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September 1^st, 2009

digiGO! — The Digital (R)Evolution

The U.S. IPTV market will grow from over 5 million subscribers in 2009 to 15.5 million by 2013, according to a report just published by analyst firm Strategy Analytics. While IPTV holds less than a 5 percent share of total television households in 2009, the percentage will approach 13 percent in 2013. The entrance of the Telcos into the television game has created new and significant competition for the traditional pay television platforms, according to the report. Strategy Analytics believes that, despite recently announced deployment deceleration by companies such as AT&T, IPTV will nonetheless become an important platform in the pay television landscape. AT&T announced on a recent earnings call that it had pushed back its 30 million “Living Units Passed” (homes passed) goal from 2010 to 2011, citing the difficult economic environment. The report, “United States IPTV Market Sizing: 2009-2013" authored by Ben Piper provides revenue and subscriber forecasts for 2009-2013, and includes analysis of IPTV inhibitors and drivers, forecast sensitivity analysis, and strategic recommendations.

Brightpoint, Inc. (Nasdaq:CELL) has announced the board of directors has appointed the Honorable Tom Ridge to serve as a Class III director. Mr. Ridge is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ridge Global, an international strategic consulting firm, headquartered in Washington, DC. Ridge was the first Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and was twice elected Governor of Pennsylvania. Ridge was one of the first Vietnam combat veterans elected to Congress, where he served from 1982 to 1994. Brightpoint, Inc. (Nasdaq:CELL) distributes wireless devices and provides customized logistic services to the wireless industry.

DragonWave Inc. (TSX: DWI) has announced that IBW has deployed the Horizon Compact to provide robust and reliable native Ethernet backhaul for its new WiMAX business services in Costa Rica. Additionally, IBW plans to leverage the DragonWave solution for dependable last-mile customer access as it introduces higher-speed services across the Central American country. IBW’s network is the first 802.16e Mobile WiMAX deployment in Costa Rica. In this first phase of a nationwide rollout, IBW is offering Ethernet access services of up to 2 Mbps to business customers in Costa Rica’s capital and largest city, San José. The Horizon Compact provides backhaul connectivity across a point-to-point network, yielding maximum throughput for the wireless spectrum that has been allocated to IBW. The company’s business customers include financial institutions and other enterprises with challenging demands in terms of traffic security and service reliability; DragonWave’s advanced failover and preemptive-handoff capabilities enable IBW to satisfy these requirements. With plans to introduce microwave-based services reaching 100 Mbps, IBW intends to also utilize the Horizon Compact to provide last-mile access to business customers as it grows its Costa Rica network.

Fast Forward Video's (FFV) Omega HD broadcast-quality digital video recorder (DVR) has been selected as the central element in VideoLines Mobile's new HD service offering. VideoLines Mobile, a full-service provider of mobile television broadcasting services with a focus on sports coverage, selected the Omega HD for its new HD production vehicle to provide sophisticated effects playout for slow-motion replay. The dual-disk Omega HD DVR works in conjunction with a Grass Valley Kayak switcher and Lance controller to synchronize a wide range of animated graphics for insertion into replay footage, including popular "splash-and-trash" effects and logo sweeps. As one disk stores key signals and the other handles fill data, the DVR provides a clean transition for accessing the graphical components from the switcher and then inserting them into the replay video. Since going online in January, VideoLines Mobile's new HD truck has been hired out for coverage of several college basketball games as well as the opening ceremonies of the U.S. Winter Special Olympics.

Fonix Speech, Inc. is the developer of Fonix iSpeak™ 1.4 for the Apple iPhone™ 3.0 operating system. Fonix iSpeak provides voice dial by name or number with highly accurate speech recognition software (especially in noisy environments) and voice confirmation using recorded speech together with text-to-speech. Fonix iSpeak allows for nearly hands-free use, no buttons to hold while speaking, and quick integration of names and numbers from your contact list. Fonix iSpeak 1.4 includes the following new features and functions:
Fonix iSpeak can be purchased for US$2.99 through the Apple iTunes App Store™ in the Productivity and/or Utilities category

The “old” idea of 3D cinematography combined with the progress in technology provides great possibilities to bring forward the art of 3D photography. Many new and powerful tools and solutions that allow for a gap-free stereoscopic 3D workflow from image capturing, postproduction to projection or even the home entertainment are available. The ease-of-use features of the newly developed 3D Stereo Rigs clear a path for artists and film-makers to explore, use, and differentiate themselves and their products by effectively shooting and delivering professional 3D stereoscopic imagery in a cost-effective manner. The former domain of highly specialized stereographers is now available to all cinematographers. With the very new 3D Rigs for all applications and shooting situations from P+S TECHNIK you can create 3D stereo films without the limitations of former systems. Take the cameras and lenses you want — the 3D Rigs support the most common digital cameras — from HDV to 4k. Sophisticated calibration-mechanisms allow adjusting the two cameras very accurate and easily — that saves valuable time on set. Several 3D Rigs for different applications from P+S TECHNIK will be launched at the IBC 2009, booth 11.E28. The 3D Rigs master all kinds of applications you are used to from 2D recording: Shoot with a tripod, on a crane or even with a steadycam. This year you have the chance to enjoy some of the latest 3D productions made with P+S TECHNIK 3D tools in the IBC cinema on Saturday, 5 pm. At moment it supports SI-2K Mini Camera Head, RED One, Sony HDW-750, -790, Sony HDC X3000, Sony PMW-EX3, Digital SLR cameras such as Canon EOS 5D as well as a wide range of lenses, such as DigiPrimes, Arri UltraPrimes and MasterPrimes, as well as Cooke lenses. A larger mirror box for very wide angle lenses is available from Autumn/winter 2009.

Tennessee Digital Video (TNDV) selected Ross Vision 2 QMD Multi-Definition Production Switcher for their mobile productions. TNDV is based in Nashville, Tennessee and specializes in mobile, multi-camera and digital television production from sporting events, concerts, grand openings to corporate happenings. TNDV produces using a 16 input HD/SD:SDI 2ME Ross Vision production switcher, an isolated soundproof audio booth, an Extreme Jimmy Jib, 58 channel digital console and 48 track audio recorder. TNDV is also equipped with a Ross openGear frame offering them the freedom to select the best infrastructure technology for their needs.

Broadcast systems integrator TV Magic has completed engineering, integration, and implementation of an HD upgrade for TV Azteca Noreste, the Monterrey-based broadcast facility for TV Azteca, one of the world's leading producers of Spanish-language television programming. The upgrade equips TV Azteca Noreste with state-of-the-art infrastructure, routing, and HD production equipment that support a reliable, flexible digital workflow in providing news and entertainment programming to northeastern Mexico. The installation also makes TV Azteca Noreste the first TV Azteca station to produce and broadcast in HD. In overhauling the TV Azteca Noreste facilities, TV Magic integrated Panasonic HD cameras into a new digital infrastructure along with a two-channel Chyron character generator, Miranda routing systems, and frame synchronizers and converters from AJA and Evertz. By replacing TV Azteca Noreste's manual routing model, the new Miranda systems not only enable handling of analog, SD-SDI, and HD-SDI signals, but also significantly improve the broadcaster's flexibility and efficiency in routing any source to any destination.