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Making home entertainment a personal choice
8th May 2007
The way we view and listen to video and audio content at home is changing rapidly. The new digital world offers numerous broadcast channels via satellite and cable or off-air, broadband access to on-demand input over the Internet, high definition (HD) multimedia CDs and huge home content storage on cheap hard disk recorders. We are no longer subject to the diktats of broadcast channel controllers but are totally free to make our own selections from the huge choice of programmes now available. Moreover, we can combine material from many different sources to add value and enjoyment to our experience.
However, finding content is only part of the process. This content must be selected, filtered, scaled and scheduled for presentation in homes that now use networked multiple large and small display devices to replace the single TV. The ITEA project focused on bringing scalable HD content into the home and exploiting the advantages of digital TV metadata together with background content sourced via the web. Work included seamless integration into home media centres and networks, with smart graphic displays controlling systems operation and interactive contents packaging.
Stimulating open innovation
"We participate in publicly funded projects to stimulate open innovation and show our engagement with the research community and suppliers of technology," explains Keith Baker of Passepartout project leader Philips Applied Technologies in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Programmes such as ITEA are important for broadcasting as they provide a truly European dimension that also allows development of relevant standards. "This would not happen without ITEA," emphasises Baker. "It is essential to bring together large enterprises, institutes and SMEs to formulate new standards at a European level to fight our corner in the world."
The ITEA project set out to show next-generation Blu-ray disk technology offers a lot more capability. "You can give people very high quality images using disk players already in the shops," explains Baker. "At the same time, you can operate multiple TVs in the home - particularly projection screens and large flat panel LCD and plasma screens - to create a deeper experience. Moreover, you can control the viewing ambience by modifying lighting and the environment - from throwing water around to involving the sense of smell."
Assembling interactive packages
Passepartout makes it possible to assemble interactive entertainment packages from broadcast and pre-packaged content using both conventional control units and more powerful smart tables. The smart table contains an embedded LCD display that provides an overview of programme elements. The user can send media packages from the table to single or multiple HDTVs or LCD projectors as well as providing ambient support with sound and coloured lighting using simple hand gestures and a touch-screen interface.
French project partner Thomson was particularly interested in creating media distribution and display that meets programme makers demands and is more engaging in the home. Current TV and film formats differ strongly; HDTV is closer to film, providing a much higher level of detail than standard definition TV.
Thomson made a major advance by developing a scalable broadcasting format. Scalable video coding (SVC) enables streaming of HD content into the home and distribution around the house at a much smaller size using Wi-Fi, Wimax and ultra wide band (UWB) wireless to optimise bandwidth without simulcasting separate standard and HD signals. SVC signals need a single channel only 10% larger than with standard definition TV and are adaptable to all formats used around the house - whether for a 4-m wide projection display, a 42-in HDTV screen, a laptop computer or even a mobile phone.
The technical approach was taken in collaboration with parallel projects in the EUREKA MEDEA+ microelectronics programme. This will ensure the microelectronics components required are as small as possible and that equipment should be available within a couple of years.
Finding our way around
Dutch project partners Stoneroos and the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) collaborated on intelligent access to personalised content. "We developed a TV guide as the main interaction between people at home and TV content," explains Lora Aroyo of TU/e. "We started to see how traditional set-top boxes and TV programmes can be combined with web and mobile phone input. We don't see content limited to traditional TV screens but available also on other devices.
"An important aspect was to combine individual and social experiences as people do not necessarily watch TV alone - parents may watch with their children or children with their friends. So social factor or group personalisation was one goal for this personalised guide. The idea is to look at each individual user profile and then to find the best balance for the group watching the TV at that moment."
TV companies supply basic metadata - programme time, title, maker and key featured people or topics - in a standard pattern. The Passepartout approach matches this information to the user profile. Much broadcast programme data is fairly minimal, so various other sources such as the Internet movie data base (IMDb) or Wikipedia are used to bring in more semantic descriptions of content. It is possible to find relationships between actors playing in similar movies, directors having specific styles or programmes targeting similar social issues. One goal is to maintain high level of serendipity in recommendations to 'surprise' users.
Closing the loop
A marketable product called IFanzy is already at the prototype demonstrator stage and Stoneroos is continuing development with TU/e. "Our current goal is to close the loop from traditional broadcast and the web using the mobile phone, which would be the carrier of the user's personal profile. This will allow you to have your personal TV service with you everywhere you go," adds Aroyo.
The IFanzy service is aimed at broadcasters, cable TV companies and Internet service providers; it should be available commercially within a year. Stoneroos market analysis shows its semantic approach combining social and individual user elements is a potential world beater, well in advance of the USA.
Editorial notes:
1. ITEA 2 - Information Technology for European Advancement - is Europe's premier co-operative R&D programme leading research on embedded and distributed software-intensive systems and services. As a EUREKA strategic cluster, it supports co-ordinated national funding submissions and provides the link between those who provide finance, technology and software engineering. ITEA-labelled projects are industry-driven initiatives building crucial middleware and preparing standards to lay the foundations for the next generation of products, systems, appliances and services. The programme is open to partners from large industrial companies and SMEs as well as public research institutes and universities.
2. More information on the Passepartout Personalized Ambient Multimedia project may be found at: www.passepartout-project.org
Source:
ITEA
Liberty TV launches Dutch feed
5th April 2007
Liberty TV has today launched a dedicated Dutch version of its travel channel. Until now the Flemish version of the channel was carried by a number of Dutch cable operators. Liberty TV said it will work together with travel agency Advanced Travel Partner (ATP) and Google Video Nederland for its programming. Liberty TV is already available on the Essent network and will launch on UPC in May; cable operators Multikabel and Casema will follow suit. The channel is also in talks with other platforms including KPN, Canal Digitaal and Tele 2. For the Dutch market all programming will be made available for online viewing on Google Video. As soon as UPC will launch its VOD service Liberty TV hopes to offer their programming as free-VOD. In The Netherlands Liberty TV will not just be a regular thematic travel channel which offers viewers the possibility to book travel, but it will also extend to other media such as online and mobile. The Dutch entrepreneurs are operating the Dutch version as a completely separate operation under a licence from the broadcaster.
Source: Broadband TV News.com Back to top
History Channel comes to Benelux
5th April 2007
The History Channel finally comes to the Benelux. A launch is planned in the second quarter of this year beginning with the UPC Netherlands network. Other agreements will be announced soon. Chellomedia's Digital Media Centre (DMC) will transmit the signal for The History Channel from its technical facility in Amsterdam to the Benelux as well as to Scandinavia. In addition, Chellomedia will act as a distribution representative for The History Channel in the Benelux for pay TV platforms. The History Channel UK, a joint venture of A&E Television Networks (AETN) and British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), will have a special Dutch language version, which offers a separate schedule from the UK service. The channel claims it is available in over 125 countries in more than 210 million TV households. The UK joint venture with Sky launched in November 1995 and operates The History Channel, The Biography Channel, Crime & Investigation Network and The History Channel HD in the UK. The joint venture also operates The History Channel in Scandinavia, Sub-Sahara Africa and Greece, as well as Crime & Investigation Network in Sub-Sahara Africa. "2007 is proving to be a significant year as we have made major strides in expanding the European footprint of The History Channel with Scandinavia and Benelux," said Sean Cohan, Vice President, International, AETN in a prepared statement. "We are looking forward to offering viewers in Benelux our award-winning content across platforms - via mobile, broadband and VOD. We also look forward to securing additional distribution for The History Channel throughout the region and to introducing our other channel brands, The History Channel HD, The Biography Channel, Crime & Investigation Network into Benelux in the near future."
Source: Broadband TV News.com Back to top
