Thursday 28 January 2016

Colors all set to go on-air with ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’

The new season of Khatron Ke Khiladi, hosted by actor Arjun Kapoor, featuring 14 contestants, goes on-air starting January 30, 2016, every Saturday & Sunday at 9 PM



Every day we wake up with the hope of battling all our fears. But very few gather the strength to look fear straight in the eye and nail it. The 14 promising contestants of this Season of “Fear Factor Khatron Ke Khiladi” have done exactly that.

Presented by Zica from Tata Motors, “Khatron Ke Khiladi – Kabhi Peeda Kabhi Keeda” in Argentina with 14 celebrity entertainers and Arjun Kapoor is all set to premiere on Saturday, January 30, 2016 and will air every weekend at 9 PM on Colors.

Whether it was the scare of hissing snakes on their bodies or dunking their heads inside a box full of worms, jumping off from running vehicles, speed in cars to survive a blast, battling with fire, allow deadly spiders and reptiles walk all over their face, pick slithering snakes using the mouth, walk the tight rope from scary heights – the daredevils of this season have done it all. And to make their lives a little more precarious was Arjun Kapoor, the fun, friendly and fearless host who loved doing keeda at every possible juncture.

Commenting on the launch, Raj Nayak, CEO of Colors, said, “We have kicked off the year on a high with the closure of another successful season of Bigg Boss where the choicest celebrities were camping in a house away from prying eyes. And now, with Khatron Ke Khiladi – Kabhi Peeda Kabhi Keeda, it’s time for viewers to bear witness to their favourite celebrities facing their fears and performing stunts in the same timeslot on weekends. Making the show’s experience more personal for viewers, we will be launching ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi – The Game’ which will urge players to overcome their fears and dodge high-speed obstacles keeping them engaged through levels of adventure-filled gameplay.”

Giving Argentina a flavour of India, Arjun Kapoor will be seen making every member of the show, including the Argentinian crew, dance to his desi tunes. A change in the format will see the contestants being split into two teams, turning the competition into an open battle field right from the start and raising the bar of the season with each passing episode.

What’s new

Manisha Sharma, Programming Head, Colors, said, “This year we have incorporated a new twist in the show’s format by dividing the contestants into two teams. Their perseverance was put to test as they had to not only compete against each other but also play for each other whether or not they liked it. We have had some very interesting revelations about each of them. The most timid ones surprised us with their grit and determination. As host Arjun Kapoor surpassed all our expectations not only as an entertainer but also as a motivator at every level of difficulty. It was exciting to see the contestants fight all their fears to come out as strong performers.”

Speaking about his experience as a first-time host, Arjun Kapoor said, “While I have hosted live events and award shows in the past, the thrilling ride of being host for a reality show like Khatron Ke Khiladi – Kabhi Peeda Kabhi Keeda with 14 gifted participants was a completely different ball game altogether. But at the end every bit of the effort was worth the pain and turmoil, especially because I had the opportunity to add my brand of mischievousness and ‘keeda’ to stunts whenever possible. Shooting for the show and interacting with the contestants has been a memorable experience for me and I certainly hope that it will translate into a well-packed fun-filled season for the viewers as well.”

Speaking about what’s in-store this season, Deepak Dhar, Managing Director, Endemol Shine India, said, “With more than 100 people working tirelessly to bring alive the ‘Kabhi Peeda Kabhi Keeda’ theme of Khatron Ke Khiladi this season, it’s one of our most promising seasons thus far. An all-new location like Argentina and an exciting gen-next host Arjun Kapoor, have served as the perfect setting for our teams to up the entertainment quotient. Keeping in tune with the theme and the 14 eager participants, we have introduced a volley of surprises to create edge-of-seat moments for viewers and the unsuspecting Khiladis alike.”

Delna Alvari, Head – Marketing Communications & Service, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors, said, “We continue to work with our partners to create interesting properties for our customer as part of our #Madeforgreat campaign. This is a step towards yet another offering and we are delighted to work with Colors. The concept of Khatron Ke Khiladi is to push oneself to overcome new challenges, which resonates with our values as well. With the start of an exciting year for Tata Motors with new products and multiple customer engagement initiatives, planned under our #madeforgreat campaign, we have started the brand transformation journey.”

The contestants

The 14 contestants this season are: Bollywood actors Tanishaa Mukherji, Sidharth Shukla, Vivan Bathena and Sana Saeed; real-life television couple Jay Bhanushali and Mahhi Vij; model Parvathy Omanakuttan; Indian hockey player Yuvraj Walmiki; telly actors Aishwarya Sakhuja, Tina Dutta and Himanshoo Malhotra; and dancing stalwarts Faisal Khan, Mukti Mohan and Raghav Juyal.

Marketing

Colors has planned an extensive integrated marketing campaign across mediums including print, cable and DTH, radio, electronic media, OOH, cinema, etc. The channel has also planned on-ground activations in sync with the Colors Golden Petal Club in nine cities across Uttar Pradesh. In Mumbai, special Khatron Ke Khiladi announcements are being made on Western Railways and Metro. A robust digital outreach will keep the buzz surrounding the property alive on social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube among other platforms.

The channel is also launching ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi – The Game’, a pacey and thrilling action adventure game, developed by Hungama Gameshastra, challenging players through a stunt-ridden obstacle course requiring them to take down other contestants. With a user-friendly interface having Tilt-Based Control Scheme, the game will be available on Android and iOS platforms and will create an unparalleled cinematic experience with its dynamic gameplay. Players will also be able to share their performance through social media features like Facebook sharing and Leaderboards.

Resource : http://www.bestmediainfo.com/2016/01/colors-all-set-to-go-on-air-with-khatron-ke-khiladi/

Doordarshan’s free DTH service FreeDish to have 112 channels by March

Government owned broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) is set to carry 112 channels on its DTH service FreeDish by March end, reports Indiantelevision. FreeDish is a free to air (FTA) DTH service, which recently added Big Magic to its service last month, after an initial run with the DTH service before.

DD is also acquiring ByDesign India’s conditional access system (CAS) to increase its channel offering from the current 64 channels, which includes DD National, DD News, Wow Cinema, India News, IBN7, LS and RS TV, India TV, Sony Pal, Rishtey, Sanskar TV, 9XM, Star Utsav, Aaj Tak and ABP News, along with local DD channels.

The report adds that ByDesign’s CAS solution will enable broadcasters to control access to their services by viewers, and thereby extend their subscription based schemes to them. FreeDish will switch from its current MPEG2 to MPEG4 in two phases, the first of which may happen this month.

In its 25th e-auction for FreeDish, DD raised its reserve price to Rs 4.3 crore. The auction is supposed to be held today to help DD achieve its target of 112 channels. Prior to this, the reserve price was Rs 3.7 crore per slot and lower in the previous years.

Other developments:

– In November last year, the government increased FDI to 100% for the DTH industry, cable networks, mobile TV and Head-in-the-sky businesses. However, it permitted FDI up to 49% through the automatic route, following which it will require government approval. The government had earlier in 2012 increased the limit to 74% for the industries.

– In October, the Indian Government planned to increase advertising spend on the digital platform, in lieu of ads on tradition media like print and television, to help increases the government’s presence in digital media.

– In June, public broadcaster Prasar Bharati appointed Surya Prakash as its chairman on a full time basis. Prasar Bharati’s board comprises a chairman, an executive Member (chief executive officer), a member of finance, a member of  personnel, six part-time members, a representative of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and the Directors General of All India Radio and Doordarshan as ex-officio Members.

– In December 2014, In a scathing report, the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India criticized the Department of Space (DoS) for failing to meet its target of making available satellites which were to provide 218 Ku band transponders used for mainly for Direct to Home (DTH) providers hence forcing them to use overseas facilities.

Resource : http://www.medianama.com/2016/01/223-doordarshan-freedish/

Should TV & DTH players fret on Netflix India launch? Not really

Moneycontrol Bureau


 The, otherwise, small on-demand video service market may get shaken up as world’s top video streaming service forays into India. Opening a whole new basket of international content to Indian viewers, Netflix is launched in India giving a tough fight to Hungama, HOOQ, Star's Hotstar, ErosNow and Singapore-based Spuul. Netflix provides content to smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, PCs, Playstation, Xbox with an active internet connection. Data consumption while using Netflix has to be paid separately to the internet service provider and is not covered in Netflix’s subscription charges.


So, should Indian direct-to-home (DTH) and TV industry develop cold feet now?



Not really, say analysts who think pricing may give a competitive edge to Indian peers on domestic grounds. More than anything else, Indian users are still tackling with bandwidth issues.



Edelweiss


 does not expect Netflix to have any major impact on Indian DTH and cable TV players. It says that Netflix’s rates are on higher side and broadband speed will also be a challenge. It adds that Netflix rates are almost two-three time higher than prevailing cable TV/DTH rates and its content will attract only a niche audience.

 Pricing of Netflix India starts at Rs 500 per month for its entire library but in standard definition format and with only one concurrent user at a time. Its Rs 650 per month plan offers high definition (HD) format and two concurrent users at the same time, while the Rs 850 per month plan offers 4K quality content and four concurrent users in the same login. The first month is free as it is the trial month. As of now, Netflix accepts payments only through debit and credit cards and with time, but IDFC expects it to tie up with telecom companies and payment wallets to increase its target base.


IDFC also thinks pricing will be an issue for Netflix and it will be able to target only premium customers.

Currently, the online video market in India is dominated by Youtube (Alphabet) and HotStar (Star India), which are free for users but contain advertising.

"Netflix is almost 1.7x-10x costlier than other subscription-based, India focused offerings. English entertainment (movies included) contributes just 1.1 percent (source: TAM 2014) to overall viewership share and less than 5 percent to TV industry ad revenues (industry sources) and hence, the Netflix launch at such a high price point will have limited or no impact on Indian television." IDFC says in a report.


However, according to IDFC, Netflix entry is likely to accelerate growth of short-form online video in India but real growth of subscription led long-form online video will be heralded by increasing wireline broadband infrastructure. IDFC also adds that, in India, average TV average revenue per user (ARPU) is Rs 200 per month and the cheapest subscription led online video application, Eros Now, costs Rs 50 per month. Hence, cost saving will not be very high in case of cord cutting; moreover, TV’s serialized content is quite different from Eros Now, it adds.

IDFC believes that both online video and TV will continue to grow together and co-exist. The brokerage has maintained outperform rating on Zee Entertainment,neutral on Dish TV and Hathway Cable and underperform on Sun TV Network and Den Networks.

Agrees Religare that pricing of Netflix is very high for a competitive market. It believes that content owners with scope for IP monetisation will gain from Netflix launch. According to Religare, Shemaroo will stand to benefit if it signs a deal with NetFlix. Shemaroo’s new media segment has grown at 80 percent for the past two quarters and the brokerage retains a buy rating on the stock. Religare sees strong internet TV-led media consumption in India driven by growing smartphone penetration and improving bandwidth.

"While Netflix’s pricing at Rs 500 per month is expensive for the Indian market, the entry of multiple distribution platforms will continue to fuel demand for local content," it says in a report. Shemaroo is its remains our top pick in the pure content space.

In 2016, the company plans to release 31 new and returning original series, two dozen original feature films and documentaries, stand-up comedy specials and 30 original kids series. Netflix’s popular and award winning shows include Orange is The New Black, Narcos and Daredevil. Only Kevin Spacey-starrer House of Cards is unavailable due to Zee CafĂ© holding territorial digital rights. It also offers 79 Bollywood movies.

Resource : http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/should-tvdth-players-fretnetflix-india-launch-not-really_4925121.html

DishHD Asia launches first all-HEVC DTH service

Leading Asian pay-TV provider DISH HD has selected the ViBE VS7000 HEVC encoder from Thomson Video Networks to drive its new Ultra HD 4K and all-HEVC-HD satellite service upgrade.

The upgrade encompasses 120 channels transmitted to viewers across Northeast Asia.

“DISH HD was the pioneer of HD satellite pay-TV services in Asia,” explains Bert Klein, managing director, DISH HD. Now, with this major system upgrade, we have again demonstrated our leadership in bringing the best satellite TV experience to our subscribers. They can now enjoy Ultra HD 4K and HEVC HD channels, and we have doubled our channel capacity and introduced a new Ultra HD 4K HEVC set-top box.”
Resource :http://www.iptv-news.com/2016/01/dishhd-asia-launches-first-all-hevc-dth-service/

Making the most of cashbacks

A mobile phone that costs Rs 50,000 is available on an e-commerce website for Rs 42,000. Another website is offering Rs 10,000 cashback on it.

So, it effectively costs Rs 40,000, provided you pay through a particular mobile wallet. Which is the better option?

Paying through the mobile wallet can save you Rs 2,000 more than the first e-commerce website. But, the money remains in your wallet for you to spend in future. Whereas in case of the first e-commerce website, it is a direct of saving of Rs 8,000 upfront. If the mobile wallet is an open wallet, you can use it to pay utility bills, cab services or at any store or website that will accept it. But, if it is a closed wallet, you will be able to use it only on those e-commerce websites, stores, brands, etc, which have a tie-up with the wallet.

Mumbai-based Sangeeta Irani, who has her own public relations company, regularly shops on Paytm and avails of cashback discounts of 10-40 per cent. The money saved goes into her Paytm mobile wallet account, which she then uses to pay for cab rides, recharge her DTH, etc.

The only problems she has faced so far were more to do with the quality and packaging of the goods she has purchased, which might be better on other e-commerce websites, she admits. "I purchased a Corelle dinner set, which costs Rs 12,000, for Rs 7,000. At an offline retailer, I might have got a discount of only Rs 2,000 or so. But, as the packaging was not good, some pieces were broken and I had to return it. The refund took some time,'' she says.

As a precaution, Irani does not keep above Rs 3,000-4,000 in her mobile wallet at any point of time. While purchasing from Paytm, she uses the mobile wallet for smaller amounts; for bigger purchases, she uses her credit card. "Always remember to use the code while shopping or else you will not get the cashback,'' she says.

Entities such as Paytm offer cashbacks to attract buyers and retain them. As compared to those offered on banks' credit or debit cards, the advantage of a cashback through your mobile wallet is that it is immediate. You get the money back into your wallet as soon as the goods are shipped, often in only a couple of days.

"For customers, the advantages are instant gratification and, two, the money can be used the way you want to. For us, it is the advantage that customers come back to our platform,'' says Saurabh Vashistha, vice-president, Paytm.

Paytm recently had a series of cashback offers up to 100 per cent on different categories. The first was on fashion, sports and kids (toys); followed by home and kitchenware and then electronics.

In case of open wallets like Paytm, you can even transfer the money back to your bank account or debit or credit card.

You will not be able to do so with closed wallets.

While cashbacks and discounts are an effective way to reduce the cost of products, users should first read and understand all the offer conditions.

In case you have not done the Know Your Customer (KYC) vetting for your wallet, you can only get a highest of Rs 10,000 as cashback. That is the maximum you can maintain in a non-KYC wallet according to regulation. This means if you are entitled to Rs 13,000 as cashback on a purchase, you will get back only Rs 10,000 if you have not completed the KYC. The remaining Rs 3,000 will be credited to your wallet only the following month, says Vashistha.

Always compare the price of the goods to see if the discounted price after the cashback is actually lower or not, advises Manish Chopra, co-founder, Little, an app-only marketplace for deals in the online-to-offline (O2O) space. Using the app, customers can get discounts in online stores, restaurants, spas, theatres and on services such as laundry.

"If the cashback is being offered after marking up the price, it is not a real discount. So, don't blindly buy only because of a cashback offer. Also, it is better if you get a cashback on your current purchase, rather than a discount for your next one. For, you will then be forced to return to that same merchant or to the same website for your future purchase,'' he says.

Sometimes, the cashback might be only for the first time you purchase from a particular merchant or for using a wallet for the first time. Or it might be only for certain customers. Vashishta says, "Some merchants might offer cashback only for their regular customers. It is possible to structure selective cashback programmes. Or, if a utility company wants to encourage customers to pay bills online, it may offer cashback for those paying online for the first time. The idea is that once people get used to the convenience, they will continue to use it.''

Feature and ease of convenience is what Oxigen, another mobile wallet service, hopes will attract and retain customers in the long run. Rachna Prasad, its marketing head, says, "cashback is a win-win from a customer point-of-view. But, we offer it selectively. We know we cannot continue it for a long time. So, we don't do it on a blanket basis. Currently, we are offering cashback on first-time usage for recharge and for movie tickets with PVR.''.

Virender Gupta, head of PayUmoney Wallet, agrees cashbacks are more of a strategic promotion for merchants and there could be a cap in terms of frequency and amount.

"Users get cashback into their wallet on paying with PayUmoney on certain merchants. This is in the range of two to 20 per cent and for only select partners. For all other merchants who use the PayUmoney check-out, we offer a one per cent discount on the transaction value,'' he says.

Fine print

If the cashback comes back after a long while, say a month or so, of if you have to give proof of purchase such as invoice number, etc, it acts as a deterrent, says Pratap T P , co-founder and CMO, Qwikcilver, an information technology company that offers end-to-end gift and stored-value card solutions for retail customers. "Sometimes, cashback might be for a percentage of total spends but with a cap on the total amount. Or one might need to spend a certain amount. One should watch for such conditions,'' he says.

For instance, Qwickcilver has partnered with about 150 brands across categories like apparel, lifestyle, electronics and travel to offer reward points in its Woohoo app and Woohoo online store. However, these points can be used only to purchase those brands. In such cases, the reward points are useful only if the app or website has tie-ups with a large number of partners.

Resource : http://www.business-standard.com/article/pf/making-the-most-of-cashbacks-116011700804_1.html

DISH and WINK-TV blame each other for blackout

Southwest Florida television fans who get their signals through the DISH Network are having to do without their weekly dose of "The Big Bang Theory," "NCIS" and "Criminal Minds."

A contract dispute between Southwest Florida's CBS-affiliate WINK-TV, based in Fort Myers, and DISH, based in Englewood, Colorado, has resulted in an extended blackout of service to 42,759 customers in Collier, Lee, Charlotte and Hendry counties.

DISH and WINK had an agreement that expired several weeks ago. It was extended until talks broke down and the blackout began Jan. 8 at 8 p.m.

And there's no sign of an end of the impasse between the family-run television station, which is owned by Fort Myers Broadcasting, and the publicly traded pay-TV carrier, which has nearly 14 million customers nationwide.

"We haven't heard from them this week," said Joe Schwartzel, general manager of WINK.

At the heart of the dispute is what DISH should pay to transmit WINK's programming to its customers. DISH said in a news release that WINK is trying to "gain deal leverage" by asking for above-market rate increases that are four times above the current DISH rate, and refused their offer to match the rates paid by other pay-TV providers.

"Broadcasters like Fort Myers use their in-market monopoly power to put profits ahead of the public interests they are supposed to serve," said R. Stanton Dodge, DISH executive vice president and general counsel, in a statement.

Overall, broadcast fees have soared from $215 million in 2006 to $4.9 billion in 2014, DISH said, citing SNL Kagan research.

But WINK contends that DISH offered it less than half the rate paid by other pay-TV providers.

Schwartzel said that the cost of programming has been escalating dramatically over the past few years, particularly for the right to cover sporting events, and that cost must be passed on to carriers.

He added unless and until DISH comes to an agreement with the television station, the satellite-television company is prohibited by law from carrying WINK's programming.

"There's no obligation on their part to carry us," said Schwartzel. "If you're a [DISH] customer, you'll have to put up an antennae or find an alternative carrier."

Other area carriers that carry WINK programming include Comcast, Century Link and Summit Broadband.

While both DISH and WINK express the desire to end the standoff, for now, customers are out of luck.

National broadcasters prevent pay-TV companies from temporarily substituting an out-of-market station during an affiliate's blackout.

Dark screens due to retransmission fee disputes are becoming much more common, according to the American Television Alliance, a coalition of cable, satellite and telephone companies.

In 2010, there were eight blackouts nationwide; in 2015, there were 193, ATA said.

National broadcasters bear part of the blame for blackouts and rising costs, the group said, by demanding a cut of fees pay-TV providers pay to local affiliates.

Resource : http://www.naplesnews.com/news/local/dish-and-wink-tv-blame-each-other-for-blackout-29b81429-1a3b-19d3-e053-0100007fa970-365829991.html

Dish Network could face up to $24 billion in fines over marketing calls

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and four states are seeking $24 billion in fines from satellite TV giant Dish Network over illegal marketing calls over the last decade. The trial starts today, and U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough will hear the case without a jury. The judge had already determined that Dish made 55 million illegal calls, and laws protecting consumers allow for damages up to $16,000 per violation.

As of writing, the company has a market valuation of $24 billion so a complete judgement against them would decimate the company.

Dish said they have improved compliance significantly and that most of the illegal calls were made as long as ten years ago. "Dish has long taken our compliance to the telemarketing laws seriously, has and will continue to maintain rigorous telemarketing compliance policies and procedures, and has topped multiple independent customer service surveys along the way," the company said in a statement.

Despite being on the Federal Do Not Call Registry, millions of U.S. consumers received robo-calls and telemarketing calls from Dish or from companies that Dish paid to make the calls. Dish already paid a $5.99 million fine to 46 states in 2009 over the same claims. California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio did not settle and their suits have finally gone to trial.

Resource : http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2016/01/22/dish-network-could-face-up-to-24-billion-in-fines-over-marketing-calls

Dish, Consumer Groups Unite To Stop Mega Cable Deal

The intended merger of Charter Communications, Bright House Network and Time Warner Cable to form the entity "Mega Cable" has ruffled the feathers of Dish Network Corp., the satellite company.

Dish, along with Public Knowledge, NTCA, U.S. Telecom, Common Cause and Consumers Union, have now come together to stop the Mega Cable deal as they believe that the proposed merger would affect rivals.

The group, composed of 17 entities united under the "Stop Mega Cable Coalition" moniker claim that the intended deal worth $55.1 billion would drastically impact and "reduce the ability of new players" to grow in the broadband space.

"As proposed, Mega Cable could undermine new and emerging streaming video services, starve out independent programmers and worsen customer service, all while raising prices. That must not be permitted; the FCC and DOJ must solve the harms presented by Mega Cable," propagates the Stop Mega Cable website.

The consumer groups argue that if the merger goes through, then Mega Cable and Comcast would be in a position to control nearly 90 percent of the broadband space.

The Stop Mega Cable Coalition belives that this concentration of power has serious long-term risks. With the duopoly, the coalition fears that the two may manipulate the broadband market to their advantage, potentially squeezing out the smaller players who will be unable to match-up to the policies they offer.

This would also threaten the future of independent programmers and over-the-top (OTT) streaming services.

For Jeff Blum, deputy general counsel and SVP for Dish Network Corp., the major concern for the company is the repercussions the Mega Cable merger would have on its OTT services, particularly the burgeoning area of the TV-via-Internet service.

"[Big Cable] view OTT as a threat and have the ability to damage the OTT marketplace," says Blum.

Dubbed Sling TV, Dish's OTT service was launched in 2015. Subscribers were charged with a monthly fee of $20 to gain access to some channels such as AMC, ESPN and TNT. The subscriber can opt to include other channel packages for an additional $5 to $15 each month.

Mega Cable coming into existence would leave only two players to control the broadband space only two players. Consumers could potentially face high cable prices and have no say in matters of customer service.

Charter Communications is not surprised that the coalition is seeking a review of the proposed merger from regulatory bodies.

"It should come as no surprise that Dish and other parties seeking to use the regulatory review process to extract concessions are also engaging in tired PR tactics to further their self-interests. Their arguments against the pending transactions are baseless," says Charter.

Resource : http://www.techtimes.com/articles/126924/20160124/dish-consumer-groups-unite-to-stop-mega-cable-deal.htm

Tata Sky makes Everywhere TV free for viewers

MUMBAI: The advent of the on-demand Internet streaming Netflix in India has no doubt created waves across the country. While Netflix is available free for a one-month trial it will then charge between Rs 500 - 800 for its three packages. In what can be termed as a direct reaction to this, direct to home (DTH) provider Tata Sky has declared its Everywhere TV service free for users.

Tata Sky earlier charged users Rs 60 per month for the same service. Users can stream TV channels on the go through Everywhere TV on the official Tata Sky app. The service will feature channels subscribed by the viewers on the Tata Sky connection.

Everywhere TV provides access to live stream content from the channels and can also serve as a second screen. Viewers can also set the video quality on low, medium and high and the app runs smoothly on 3G and 4G networks.

The app can be accessed on up to two devices per subscriber ID. It also offers Hindi as well as English content including entertainment, news, sports, etc.

While Tata Sky is the first DTH operator to react to Netflix's entry into India by offering its streaming service free, it's is definitely not going to be the last. How other DTH operators as well as over the top (OTT) players change or adapt their subscription and content strategy going forward will be worth watching.

Resource:http://www.indiantelevision.com/dth/dth-operator/tata-sky-makes-everywhere-tv-free-for-viewers-160109 

DTH players capitalize on DAS phase III areas with aggressive campaigns

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: DTH players like Videocon d2h, DishTV et al have been shouting from rooftops about being DAS Phase III ready for a few months now. And since the DTH sector stands to benefit the most with the cable TV digitisation drive in India, most players have rolled out aggressive advertising campaigns to acquire more customers.

While Videocon d2h expects Phase III to be 50 million TV households in terms of size, the scope for customer acquisition is vast.

More so now with the ongoing High Court cases filed by various multi system operators (MSOs) and cable operators to extend the Digital Addressable System (DAS) Phase III implementation deadline, as many as five states have got temporary respite. With cable operators in several states facing shortage of set top boxes (STBs), the situation proves beneficial to DTH players in acquiring new subscribers in DAS Phase III.

Dish TV, which is the oldest direct-to-home player in the country, has stepped up its campaign following the deadline of the Government for switching off analogue signals in all urban areas covered by DAS Phase III.

In fact, the DTH player has been very upfront about their marketing strategy that capitalises on the confusion over digitisation in Phase III areas, as seen from their latest aggressive campaign titled Dish99. Targeting the Hindi speaking market, the catch phrase for this new campaign reads “Set-Top-Box Matlab DishTV” (Set-Top-Box Means DishTV).

The TVC features popular TV actress Radhika Madan, who is a household name for daily soap watchers, addressing two housewives to tell them that their serials would be off air soon.

When the panic-stricken women ask what they should do, she urges them to switch to Dish TV that offers service starting at just Rs 99 before their analogue signals are disrupted and they miss out on their daily entertainment.

Explaining their current marketing strategy, Dish TV MD Jawahar Goel said, “DishTV’s advertising has always been very pro-active, but the ongoing campaign has been designed in view of the obvious shortage of set top boxes with cable operators. With the deadline of phase III of TV digitisation coming to a close, we aim to capitalise the huge captive user base that will eventually be on digital platform.”

With this product, further, to augment the digitisation drive in Phase III, DishTV has introduced a 360 degree multi-media campaign spanning TV (across leading entertainment, sports and news channels), outdoor, radio, digital, online and direct marketing that leverages the power of popular TV celebrities. This DAS campaign features DishTV’s relatable faces to strike a chord amongst the audience and create awareness about TV digitisation among every household to shift from analog to digital platform,” added another DishTV spokesperson.

Earlier Tata Sky too had rolled out a similar engaging campaign with Kangana Ranaut as its brand ambassador reaching out to people and telling them why they should switch to Tata Sky and enjoy paying for selective channels.

However, Tata Sky points out that their campaign was not intentionally targeted to capitalise the digitisation situation.

Tata Sky CEO and MD Harit Nagpal says, “We didn't do any special campaign and the ads with Kangana Ranaut had commenced last year before the deadline. The ad simply says that if the viewer gives a missed call on the displayed number, Tata Sky will call back for installing their system. Thus, the viewer will save money as well as get the work done.”

The campaign kick started earlier in June 2015, saw itself drawing several eyeballs from both consumers and industry experts by virtue of its casual and conversational style of narrative.

On the other hand, sources share that Doordarshan’s free to air DTH service FreeDish has no plans to step up its publicity or marketing in view of the extension orders by High Courts of the DAS Phase III.

“FreeDish was in a market that was different from the other DTH players as it was a free to air platform. DD generally publicised FreeDish only on its own channels and has no intention of any cross-channel promotion,” a source informs.

It is undeniable that the current situation of DAS Phase III poses an opportunity for several DTH players to provide an easier alternative to consumers and bring them on board as subscribers while cable operators find a solid ground on the digitisation proceedings. What’s more, even as the government has announced 31 December, 2016 as the deadline for DAS Phase IV, it now remains to be seen how DTH players get even more aggressive on the marketing front as the year progresses.

Resource: http://www.indiantelevision.com/dth/dth-operator/dth-players-capitalize-on-das-phase-iii-areas-with-aggressive-campaigns-160120

Gionee Marathon M5: Power Bank Meets Smartphone

Gionee has been one of the successful smartphone makers from China that offer a variety of handsets focusing on different segments. The company’s ‘M’ or Marathon series focusses on endurance by offering chunky batteries that last longer than traditional Android smartphones. The new Marathon M5, the update for the M4, is the latest juice packing handset that features a 6,020mAh battery (two 3,010mAh) which means it can last quite a bit before you need to run to a charging point.

The overall design is refined and appealing if you don’t consider the weight. With a sturdy metal and plastic body, Gionee has managed to make the edges substantially slim at about 8.6mm, but it is bulky and really heavy. The display is a 5.5-inch AMOLED panel which means vivid colours and high contrast but the resolution is 720p HD which isn’t that sharp and feels just about alright.

A full HD resolution panel would’ve hit the right spot, but again lower pixels means less consumption of the battery. Since the handset has a uni-body design, there is a slot for inserting the SIM cards and also one to put a microSD card on the left and right edges. There is also an infra-red blaster port on the top which enables you to control some electronics around your house like a television or DTH set-top box through a pre-installed app. Quite a handy feature if you don’t like to shuffle remote controls.

The handset is powered by the same quad-core MediaTek processor which was used on the M4, but now you get 3GB of RAM and also a bump to 32GB of internal storage. The package sounds good and actually works very well. Running on Android 5.1 with Amigo 3.1 UI (user interface), you get a heavily customised Android experience. The quick setting panel slides out from the bottom rather than the traditional top to bottom which only shows the notifications. This takes some time to get used to especially if you’re coming from another Android device. There is a theme app and a store as well as options to customize the lock-screen wallpaper with a variety of downloadable ones.

One interesting app is Chameleon that basically uses the camera of the smartphone to pick a primary and a secondary colour and use that as a theme. Great for people who like to match their apparel with their smartphones. There also a system and performance enhancing app which lets you control your battery modes, clear system cache and more. The handset also supports gestures which can be used when the screen is locked by simply drawing alphabets to open apps.

Performance is satisfying as apps run very well, even the gaming experience is great with the handset capable of handling heavy resource hungry titles. The 3GB of RAM helps in handling multitasking and there are not noticeable lags during heavy usage. There are some issues with the UI though like no option for killing all apps at once and a longer route to open your favorite contacts, but these are minor issues which the company has confirmed to fix in the upcoming updates.

In the camera department you get a 13MP rear and a 5MP front combo. Both the cameras can take some good pictures in daylight but are not very impressive as low light and even indoor lighting leads to noise and loss of details. The front camera doesn’t offer auto-focus, so one has to be careful while taking selfies. The camera app offers some nice features though including a Pro-Mode to control your shutter speeds and ISO. Other noticeable features include Magic Focus which lets you take a picture and adjust the focus later and Ultra Pixel that doubles up the resolution of the rear camera. The cameras on the handset are fair and don’t offer anything huge in terms of photography.

The sweet deal is of course the battery. On a full charge the handset managed to churn out two days of battery backup which included a mix of 3G and Wi-Fi usage along with gaming, social media apps, music and browsing the internet. If you use the handset cautiously you can get close to two and a half days maybe even three. The bundled charger juices up the handset in a couple of hours. Gionee claims that thanks to the large battery, one can even charge other handsets and devices using a simple OTG cable.

For about Rs. 18,000 the Marathon is not only a worthy upgrade for the M4, but is also an excellent option if you sick of charging your smartphone all the time. The only few concerns might be the weight and a slightly heavy user interface, but as a tradeoff you get 2-3 days of battery life and a smooth performance package. Lenovo has the Vibe P1 coming at a similar range, but the Marathon M5 is definitely a better option here.

Resource: http://businessworld.in/article/Gionee-Marathon-M5-Power-Bank-Meets-Smartphone/25-01-2016-90598/

Dish HD Asia Launches First All-HEVC DTH Services

RENNES, France -- DISH HD Asia, one of Asia's leading DTH satellite pay-TV services, has selected the award-winning ViBE® VS7000 HEVC encoder from Thomson Video Networks to drive its new Ultra HD 4K and all-HEVC-HD satellite service upgrade for delivery of more than 120 channels to viewers throughout Northeast Asia. Powered by Thomson Video Networks' MediaFlexOS operating system, ViBE VS7000 — combined with the NetProcessor 9030 multiplexer/scrambler, MediaFlexSUITE, and FUZE-1 4K playout system, this major system upgrade will deliver significant video quality improvements, as well as cost- and bandwidth-saving HEVC compression for the DISH HD platform.

"DISH HD was the pioneer of HD satellite pay-TV services in Asia," said Bert Klein, managing director, DISH HD. Now, with this major system upgrade, we have again demonstrated our leadership in bringing the best satellite TV experience to our subscribers. They can now enjoy Ultra HD 4K and HEVC HD channels, and we have doubled our channel capacity and introduced a new Ultra HD 4K HEVC set-top box. Thomson Video Networks was our partner of choice. Not only did Thomson provide superior technology, but they met our required schedules and project timeline while providing strong support to ensure our delivery was on schedule."

"With this major system upgrade, we have moved away from MPEG-4 and are now a fully HEVC satellite DTH network, enjoying significant bandwidth efficiencies and savings through Thomson Video Networks' ViBE VS7000," said Wai Hoong Tham, director of networks and broadcast for DISH HD. "More importantly, as a satellite service, we saw that we could only meet our requirements for 1080i and statistical multiplexing with the VS7000, which has allowed us to deliver new channels to our subscribers. It was clear that Thomson Video Networks could deliver not only the best HEVC picture quality and highest channel density, but also the optimized satellite capacity and reduced OPEX we needed for a profitable and high-quality offering. Moreover, with its MediaFlexOS framework and unique FUZE-1 playout system, Thomson Video Networks offers a future-proof solution for advanced applications, such as ad insertion."

Thomson Video Networks' partner, Ideal Systems HK, provided systems integration and installation for the DISH HD service, which leverages powerful new HEVC features built into the latest version of the ViBE VS7000. These include an interlaced mode and statistical multiplexing for variable bit-rate encoding to enable increased compression performance for delivering 1080i video content

Resource: http://www.lightreading.com/video/4k-8k-video/dish-hd-asia-launches-first-all-hevc-dth-services/d/d-id/720590

Wednesday 20 January 2016

The latest at gadgets: Tapping radio waves to recharge



LAS VEGAS (AP) — The latest developments surrounding the consumer-electronics show in Las Vegas known as CES (all times local):

5:05 p.m.

A startup that harnesses the power of radio waves to charge your mobile devices has come up with an ultra-small transmitter to keep a fitness band topped up with power.

Energous Corp. unveiled a mini WattUp transmitter at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas. The company says the transmitter, about the size of a USB thumb drive, will deliver less than half a watt of power to a special receiver chip that can be embedded in a wearable device.

While that's not enough to charge up a smartphone quickly, Energous says it's great to zap a fitness band full of energy in 10 to 40 minutes.

One key benefit: By using wireless charging, Energous says a band can be completely sealed and waterproof because it doesn't need an external charging port. That means not worrying about taking it off in the shower or swimming pool.

Because the device sends energy in the near-Wi-Fi band around 5.8 GHz however, it'll need clearance from the Federal Communications Commission, a process that could push the first usable product into late 2016 or early 2017.

Energous is headquartered in San Jose, California.

— Ryan Nakashima, AP Business Writer, Las Vegas

___

4:30 p.m.

Dish's Sling TV online-television service is revamping its apps to focus on content rather than individual channels.

Among other things, the apps will present movies and TV shows based on what you've watched before, like Netflix does, rather than the traditional way of channel by channel. That could make Sling TV's on-demand library — currently hidden behind multiple taps — easier to discover and watch.

The $20-a-month Sling TV service offers more than 20 cable channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, AMC and TNT. Sling TV announced Tuesday that it's adding ESPN3 to the base package, too. ESPN3 is an online channel available to traditional cable and satellite subscribers.

For $5 more, customers can get an add-on package such as Spanish-language networks and even more sports. The service has live streams of those channels, along with selected content on demand. You'll need an antenna for over-the-air channels, as those aren't included.

Dish is announcing the changes as the CES gadget show in Las Vegas opens Wednesday. ESPN3 and the new, content-centric features will be available by the end of March.

— Anick Jesdanun, AP Technology Writer, New York

___

4:10 p.m.

Kia is promising to bring a self-driving car to the public by 2030, a decade longer than some companies have promised but perhaps a more realistic time frame.

At the CES gadget show in Las Vegas, Kia also says it will introduce a partially autonomous car by 2020. The car will still need a human behind the wheel. The Korean automaker, which is owned by Hyundai, also has received a license from Nevada to test an autonomous Kia Soul electric vehicle on public roads.

Tech giant Google has promised to have a self-driving car in the public's hands by 2020, and other automakers have hinted at 2025. But outside experts say the 2020 time frame likely would be limited to small geographic areas because technical, regulatory and legal issues still have to be worked out.

Kia is creating a sub-brand for autonomous technologies called Drive Wise. At the CES consumer-electronics show in Las Vegas this week, the company will show off technologies including highway and urban autonomous driving, as well as the ability to follow the vehicle in front of you. Kia also will show off a system that analyzes drivers' faces to make sure they're paying attention to the road. If they aren't, the car will automatically steer to the side of the road and stop.

— Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer, Las Vegas

___

3:50 p.m.

Playing nice with the competition? It's not unheard of at CES. Samsung has unveiled several new products that get along with those from other technology firms.

Samsung says its Gear S2 smartwatch will be compatible with Apple's iPhones later this year. Watches using Google's Android Wear already are, though with limited functionality.

Samsung also unveiled a 12-inch tablet that attaches to a keyboard. The Galaxy Tab Pro S is aimed at business users and runs Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system, unlike the Android system used in consumer tablets. Samsung says it will be the thinnest and lightest tablet-PC combination on the market.

In addition, Samsung's top-end 2016 SUHD TVs will come with a free USB dongle to serve as a smart-home hub and let users to control up to 200 devices from manufacturers from Nest to Philips via their TV. One remote control will also operate boxes from the Xbox One to a Time Warner Cable set-top box to Apple TV.

Add to that its Family Hub refrigerator to allow ordering of groceries through its 21.5 inch touch screen. It's clear Samsung is positioning itself to be the center of a fragmented technology landscape. Though the fridge is made in partnership with MasterCard, you can pay with other credit and debit cards like Visa.

—Ryan Nakashima, AP Business Writer, Las Vegas

___

3:25 p.m.

Hollywood's getting serious about moving beyond those old cardboard 3-D glasses.

The 21st Century Fox entertainment conglomerate said Tuesday that it has a deal to buy a minority stake in a leading maker of headwear for virtual reality and augmented reality, Osterhout Design Group.

The news comes as a Fox subsidiary plans a CES debut for the virtual-reality version of its hit film, "The Martian," in which Matt Damon plays an Earthling space traveler left behind by his shipmates on the surface of Mars. This version, which lasts 20 minutes or so, will let viewers share some of Damon's adventures in what's been described as an immersive and interactive visual experience. According to published reports, Fox plans to distribute the virtual-reality version for viewing through headsets made by several manufacturers.

Other studios are also dabbling in virtual reality. And Fox sees a big future in producing entertainment for the medium. In a statement, Fox executive Jim Gianopulos says the company's preliminary agreement to invest in Osterhout will push films "into the future" and "bring audiences exciting new creative experiences." Fox hasn't disclosed the amount of the investment.

Osterhout is known for making stylish, computerized "smart glasses" that can project realistic images in a wearer's field of vision. That's done either by overlaying images on the real world, in what's known as "augmented reality," or in a more immersive "virtual reality" experience that appears to surround the wearer with projected images. It's showing off a new augmented-reality headset, designed for commercial and industrial uses, at this year's CES in Las Vegas.

— Brandon Bailey, AP Technology Writer, San Francisco

___

3:10 p.m.

Dish's new set-top box will let viewers record 16 shows at once and watch four videos simultaneously — perfect for Football Sunday.

The Hopper 3 will also come with the ability to search recorded content and Netflix at once, so that you'll find the TV show or movie regardless of its source.

Cable and satellite TV companies are trying to move beyond bare-bones set-top boxes and digital video recorders, in part to keep customers from fleeing to a rival or dropping TV service completely. Previously, advanced recording and search features required you to buy a TiVo, Roku or other stand-alone device.

Although few households will ever need to record 16 shows at once, Dish executive Vivek Khemka says it wanted to create an environment in which the viewer never has to think about whether the box is free to record a show. That was also the thinking behind putting in two terabytes of storage — enough for 500 hours of high-definition video.

Dish TV subscribers will be able to get the Hopper 3 starting later this month for $15 a month, on top of regular fees for cable TV services.

— Anick Jesdanun, AP Technology Writer, New York

___

2:35 p.m.

People will be able to order groceries directly from a new Samsung refrigerator.

The Family Hub refrigerator will let users order groceries via an app on the refrigerator's screen. The app's made in partnership with MasterCard, though you can use any debit or credit card to pay.

The service initially works with two grocery stores in the New York area: Fresh Direct and ShopRite. Users can choose when they want the groceries delivered. The fee is the same as it would be ordering from a computer — typically a few dollars, plus tip. It will be available in the U.S. starting in May.

Besides ordering groceries, the 21.5-inch screen on the fridge will let families display photos, calendars and notes for each other. And from a smartphone, you can check what's inside, as captured by three cameras. You can tell at the supermarket whether you really need more eggs. LG earlier announced a similar peek-inside feature in its fridges.

Samsung's smart refrigerator is among the many Internet-connected items being unveiled this week at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas.

— Mae Anderson, AP Technology Writer, New York

___

2:15 p.m.

Huawei is unveiling a new smartphone that promises more than two days of charge with normal use and a fast recharge for one day of power in 30 minutes.

The new Mate 8 is aimed at business users. It boasts enough power when fully charged to watch 17 hours of high-definition video and 20 hours of Web browsing over a 4G cellular network.

The Android device also sports an improved fingerprint scanner that lets you answer calls simply by touching the sensor on the back of the phone. Taking selfies is also enabled by fingerprint touch.

Among other features, Huawei says the phone can detect knuckle taps and swipes to do things like crop photos and trim videos. It can also copy long Web pages that scroll over many pages.

The phone will start at about 600 euros ($645). It's launching in various countries, but there aren't any current U.S. plans.

—Ryan Nakashima, AP Business Writer, Las Vegas

___

1:45 p.m.

Kodak wants to put its iconic Super 8 film cameras for video into the hands of young filmmakers.

The company is showing off a new version of the 8 millimeter film camera, which was introduced in 1965. It eventually plans to release a range of Super 8 cameras, film development services and related equipment designed for both professionals and amateurs.

The launch marks Kodak's first new Super 8 camera in more than 30 years and is a nod to those in the film industry that continue to balk at the push to switch to digital cameras.

Kodak is showing off the new camera at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas this week.

— Bree Fowler, AP Technology Writer, New York

___

1:20 p.m.

Want a craft brewery on your countertop and don't mind waiting a week for the hoppy elixir?

PicoBrew hopes to become the Keurig of brewing.

At the CES gadget show in Las Vegas this week, the company showed off its $699 appliance that uses pre-mixed recipes costing $20 to $60, including some from brewers Rogue and Dogfish Head.

It's not for the home brewers interested in making their own creations, though the company says customers can turn the dial to make the brew more or less bitter or hoppy. And it doesn't involve a basement's worth of space dedicated to the process.

The company is shipping its first devices in April to its Kickstarter supporters who have contributed a combined $1.4 million to the project.

— Kimberly Pierceall, AP writer, Las Vegas

___

12:50 p.m.

It's never been easier to find your lost keys. Several companies are showing off tags with wireless technology. You can put one on your keys and call to it with your smartphone. Think of it as dialing your partner's mobile number just so it buzzes from under the couch.

Some companies are taking it a step further. TrackR, a company in Santa Barbara, California, unveiled an add-on called Atlas. It plugs into a wall socket and scans a room for any TrackR tags using Bluetooth. It then tells you what room your missing item is in. The company's Jeremy Fish says "most people can find it if you get into the right room, unless you have a warehouse for a room."

Chipolo, a company from Ljubljana, Slovenia, added a shaking feature that calls your phone or even takes a selfie (provided you can balance your phone somewhere). And even if your missing item is beyond the 200-foot Bluetooth range, if some other Chipolo user walks by it out in the wild, you'll get notified where it is — without compromising the other user's privacy — so you can go get it.

— Ryan Nakashima, AP Business Writer, Las Vegas

___

12:20 p.m.

With more home thermostats, lights, locks and appliances linking to the Internet, automakers are working on plans to let you control them from your car.

BMW and Ford both announced they're working on in-car apps that let drivers control smart home devices.

BMW says it's working on apps that allow drivers to "precondition" their homes by setting the thermostat for the right temperature by the time they arrive home. The company also showed an i3 electric car linked to a home device that monitors routines, sets routes and starts car functions.

Ford announced that it's working with Amazon to link cars to its Alexa personal assistant. Later this year, the company will offer a service with voice commands that can start a car from a home or turn off an alarm system and open the garage door as a driver gets close to home.

—Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer, Las Vegas

___

11:50 a.m.

Hands full of groceries? LG has a refrigerator that opens automatically when a person steps on the projection of an image on the floor.

Its LG Signature fridge also lets you peek inside without opening the door, saving electricity and maybe keeping you from making a poor decision regarding a late-night snack. One side of its double doors has an opaque glass window. Knocking on the window lights up the inside slightly, enough to glance at your leftovers.

And of course, it comes equipped with Wi-Fi enabled sensors so you can track the temperature inside and monitor energy use.

—Ryan Nakashima, AP Business Writer, Las Vegas

___

11:20 a.m.

Old Mother Hubbard might have known to go to the store to get her dog a bone if she had a sensor from the company Smarter.

At the CES gadget show in Las Vegas this week, Smarter is debuting a mat and a camera that can remotely tell a person what's left in one's fridge.

Barnaby Sellers with Smarter says the devices will speed up a person's daily routines and make a kitchen smarter without needing to buy a new fridge.

The company is also introducing a sound and atmosphere sensor that Sellers says will learn the sounds and environment in a kitchen to alert someone via their smartphone when the dishes might be done or when it might be warm to enough to warrant opening up a window.

Each is expected to be sold for $130 to $150 by this summer.

At last year's show, Smarter showed off a remote-controlled coffee machine and kettle.

— Kimberly Pierceall, AP writer, Las Vegas

___

11 a.m.

HTC is launching the latest version of its virtual-reality headset, Vive. It adds a front-facing camera and revamped controllers to the original prototype system.

The headset, called the Vive Pre, also comes with an updated strap and brighter displays. HTC says the front-facing camera lets people do real-world actions like take a seat or find a drink without taking off the headset. HTC says 7,000 units of the prototype will be available to developers.

The consumer version of the Vive is expected in April. No information was given on pricing.

The announcement comes a day after Oculus said it will start taking orders for its much-hyped Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday. The company, which was bought by Facebook in 2014 for $2 billion, has also not said how much it will cost or given a shipping date.

— Mae Anderson, AP Technology Writer, New York

___

10:35 a.m.

If you find buzzing or beeping is an alarming way to wake up, you might enjoy Sensorwake's olfactory alarm clock.

The device by the French company emits scents that should get you up gently in about two minutes. The clock, selling for a promotional $89 during CES, diffuses particles contained in packets with dry air to give you a whiff of things like espresso, hot croissants, a lush jungle, chocolate or pepper mint. Two packs last for a total of 60 days and cost about $11.

And this feature is important in cold and flu season: There's a backup alarm if you have a stuffy nose.

— Ryan Nakashima, AP Business Writer, Las Vegas

___

10:05 a.m.

The limited sight line of your car's rear view mirror may be a thing of the past.

BMW showed off the i8 electric car's mirrorless system. Images from three cameras are combined on a display that replaces the interior mirror, giving the driver larger viewing angles and eliminating blind spots.

The system analyzes the images and alerts drivers to potential hazards with yellow warning icons. The replacement mirror also has lines showing the car's trajectory when parking.

The i3 electric car has a roof-mounted camera replacing its mirror, giving a much wider angle of view.

BMW also introduced more gesture controls in the 7 Series luxury car to control infotainment and communication features without touching a screen.

— Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer, Las Vegas

___

9:45 a.m.

Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta have been chosen as the first cities where AT&T's will showcase the potential use of sensors and other Internet-connected technologies to improve municipal services.

Under this "smart cities" concept, maintenance crews would be able to remotely detect roads needing repairs, while motorists would be able to view and reserve parking spaces ahead of time. Though some of these capabilities are already available in some cities, officials can better keep tabs on emergencies, such as power outages and heavy traffic, by integrating all aspects of government functions.

AT&T says it has formed alliances with Cisco, Deloitte, Ericsson, General Electric, IBM, Intel and Qualcomm to support smart cities. Two of the cities chosen have direct ties to AT&T. Dallas is the company's headquarters, while Atlanta is the hub for its wireless businesses. There's no time frame yet on when AT&T will roll out these services.

— Anick Jesdanun, AP Technology Writer, New York

___

9:20 a.m.

Call her mom. A small white plastic figure that resembles a Russian nesting doll offers a digital smile while it monitors if people it's watching are taking their pills, drinking enough water or doing any of their daily routines.

Silver Mother is being marketed to caretakers and family members wanting to keep an eye on elderly loved ones.

Along with alerting caretakers and family, founder Rafi Haladjian says the white "mother hub" will play the sound of running water if a person doesn't drink enough water for the day. It will also call people on the phone to remind them to take their pills.

The system is being displayed at the CES show of gadgets in Las Vegas.

The hub and four sensors, which can be attached to anything including pill bottles, is sold for $290.

— Kimberly Pierceall, AP writer, Las Vegas

___

8:55 a.m.

Office workers probably assume their boss can peek in on their corporate emails. But knowing — exactly — how long you've been sitting down on the job? That's the purpose of the "connected caster," an innocent-looking, weight-sensitive wheel that can be affixed to the bottom of an office chair. It sends data back to a system that tracks just that.

Detroit-based Tome Inc. worked on the product with sleek office furniture designer Humanscale — which, conveniently, makes a line of desks for standing up and working at.

— Ryan Nakashima, AP Business Writer, Las Vegas

___

8 a.m.

Fitbit, a leading maker of fitness trackers, is unveiling a mid-range model with heart-rate monitoring and smartwatch-like functions, such as audio playback control and message notifications.

The new Blaze won't have a GPS built-in, but it will be able to use the GPS from a companion smartphone to display pace and distance more accurately. It's a similar approach to the Apple Watch. The Blaze will sit alongside Fitbit's existing Charge HR, which monitors heart rate but has no ability to latch on to the phone's GPS.

The Blaze is the first Fitbit model to have a color display.

The Blaze will sell for $200 when it comes out in March. Fitbit will also sell alternative frames and bands made of leather or stainless steel.

— Anick Jesdanun, AP Technology Writer, New York

___

This item has been corrected to remove incorrect reference to Blaze replacing Charge HR.

___

7:25 a.m.

Ford says it will triple the number of autonomous cars in its test fleet as it moves to accelerate development of self-driving cars.

At the CES gadget show in Las Vegas Tuesday, the company said it will add 20 Ford Fusion gas-electric hybrid cars to the fleet, giving it 30 to test on roads in California, Michigan and Arizona.

The company also announced that it would use the latest laser sensors made by Velodyne in its test vehicles. The 360-degree sensors are smaller and have a longer sensing range than the previous generation. They can fit into a side-view mirror rather than the old laser sensors that were housed in a globe on the roof.

Ford CEO Mark Fields says he expects autonomous cars to be in public use in about four years, but they won't be able to drive in all weather conditions. That, he said, is a long way away.

— Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer , Las Vegas

___

6:05 a.m.

Sports clothing maker Under Armour is getting into the gadgets business with a set of wearable devices, headphones and a wireless scale.

Though Under Armour isn't first with any of these, it's trying to make it easy on consumers by designing products that connect wirelessly to each other or to its smartphone apps. A new version of its UA Record app seeks to integrate all aspects of your health and fitness — including nutrition, sleep and exercise — though a few features will require a companion app, MapMyRun. The apps are free and will also work with competing devices, such as Fitbit and Garmin watches.

Under Armour is offering a starter package, the UA HealthBox, for $400. It includes the scale, a chest strap to monitor heart rate and a fitness band to track steps and sleep. Each item is also sold separately. Beyond that, Under Armour is offering a shoe embedded with a chip to track exercise — even without a smartphone or any other GPS-enabled device for recording distance. The company is also making two headphones, including one that can measure heart rate at the ear.

Under Armour partnered with smartphone maker HTC for the HealthBox items and with Harman's JBL business for the headphones.

Most of the items will ship Jan. 22; the shoes and heart-rate headphones will come later.

— Anick Jesdanun, AP Technology Writer, New York
 Resource: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20160105/us-tec-gadget-show-the-latest/?utm_hp_ref=business&ir=business

Afe: MultiChoice, Konga Pay Partnership Will Make Payments Convenient

MutiChoice has entered into strategic partnership with Konga Pay, an online shopping outlet. In this interview with Kasie Abone, MultiChoice’s Marketing Manager, Mrs. Chioma Afe said the collaboration is aimed at providing alternative convenient payment options to meet subscribers’ needs. Excerpts:

May we meet you?
 
My name is Chioma Afe. I am the marketing Manager of MultiChoice. I handle Brand Strategy, marketing execution for GOTv and DSTv brands.

What is Konga/MultiChoice partnership all about?
 
Konga is an online retail store; one of the leading ones in Nigeria. MultiChoice is the leader in video entertainment. Part of what we try to do is bring convenience to our subscribers in terms of payment and a lot of people now are going mobile; they are going online to make payments; to keep in touch with what is happening out there. And so what Konga and MultiChoice have come together to do is also to enlarge MultiChoice payment platform through Konga Pay where you should be able to pay for your subscriptions through Konga Online store.

How convenient is Konga Pay?
I think it is actually very convenient. Over time Konga has been able to simplify their payment processes; they have made it very convenient for their customers. So I believe they would apply the same method, the same thinking to Multi Choice customers who I think are also regular shoppers who also want to pay for their subscriptions. I envisage it is going to be quite simple.

Specific benefits to subscribers in semi-urban and rural areas
 
If you look at the number of customers Konga speaks to, they speak to a broad demographic audience. They speak to a wide audience across Nigeria. They deliver pan Nigeria which means they have customers in most remote locations which sometimes you may not find MultiChiice dealer easily. Banks are every where but what we have done with Konga is to say this is another opportunity, another avenue and as they are widespread we want to be everywhere because that is our mission and vision; to provide video entertainment services across the country. So, this gives us another opportunity.

Duration of the partnership
 
For as long as possible. We have been working with other payment platforms for a long time now; Konga is here to stay. MultiChoice is here to stay. So, I think this continues.

Communicating the service to the semi-urban dwellers and areas with limited internet service
For those ones, beyond the online platform, this is just one of the payment platforms. In big cities, semi-urban areas, you can have some locals that may use this platform. On internet connectivity it is not everywhere yet but for GOTv for instance, we have GOTV recharge cards sold by banks, canvversers and umbrella points in the villages you find on the roads.

We try to distribute those recharge cards and so we encourage our subscriber s because recharge cards are something we know that has penetrated as low as possible demographic wise. And people know that they scratch, they load, they dial or SMS or whatever to a short code, they are able to get their systems active again. I think something like the recharge cards is a way of reaching the less urban areas.

What is new for MultiChoice Subscribers this season?
 
At the middle of November we launched two promotions for the festive season, the GOTv  and we also launched on DSTV. DSTV we call it DSTV Upgrade Season because we envisage that because it is getting to thirteenth month in terms of salaries and people get a bit more money people have families coming home, they are willing to spend a bit more money. So, we put on our decoder that if you are buying our Zappa decoder which is our baseline high definition decoder, that plus the dish plus one month of family subscription o family bouquet you pay N15, 000 (fifteen thousand Naira) to upgrade you to the next higher level. That is our offer to you. We discounted the cost of the bouquet and the bundle together and we upgrade you to the Compact package. And we are running the ‘Spin The Wheel’ promo. And when you buy, you don’t just get a discount and upgraded you can go online to play the ‘Spin The Wheel’.

You can see our roving activation team going around and you can try to ‘Spin The Wheel’ with them. For GoTv we have a bundle offer for three months plus the box and antennae for N6, 900 (six thousand nine hundred Naira). So you have three months subscription which covers you until February 2016. And you also have the box and decoder bundles together and there is still also a raffle draw you can participate in. we have weekly winners.
Right now what we have done is to shift out some of those materials like rice oil, small generator; items we feel people will appreciate in this season to or various regional offices and they are doing road shows and going to markets. As you pay, as you renew, as you buy your box you can try the raffle draw and you can win something as well for new and existing subscribers who renew their subscription. Same thing with DSTV, if you renew your subscription you will be qualified to ‘Spin The Wheel’ as well.

Repeating movies on African Magic, don’t you think it is a reap off on subscribers?
I don’t think so and I will explain. Over the years African Magic is about twelve years or so old. When we started we had one or two channels. We have grown to eight channels. And what we have done is that we have these channels spread across various bouquets. We did have this complaints some years back on Yoruba and a few other channels when they said we needed more current movies, we needed more movies. Now the first thing I knew that African Magic has done is that they invested even more. I think now every year they buy between seven to ten thousand titles locally. For our Nollywood producers just to refresh it. But you also have to bear in mind that in as much as we are buying the content they are producing you can’t have fresh content every hour on the hour. You know how broadcast programmes go.

What I know is that people get to watch a certain sets of our programmes in the morning and you and I that are on the road or at work in the morning and when we return in the evening unfortunately your child or mother or nanny who was at home in the morning has watched that movie in the morning but you haven’t watched it, and you come in the evening you catch it. So what we try to do is put it that way so that everybody gets to watch the sets of the movies that we have.

And we do this quite often in African Magic. When we started I think we were buying like about one or two thousand titles every year. But right now I have it on record that we are buying over five thousand titles every year and we do plan on increasing that. And we have other platforms like the box office where we buyer even fresher Nollywood movies as they come out. For instance there is a movie of South African that came out this year (2015), Genevieve movie that just came out; something that will go on box office first; we envisage that when she gets out of cinemas and she goes on pay TV.

So there are new ones that are coming; Obi Emelonye’s movie that has premiered; we are partnering with him on it. Our plan is that when he is out of box office and h is on cinema he will be on Pay TV. Because there is a sequence on how these movies come through to Pay TV or our regular platform. So it is a continuous process of improvement and I do know that we have done a lot better from the time people complained that we are not doing enough or we are not fresh enough.

Do you believe that Multi Choice is doing enough for their subscribers to be happy?
I believe that we are human beings and that there is always an opportunity to do more that is why we have this partnership with Konga; we are doing a promo now. If I feel we have done enough as a business we won’t be doing a promo now. We felt we haven’t done enough for our subscribers this year. No; not all.
On Compact Plus for instance not all the live matches were available to Compact Plus subscribers
complained at the middle of the year May/June (2015). What we have done now is to open up all football matches to Compact Plus subscribers in recognition of the challenges people are facing now. What we are saying is that “We hear you. We are ready to open our system through the season to end of May 2016. If they have access to all live matches that is our way of saying we hear you, we are trying to do more.
Resource: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/afe-multichoice-konga-pay-partnership-will-make-payments-convenient/230769/

Videocon d2h Named Pay TV Service of the Year

CANNES, France, Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Videocon d2h Limited (NASDAQ: VDTH) ("Videocon d2h"), India's fastest growing DTH service and most valued Indian company on NASDAQ was honored with the Pay TV Service of the Year award at this year's MIPCOM, the global television market and festival.

Joining top delegates from the worldwide television, content production and distribution and media technology industries at the Carlton Beach hotel in Cannes this evening, Videocon d2h was recognized for achievements during the inaugural Content Innovation Awards celebration, organized by Digital TV Europe and its sister trade publication TBI.

Saurabh Dhoot, Executive Chairman, Videocon d2h, said: "As the fastest growing Pay-TV operator in India and the DTH market leader for the fourth consecutive year in terms of incremental market share. Videocon d2h has worked hard for its success in what can only be described as a strongly competitive marketplace. Our focus of providing superior customer service for each and every single one of our 14 million gross subscribers has served as the foundation for several milestone accomplishments for Videocon d2h, including adding 2.64 million subscribers, growing subscription revenues by 38.3% during this past fiscal year."

"2015 has certainly been a banner year for Videocon d2h," added Anil Khera, CEO, Videocon d2h.  "We started the year with the launch of India's first 4K Ultra HD channel in January, became the most valued Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ with our successful IPO with a market cap of US$1.24 billion as of June 30, 2015. Being honored with Pay TV Service of the year award is a celebration of our customer delight approach."

Accepting the award, Rohit Jain, Deputy CEO at Videocon d2h said: "Being named Pay TV Service of the Year, especially from a global field of innovative businesses, is truly the icing on the cake."

Digital TV Europe and TBI's inaugural Content Innovation Awards celebrate achievements across a wide range of categories – including Channel of the Year, Multiscreen TV, Social TV, Video-on-Demand, MCNs, Best New Channel Launch, Best Series Launch, Technology Innovation and Pay TV Service of the Year, among others.

The Pay TV Service of the Year award, sponsored by ARRIS Group, recognizes the formerly straightforward business of aggregating content and selling it for a monthly fee, which is now a multifaceted business spanning content creation, linear channels, on-demand services, interactive content, OTT and TV Everywhere, all delivered via a user experience that is compelling enough to incentivize viewers to continue subscriptions.

About Videocon d2h

Led by key management including Executive Chairman Saurabh Dhoot, who founded and launched the company with a US$600 million investment, Videocon d2h launched in 2009 and within a year had 1 million subscribers. Currently it has 14 million subscribers. The longevity and stability of its leadership is personified by CEO Anil Khera, who has been with the Videocon group for 30 years.

Videocon d2h boasts the largest distribution network with over 200,000 retail outlets across India serving new customers and providing convenient recharges; and the company's commitment to 100% customer satisfaction ensures that it is the only operator in India with an exclusive service network allowing for approximately 97% of the Company's new subscribers to have set top boxes installed on the same day that service is requested. These efforts have earned Videocon d2h recognition as Asia's most promising DTH brand for year 2013 & 2014 and earned Economic Times' Best Brands & Promising Brand awards for 2014 and 2015 respectively. Constantly redefining the TV viewing experience– launching India's first 4K Ultra HD Channel in January of this year, providing wireless DTH headphones and radio frequency DTH remote–Videocon d2h is committed to maintaining its position as the preferred pay TV service provider in the highly competitive DTH industry.

With India's strong economic growth outlook, Videocon d2h believes Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), TV penetration and increased HD uptake will lead to stronger revenue growth for Pay TV in general. Videocon d2h strives to take industry standards higher through its commitment to providing customers with superior services and innovative technology that brings the best of entertainment to consumers.

Forward-looking statements

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition to statements which are forward-looking by reason of context, the words "may", "will", "should", "expects", "plans", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "potential", or "continue" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. We caution you that reliance on any forward-looking statement involves risks and uncertainties that might cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These and other factors are more fully discussed in the Videocon d2h's annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC and available at http://www.sec.gov. All information provided in this announcement is as of the date hereof, unless the context otherwise requires. Other than as required by law, Videocon d2h does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or other information in this announcement.

Resource:  http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/videocon-d2h-named-pay-tv-service-of-the-year-300156625.html

We'll keep adding more of what Indians want to see: Netflix's Chris Jaffe, Chitavan Patel

Netflix is finally in India. In line with the streaming major's aim of global expansion, Netflix is now available to access on phones, tablets, smart TVs, select media player boxes and game consoles. Monthly plans start at Rs 500 and go up to Rs 850 for the 4K streaming option. ET had a chat with Chris Jaffe (Vice President - User Interface Innovation) and Chitavan Patel (Director, Content Acquisition) soon after the announcement. Excerpts:

Why did it take so long for Netflix to come to India?

Chitavan: A large part of launching the service is getting the content licensing in place. We were working to sign up all the deals we needed to show all the content that you will see now. We have all of our original Netflix series along with a host of Hollywood movies and TV shows, plus almost a hundred Bollywood titles.

Does that mean that the content is customized for India? In a sense, it's not the entire Netflix library but a subset, with additional Bollywood content.

Chitavan: We'll have all our originals as we do in other markets and for our licensed content which we buy, it's particular to the country. We acquire the best content we can get in each of the markets. Over time, we'll continue to add titles. Our overarching goal is to have a global catalogue.

Chris: Plus our marquee series like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Heroes and so on will be available too. It's not our intention to limit content. Typically, the catalogue is not replicated across markets. And the content is never static - we're constantly adding. Over the next year or so, the content may very well double. For instance, there are 24 new Netflix feature films plus many original series coming this year.

Are there any plans for localised originals from Netflix?

Chitavan: Over time, we are exploring that in all of our larger markets. India being such a great production hub, this is something we can look at for sure. In terms of Indian content, we're looking at a new wave of Indian independent cinema that's really exciting us. What's really important is, now that we've launched, we get to see what people are engaging with. We'll add more of what people want to see.

CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings recently mentioned that you've seen torrent use drop in some markets that you've started serving. Is it still hard to convince content owners to come onto the platform despite the fact that there is a lot of piracy?

Chitavan: It's a function of what rights are available to us. Sometimes, these may be tied up for 10 years and are therefore inaccessible to us. In terms of licensing, we typically take a second window - that means that there might be a delay to the show/seasons appearing on Netflix as compared to when you see it on your usual set top box in the country. The originals, however, always come in at exactly the same time in all our markets.

Chris: When you look at this kind of expansion, there's almost no right time to do it. That's why we chose to go now with all our originals and a great bunch of licensed content.

Do you have any numbers of how many people were already using Netflix in India Possibly using VPN and DNS services that mask the location of the user?

Chris: We don't track that. It's very difficult for us to disambiguate that. We have geo-filtering in place but this content is very abstract to us.

What about weak broadband connections in general? Low speeds, low data caps and so on - how do you plan to deal with this?

Chris: India is not unique in data caps. There's lots of places all over the world that have them. The first place we encountered this was in Canada and there's a lot of learning in this. We're very interested in learning what those limitations are in terms of bandwidth, caps, what kinds of devices people use. We want to learn more about content, delivery and so on - specific to each market. There are a lot of metrics that we look at. We can either spend a lot of time studying the problem or we could launch the product and see how it really works. The whole organization is very focused on learning.

Is there a possibility of striking deals with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to bundle Netflix? This might take care of issues like data caps.

Chris: We do offer our Open Connect caching appliances to any ISP that wants them. This means that large amounts of data can be cached locally instead of transferring each time a user wants to watch something.

Have you considered allowing users to download an entire episode or movie - to watch later? This could help for people with slow internet connections.

Chris: So YouTube does that with offline mode - I believe India is one of the few places that this is allowed. We have no current plans to do that and we have never don't that in the past. It's not something we would look at in the near future.

Another big question is censorship. How do you get around this problem in India?

Chris: At this point, nothing is censored. Our goal here is to empower the user with information in order to make an informed decision on what to watch. First off, a credit card is required to sign up for the service. This is proactive - you have to seek out the content as opposed to it just being delivered to you.

What we really tried to do, is to provide information so that the user can make smart choices around what they want to watch. If you look at a title, you'll see a rating, a description and an appropriate minimum age. This is a global ratings structure that we came up with. Another feature we have for parents - they can lock out content that they don't want their kids to see. This requires a PIN code. Our goal is to comply with local rules and regulations but at this point there is no censorship on any of the content.

As far as payment for the service goes, are credit cards the only option? Many people don't have credit cards.

Chris: As of now yes, but we may look at adding other payment options in the future. We want to get in and learn plus evaluate what is needed.

Having seen the interface on varied devices like smartphones, tablets, Apple TV and PlayStation - they're not alike. Is that dictated by the device itself?

Chris: We design, test and build interfaces for classes of devices. So, there is a TV interface (you'll see it on smart TVs, game consoles and many set top boxes) but the exception to this interface is the second and third generation Apple TVs Which had an Apple-driven template - the latest Apple TV has the same interface as the one on smart TVs.

The tablet or mobile interface stays the same, whether you're on iOS or Android. And finally, there's the laptop interface. When a feature launches, it launches across all the devices. The goal of the interface is to connect the user to content. There's a lot of content and we want to find something that you're looking for and then get out of the way so that you can enjoy that content.

For lower bandwidth connections, are there any plans to reduce streaming quality to reduce buffering and wait times?

Chris: We already have adaptive streaming technology built in. The service knows the device you're on and it strives to get the best possible quality according to the bandwidth you have. The system can adjust itself every second. We're not doing anything special for India but it's a learning process. Let's see how it goes and we'll keep innovating if we need to.

Are there any plans to lure existing DTH users? Another way to look at this is - will Netflix be an add-on to regular cable and DTH or a replacement?

Chitavan: What's important is that people want access to content and they'll subscribe to whatever service gives them that. In other markets that we operate in, we are coexisting with other services.

Chris: In every market we have launched, we see that consumer interest and appetite for entertainment continues to grow - either with us or without. Netflix will be a draw since there are a lot of unique features.

How does Netflix work for an individual versus a family?

Chris: There are three plan options. The first one offers one concurrent stream. Then there's one for two concurrent streams and finally, for four. This means that four people could be enjoying different content from Netflix on different devices, simultaneously.

On each device, you can also make multiple profiles, one for each member of the family - all on one subscription, one credit card. The kids profile will show content relevant for children. Each profile gets customized to that user Based on their consumption of content. For instance, my daughter is 8 years old and she's watching some specific content with her profile. The system recognizes that and will recommend more of the same - rather than showing content for very young children.

The price of Netflix in India is roughly the same as in the US. However, piracy is free and there's very little opposition to it. Do you think that the prices ought to be lower?

Chris: At this point, we feel that consistent pricing around the world makes sense. As Reed mentioned, this is the beginning of a 10 or 20 year adventure of learning. We're open to whatever is the most compelling for consumers but we need to learn and figure that out.

Finally, you do have accurate profiles of people based on their consumption patterns. How tempting is it to turn that into a big stream of advertising money?

Chris: This is not us - and we won't go there. We are very respectful of our customers and that's where this philosophy of no ads stems from. Like you mentioned that you were annoyed with regular intrusive advertising on TV - Netflix will be different. No ads is a fundamental brand proposition.

Chitavan: You get this real immersive experience when you're watching two or three episodes of something. To watch a jarring ad in the middle of this would be not so pleasant.

Resource: http://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/media/well-keep-adding-more-of-what-indians-want-to-see-netflixs-chris-jaffe-chitavan-patel/50480975