85 million TV households will be added bringing the global total to 517 million. It predicts the digital TV universe to be one billion digital households strong by the end of 2015.

Staggering stats like this bring to life the huge transformation taking place in the TV industry today as new technologies change the way in which we receive and consume TV content. But what also really strikes me is how the results of this study highlight the prominence of the TV in global society.

In the interests of saving money, more people have turned to nights at home in front of the box, especially in the last couple of years. But with the rise of digital, our viewing experience has changed significantly to include on-demand, interactive red button features and tailored content – a world away from the TVs of old. Making staying in, the new going out.

Who’s in control of connected TV?

Google is the most recent brand to target the connected TV market, with its ‘Google TV’ offering announced earlier this month. The FT featured an interesting review of its hardware solutions this morning, raising the issue of navigation between TV and web services via both the user interface and TV hardware. Do consumers want a computer style keyboard to navigate connected TV services, or would they prefer a more traditional remote control?

One of the first Google-based products to reach the market requires a keyboard to navigate its interface but it’s unlikely that consumers want another piece of technology hardware cluttering up their sitting room when in other areas, technology devices are becoming increasingly streamlined.

Service providers should look to make the convergence of broadcast and broadband media as seamless as possible. This is an area that Dr Rob commented on in a previous blog earlier this year. It’s about quality not quantity, consumers don’t want more choices, they want better choices. As television becomes increasingly interactive, the key is to make navigating the features as simple as possible, to enable the customer to get the most out of their viewing experience.

Service providers prepare for the increasing demand for on demand

On-demand players such as iPlayer and 4OD have enjoyed huge success in the last couple of years; catering to viewers’ increasingly busy lifestyles, on-demand content allows people to watch what they want, when they want. But the growing popularity of broadband delivered TV has led to a large increase in the volume of data traffic and concerns over net neutrality.

This week Alcatel-Lucent Velocix and TalkTalk have been the first to announce that they are developing a new dedicated Content Delivery Network (CDN) ahead of YouView’s launch next year. The CDN built by Alcatel-Lucent Velocix will run over TalkTalk’s existing high speed IP network.

The move by Alcatel-Lucent Velocix and TalkTalk indicates another turning point in how we as an industry are working to address the evolving landscape of TV. Is the roll-out of new CDNs something that all service providers should invest in or is it just a precautionary measure?

Sky kick start new era with 3D TV

Sky today announced the launch of its 3D channel, marking a turning point in the TV viewing experience as 3D is well on the way to becoming a TV staple.

This shows that 3DTV is not just a flash in the pan and it’s now a force to be reckoned with. It has made the leap from the Big Screen into our living rooms transforming TV viewing for the future. However, whilst the 3D TV experience is impressive, it’s still a fairly expensive technology and viewers might need some convincing before they’re prepared to invest.

Recent research from Deloitte shows that only two per cent of British consumers plan to buy a 3D TV in the near future. And many viewers will have recently bought a new TV surrounding the HD TV hype.

In order to convert the mass market, content is key. And with promises to broadcast 14 hours a day in 3D, Sky are clearly in a strong position to kick start this new TV era. With TV fast gaining pace with the technologies of the Big Screen, the way is paved for an all encompassing viewing experience.

Digital killed the video star

The Institute of Engineering and Technology announced the results of a new survey today, which indicates that vinyl, film and video tape are in decline, as British households become dedicated to digital.

We don’t think that the death of vinyl, film and video tape is something that should be wept. A new and exciting entertainment era is emerging, with television at the heart. The TV is no longer just a box in the living room that plays out programmes dictated by the broadcaster. Today’s TV experience is an opportunity to interact with an explosion of content created for the digital world. Viewers can shape their own viewing experience – whether through video-on-demand and catch up TV services, red-button features or unseen DVD style extras such as behind the scenes footage.

The traditional passive experience of TV viewing is evolving to an interactive experience, with an increasing number of online applications converging onto our TV sets and the inclusion of services such as the BBC iPlayer and Sky Player. The combination of traditional broadcast viewing mixed with new on-demand web based TV services means the possibilities for consumers are endless. What would you like to see on your TV Set-top box or iDTV?

Project Canvas announces ‘YouView’

This week Project Canvas marked the next phase in its development, announcing the brand name for its connected TV offering. ‘YouView’ will be a free-to-air service and will launch in H1 next year, delivering viewers digital TV, on-demand services and internet content.

YouView set-top boxes are set to include a variety of services including: a programme search function, a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) and an applications store.

The current Project Director Richard Halton has now been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and will be working with Chairman Kip Meek. Unsurprisingly, the news has drawn a fair bit of attention in the press, with Halton stating that the service will “change the way we watch TV for ever”. A slick video has been added to the homepage of the new YouView website, click here to watch it.

3D of old

3D was by far the biggest topic at IBC in 2009. However, this year the topic doesn't seem to have moved on much. Whilst there are plenty of 3D demos around the show, there isn’t anything new that blows you away.

The World Cup matches obviously make a debut, with the company logos and team sheets working well in 3D graphics. Yet, when the game kicks off, the 3D element is a distraction. It seems the best example to date is the U2 concert, which has been rolled out again for the show.

The point with 3D is that it won’t replace everyday viewing. It will work spectacularly well for elements of our viewing consumption. It is much more likely that we’ll be getting our glasses out twice a week, rather than every day.

HbbTV playing out at IBC

Day 2 of IBC was a busy one once again. I’ve had little time to stray away from the ANT stand in hall 5 and have seen a host of companies supporting the HbbTV Standard. It was IBC 2009 where we first demonstrated a couple of HbbTV implementations on the EBU Stand, in the space of 12 months the initiative has progressed at an impressive pace with services already live in Germany.

This year at the ETSI booth in Hall 2 the first French HbbTV services are being demonstrated – marking another important milestone for the standard. If you’re at the show I recommend you take a look for yourself, the demonstration can be found at stand number 2.C29.

BBC iPlayer news at IBC 10

Greetings from Amsterdam! We’re excited to be at IBC once again, I’m pleased to report that the show floor is already buzzing. We’re keen to hear the big announcements as the show develops. But first, here’s one of our own:

The ANT Galio Platform now supports BBC iPlayer. We believe its availability on a device agnostic TV software platform is an important milestone for set-top box (STB) and connected TV manufacturers, as the TV industry strives to deliver more PC style catch-up video services.

We’re committed to giving consumers greater choice and improving the TV experience and this just one area where we are developing future functionality.

We’ll continue to update you on all IBC goings on and if you’re at the show yourself come down to stand 5.A03 – we would love to see you.

Skipping by the TV ads

Time shifted viewing has been on the cards since digital video recorders were invented with a fast forward button. So it’s unlikely to come as a surprise that time shifted viewing has more than tripled since 2006, from 1.7% to 5.9%, largely due to the growing use of DVRs such as Sky+ and Freeview+.

For the advertising industry, alarming figures are emerging - almost 90% of people skip through the adverts when watching recorded programmes. Despite this, Screen Digest upgraded its TV advertising forecast in March, predicting a 4.6 per cent year-on-year growth in the UK TV ad market during 2010.

So, why the contrast? TV commercials won’t die; they just need to get smarter. Shortening the length of the advert to adapt to the dwindling attention span should be the first port of call. And recognising that a good advert won’t just be watched on a TV screen. Think social - how can the advert appeal to networking sites and spark a viral phenomenon?

There is no doubt that the debate over the value of TV commercials will intensify as the digital television market expands. But, the simple fact is most of us can recall our favourite and most memorable TV commercials. What is yours?

Media content is king

According to a new report by Ofcom, “the average Briton spends almost half their waking life using media and communications”. This illustrates the huge influx of new media technologies that have been made available over the last few years. With each one making demands on the consumer’s time, multitasking has become a necessity in order to keep up. The report shows that people consume nearly nine hours of media and communications by using several devices at once, with television being the device people dedicate the most time to.

One of the reasons that television has maintained its popularity is that the medium has responded to evolving consumer behaviour. Popular TV services such as VOD, combined with the emergence of connected portals delivering additional content, have ensured that the TV remains the central point for consumption of digital media in the home. And, this is a role that it will maintain as TV continues to evolve to include internet access and social media applications.

This desire for more than just broadcast TV is supported by the Ofcom research, which highlights that consumers want to access and consume an increasing amount of digital media from a range of devices.

Hybrid TV over 3DTV

A recent survey from Nielsen has shown that internet connected TV is a higher priority for consumers than 3DTV. 22 per cent of those asked said that they had a broadband-enabled TV set-top box (STB) or intended to buy one, whereas only 12 per cent own or have plans to purchase a 3DTV in the next year.

This demonstrates that consumers clearly have an appetite for on-demand services, that can be accessed through walled gardens and portals on Connected TV’s and set-top boxes.

That said, it’s important to remember that 3DTV is still in the early stages, with the first 3D TV sets only available recently. Sky has already shown some of its football matches in 3D this year and with an increasing number of blockbusters being filmed in 3D, it is likely that it will continue to rise in popularity. But is there enough 3D content available to satisfy demand? As the survey shows, it is the TV content not the TV technology that consumers crave.

Award track for our HbbTV platform

We’re delighted that our ANT Galio HbbTV Platform has been shortlisted for the ‘Best interactive TV technology or application’ category at the Cable & Satellite International awards.

The ANT Galio HbbTV Platform enables device manufacturers and service providers to develop and deploy HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) related applications and services to the home. Since its launch in September 2009 it has been licensed by a number of leading set-top box manufacturers, including CreNova, Humax, INTEK Digital, Kaonmedia, Kathrein, TechnoTrend Görler and Topfield.

We’re looking forward to attending the awards ceremony at IBC, which will take place on Friday 10th September from 6 to 7.30pm.

Connected-TV catches up in France

A new report from Nouveaux Paysages Audiovisuels Conseil (NPAC) has shown that more than a quarter of TV sets in France will be internet-enabled by 2012. Only 5% of TV sets currently have the ability to connect to the internet but this is expected to grow to 14% in 2011 and then 28% by 2012.

This growth is expected to be reflected globally, NPAC has predicted that by 2014 59% of TV sets will be connected to the internet. This growth is driven by increased viewer demand for access to both broadcast and online content via one centralised experience. The TV provides an ideal channel for these sources of rich media content, bringing on-demand and interactive content straight to the viewer in their living room.

The report also states that the “biggest winners with the arrival of connected TV will [be] non-linear services, like VOD and catch-up TV”. It is essential that broadcasters provide viewers with access to this ‘must have’ content, as this is what attracts and retains subscribers. But the presentation and delivery of the combination of online and broadcast services remains vital, merging the two into one seamless experience, is the key to unlocking the TV experience of the future.

Set-top box switchover

A new report published by IMS research this week shows that 200 million set-top boxes (STBs) were shipped during 2009, an increase of 50 million from the previous year.

This has been partly attributed to the analogue switch-off in the US. Although the report suggests that potential growth has been inhibited by the credit crunch and a decrease in disposable income people have available to invest in new technologies.

Sales are expected to continue to increase globally in 2010, with digital cable and satellite projects to roll out in both China and Europe. We also expect to see an increase in sales here in the UK with the digital switchover fast approaching, as we saw last week May was the first month on record that no analogue TV sets were sold in Britain.

As consumers increasingly demand more from their set-top box than just traditional broadcast content, device manufacturers must rise to the challenge to deliver new, applications and services to stand out in a crowded market. Content is of course key, but must be combined with a powerful underlying platform to deliver the new services. The user interface (UI) will need to evolve in tandem with this growth. Simplicity is vital for the new, converged UI in order for viewers to easily navigate this wealth of new content.

The Digital Age

It was reported this week that May was the first month on record that no analogue TV sets were sold in Britain. The traditional TV format is fading out, as the UK digital TV switchover in 2012 fast approaches.

The rise of Digital TV with additional channels, HD, a variety of STB functionality and the imminent arrival of 3D TV means the consumer has never had so many choices. The switch to digital also provides viewers with a wealth of new content. The number of digital TV channels available through cable, satellite, Terrestrial, IP and hybrid STBs continues to grow. Add to that the on-demand content and you’re bound to find something you want to watch!

HbbTV specification approved by ETSI

The HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) initiative announced two major milestone results today. Firstly Version 1.1.1 of its open standards platform, has now been approved by European standards agency, ETSI (listed as ETSI TS 102 796).

Secondly, the consortium’s membership charter, covering all areas from operational framework to membership policies, has now been signed by all founding members. This signals the formal establishment of the HbbTV consortium and will open HbbTV membership, enabling new participants to actively contribute to the development of the specification.

HbbTV is a pan-European initiative aimed at harmonising broadcast and broadband content through connected TVs and STBs. As a founding member, ANT has been dedicated to the development of HbbTV so we are especially pleased to see it reach these milestones and the continued support from across the industry.

BBC Trust Approves Project Canvas

This week the BBC Trust gave final approval for the BBC to participate in Project Canvas.

Project Canvas aims to build an internet-connected TV platform, which will allow users to access on demand content as well as traditional broadcast content from the likes of ITV, Channel 4 and Five. It has also attracted support from ISPs BT and Talk Talk as well as communications infrastructure provider, Arqiva. It has been suggested that it may be marketed as ‘YouView’.

One of the main conditions of the BBC’s participation in the project is that the consortium must publish its ‘open’ technical specification within the next 20 days. Further details of the conditions can be found here.

Channel Four – a digital TV fairytale

The story that’s caught my eye this week is a report on how digital TV services are driving profit for ‘traditional’ broadcaster Channel Four.

After a tough financial year, the TV giant is attributing a small turn in profit to the growth of its digital programming schedule. This, for me, is a reflection of the real progress being made in evolving the TV viewing experience, as many flagship broadcasters here in the UK begin to turn the spotlight on digital services, and examine the real commercial value they could bring.

So, why have Channel Four’s digital TV services been so successful? With so many digital TV channels on offer today, consumers can become lost for choice. With its staple diet of popular programmes such as Hollyoaks and Skins, plus iconic sitcoms like Friends, E4 and E4+1 provide viewers with easy option viewing, knowing they’ll almost always find something they like. And, as on demand services continues to gather pace, the launch of 4od means that viewers can watch their favourite soap or get their Big Brother house fix, any time they like. Nicely done.

Whether it is factories in Bangladesh being asked to stop work to ensure there’s enough electricity for people to watch World Cup football on TV, or thousands of
British HD viewers complaining after an advert interrupted England’s first goal; the football viewing experience is firmly under the spot light.

While weekend matches are attracting crowds in the pubs, day time matches are tempting office workers to seek their football fix online. The online picture quality is pretty good and traffic to the top news websites peaked during the Mexico v South Africa game with 12.1 million visitors per minute. And, there are new TV viewing records being set. ITV said 20.1million tuned into the England/USA game (its highest viewing figures for four years).

So, what are we missing – apart from a win from our first game? Maybe, a pair of glasses and the next match in 3D. Sky has already started to screen some English football matches in 3D. But, what would a 3D viewing experience do for the World Cup? Let’s hope we find out in 2014.

First Ruling for On-Demand Advertising

There was an interesting ruling from the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) last month, when it was revealed that young children had been able to view an inappropriate advert when watching The X-Factor on ITV’s VOD service. The ruling stated that "adequate steps [were] not taken" to ensure that children did not see an advert which had been booked for post-9pm viewing.

This highlights the need for a different approach from broadcasters when distributing on-demand content. While a programme such as The X-Factor doesn’t require an on-screen warning when viewed on-demand, the adverts booked might.

Pay-TV market share movement

The number of IPTV subscribers in Europe is set to rise by 92% in next five years, according to a report from Analysys Mason. This will more than double the current number of subscribers from 15.4 million to 29.6 million.

These results show that IPTV is set to grow at a fast rate and is shaping up to take a 19% share in the pay-TV market by 2015. Analysys Mason is also expecting to see strong growth with pay-DTT (digital terrestrial television) subscriptions owning up to 11% of the pay-TV market in the next five years.

As these platforms display strong growth, there will of course be platforms that decline in market share, as the report states there will "inevitably be losers as well as winners during the next five years". Cable platforms will continue to dominate, although this is expected to decline to 41% and Satellite TV services are expected to lose out on their share by a 1% decline.

Will Google's TV search stand up?

M0les raised a good point in reply to my last post, about search.

Some years ago, I realised that Google had become the first place I looked for things on the web. Even when I knew which company’s website I wanted, a Google search saved me from having to remember the company’s website address. Then it hit me - if something doesn’t appear in the search results, then it might as well not exist.

More recently I’ve begun to notice that some things I know to exist don’t appear in the search results, especially for product searches. I’ve tried a few other search engines, but none offer me the perfect result I am looking for. I wonder, why is it not all there? Could it be in Google’s interests to show some results and not others?

Life is too short to be searching everywhere. If I want to find something - the latest album from my favourite band, for example - I don’t look in every shop to compare prices, I go to the shop I’ve bought from before, because I know they have reasonable prices and the service is good. If the service starts to slip, or prices creep up, then reluctantly I’ll invest the effort to find a new shop to trust. But, I don’t want to be doing that with every purchase. Life is too short.

For TV, it is the TV service operator that I trust to bring me good service. I trust them to present me with a manageable choice of quality content. A service that is suitable for my family’s viewing, makes the process convenient, gives me good value for money and introduces me to new things at a rate I can keep up with.

The question is, will Google TV give me that?

Google TV

Talk of Google Android spreading from mobile onto TV is flying around the web. If it happens, what will determine whether "Smart TV" takes the lion's share, or whether it becomes yet another standard among many for connected TV?

Here are seven aspects to consider:

1. Parental Control

It must have parental control built in at the core. It's no good just having one big "content lock" at the entrance, dividing the world into adults and non-adults.

2. DRM

If it's to support a range of business models, it'll need a robust DRM mechanism to protect premium content.

3. Hybrid broadcast and IP

Most households will want to retain access to the broadcast channels that they're familiar with, and the combined experience of existing broadcast and new over-the-top services will work best if it's a unified service. If you have to switch the TV to a different input and use a different box, a number of people won't be bothered to make the transition. If the broadcast and over-the-top services are fully integrated though, that will encourage people to cross the threshold. If it's done well they won't even realise there is a threshold.

4. Quality, not quantity

Consumers don't want more choices, they want better choices. Having more choices means I spend more time looking for something and less time enjoying it. I would pay a premium to have someone else find what I want, so that I can spend the little free time I have to watch, not search.

5. Accuracy

Search results need to be correct! There's a really good Indian restaurant at the end of my road, but when I look on Google Maps I find it marked several streets away. I wonder how many people are Google Navigating their way to dinner and going hungry? Will there be the same problem with TV content searches?

6. Secure integration with other services

It'll need to manage my accounts - e.g. for social networks. I don't want to be logging in here, there and everywhere, again and again. And if it's managing my accounts, it needs to realise that several people use my TV, and give me confidence that it's holding my account details securely.

7. Progressive download

I have a relatively fast broadband connection, but it's not so fast during peak hours, such as in the evening when I want to watch TV. Services need to adapt to different network conditions if they're to reach a wide audience.

Progressive download is a great leveller. With a fast connection you get a true on-demand service with near-instant playback, and if the connection is too slow you may have to wait a while, but at least it's still possible to use the service, and the playback quality is not compromised.

Adaptive bitrate streams are another option, but if I pay to watch an HD movie, I won't be happy if it descends to webcam-level video during busy periods.

So, what does the market think? Will Google TV go mainstream?

TV viewers want more interaction

A recent survey from Ensequence has shown that there is an increasingly large demand for interactive TV features, especially amongst sport fans and reality TV viewers. The survey shows that 70% of sports viewers would like to interact while watching a sport event. And that 74% of reality viewers and 55% of drama viewers would also want to interact with content. (The full list of statistics can be found here).

TV viewers from a wide and varied audience are looking for more interaction with their broadcast content. Many viewers are also interested in interactive advertising with 73% saying they would like to interact with TV commercials for a product they are interested in using their remote control.

Service providers must respond to this growing demand. There are many new exciting widgets and applications available that need to be made accessible to consumers. Especially when the report shows that 45% of TV viewers said they would “likely consider” changing from their service provider if another one was to offer interactive TV as well as content.

By adopting a hybrid approach, combing traditional broadcast programming functionality with new dynamic online services, Broadcasters are able to deliver compelling interactive experiences.

Support for HbbTV Continues

We’re delighted to see that there have been a couple of notable HbbTV announcements recently, demonstrating the momentum and support that is building for the initiative.

Firstly, the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), the French government regulatory body for TV issues, has announced that it will support HbbTV for the launch of interactive services and applications on the DTT network, which it believes will be in early 2011. (For those who speak French, full details can be found here).

And secondly, the supporter’s page of the HbbTV website now includes over 50 organisations, a notable addition to the list being the UK Digital TV Group (DTG), further details here. The DTG is the industry association for digital television in the UK and is both independent and platform neutral. The Group is presently focused on emerging consumer devices and experiences including connected TV, high definition TV (HD) and catch-up TV services.

The HbbTV initiative was launched to provide an open platform for hybrid services, and as a founding member of the group, we’re pleased to see that support for HbbTV continues to grow.

ANGA 2010

The ANGA Cable Show (www.angacable.com) began yesterday in Cologne, Germany and runs until 6th May. If you’re attending the show and would like to see the ANT Galio Platform for yourself it’s being demonstrated on the IRT Stand (Booth Number K19), here you can see demonstrations from Humax, Kaon, INTEK and VideoWeb who are all demonstrating HbbTV implementations based on our software.

If you’d like to book a meeting with a member of the ANT team please email: sales-europe@antplc.com

TV widgets & Managed Service Portals

A recent report from In-Stat has shown that there is expected to be considerable growth in TV widget revenue over the next few years, possibly generating up to US$ 1.7bn by 2013.

In the past 12 months we have seen a variety of exciting new TV widgets developed, which we’ve discussed on our blog, including: the Sky News App, a shopping widget from HSN and Comcast and Verizon launched a caller ID App.

As connected TVs evolve, consumers will have the opportunity to view more and more online content through TV Widgets and applications, which provide a streamlined mechanism to access a new wave of TV services. As the market develops it will be interesting to see how these applications will be delivered to enhance the consumer experience, either as a widget or via a managed service portal which has the capability to host a wide selection of applications and services.

NAB – Numbers up and the odd new demo too

Due to the ash cloud drifting over Europe like many, I’ve yet to make it back from NAB. So I thought I’d take this as a chance to reflect on the show.

At this years NAB the ANT team were pleased to showcase a number of demonstrations including the ANT Galio suite, the ANT managed portal and an example of HbbTV in action. Although based in a private suite, we also made time to walk the floor of the show too and I was pleased to see that the show had a great turnout. Attendance numbers were up by around 6,000 this year, which is a positive sign for the industry.

While there wasn’t the usual flood of new innovations being showcased, I did particularly enjoy what Intek Digital was showcasing on its stand. Intek’s new STB has been developed to include a small OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) on the front. This was being used as both a touch screen and a second screen.

The example demonstrated was that while children are watching cartoons on the main TV, the STB can be recording a football match on another channel. Nothing exceptional there but what was impressive was the small screen on the front of the STB was simultaneously showing the football match. When a goal was scored you were able to switch the content from the small screen to the main TV, rewind the action and then watch the goal, before returning to the cartoon. As well as a nice idea it was delivered in a user friendly and stylish design.

HD on-demand is in demand

Cable and telco IPTV operators are investing in both video on demand and streaming content server capacity in order to support on-demand HD content, according to a recent report from Infonetics. This highlights the increasing importance of ‘must have’ content for both Cable and IPTV operators.

On-demand content is enjoying huge popularity in the UK with the availability of platforms such as BBC iPlayer and 4OD. Between 2008 and 2009 world wide video on demand and streaming content server revenue increased by 60 per cent and is expected to continue to grow over the next year.

IPTV sees its strongest year of growth yet

A recent report by Point Topic has shown that last year IPTV had its strongest year of growth to date, with 10.8mn new users globally subscribing to IPTV services.

Strong growth in the Asia-Pacific region is now thought to account for 32% of the global IPTV market. But the fastest growth was seen in the Americas with 58% more subscribers this year. And, although the Middle East & Africa have only recently adopted IPTV, the number of subscribers shows a significant growth of 11.8% more subscribers in 2009 than 2008.

Here in Europe we are also seeing a keen uptake of IPTV services. France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Russia are all in the top ten countries for IPTV adoption in 2009. Which Point Topic states is down to product bundles and keen competition.

We are pleased to be seeing the number of IPTV subscribers grow year on year, and look forward to the product innovations that will drive continuous growth in 2010.

IPTV World Forum comes to a close

The last few days have provided us with a great opportunity to chat with others in the industry.

Speaking to Graham Pomphrey from Digital TV Europe this afternoon, an interesting point was raised about how exhibitors have been more realistic in their approach this year, moving from technologies that look attractive but will take a while before the market is ready for them to concentrating on showcasing technologies that are soon to be released.

This is something we were excited to do with HbbTV this year. As HbbTV has now gone to market in Germany and is used by consumers, we were able to showcase a live demonstration in the UK.

As IPTV World Forum 2010 has come to a close we look forward to seeing what technology innovations IPTV World Forum 2011 will bring.

Ben Lawrence

Marketing Communications Manager

Day 2: #IPTV World Forum

Day two of IPTV World Forum. Numbers seem to be up on yesterday, with a good mix of attendees, ranging from partners and prospects to the journalist and analyst community.

I’ve managed to find a few minutes to look around the show today. The stands seem to be slicker and bigger, maybe just a little more polished than last year. And, there are even a few interesting stand additions. Most notably a rather cool blimp that is floating around filming the crowd and a weird life sized human-sized televised image of a woman.

Ben Lawrence
Marketing Communications Manager

Taking in IPTV World Forum

It’s the first day of IPTV World Forum 2010 and it’s great to see that the number of exhibitors are up on last year.

The good news for ANT this year is we’ve seen a real buzz around HbbTV. Our live on stand demonstration of HbbTV services, such as news VoD (Video on Demand) from Tageschau and digital text and catch-up programming from ARD and ZDF (see image), have attracted a strong and varied crowd.

It’s been all go on the ANT stand all day today, but I hope to see more of the other stands tomorrow.

Ben Lawrence

Marketing Communications Manager

HD TV on the rise

According to data released this week by satellite operator SES Astra, we are set to see the number of HD channels triple by the end of 2013. They expect to see this reflected in the number of pay-TV subscribers as well. Thomas Wrede, VP product management media, SES Astra, notes that there is a well known relationship between the number of subscribers and the number of channels, which they find with each pay-TV operator.

There have also been advances in technology hardware, with the report stating that there has been an increase in the number of 1920 x 1080 flat screens purchased. SES Astra note however, that initial HD forecasts have already been proven to be far lower than the actual volumes being deployed. This once again demonstrates the need for more HD content, which is yet to become mainstream.

Don't Forget What People Want

Looking through the latest specifications from STB manufacturers, TV makers and middleware providers, the list of amazing new features that will be delivered to the home user in the next 12 months is breathtaking.

Catch-up TV, download and play Movies, widget solutions, Web applications, VoIP and video calling, full Internet browsing, 3D interfaces, full integration into the home network with iTunes, support and video streaming and the list goes on.

I’m all for adding new features to the STB but let us all not forget the fact that most people want to just sit down and have an uninterrupted viewing experience. Any technologies we add, must not detract from this. New technologies must complement the existing service by offering the user choice and not detracting from the core viewing experience.

Chris Foulds, Release Manager, ANT

Keep content in mind

ABI Research predicts that 846 million people will have subscribed to paid for TV services by the end of 2014. The majority of subscribers are expected to come from cable TV platforms, will satellite TV coming in second, followed by telco TV.

The 2014 prediction is 25% more than the 2009 number, representing impressive growth for paid TV services. This jump is reportedly down to the increasing demand for premium content, the emergence of new operators and the offers that they’re bringing to market combined with a growing list of interactive features.

Interactive applications are proving to be a key differentiating factor for operators, especially in more mature markets. But it’s important to keep content in mind as it is the ‘must have’ content that drives subscriptions, increases ARPU and reduces churn.

Android's fragmentation rumours

Reports that Google's Mobile Operating System Android is showing signs of fragmentation are rife. However, is fragmentation the wrong word?

I think it is. Device manufacturers and most importantly operators are yet to catch up with the idea of supporting a device throughout its lifetime. Traditionally you made a phone, put in it the shops, sold it and that was it.

However, now consumers are demanding support for these devices in the same way they get support for their PCs. So, whilst Google is releasing newer versions. All of a sudden handset manufacturers, like HTC, have ongoing work to do to integrate it and operators have to push the stuff out. But, where does the additional revenue to cover this come from?

As STB's and TV's enter this arena we will all have to be careful not to fall into the same trap.

Chris Foulds, Release Manager, ANT

3D TV no longer just for movies

Canal+ has confirmed plans to launch a 3D channel in France by the end of 2010. This follows the recent announcement from BSkyB for its 3D channel, Sky 3D, to launch in April.

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding 3D TV particularly at the last IBC and CES shows which both touted new 3D technology solutions. It’s great to see these technologies make the move from the exhibition floor to the sitting room and start to become a reality.

3D TV is becoming increasingly popular for consumers as well as industry enthusiasts, it’s high profile usage in hugely successful films such as Avatar and the upcoming Alice in Wonderland is helping to maintain the momentum as did the first live sports broadcast in 3D seen in the UK last month.

This announcement from Canal+ shows that 3D TV is not just a fad or for early adopters and will soon hit the mainstream. People are curious to see what it looks like on both the big and small screen. The only question is, will there be enough content available to meet this increasing demand.

ANT Galio HbbTV Platform shortlisted for IPTV World Series Award

Monday, 15 February 2010

We’ve already had some great success with our HbbTV proposition, deploying the first HbbTV Set Top Box with Humax and most recently with German set-top box firm CreNova Technology selecting the ANT Galio HbbTV platform. We’ve now received some more good news with it being shortlisted for an IPTV World Series Award.

The Best Hybrid Broadcast-IP Video Delivery Solution or Service award “recognises an operator, network provider, solution provider or ISP for a video delivery service or solution which supports the delivery of video over both the IP and non-IP video networks in parallel”.

Fingers crossed for 23 March 2010!

Sky Broadcast 3D Sport Live

Sky ran the world’s first live 3D sports broadcast in a handful of pubs on Sunday. I wasn’t one of the lucky few to experience Arsenal play Manchester United in 3D, but the response so far seems pretty positive.

DigitalTV.net were pretty impressed. Although, they felt it was a novelty rather than the future of TV. Mainly because of the glasses – posing the question of whether you would really wear them at home?

Digital Spy was also watching the event and noted that some elements of the broadcast worked better than others. For example, the teams walking onto the pitch looked impressive, as did the 3D graphics of the team. However, at times the players looked to be “plucked up from the surface”. So, not all positive.

I’m looking forward to experiencing a 3D live broadcast soon, which could be sooner rather than later with LG’s new LD920 3D TV, but I will still need some convincing to wear those glasses…

IPTV services set to reach 70 million homes by 2014

The latest subscriber forecast for the IPTV market has been released by Informa Telecoms & Media group. It predicts that 70 million homes globally will be receiving IPTV services by the end of 2014. Whilst, this is only five per cent of homes with TV sets, this is a massive increase on the 26 million subscribers recorded at the close of 2009.

28 million of the 70 million is expected to occur in Asia-Pacific which is forecasted to become the largest region in terms of IPTV subscribers by 2011.

For more information click here.

HbbTV, a true hybrid solution

If you have a spare few minutes and are interested in learning a little more about the HbbTV initiative there’s an article in the latest edition of Cable & Satellite International that’s certainly worth a read. The article is written by Steve Morris, Systems Architect here at ANT who has contributed extensively to MHP, Open IPTV Forum and HbbTV. Steve is also the author of “Interactive TV Standards: A Guide to MHP, OCAP and JavaTV.

Sky announces TV Widget

Sky has announced that its popular Sky News app will now be available on connected TV’s from Samsung. The widget enables viewers to access news headlines whilst watching other TV programmes.

A similar application has already proved popular on the iPhone and iPod Touch but Sky’s refocus on the TV highlights the move towards TV based widgets in addition to mobile.

This is a promising development for TV Widgets, demonstrating the potential for device manufacturers to aim for the same scope of TV widgets as we have iPhone applications.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone enjoyed their respective Christmas holidays. Whilst the snow continues to fall around us, we’re busy planning for 2010.

In the next few days, our eyes will be firmly fixed on the world's biggest technology conference, The Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off in Las Vegas tomorrow. It is well known for revealing landmark innovations, which previous announcements including the compact disc player, the VCR, high-definition TV and Blu-ray.

So, what announcements are expected for the TV this year? Well, it was impossible to miss the 3D hype at IBC so I expect to see more at CES. But, I guess we should wait and see.

Screen your calls

Verizon has launched a Caller ID application for the TV. The application which will be available on the FiOS TV platform enables TV viewers to see who is calling them in an information box in the corner of their screen. The information appears for several seconds allowing viewers to decide whether or not they want to pause the TV program and answer the call.

Caller ID is being implemented by an increasing number of operators and represents an opportunity to add value to an existing service in a competitive marketplace. It’s also another example of next generation widgets and applications being aimed at a TV audience.

Hybrid TV services on the rise in US

According to a piece of research by IMS nearly 55 per cent of all TV households in the US will have access to internet video by the end of 2010 and 25 per cent of these households will be capable of hosting internet video on the TV set.

As IMS Research consumer electronics analyst, Rebecca Kurlak points out, the games consoles are already addressing the internet video market with gamer demographics well suited to experimenting with new services such as Sky Player for the xbox.

Away from the games consoles, Connected TV’s have the opportunity to aggregate digital media from around the home into one device accessed via a portal. As the amount of content available increases, only a poor user experience can limit mainstream adoption by consumers.

Shop by Remote

Christmas is around the corner and what is the one thing we all do at Christmas? Shop! So, instead of travelling to your favorite department store, would you shop through the television?

In the US, HSN has teamed up with Comcast to roll out an interactive television shopping application to 8 million of Comcast’s users. TV viewers can browse for products that range from clothing to home products and electronics. Shoppers can then select the quantity, colour and size of objects using their remote.

With the average transaction time estimated to be less than 60 seconds, it looks like the TV is shaping up quite nicely for online shopping.

HbbTV Marches On

IRT has just announced that it hosted the first HbbTV interoperability workshop last week and that version 1.1.1 of the specification has been submitted to ETSI.

Representatives from ANT attended the event and have commented that it was extremely successful. Live satellite feeds containing HbbTV signals, plus test feeds generated by IRT provided the framework for interoperability testing against 17 different applications.

The speed at which HbbTV has grown is great to see, especially as we have seen strong interest in our own ANT Galio HbbTV Platform. The submission of the specification into ETSI is another important milestone and demonstrates how well the group is working together.

Wikipedia on the TV

Vudu has announced that it has integrated Wikipedia into its service, meaning movie buffs can select the Wikipedia item from a menu to find out what the website has to say about the movie. They can then navigate through the website as they would on a computer.

It’s another example of how digital TV is being used to aggregate content from a variety of sources. OTT widgets and applications are paving the way for fully integrated TV services delivered over broadcast and broadband.

As more digital media content becomes available to consumers the user interface and user experience become increasingly important, understanding the different ways in which a consumer interacts with a PC and a TV for example is essential.

Come Dine with Me

Just spotted Channel 4’s live online play-along, for fans of Come Dine With Me. By logging onto channel4.com/dine, when the programme is scheduled for live viewing, fans can score the Come Dine With Me contestants while they're watching the show on TV at home.

Viewers can try and predict the outcome of the show and rate each night's contestants on food, personality and atmosphere. This level of interactivity when viewing TV programmes is a signal of what’s to come in the future. But, not on the web, but with content shared through the television.

The question is, which TV programmes, do we want to get interactive with? Top Gear, Who wants to be a millionaire, Ten Years Younger... Anymore?

Five things I like about the new Wii iPlayer

First thing yesterday morning, before I'd even had breakfast, I downloaded the new iPlayer from the Wii shop, eager to try it out. I haven't given it a lot of testing yet, but so far there are many things I like about it:

1. It now appears in the top-level Wii menu, which makes it obvious how to access it. Previously it was four clicks away.
2. The interface is similar in style and function to the one I'm familiar with on my PC, but adapted to the context of use.
3. It's fine if I start it up knowing specifically which programme I want to watch and also has the beginnings of some recommendation elements in the "Most Popular" and "More Like This" functions, which is good if I'm just looking for something to watch.
4. The frame-rate is better than the old version, which was uncomfortable to watch for more than a few minutes. The resolution isn't quite up to standard definition, but that's less important.
5. Navigation is by pointing the Wiimote, which rumbles as the pointer moves over clickable things. It's a subtle but important bit of tactile feedback that I suspect helps to subconsciously tune your movements to steer the pointer efficiently.

A few things I would like to see in a future version (tut! Never satisfied eh...?):

• I'd like to see still-frames as I drag the play-position slider. Buffering for video playback takes several seconds each time the slider is moved. If I want to skip to the part of "Later..." where Norah Jones sang for example, it's a tediously slow process.
• The ability to watch live channels. I know there are technical reasons why that would be a bad idea, but let me talk about wishes for a moment, and forget technical feasibility. I'd like live channels to be included so that everything is in one place, and I only have to learn one style of interface. I'd like to see the broadcast schedule displayed in the same UI, and for the programmes in it to contain links to previous and related episodes.
• A recommended viewing schedule. Programmes aren't available forever in iPlayer, so to help me organise my TV-viewing time I'd like to indicate which programmes and series I'm interested in, and have the system recommend to me what to watch next and by when, so that I don't run out of time to watch anything.
• Finally, I'd like more to help me find new things to watch - for example, user-provided ratings, and editorial content about programmes and series.

Dr Rob.

Twitter on TV

Orange announced earlier this week that it has struck a deal with Twitter to enable users to send messages direct from their TV’s. As a consumer it’s great to see new applications being added to a TV service to enrich the offering.

On screen chat is a use-case that we’ve supported at ANT for some time, in March 2008 we demonstrated a new concept called ‘Footie Friends’ at the IPTV World Forum, which also used a Twitter style application. This enabled viewers to chat to each other both on screen and via mobile while watching football on their TV’s.

I expect to see further social networking applications appearing on our TV screens as the industry experiments further. I’m keen to see how this can be tied to the content that’s being viewed such as the X-Factor. This has proved a popular topic in social media forums providing a great opportunity for broadcasters.

Details of the new Wii iPlayer

Last week, Rahul Chakkara posted some details about the new iPlayer for the Wii on the BBC Internet Blog.

We tried the old Wii iPlayer (before it broke) in our household a few times, but we haven't used it much because we found the lower-than-normal framerate was uncomfortable to watch - I'm hoping the new version will do better.

Rahul mentions some technical challenges including, "limited processing power and memory available on these types of devices," which is interesting given that the Wii is far more powerful than most STBs...

I'm looking forward to trying the new version tomorrow.

Dr Rob.

Sky moves into the mobile market

Following the recent launch of Sky Player for the Xbox, BSKYB has also been busy targeting the mobile market with the launch of the Sky Mobile TV service. The app is available on both the iPhone and the iPod Touch and will allow users to stream live TV through a wifi connection.

Sky says there has been 2 million downloads to date, so the service is proving to be popular. So far they have targeted live events with a selection of news and sports channels available. Will this open the way for further mobile TV apps?

It will be interesting to see what the long term impact of this service will be on SKY’s traditional subscription model and if the new service will drive new subscribers to Sky or will current customers opt for the cheaper Mobile TV subscription instead?

Two screen viewing

The NBA Digital (National Basketball Association) has launched a new two screen approach for viewing live games. Viewers watching live NBA games on their TV will also be able to access live data on their PC’s in the style of a press room where they’ll have real time access to player and team statistics. There are some nice touches including being able to personalise the homepage so you’re favorite teams stats appear every time you log on; and access to an instant messaging chat room.

You can see a demo of the application here: http://www.nba.com/tvc/info.html .

NBA refers to some Nielson Media Research that found that 57 per cent of Americans, with access to the internet at home, use the TV and internet simultaneously. 27.9 per cent of the time online is spent simultaneously watching TV so this move is a good response to consumer behavior.

I can’t help thinking they’re missing a trick though, shouldn’t this all be done via the TV? This is exactly the type of application that can enhance a viewing experience, delivered via a widget on the TV screen.

Giving IPTV the X factor

This series of the X Factor has generated a huge buzz online. Facebook launched an app for each finalist, whilst Twitter enables users to add a ribbon to their profile to show their support for their favourite finalist.

ITV has been busy too, launching a dedicated website to aggregate the show’s content, such as photos, videos and comments about each performer. However, much of the progress to combine the online buzz with the TV programme has been focused on tapping into people that tune into their favourite programmes via the web.

The question is, when will broadcasters bring social media to the TV screen? The technology is already in place. IPTV can facilitate Twitter conversations into live programmes via OTT widgets, which would allow viewers to have conversations and interact with each other.

One concern about hosting online content through the TV is the effect public conversations could have on the brand. If this move is to happen, broadcasters will need to be careful how they publish viewer comments and what filters if any, they put in place.

Whilst the industry debates how to make this a reality, can we now put rest to the claim that watching TV isn’t sociable?

Risky business

The same characteristics of the web that allow new services to be launched at the flick of a switch can also lead to services breaking at any moment. Witness the update that has broken access to iPlayer on the Wii:

“Why am I unable to view BBC iPlayer on my Nintendo Wii?

The latest Nintendo Wii software upgrade has caused BBC iPlayer to stop working. Users that have not upgraded can continue to use the BBC iPlayer website.”

The lesson here is that although technically it may be possible to launch a new service that builds on something provided by another company, if you have no commercial agreement in place with the other company to maintain compatibility with your service, an update could break it at any time and without notice. If it breaks, an awful lot of users could be pounding your help-lines or returning products as “faulty”...

I wonder how many of the vast array of mobile and TV devices with access to YouTube, Facebook, etc, have been built with commercial agreements with the service they access, and therefore can continue to work faultlessly for the lifetime of the product?

Dr Rob

Chatting With Sky Player

After a rocky start, Sky Player is now live on the Xbox 360. Sky Player will enable consumers to use their Xbox live service to access movies, sport and entertainment on demand and stream a selection of channels live.

In addition to live streaming and VoD services, some interesting social features have been added, which allow consumers to interact with their friends using avatars in a virtual living room. When in the room you can text and chat using the Xbox headset in a similar way to what we’ve seen when playing games online using Xbox live.

Such social applications and widgets are set to be popular for both TV viewers and gamers alike. But, with most consumers opting to view VoD services through iDTV’s and set-top boxes, will chat applications struggle to reach the masses through a games console?

Netflix build on VoD Strategy

Netflix and Sony’s announcement that US owners of PS3’s will soon be able to access the Netflix “Watch Instantly” service via their games consoles, builds on an existing strategy by games console providers to move TV content onto the console.

While the initial implementation isn’t necessarily the smoothest - the consumer must put a special disk into the console whenever they wish to access the service. It is another example of a Video on Demand service targeted at the TV.

Netflix already run the “Watch Instantly” service through Blue-ray players, TiVo and the Roku box.

The question is, how much of the VoD market can the game console providers grab?

Magic of iPlayer

Generations of British children have grown up with some of the most creative and best loved children's programmes in the world. But what is in store for the children of tomorrow? The creator of Grange Hill, Brookside and Hollyoaks, Phil Redmond, gave his view on the future of children's television on the BBC.

This very introduction, lead me to iPlayer and Phil Redmond’s 50 minute talk by the Royal Television Society. I was engaged from start to finish, apart from feeling that I was listening to Ringo Star (Beatles!) with a very dry sense of humour. I was impressed not only with his fantastic story telling, but by the absolute drive and passion of Phil for articulating the need for an environment that continues to prioritise the creation and delivery of content that children would engage, relate to and be enthused by in years to come.

I can’t do justice to the whole lecture, but wanted to highlight a few key snippets:

Phil talked about today’s children being submersed in their Xbox Live and online experiences, such as Facebook and how a broadcaster needs to build content to compete with these new mediums. For example, why will tomorrows 14-year-old tune into a broadcast channel, instead of logging onto the web. We are all working towards bring these world’s together!

This question though, is a good lead into a core debate for UK broadcasters; the role of a public service broadcaster verses a commercial broadcaster. Phil drew the comparison very well, centred around children’s programming, he captured beautifully that the BBC Trust see’s “Children’s Programming at the heart of the Public Service remit”, whilst in contrast drew reference a recent statement from Sky’s Chief Executive, James Murdock, that “the only reliable, durable, and perpetual guarantor of independence is profit”

The world of television is moving very quickly, policy, standards and technology have a significant role in creating the environment to allow creative and compelling services to be brought to the broadcast and emerging online screens. However, Phil reminded me that a balance always has to be in place between content that engages and informs our society as much as it entertains.

At a personal level, the many early mornings of sitting on the sofa with my children over the last 11 years, has been made much easier by the rich, engaging and educational programming available from the BBC’s Children’s channels... Cbeebies and CBBC...

Anyway, if you have a spare 50 minutes, this is a must watch.

TV 1 Web 0

The results are in. England not only lost to the Ukraine, but the match didn’t attract its expected viewing figures. Although, Kentaro and Perform (the two businesses involved in the project) have not given detailed viewing figures, they have stated that the match attracted less than half a million. Less than half the capacity it had reserved. Not surprising really given that England fans were not captured by the move away from the TV to the web.

On the plus side, the infrastructure stood up to the test relatively well. Virgin reported a 10% increase in traffic on the same time for the previous week, which caused no problems apparently. But, it is the idea of watching the big match on the PC that fans struggled with.

England V Ukraine: TV V Web

If you want to watch Fabio Capello’s team take on Ukraine, you’ll have to stay away from the pub and go online. After the collapse of Setanta, the UK rights have been purchased by digital media company Perform. It’s not necessarily a surprising move in an age where the UK audience is familiar with catching up on programmes using iPlayer. However, it hasn’t been well received by the majority of football fans.

The subscription will be limited to one million streams, which in viewing numbers will equate to around 2.5 Million. However, I’ll be surprised if they reach that limit. There are of course some interesting partnerships being explored here, Odeon will be showing the match in some of its Cinema’s for example.

As for the match itself, well it’s not that important given that England have already qualified for next year’s World Cup. No surprise then that BBC, ITV, SKY or Five didn’t break the bank to get the rights for this one.

For me the TV is still holds the crown as the most powerful medium when it comes to mass viewing but as we move towards web and TV harmonization will the TV remain the platform of choice for consumers?

Augmented Reality

Not so long ago, the notion of mixed reality was something that only materialised in science fiction films. However, as time passes, the virtual world and the technology surrounding it are fast evolving.

It’s clear that there’s a lot of hype around Augmented Reality (AR) and it has captured the imagination of next generation developers and manufacturers.

This is a sort of stuff that could potentially bring the interaction between technology and the human even closer.

It seems the innovation behind AR is developing fast and becoming applicable to nearly everything to do with consumer electronics and gaming. Just last week, a company called SPRXmobile revealed Layar, an augmented reality browser with 3D capabilities, as demonstrated below.

Taking in IBC

IBC has definitely not lost its buzz this year. From the conversations I have been having, the show seems to have attracted a good size crowd this year. What has really paid off for ANT this year, is our position. Our location in the EBU Village has placed us in the middle of conversations with broadcasters.

The turmoil with existing broadcast standards has been at the centre of a lot of these discussions. The restrictions of the red button service in the UK to extend to other web based services and similarly the restrictions of the MHP service in the Nordics, has driven excitement towards the HbbTV standard and our involvement.

What has been really interesting is the use of teletext across Europe. If you consider 1.2 million pages are accessed each week in Switzerland and 16 million in Germany, the importance of getting, news, sport and the weather through your TV is still very much an integral part of the viewing experience.

I’ve not had much chance to get around the show, so hopefully I will get chance to visit other stands today.

Video help

One effective way to teach a new user about a UI is to make a video tutorial, with a real live person to introduce the purpose of the UI and take the user through the steps involved in using it. Playback of the video could be played during an installation “wizard”, or triggered from a “help” button embedded in the UI itself, or offered as an option at the edge of the screen if the user seems to be hesitating with the next step of an interaction.

The new HbbTV standard for hybrid TV devices makes the task of including video help in applications about as easy as it’s possible to be – by virtue of its support for streaming video over a standard HTTP connection. Perhaps the hardest part will be producing the video in the first place – in a way that looks professional anyway.

What do you think – will video help become a common feature of HbbTV applications?

It’s IBC time again

An increasing amount of multimedia content has been targeted at the TV for some time now. Whilst, it is an exciting time for the industry, consumers have been surrounded by multiple remote controls and a service presented in a non-TV centric manner.

We believe that the TV is a great way to receive a variety of information and for the next few days we will be demonstrating our new managed service concept at IBC at the EBU Village (stand number 10.D21).

We’ll be showing how the consumer will be able to see a variety of content such as VoD (Video on Demand), internet radio stations, playlists and programme information, and daily news sites that feature video clips of the latest news stories; all direct from the TV.

I’ve answered a few questions on this latest announcement here:

See HbbTV in action at IFA

As IFA 2009 sets off with a bundle of new technologies for the consumer, I wanted to tell you about some exciting technology at the show that we’ve been involved in. Our news on HbbTV over the last week has attracted a great deal of interest but of course showcasing real life stuff is what it’s all about. If you’re at the show please go along to the ARD stand (Hall 2.2/101) and visit the Digital World section where we have, in partnership with Humax and KaonMedia, live demonstrations of HbbTV in action. It is truly rewarding to have something that we have been involved in for a while come to market and in my opinion really hit the mark. By this, I always run the "would I spend my money on this " test, and for the interactive web services converged with HD experiences we are delivering here I absolutely would. This is a great example of industry collaboration resulting in ....well take a look and let me know what you think.

ANT Galio HbbTV Platform

ANT today announced the launch of the ANT Galio HbbTV Platform. This follows our involvement in the “Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV” or “HbbTV” project, a pan-European initiative that merges the delivery of broadcast and broadband services.

As a consumer I’m excited by the services that are already being developed for HbbTV, visitors to IBC will get to see some examples of these next week. I’ll be updating the blog from the show next week and will of course keep you updated.

HbbTV is based on elements of existing standards including OIPF (Open IPTV Forum), CEA, DVB and W3C, further information can be found here: www.hbbtv.org

I’ve also answered a few questions on this latest announcement here:

European initiative merges television with the power of the internet

Here at ANT we’re delighted to have been involved in the launch of “Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV” or “HbbTV”, a major new pan-European initiative aimed at harmonising the broadcast and broadband delivery of news, information and entertainment to the end consumer through TVs and set-top boxes.

It’s an exciting time for the market and we’ll be making further announcements soon so watch this space!

You can find out more information on the HbbTV website and

I’ve also answered a few questions here:

The future of EPG

Every month or so Justin Lebbon interviews TV industry representatives on their views on emerging trends and technology for his new site V-net.tv, an online information sharing and networking hub for all things Convergence TV, as I blogged here before.

This time he has kindly asked my opinion on the future of EPG to which I happily answered in a form of video.

Making TV widgets talk

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is working with industry to develop a talking TV UI. A little more detail is available on the Ocean Blue Software site, but I'm looking forward to seeing (or rather, hearing) it at IBC to find out how the EPG part of it works.

I imagine that it's not just a case of speaking out the contents of a whole screenful of guide information. What the blind or partially-sighted user needs is to be able to navigate around a screenful of information to control the order that things are spoken, much like a sighted person would look around by moving their eyes.

For this to work effectively, the navigation paths would need to be logical and structured so that the minimum navigation is required to get to the info you want. I doubt you'd get that simply by mapping left/right/up/down positions on the screen display to left/right/up/down navigation, so each "talking" application must be structured with spoken interaction in mind.

Which raises an interesting question - with the trend towards 3rd party extension applications and widgets for interactive environments, would every application author have to design their app with a "talking" mode of operation (including navigation paths optimised for a talking UI), or is it possible to design the UI building-blocks such that a useful talking mode is achieved without the app-author considering it?

A widgets environment already forces some navigation structure onto applications (so that the user can navigate between widgets without all widget authors cooperating with one another) - could this be extended to make widgets talk more easily?

Sighted-users can also benefit from this area of work. For example, imagine if you could phone your STB from the office and interact with the talking interface to set a recording. Or if the TV remote control had a phone-like handset built into the back, you could check your stocks and shares widget without disturbing the video that others are watching.

Blinkbox gets content approval from BBC World service

Viewers of VOD service Blinkbox could soon catch up with popular programmes commissioned by BBC, according to numerous reports this week. BBC Worldwide has licensed the rights to offer shows, including Planet Earth, Top Gear and Spooks, in what seems like a revenue sharing deal.

The VOD service boasts 1.5m video streams to 750,000 unique visitors last month, and already has 5,000 hours of programming available, but much of the content is from US networks.

Blinkbox has an interesting proposition for the UK VOD market. Although the service has a competitive edge over BBC’s own iPlayer with its mixed catalogue of content, it remains to be seen whether its pay-tv model will work in the UK. The VOD market is fast evolving and companies such as Blinkbox are working to find a business model that works.

VOD viewers can be fickle so content could be the differentiator, but not without a good price structure, accessibility and usability features.

Challenging the conventional design

Just occasionally someone designs something that causes everyone else to ask "Why didn't I think of that?" - or even "Why hasn't someone thought of that before now?". This was very much my reaction when I first saw a design concept by Min-Kyu Choi of London's Royal College of Art.

The UK plug is generally considered the safest plug design in common use anywhere in the world. The use of rectangular pins, the cable exiting at the bottom (thus minimising the likelihood of the plug being yanked out by its cord), cable restraint and each plug being individually fused, are some of its key features. More recently the standard has been updated to require the phase (live) and neutral pins to have insulated bases.

However, there remain several factors about the UK plug that are sub-optimal. It is one of the largest physical plugs in the world and in particular its 3d footprint is big making it bulky and difficult to accommodate in product packaging. For anyone who has ever stood on its prongs with bare feet at 3am will contest, leaving them lying around the floor is not wise. And for anyone responsible for the forest of wiring behind their TV, UK trailing sockets are also space-consuming beasts. Mr Min-Kyu appears to have succeeded where so many before him have failed - to improve the UK plug while keeping all of its safety features and addressing the three issues I listed above. perhaps that is why people are calling him a genius.

Min-Kyu Choi's plug design - ideal for portable equipment



The design has been submitted as an entry for the James Dyson Award. Hopefully an enterprising company (maybe Choc Box?) will pick this up and turn it into a commercial product - how long before we see it and Choi on Dragon's Den?

What do you think of the design? Have you come across an innovative design concept worthy of mention? Let us know in the comments.

Internet TV is reaching its peak in the hype cycle

Gartner has published an updated version of their annual Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies report for 2009.

At a glance it’s an interesting piece of research looking at the most discussed and eagerly followed emerging technologies, with Internet TV being one of them (see graph below).

If this comes to fruition, Internet TV will reach a mainstream adoption in two to five years, which I think it isn’t entirely a bad forecast. I’d be more interested to see how this plays out beyond 5 years, as there are so much more to connected TV other than just hype.

Kudos to Gartner for allowing the use of this image.

Touchable hologram revealed at Siggraph

At this year’s Siggraph, the international exhibition for computer graphics and interactive techniques, a team of R&D boffins from the University of Tokyo demoed a piece of technology called Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display.

The technology uses ultrasound to enable a hologram to move around as and when a person touches it, creating what’s called a touchable holography.

What’s more striking is that you can feel the touch sensation from the acoustic radiation pressure coming out of the ultrasound, bringing interaction between human and technology even closer.