June 1, 2012 – To get it out of the doldrums it remains in, 3D needs as much help as possible and the latest leg-up has been given by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) the United Nations agency for information and communication technology.

The ITU has drafted a series of recommendations, submitted to its Administrations for accelerated approval, on 3DTV that are intended to promote the further use of this format worldwide and which the ITU hopes will provide much needed tools to evaluate, make, and exchange 3DTV programmes. The ITU’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) has developed the standards in collaboration with experts from the television industry, broadcasting organisations and regulatory institutions in its Study Group 6.

In detail, the new ITU-R Recommendations focus on 720p and 1080i/p HDTV 3DTV programme production and broadcasting with recommendations also agreed on the digital interfaces used in studios for 3DTV programme production, and on the general requirements for 3DTV. The ITU-R Study Group 6 also agreed a Recommendation for the methods to evaluate the quality of 3DTV images, which relates to three aspects, or quality factors: picture quality, depth, and comfort levels.

Read the full story at http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/2012060122188/itu-drafts-new-recommendations-to-boost-3dtv.html?utm_source=newsletter_687&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rapid-tv-news-current-edition-0106#ixzz1wXA8siho

June 1, 2012 – A new report from leading management consultant McKinsey is warning that beyond the hype the maturity of connected TV and most importantly the consumer appeal of its value proposition are questionable.

The company based its conclusions on research conducted in France and the UK, McKinsey assessed the smart TV opportunity and determined how TV manufacturers, media/content providers, and telecoms operators should prepare for this new battleground.

Concurring with other recent reports McKinsey concluded that from a supply side at least, the transition to connected TV seems unstoppable in the two markets and calculates that Internet connectivity in TV sets is slowly but surely becoming a mainstream feature. Given the current growth of TV sales, it expects the installed base of Internet-enabled TVs to grow 70% each year to reach over 500 million devices by 2015.

Read the full story at http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/2012060122187/smart-tv-maybe-too-smart-to-win-over-consumers.html?utm_source=newsletter_687&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rapid-tv-news-current-edition-0106#ixzz1wX90I44D

June 1, 2012 – In a matter of only months, ‘second screen’ has made the transition from being a mere conversation topic to an established part of the TV ecosystem new research from Futuresource Consulting is suggesting.

The analyst believes that the key drivers for what it describes as an explosion have been the emergence firstly of mass market smartphones and then, and perhaps more significantly as far as video applications are concerned, the arrival of tablets led by the iPad.

Moreover, the firm’s projections show that smartphone and tablet ownership growth is not being interrupted by the economic hardship currently endured in Europe and so the usage of a second screen device is going to expand. Tablet ownership is for instance set to grow more than fourfold.

Futuresource’s recently released Living With Digital research found that 62% of respondents say they use interactive devices while watching TV, with laptops and mobile phones topping the list of most commonly used equipment, and tablets rising fast. This figure rises to 85% of 16 to 18 year olds, and even more than half of 56 to 65 year olds use a second screen.

Read the full story at http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/2012060122184/second-screen-now-the-norm-in-tv.html?utm_source=newsletter_687&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rapid-tv-news-current-edition-0106#ixzz1wX7fzdgM

May 26 2012 – WiMAX, wireless connection provider for internet and Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB) have engaged in a blame game over a new problem in which television images are blurred in certain region across the country.

Meanwhile, a couple of international satellite communications industry have come and liaised with COAB in accusing WiMAX for the problem in which viewers of satellite television channels often cannot see proper images on the screen of their sets, officials at the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said.

The cable operators and their supporters have claimed a recent field-study revealed that sharing of the same bandwidth of wireless frequency-range by the satellite television channels and the internet service providers is the main cause of disruption to the dissatisfaction of TV viewers across the country.

The same bandwidth is used for transmitting satellite television signals to the cable operators and the WiMAX for providing internet service to users, causing interference in operations of each others.

Meanwhile, WiMAX operators said for the interference of satellite television service providers, their clients often miss internet connections.

As the disruption has become acute, local cable operators and a couple of international satellite communications industry have jointly called upon the relevant authorities to place internet providers to another less crowded frequency-range or the bandwidth.

The disruption in viewing satellite television is being caused by the technical interference of the wireless broadband operators using newly introduced “WiMAX” technology, said a cable operator.

The Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB), the Global VSAT Forum (GVF), the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) and the World Broadcasting Unions – International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG), have jointly urged the relevant authorities in Bangladesh to solve the problem being faced by millions of viewers across the country.

The call was made unanimously by the stakeholders at a meeting in Dhaka last waeek, hosted by APT Satellite, a Hong Kong-based satellite operator.

APT Satellite has recently conducted extensive field tests to confirm that the source of the interference is from WiMAX operators, said a COAB leader.

APT now provides satellite capacity to most of the television channels in Bangladesh.

The resolutions of the meeting were endorsed by CASBAA and the GVF who exchanged views and information with Bangladeshi industry and relevant government officials, officials at the BTRC said.

Experts of the ATP said the trouble started soon after the relevant authorities had allowed WiMAX to use the 3.5 GHz range, that earlier used to distribute satellite television services across the country and the rest of the region.

If the problem continues, millions of viewers will be deprived of services from cable operators of the satellite television channels, the operators said.

“For instance, the largely unanticipated implications of the introduction of WiMAX services at 3.5 GHz is causing widespread transmission failures throughout the country and can be especially serious for news broadcasters which use the lower end of the Standard C-band spectrum” Gregg Daffner, Chairman of CASBAA’s Wireless Action Group said in a statement on Thursday.

However, the cable operators and the satellite television channel industry leaders think that the relevant authorities could easily solve this serious problem by migrating wireless operators to different bandwidth.

“However, there is a solution to this very serious problem,” said David Hartshorn, Secretary General of GVF. “The interfering WiMAX services can use other, less crowded frequencies.”

In other markets, WiMAX operators have successfully migrated from the 3.5GHz band, “so we know we can resolve the crisis in Bangladesh,” said Hartshorn.

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