digiGO! The Digital World… Featuring — ABI Research — Aruba Networks — Final Draft, Inc. — Image Entertainment — IMS Research — Industrial Computing — Juniper Networks — Media One Direct — Research + Markets — Telecast Fiber Systems — WASP3D —

• ANALYSIS—In December of 2007, ABI Research conducted an online survey of 1002 television and video consumers in the United States. The purpose was to measure American consumers’ viewing and content/service purchasing habits and preferences—information of critical importance to all members of today’s video entertainment value chain. While the survey draws no single conclusion and does not generalize about “typical” TV/video consumption, it reveals some surprising facts about viewer’s attitudes and activities. Some 66 percent subscribe to some form of pay-TV service, and of those, 60 percent receive at least one additional service (telephone, Internet etc.) from their provider. However, only 54 percent of respondents declared themselves satisfied overall with their providers: pricing and customer service are the biggest sources of discontent. But Janet Wise, director of primary research, notes that, “Given that nearly 30 percent of all respondents’ reasons for choosing their providers involved a lack of choice or unawareness of alternatives, perhaps providers do not have to worry just yet.” 41 percent of TV owners have a high-definition TV, but surprisingly, only 56 percent of this group subscribe to a HD service package. ABI Research senior analyst Cesar Bachelet advises that, “Pay-TV operators need to close this gap by highlighting what HDTV owners without a HD package are missing out on.” A substantial 45 percent of viewers say they use pay-per-view, but not often: most do so just once a month or less. “Low pay-per-view use poses a key challenge for pay-TV operators,” says Bachelet. Generally, interest in “next generation” TV services is low (although greater in younger viewers), with the one exception being the ability to move content sourced from the Internet from the PC to the TV. Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) are owned by a significant minority of users, with the result, says Bachelet, that, “Alliances with games console manufacturers (e.g. IPTV services through Xbox 360) could represent a significant opportunity for online content/ gaming services.” There’s more info here—New York, New York





• ANALYSIS—Aruba Networks, Inc. has made available a new white paper on Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) that explores the strengths and weaknesses of this technology for delivering broadband wireless services to fixed and mobile clients. The widespread availability of WiMAX has, for years, been just around the corner, but non-interoperable implementations and frequency spectrum licensing issues have hindered deployments. The situation for enterprises is different, however. The white paper notes that WiMAX is a convenient alternative to wired backhaul for remote or personal access points. Combined with Wi-Fi, WiMAX can help an enterprise cost-effectively accommodate diverse backhaul requirements and extend wireless LAN services to hard-to-wire locations. Ease-of-use is further enhanced when both WiMAX and Wi-Fi networks are managed from a common console using a multi-vendor wireless network management platform. Wi-Fi and WiMAX do not inhabit discrete segments of the market but instead overlap and represent two of many competing ways to deliver broadband wireless services to fixed and mobile clients. While the two share common underlying technologies, each has strengths and weaknesses associated with transmit power, channel bandwidth, spectral bands, antenna gain, and management regimes. The white paper reviews the capabilities of each technology, notes where they are complementary, and makes a case for using them together to achieve a robust broadband solution. The new white paper, It Takes Two to Tango: Using Wi-Fi and WiMAX to Deliver Broadband Wireless Services to Fixed and Mobile Clients, can be downloaded directly from Aruba’s website. .





• CREATION—Final Draft, Inc. publishes the #1-selling scriptwriting software and the firm has announced the addition of two new development software partners; Blake Snyder and Save the Cat! Enterprises, and Toon Boom Animation Inc., publishers of Storyboard Pro. Both products now have the ability to import Final Draft’s FCF file format for a more seamless transition from writing to outlining and/or storyboarding. Additionally, both products will be offered as a bundle option with Final Draft through the educational channel. There are a number of academic advantages with Toon Boom Storyboard Pro…
  • Introduction to pre-production concepts
  • Development of logical planning and skills
  • Essential tool for preparation and detailed development of any audiovisual project
  • Understanding of the critical pre-production phase, emphasizing the importance of pre-production accuracy and checks
  • Easy integration into any production pipeline
  And here are the advantages of Blake Synder’s Save the Cat…
  • Easy Development of a powerful Logline and Title
  • Selection of one of 10 genres, each with recognizable traits that will help you write something that is “the same, only different”: Monster in the House, Golden Fleece, Out of the Bottle, Dude with a Problem, Rites of Passage, Buddy Love, Whydunit, The Fool Triumphant, Institutionalized, and Superhero
  • Fill in a Blake Snyder Beat Sheet with the 15 key beats for every screenplay: Opening Image, Theme Stated, Set-up, Catalyst, Debate, Break into Two, B Story, Fun and Games, Midpoint, Bad Guys Close In, All Is Lost, Dark Night of the Soul, Break into Three, Finale, and Final Image
  • Use “The Board,” the fabled device seen in executive offices all over Hollywood, which allows you to “see” your movie before you begin writing. The Board is broken down into four rows, 10 cards per row for a total of 40 — a good average count for the number of beats in the average movie
  
  
  
  
  
  
  





• BIZ—Image Entertainment, Inc. has formed a worldwide television sales division and named Steve Saltman head of the new department. Saltman, who was previously Senior Vice President of Domestic Television, has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Worldwide Television. He is now responsible for all forms of television distribution, including the worldwide sales of Image licensed and Image distributed content across broadcast television, cable/satellite, pay-per-view and video-on-demand platforms. The company’s lineup of programming includes U.S. television rights to the feature films: The Air I Breathe, The Secret, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Autumn Hearts, Love and Other Disasters, and The Color of Freedom. Additionally, the division will be leveraging Image’s vast catalog of premium-event titles for television buyers. Also promoted were Barbara Gomperz-McCarney to Executive Director of International Sales and Operations and Tiina Teal to Manager of Television Sales and International Operations, both of whom will report to Saltman.
  
  





• ANALYSIS—The IMS Research study IPTV: A Global Market Analysis—2008 Edition reveals that, as a whole, an estimated 13.2 million households received IPTV service in 2007, with nearly 8.4 million IP-enabled set-top boxes (STB) shipping worldwide. IPTV households are forecast to grow 52.2 percent annually though 2012. This new study examines the worldwide IPTV market from infrastructure to operators, providing analysis on the delivery of linear and on-demand content via IP-based networks by telcos, as well as by cable and satellite pay-TV operators. Shane Walker, research analyst and author of the study, states, “The increasingly competitive pay-TV landscape with proliferation of new content, triple/quadruple play offerings, and new Internet-based TV services is one of the main factors behind IPTV household growth. Another important factor is the rapid uptake of IPTV services in China and South Korea as governments relax regulations restricting deployment and as telcos become more involved with expanding IPTV services.” The multi-play offerings being rolled out by telcos to gain a competitive advantage include a combination of IPTV, VoIP, Internet, mobile and premises security in addition to advanced services such as VOD. In addition to an analysis of current commercial and technological trends surrounding IPTV, the report provides forecasts through 2012 for IPTV households, IP STB shipments and IP STB revenues—Wellingborough, United Kingdom & Austin, Texas





• DELIVERY—Now available from Industrial Computing is The Guardian 100, a military grade (MIL-STD-810F) fully-rugged compact notebook that can be used as a standard laptop or, by rotating the display up to 180 degrees, you can transform the display into a tablet PC slate. The 10.4-inch or 12.1-inch wide screen is sunlight readable. The tough magnesium alloy case is sealed to IP54 standards and has a shock-mounted removable 120 or 160GB serial hard drive providing a lightweight design protected against damage during operation. The ruggedized computer features include an energy-efficient low voltage Intel Core Duo processor for quiet, fan-less operation, gigabit Ethernet, an integrated GPS, fast wireless PAN and WAN implementations, plus an SD Card reader and a waterproof reversible camera—Waltham, Massachusetts
  
  
  
  
  
  
• DELIVERYJuniper Networks, Inc. debuted their support for WiMAX broadband wireless networks with the company’s Service Provider Steel-Belted Radius (SBR) Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) Server. With mobile WiMAX support, Juniper‘s SBR Carrier AAA Server will provide a single, unified multi-access AAA system that delivers the flexibility to serve the mobile landscape and will enable providers to accelerate the delivery of new services while leveraging existing network assets. WiMAX is a next-generation mobile broadband technology that offers dramatically improved range and capacity over traditional wireless technologies. However, mobile WiMAX places extraordinary demands on AAA systems—they need to support multiple Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) methods as well as manage mobile IP sessions and facilitate roaming. Juniper’s SBR Carrier AAA solution supports the methods required by the WiMAX standard for authenticating users and devices (EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS and EAP-AKA), as well as legacy technologies such as EAP-SIM for backward compatibility, all on a single, unified platform. With its mobile IP key derivation and management functionality, the SBR Carrier AAA Server will also have the intelligence to set up mobile IP sessions; manage mobile sessions throughout their lifetimes; and support roaming in both home and visited networks. Support for mobile WiMAX is expected to be generally available as a separate software module for SBR Carrier AAA server in Q3 2008.—Sunnyvale, California





• CONTENT—Media One Direct LLC develops multimedia and entertainment content and the company will produce a promotional video and user tutorials for the new V7 line of GPS portable navigation devices, the exclusive house brand for Ingram Micro, Inc. The promo and tutorials are for the V7 NAV 730 and the V7 NAV 740, a new line of GPS portable navigation devices. The promo will play on the V7 at major retail stores to allow consumers to watch the features of the device at the point of sale. The V7 navigation system is more than just a handheld global positioning device—it is a personal travel planner and full-featured portable multimedia player supporting the most popular picture, music, and video formats.
  
  





• ANALYSIS—Research and Markets added World Report on Digital Satellite Set-Top Boxes to their offering. The pay direct-to-home (DTH) industry is characterized by two broad growth patterns: maturing markets with decaying rates and high growth/emerging markets. Mature markets like those in North America and Western Europe stand in relative stark contrast to regions like Asia and Eastern Europe, where the markets are just emerging. Both North America and Western Europe have relatively few pay-TV platforms—often a duopoly or monopoly prevails. This is in contrast to countries like Romania, which currently has five DTH providers, which paints differing growth prospects. In mature markets, growth will come from premium services (HD and DVR/PVR) while emerging/high growth markets will experience a period of relatively robust subscriber acquisition likely followed by consolidation and a gradual decay in the growth rate. The emerging/high growth markets, by and large, will mirror, to some extent, the progression taken by the mature markets—Dublin, Ireland





• DELIVERY—Telecast Fiber Systems has announced that their CopperHead fiber optic multiplexing system has been awarded patent #7,327,959 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent recognizes the innovation and unique utility of the CopperHead, the world’s first camera-mountable transceiver able to multiplex all of a camcorder’s output and input signals onto a single durable and lightweight fiber optic cable. The CopperHead fiber optic system mounts directly onto portable broadcast television cameras and delivers both digital (SD/SDI or uncompressed HD/SDI) and analog video to a remote base station as far as 20 miles away, all over a single fiber cable that is one-tenth the weight of ordinary coaxial or triaxial cable. The CopperHead system also transports all of the bidirectional audio, return video, sync, intercom, data, and control signals required for remote broadcasts—Worcester, Massachusetts
  
  





• CREATION—On display at the upcoming NAB show will be WASP3D from the company of the same name… this product is a workflow based, real-time, 3D graphics application that offers 3D graphics, virtual sets, channel branding, chroma keying and 3D compositing, with a variety of uses, from sims to business to elections and other broadcasting needs. The software will be on display at Booth # SL9908. WASP3D offers a number of modules, each of which brings new capabilities into the program. WASP3D brings real-time phong shading (pixel shading) into play, which means with the same number of polygons, you can achieve realistic visual representation of the scene objects, with more accurate specular highlights and sharper vertex highlights, plus gouraud and flat shading modes. An example of the interface between modules… templates that are published using the Drone Designer are also available in the program’s Comb Builder for creating data entry user interfaces. More info at the company website—Uttar Pradesh, India
  
  
  
  
  
  

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