中国移动与CMMB合作首次推出上网卡

首款TD+CMMB上网卡已于日前通过了工信部入网测试，将于近期上市。这意味中国移动与CMMB产业阵营的合作已经由手机终端扩展至数据卡。
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该款名为Aircard901+的数据卡基于大唐TD-SCDMA 3.5G(HSDPA)方案，CMMB模块则采用创毅视讯IF303芯片。用户使用普通的笔记本电脑便即可通过TD网络随时无线上网，也可以收看多套基于CMMB网络的广播电视节目，两个网络互不影响。

按照年初CMMB运营商中广卫星移动广播有限公司(以下简称“中广移动”)与中国移动签署的合作协议，双方将在利用内容，网络，品牌营销等资源展开合作。此前，加入CMMB模块的TD手机已经获得工信部入网证。

中国移动欲借助独家与CMMB合作来增强TD业务的吸引力，而CMMB也得以借此机会获得进入移动电信终端市场的通行证。In-Stat分析师刘伯丰对新浪科技表示，相对于TD手机来说，TD上网卡的市场前景目前更为外界所看好，因此TD+CMMB上网卡的发展潜力相对来说更大。

中广移动此前宣布，目前已有174个城市完成CMMB网络覆盖，年底全国将有337个地级市完成CMMB网络覆盖。而中国移动则规划，TD三期建设完成后信号将覆盖238个城市。

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文章出处：新浪科技
作者：文元

CMMB向互动升级：中广移动年内目标1000万

与中国拥有自主知识产权的3G标准TD的捆绑，让广电系手机电视标准CMMB带来了新的发展契机。但是即使如此，从目前部分地区商用过程中用户增长情况来看，CMMB的市场前景仍然需要新的动力。
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于是，一个升级版的CMMB-2出炉在即。

5月27日，广电总局科技司司长王效杰告诉记者，“CMMB-2增加了互动功能，预计2009年下半年将正式推向市场，对现有的网络进行低成本的升级后，新一代CMMB产品将增加电子钱包、体育彩票、网络游戏、股票、基金等增值服务。”

布局CMMB-2
CMMB第一代网络的商用已经到了最后的准备阶段，目前，中广移动总公司已经完成CMMB运营支撑体系的建设，目前正在“加班加点”地推进CMMB计费系统、结算系统和已有网络的CA加密部署的相关工作。另外，中广移动的17家省级分公司已经获得CMMB的正式运营权。

王效杰告诉记者，“CMMB第一代网络2009年7月1日前将具备商业试运作的基本条件，年内将完成所有省级分公司的组建，并实现全国商业运营。”

记者了解到，今年7月中广移动与中国移动合作的“TD+CMMB”捆绑式营销将在全国范围内全面推广，这意味着CMMB将进入发展用户的关键时期。

但是，从CMMB今年3月中旬开始在上海启动的付费商用来看，20元包月收看5套视频节目、3套音频节目和4套信息服务的试点，对用户的吸引力并不足够。

上海文广手机电视有限公司有关人士告诉记者，“上海CMMB商用两个多月以来，目前只发展了5000多户付费用户，而原来的CMMB免费用户也出现了流失的情况，总体来说CMMB在上海的付费试点依然处于摸索阶段。”

记者了解到，在2008年奥运前后的几个月中，CMMB靠免费的推广模式短期内发展了140多万用户，其中上海的用户超过10万户，但是其中部分用户在进入加密付费阶段后选择了放弃。

中国数字电视杂志主编包冉表示，“显然除了广电方面在市场化的营销方面经验不足外，CMMB还缺乏有竞争力的节目和互动功能，这些是CMMB接下来商用的最大瓶颈。”

据悉，CMMB电视节目暂时的缺点是其广播制式的单项传播，即没有回传通道，这样用户就无法与节目进行互动点播和其它增值业务。按照有关规划，目前CMMB的回传网络可以借用电信的网络实现，但目前这一规划的实现尚需广电与电信进行协调。

在这样的情况下，CMMB-2的研发就提上了日程。王效杰告诉记者，现在的CMMB是第一代产品，2008年起广电方面便开始了第二代产品的技术研发，它的最大特点便是可以实现互动功能，相信不久便会推向市场。

值得注意的是，CMMB-2网络的建设非常简单，只需在目前一代已经铺设的发射器上加一个设备，就可实现互动，而且这一设备的成本很低。

觊觎增值业务
据悉，在CMMB-2完成布网后，在技术架构上，中广移动将可以为各种增值服务提供平台。

“目前已制订了许多业务标准，涉及各个业务，包括正在接洽中的体育彩票服务、网络游戏、股票、基金等服务。”王效杰表示。

相关CMMB业内人士表示，CMMB此前的用户增长速度，让中广移动以及产业链条上的芯片商、终端商都受到了一定的压力。“CMMB概念在去年炒得有些过火，远远超过CMMB产业实际推进速度。”某芯片厂商人士透露，当时在北京奥运因素以及启动百万CMMB终端招标的消息刺激下，不少CMMB芯片厂家都在去年中备足了货。然而，最后的招标只有4万台TD/CMMB手机终端的规模。

该人士称，业内的一些厂商都希望随着各地CMMB运营主体组建完毕并正式进入商业运营，以及CMMB-2的新一轮招标和布网的开始，CMMB用户能迎来一个快速的增长。记者了解到，中广移动提出了2009年发展1000万CMMB用户的目标。

CMMB-2的出现意味着中广移动自建回传信道的开始，但这些互动的增值业务也正是正在启动3G运营的电信运营商所期待发展的业务。对于这些互动业务可能与电信运营商产生的竞争关系，王效杰表示，“我们与中国移动是合作大于竞争，今后我们还可能跟其他电信运营商合作。”

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文章出处：21世纪经济报道
作者：郎朗

中移动与广电正式合作 TD手机将加载CMMB芯片

知情人士透露，中国移动已与广电总局旗下运营CMMB的中广移动签署正式合作协议，TD-CMMB用户将可在在全国174个城市收看7套电视节目、收听4套广播节目。
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TD手机09年加载CMMB
据悉，日前，中广移动与中国移动正式签署了移动多媒体广播电视(CMMB)与第三代移动通信技术(TD-SCDMA)的项目业务合作协议。根据达成的协议，3G标准中只有TD-SCDMA才能使用CMMB手机电视功能。

根据合作内容，在2009年上市的TD手机中普遍加载CMMB功能，这对TD手机来说也具有变革意义。

据悉，TD手机中将实现两个芯片一个屏幕，一个芯片是做TD•SCDMA，一个芯片是接收我们CMMB，等于是两个东西放在一个里面，但是用同一个屏幕，甚至可以用同一个解码器。

双方优势互补
“我觉得确实实现了一种优势互补”，中国移动总裁王建宙如此表示。他表示，在此次合作中，广电部门提供电视节目的制作和集成播放，以及广播网络的提供、建设和维护，中国移动将运用丰富运营经验、客户基础和市场营销来吸引客户使用。

据悉，按规划，到今年年底为止，全国337个地级城市将完成CMMB网络覆盖，目前已有147个城市可收看CMMB手机电视，中国移动将完成38个省会城市的TD-SCDMA网络覆盖。

具有CMMB功能的手机电视和普通手机的收看电视节目是不同的，普通手机看电视需要上网，是要按流量来收费的，CMMB网络是按包月来算，价格很低廉，而且它具有更大的实时性，不受带宽的限制，通过广播的网络来实现，内容更多，收视费更便宜，并且可以随身携带，无处不在。这样对推广TD手机有利。

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文章出处：新浪科技
作者：康钊

广电总局称CMMB产业联盟年内成立

为进一步加速CMMB产业发展，广电总局CMMB工作小组正在酝酿成立CMMB产业联盟。
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“CMMB产业联盟今年内肯定会成立。”昨日，广电总局CMMB工作小组相关负责人对CBN记者透露，目前CMMB工作小组正在与CMMB专利拥有者协商组建CMMB产业联盟，按照国际惯例组建CMMB专利池，并正式对外宣布CMMB专利池的许可政策。而这也意味着，CMMB产业的准入制度将进一步明确。

上述负责人透露，目前已经有200多家国内外企业加入了CMMB阵营，而这些企业应该都会成为CMMB产业联盟的成员。此前，广电总局曾多次表示，CMMB的专利许可政策是两年免费。

“目前泰美世纪正在申请和已经核准的CMMB专利有近40项。”CMMB核心专利拥有者泰美世纪相关负责人表示，公司的专利主要是针对CMMB芯片方面。近日，泰美世纪在其网站上公布的《CMMB解调芯片研发合作伙伴》名单显示，目前中星微电子、创毅视讯、中国科学院微电子所、泰合志恒、国微集成技术、泰景信息和大唐电信科技公司等7家单位已经获得了泰美世纪的专利授权。

该负责人透露，目前展讯正在与泰美世纪商谈专利合作，只是因为展讯是美国上市公司，所以进展相比缓慢一些。

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文章出处：第一财经日报
作者：孙燕飚

第二台电视百万瓶颈：IPTV数字电视水火不容

对于低迷的全球IT业，以下几则信息，或许多少能够刺激业者的神经。
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旨在为全球52个国家的付费电视和移动电视发展情况提供竞争信息的电信调研机构Pyramid Research近期公布了第一季度最新《Media Forecast》（媒体预测报告）。该报告显示，尽管经济环境充满挑战，但预计2009年全球付费电视用户将增长8%，达到近7.33亿。

报告公布同时，韩国和美国均传来消息。韩国通信委员会（KCC）已经发牌给3家IPTV运营商KT、SK Broadband和LG Dacom，许可他们在其宽带因特网上提供公共服务广播，以增加IPTV的交互功能。而美国电信运营商也正在考虑收购美国最大卫星电视运营商——DirecTV，以便其提供电话、宽带和电视在内的“三合一”服务。

全球IPTV产业如火如荼的发展令人兴奋，然而对于国内IPTV运营商来说，却是另一幅图景：在经历了2008年的高速发展后，2009年IPTV的用户增长正呈现出下降趋势，落后于数字电视的发展。

截至2008年底，全国IPTV数据规模达到百万级用户，与之形成鲜明对照的是，同期数字电视已发展到5000万户规模。

作为新兴媒体形式，IPTV的诞生曾经引发了行业的热烈追捧。然而，经历了四年发展，IPTV在获得一定发展后却变得日益步履维艰。

有线、电信之争
细心的上海市民会发现，近期家中的有线电视又多了一个“免费频道”。这个频道全天滚动播出教授普通市民如何使用数字电视及遥控器的“教育片”，旨在普及数字电视使用的基本常识。这部“教育片”由上海有线电视运营商——上海东方有线频道制作。其推出的背景，是上海市加速有线电视向数字电视整体转换的目标。

与此同时，上海IPTV的发展也如火如荼。继年初推出IPTV业务优惠营销活动后，5月6日，上海电信宣布两年内投资260亿元用于提高宽带网络接入能力，年内实现网络接入能力提速至2Mbps，同时开放IPTV的内容平台，与内容创意企业形成合作，共同拓展新媒体产业链。

根据上海电信及东方有线的数据，截至2008年底上海市IPTV用户近80万，略高于数字电视用户接近60万。数字电视与IPTV的“和平共存”，形成了上海市新媒体产业发展的独特景象。

“上海目前是全国IPTV用户规模最大的城市。”上海IPTV运营商——上海百视通公司首席运营官李怀宇接受记者采访时说，上海IPTV得以成功运营的最关键因素在于广电与电信的通力合作：上海电信负责网络改造、平台建设、用户发展、客户服务，在互动及网络运营方面有丰富经验；上海文广集团提供IPTV牌照，在内容运营方面有优势。

纵观全国新媒体产业发展势头较好地区，无一不是地方电信与广电部门合作的成果。

然而，这种被业内认为“共赢”的合作模式在向全国推广时却遇到了空前阻力。先是福建莆田强制进行“模转数”引起用户不满，紧接着湖北黄石广电部门以中国电信黄石分公司传播境外电视节目为由，向主管部门申请要求公安和安全部门配合取缔IPTV业务，并开出3万元罚单。

地方有线所为主要来自IPTV对数字电视业务竞争的担忧。这使得无论是央视国际、百事通还是南方传媒这些IPTV业务运营商不得不面临一个尴尬现状：面对三网融合带来的产业融合趋势和市场新机会，运营商必须尽快行动起来，然而，当遭遇到地方广电的强大压力后，IPTV产业发展却步履维艰。

在此情况下，一度被众多设备商、风险投资商看好的IPTV业务发展速度远慢于数字电视。经过四年发展IPTV刚刚达到百万级用户，而四年来数字电视同期已发展到5000万户规模。

“第二台电视”理论
对于广电发展数字电视与电信运营商发展IPTV，双方各有各的理由：从全球来看，付费电视收入的一半以上预计将来自有线电视运营商，在三网融合趋势下，国内模拟电视向数字电视转换成为必然；而对电信运营商而言，当语音通话不再成为主要增长点，发展各类数据及视频等增值业务成为必然，作为进入客厅的“互动电视”，IPTV业务被转型中的电信运营商寄予厚望。

从用户最终体验来说，无论是广电部门的数字电视还是电信部门主导的IPTV，最终提供的都是针对家庭的、具有高清图像的、互动性强的电视内容。在此情况下，地方有线对IPTV的发展采取抵制态度不足为奇。

但是，一味采取抵制态度是否就真正有利于数字电视的发展？当下阶段IPTV与数字电视是否真正存在竞争？IPTV与数字电视是否可以谋求“和平共处”的运营“新思维”？

作为全国最大的IPTV运营服务提供商，百事通在此问题上探索了很久。通过对数字电视和IPTV在上海发展情况的调研，百事通提出要对IPTV进行差异化定位，将这一业务锁定在有特定需求的中高端家庭用户群众。

“数字电视未来肯定是普及的，它是取代模拟电视的一种主流基础服务。”李怀宇说，IPTV定位于30-50岁的中高端家庭用户，强调个性，基于宽带技术的IPTV在互动性方面拥有优势，是家里的“第二台电视”。

以奥运期间为例，上海电视观众在看直播比赛时主要看数字电视或模拟有线电视，在错过的赛事中，则可利用IPTV的方式进行补看。因此，IPTV做为有线电视的一种补充，也获得了用户的充分认可和肯定。

“我认为数字电视和IPTV并不存在严格意义上的竞争。”IPTV设备供应商——上海贝尔网络服务集团多媒体产品高级总监陆晓钧接受采访时说，数字电视的发展倾向于依赖传统有线渠道，IPTV是一种费用更高、强调双向互动性的业务，可以同时存在。若单纯从技术角度考量，在达到同等画面质量以及有效互动的客户体验情况下，IPTV的成本要优于数字电视。

当前传统电视产业正面临着前所未有的挑战：收视观众呈现老龄化趋势，年轻观众正远离电视机，互联网的存在使得内容传播变得更为立体丰富。

在此情况下，电视业者正面临一场“抓住观众”的战役，因此无论是数字电视还是IPTV谁抓住用户对整个产业来说都是有益的。业界一致的声音是，“现阶段大家只有共同把蛋糕做大，未来产业才有前途。”李说。

用户“付费”瓶颈
“现在新媒体产业的根本问题并不在于谁抢走了用户，最大的阻力来自用户对付费内容仍不认可。”陆晓钧说，只有用户对付费内容的认知普遍达到一个高度和阶段，付费产品最终得到了市场认可，产业才能最终获得成功，从这个角度来说，无论是IPTV还是数字电视都任重道远。

无论是数字电视还是IPTV，观众最关心的还是内容的丰富性及价值性。

在已经商用的地区，IPTV和数字电视能够提供的电影、电视剧等内容从其他渠道都可以得到，而不少信息服务类内容多为简单的资讯浏览服务，其他能够吸引用户的内容，比如游戏、搜索、播客(视频分享)等，仍然匮乏。

从全球IPTV发展情况来看，IPTV比较受市场欢迎的主要有三类：成人节目、电影和体育节目。在我国，成人节目是被明令禁止的，电影受到配额引进的限制，在差异化方面也很难突破，而在体育节目方面，许多重要赛事采取的是多方授权模式，因此也难做到差异化。而剩下的新闻、娱乐和电视剧等节目，根据全球经验是没有办法进行收费的。因此要想进行内容定位的突破有一定难度，需要产业链不断强大，并涌现出一批富有创意的内容制作企业。

由于目前IPTV用户数量仍很有限，许多SP和内容提供商还是采取观望的态度，这也造成了目前IPTV增值业务发展不够迅速的现状。

“想要吸引更多SP和内容服务商加入，需要更大的用户规模，产业更加强大。”接受采访人士一致认为，新媒体业务的一个核心点就是跨地域经营和形成规模，目前IPTV已经呈现了一定的良好态势，但还很弱小，建议有关行业主管部门尽快就相关问题达成共识，进一步促进IPTV跨地域发展。

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文章出处：21世纪经济报道
作者：黄婕

SARFT, China Mobile Jointly Promote CMMB+TD Mobile Phones

China Satellite Mobile Broadcasting Corporation, the company owned by China's State Administration of Radio Film and Television, has signed an agreement with China Mobile to jointly promote the development of TD-SCDMA mobile phones with the CMMB function to provide wireless streaming video.
##CONTINUE##
The two sides will reportedly implement cooperation based on their content, network, and brand marketing resources. New products jointly developed by the two companies are expected to be launched soon.

Shen Hongbing, general manager of Beijing TiMi Technologies, a core developer of the CMMB standards, told local media that when promoting the TD-SCDMA mobile phones with the CMMB function, China Mobile will be in charge of the management of CMMB, including fee collection and operation. The two sides will share the profits from the CMMB services, but a detailed profit-sharing scheme is not yet available.

An insider from China Mobile also confirmed the news and the person revealed that the CMMB modules will be implanted in the TD-SCDMA mobile phones of China Mobile. With regards to the charges of the CMMB programs on TD-SCDMA mobile phones, the insider said there will be free-of-charge programs and paid programs and these programs may be provided to users in packages.

SARFT previously cooperated with China Mobile to give TD-SCDMA mobile phones with the CMMB function to Olympic-related organizations and groups as gifts during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. After that, several types of such mobile phones have been approved by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to enter the Chinese market.

Statistics provided by SARFT show that the CMMB networks have been established in 150 cities around China. By the end of 2009, the coverage will be extended to 337 prefecture-level cities.

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BY N/A
Source：China Tech News

Copyright 1999-2009 ChinaTechNews.com. All Rights Reserved.

广电总局与中移动合作推广CMMB+TD手机

多位CMMB产业内部人士向新浪科技证实，国家广电总局下属中广卫星移动广播公司已与中国移动正式签订合作协议，共同推进具有CMMB功能的TD-SCDMA手机发展。
##CONTINUE##
据透露，双方将在利用内容，网络，品牌营销等资源展开合作，近期双方合作的新产品将正式投放市场。

CMMB标准核心研发方，泰美世纪科技有限公司总经理申红兵向新浪科技表示，在合作推广具有CMMB功能的TD-SCDMA手机时，中国移动将会负责CMMB的收费运营等方面的管理。双方利益共享，但具体的利益分配方案则不方便透露。

中国移动内部人士此前也向新浪科技证实了双方合作的消息。据其透露，CMMB模块将内置于中移动的TD终端中，且这种方式将成为中移动力推的手机电视发展模式。

而有接近广电总局的CMMB产业内部人士向新浪科技透露，广电总局内部已经要求中广卫星移动广播公司通过内容主导CMMB产业的发展，发展适合移动终端观看的更多视频内容。

至于在TD终端上的CMMB节目会否收费，该人士表示，免费节目与收费节目将会并存，并且可能采取将免费节目与收费节目打包的方式向用户推广。

在2008年奥运会期间，广电总局联合中国移动，向奥运相关组织和团体赠送了具有CMMB功能的TD-SCDMA手机。此后，有多款具有CMMB功能的TD手机通过了工信部的入网许可。

来自广电总局的数据显示，目前全国已有150个城市建起了CMMB覆盖网。到今年年底，全国337个地级市将全部完成CMMB覆盖。

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文章出处：新浪科技
作者：文元

Adobe pushes to pump TVs with Flash

Adobe says by the end of 2009, we'll all be using Flash apps right on our TVs.
##CONTINUE##
If Adobe gets its way, electronics makers will be bundling a new, optimised Flash Lite runtime in TVs, DVD players, digital media adapters and game consoles.

Flash is the technology behind most websites which contain video and interactive animations. Almost 80% of all of the videos on the web are encoded in Flash, and Adobe holds a 98 percent market share on PCs and Macs.

Although Adobe hasn't yet succeeded in getting Flash on to key smartphones such as the Apple iPhone and Blackberry, it has been working very hard to do so and is now moving on to conquer other product lines.

"We've made a good start in phones," says Anup Murarka, director of partner development and technology strategy for the Platform Business Unit at Adobe said. "As we've looked out there for other products, the obvious category is televisions."

Flash Lite on a TV is the same experience one would have on a PC for both developers and consumers, Adobe claims. Due to the limitations of the processors used in TVs and set-top boxes, Flash Lite can only display 720p-encoded video, which is still HD, but falls short of the 1080p-encoded video that the majority of televisions boast. However, this means the technology will allow users to stream high definition video via the web directly to their television, as broadband connections and the web haven't yet moved to 1080p video.

The new Flash Lite runtime has a front-end user interface that is much like the Intel-Yahoo widget interface with a series of tabs on the outside of the screen. Companies officially supporting the new Adobe initiative are Atlantic Records, Comcast, Intel, Netflix, Disney Interactive Media group, Broadcom, The New York Times Company, STMicroelectronics, NXP Semiconductors and Sigma Designs.

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BY Samantha Rose Hunt
Source：apc

© 1997-2009 ninemsn Pty Ltd - All rights reserved.

What Does Adobe's Move on to TVs Mean for Digital Signage?

Adobe is at the National Association of Broadcasters show in Lost Wages this week, and its big announcement was how the company has put the pieces in place to allow it to deliver Flash content and interactivity to residential TV.
##CONTINUE##
“Adobe Flash Platform for the Digital Home will dramatically change the way we view content on televisions,” said David Wadhwani, the general manager and VP of the platform business unit at Adobe. “Consumers are looking to access their favorite Flash technology-based videos, applications, services and other rich web content across screens. We are looking forward to working with partners to create these new experiences and deliver content consistently across devices whether consumers view it on their desktop, mobile phone or television.”

A number of platforms have lined up their support for the new Flash technology, including Comcast, Disney, Intel and Netflix. The first TVs, set-top boxes and other devices supporting the new platform are expected to ship in the second half of the year.

At NAB, Adobe also unveiled a software framework, code-named Strobe, that will help establish an open industry standard for media players and accelerate the creation and delivery of high-quality video and interactive experiences for web audiences. The framework is intended to allow developers to add features such as advertising, user tracking and social networking into custom players for content owners.

“With Strobe, we’re delivering an open framework that enables media companies to focus on their core competency, creating great content that people want to see, instead of developing their own video players from scratch,” said Jim Guerard, the VP and general manager of dynamic media at Adobe. “Adobe is committed to driving web innovation and now with Strobe, we are helping to create an open framework for media players, enabling developers and media companies to focus on developing, delivering, and monetizing content so they can extend their online media efforts.”

I have been watching the development of addressable IP-driven TV and Flash-driven widgets (like Yahoo) for a while now, wondering to myself: "Boy, that's starting to look more and more like what a lot of people consider to be digital signage apps."

You get a carved-up screen with stuff like news scrollers and weather widgets plotted on to the presentation along the side or bottom. I don't find that terribly interesting or useful, but it is what people do and seem to want with some public-facing screen networks.

I won't even pretend to fully understand the technology, but in elemental terms you have big cablecos and other media companies delivering content over the Internet to residential homes, with the ability to tune what's displayed by the IP address, aka specific location.

Now if you can do the widgets for weather and so on, surely a major media company can work with a Doubleclick or some ad-delivery network to embed code that allows automated advertising on a portion of the screen. Kinda like me having Google AdSense code on this blog. It involved embedding a few lines of code and all of a sudden, my blog was a targeted ad delivery vehicle.

If these pieces are all pretty much in place, or getting there, where does that leave some of the pure-play digital signage software companies that are all about this sort of thing, but require PCs, and software apps and configuration and on and on?

Certainly there's no issue on this short-term. This is very early stage stuff and the first devices are just coming later this year.

But longer term I'm not sure I'd want to be investing money and time in something that is being increasingly commoditized on price, and where the differences between the technical capabilities of the A list companies and the much smaller ones are few other than client base size. I don't think this sort of platform has all that much in the way of stuff to tell you screens are on and what files played and so on, but that will either come or maybe it doesn't much matter.

I look at a company like Comcast being involved in this sort of thing, and it could, if it wanted, put out some sort of offer to its mass business subscriber base saying something like: we have a new platform that allows you to put a large HD screen in your customer waiting areas that can show content tuned to your audience demographics and interests, like healthy lifestyle information in weight loss centers, and if you qualify the ad revenues may eliminate the small monthly leasing cost, or even add a credit on your overall Comcast account.

Pretty quickly, a network of hyperlocal ad sites could go from zero to many 1,000s, with little or no infstrauture investment.

I'm making this up as I type, but I just see large companies with established distribution architectures and sophisticated billing, coupled with slick, fast-evolving media playout technology, creating a problem for elements of our industry (as it now sits) if the formula gets worked out and somebody runs with it.

The good news is I know of few people who ever talk about the big cable and telecom guys being fleet of foot. But if a big telco was looking for a way to transition from its fast-eroding yellow page directory business to another platform, this might look pretty interesting, and relatively easy.

What do you think?

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BY Dave Haynes
Source：Sixteen:Nine

Copyright © 2009 Sixteen:Nine and David Haynes.

华盛顿将成美国首个免费收看移动数字电视城市

当地广播电视公司周一宣布，华盛顿今夏将成为美国首个免费收看移动数字电视的城市，移动接收设备包括手机、电脑、车载娱乐系统等。
##CONTINUE##
据悉，华盛顿将于夏末运用全新的“mobile DTV”技术转播5家电视台的节目，其中包括哥伦比亚广播公司当地台(CBS)、美国国家广播公司(NBC)、美国公共广播公司(PBS)、福克斯拥有的一家独立电视台等。尚不清楚的是，收视设备需要何种专门装置以接收全新信号。尽管手机是收视设备的主选，但移动运营商对此不大热心，并且两家最大的广播公司拥有其自有电视服务业务，且需要订购。

不过，戴尔将在本周举行的全美广播协会(National Association of Broadcasters)贸易会上展示一款携带内置移动DTV接收器的微型笔记本原型机。戴尔联合手机厂商LG电子、三星共同支持这一技术，而建伍则正在研发车载接收器。上述支持这一技术的公司又称为“Open Mobile Video Coalition"(开放移动视频联盟，OMVC)。

该联盟表示，选择华盛顿作为测试市场是因为该市拥有众多关注当地新闻的科技迷。另外，政府和立法机构也不会对这一服务有所反感，因为该联盟早前已指出免费转播移动电视可以用于应对诸如飓风之类的紧急事件或灾难。美国广播电视公司计划在今年年底前在其它24个以上的美国城市播放免费移动数字电视，覆盖39%的美国家庭。覆盖城市包括纽约、芝加哥、费城、旧金山、波士顿和亚特兰大。

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文章出处：新浪科技
作者：志伟

上海首个开通CMMB商业运营 包月20元

知情人士透露，国家广电总局支持的首个CMMB商业运营城市已选定上海，目前确定包月20元，收看7套节目。
##CONTINUE##
上海首个正式开通CMMB
据悉，国家广电总局旗下CMMB运营公司中广卫星移动与东方明珠(集团)有限公司今日将进行CMMB商业运营签约仪式。之前，CMMB在奥运期间曾试运行，上海则将成为首个正式商业运营的CMMB城市。

上海CMMB运营商已确定为东方明珠旗下的上海文广手机电视有限公司。CMMB主要为7寸以下小屏幕便携设备提供广播电视节目的服务，包括手机、PDA、MP4、GPS、数码相机、笔记本电脑等。

目前，上海CMMB资费已确定，选择CMMB播出方式的手机电视，每月只需花费20元。

CMMB运营商强调其优势：据业内人士测算，按照目前的收费标准，如果用户每天收看60分钟的手机电视，选择电信运营商的流媒体方式需要花费36元/月，如果收看时间延长则收视成本还会提高。而如果用CMMB，就能够不受流量费限制，想看多久就看多久。

上海已覆盖中心城区95%地区
据悉，面对即将展开的商运，上海文广手机电视有限公司已经做好了全方位的准备工作。从今年3月起，上海市民即可在CMMB体验店和部分销售网点订购和开通CMMB收视服务。

目前，上海的CMMB信号已覆盖了中心城区95%以上的市外和40%以上的室内部分。2009年，文广手机电视有限公司还将新增闵行、普陀、松江三个发射点，对6个体验店和100个销售网点进行信号覆盖。此外，公司还将对13条地铁线路的车厢和站台进行信号覆盖。

CMMB将建网上营业厅
据悉，在销售渠道方面，上海文广手机公司将采取以点带面的方式构筑销售网络。09年公司将建立6-10个CMMB体验店，同时以体验店为中心辐射出100个销售网点用于CMMB终端销售、业务开通和售后服务。

上海文广手机电视还将与东方CJ、好德便利联手开发终端和业务的销售渠道。

另据透露，CMMB的网上营业厅也将不日完成。届时，用户可以通过它进行业务受理、付费订购等自助服务。该公司还将与本市的主要商业银行进行洽谈，以此丰富用户的订购和续费渠道。销售网络的建立，将给消费者订购手机电视服务提供极大的方便。

加密时间定于3月份
伴随着CMMB商运的正式启动，中广卫星公司表示将会对提供的收视内容进行加密，并实行付费收看。实行付费收看后，CMMB的用户将会享受到更多地增值业务以及更为完善的服务。就上海地区而言，CMMB的加密时间将定于3月份。

加密以后，用户只需到CMMB体验店或指定的销售网点购买专用的接受终端并办理业务申请和开通手续后即可收看。

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文章出处：新浪科技
作者：康钊

美众议院同意推迟模拟电视信号停播日期

美国国会众议院4日投票通过一项法案，同意将模拟电视信号的停播日期由原定的2月17日推迟至6月12日，以照顾美国650万仍使用老式电视机者。
##CONTINUE##
这项法案上周已获美国国会参议院一致通过，将在美国总统奥巴马签署之后正式生效。奥巴马的发言人此前已表示，总统将签署这项法案。

从2007年3月开始，美国新上市的电视机中已不再有模拟信号电视机，取而代之的是清一色的数字制式电视机。

数字电视信号是近年来兴起的新型电视信号，通过有线或卫星传播，只有数字电视机或者安装机顶盒解码器的模拟信号电视机才能收看，观众接收到的电视画面清晰度更高。如今许多电视广播公司提供只针对数字电视用户的电视节目，比如专门的天气频道、音乐频道等。

世界上，数字电视信号取代模拟信号已成趋势。

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文章出处：新华网
记者：任海军

TV, Internet: A perfect union

It was the perfect Las Vegas wedding: the Internet and television.

Only a few years ago, the two were joined together at the International Consumer Electronics Show for what appeared to be a union of perfect bliss, as leading tech companies assured CES-goers the future of television was in accessing content through the Internet.
##CONTINUE##
Alas, the couple fell on hard times, as the technology to access online content was costly and not particularly user-friendly, not to mention that most homes didn’t have the high-speed broadband connection necessary to deliver the information.

Now it appears the TV-Internet marriage may have a fairy tale ending after all.

At the 2009 CES last week, Internet-imbedded technology in TVs, DVRs, Blu-ray players, and other set-top boxes made a compelling case that the technology to bring aspects of the PC to the TV has fully arrived.

“There’s been an effort to bring the Internet to the TV in some fashion for the past decade,” said Mary Ragland, media manager for Intel’s digital home group. “I really do think this is the beginning of what your TV grows up [to be].”

In fact, owners of Xbox 360s, TiVos, Roku Digital Video Players, and AppleTVs already have begun wading in the Internet content waters by streaming movies directly to their TVs via Netflix, Amazon on Demand, and iTunes, while Playstation 3 offers its own movie service. With a reasonable broadband connection, most standard-definition movies stream almost seamlessly; even high-definition movies, which are shown in 720p, show little to no lag time on a fast connection.

But the demos at this year’s CES prove that tech companies want to push what’s available to consumers beyond movies and TV shows. Just as Smartphones have given cell phones the ability to go beyond just making and receiving calls to browsing the Web, updating social network pages such as Facebook, and watching live network TV and cable programming, TVs can now access limited online content such as stock updates, weather reports, AP news, YouTube, Flickr, and MySpace.

It’s all about the all-in-one-feature, said Laura Hubbard, a spokesman with Consumer Electronics Association, which sponsors CES.

“People want to have ease and accessibility,” she said. “They wonder why, if my phone can do all these things, can’t my other devices do that?”

And as the technology becomes easier to use and more affordable, more consumers will be able to connect to the Internet from devices in their homes, Ms. Hubbard said.

At CES, several of the leading consumer electronics manufacturers again demonstrated Internet-imbedded sets in addition to BD players.

Panasonic, for example, last year introduced its line of Internet-connected TVs that feature Viera Cast, which allows owners free access to YouTube videos and Google’s Picasa Web albums. Viera Cast has a built-in Ethernet interface — no external box or PC is required — and is accessed via a single button on the TV remote.

“As far as our content, it’s been called one of our most popular services, said Pete Byer, a Panasonic spokesman.

In fact, Panasonic is imbuing its Viera Cast-enabled HDTVs and a new line of Blu-ray players with Amazon Video on Demand, allowing consumers to choose from 40,000 films and TV programs to watch and purchase.

Also on board the Internet-TV bandwagon are Sony and Samsung, both of which demonstrated their ultimate goal to bring online content to the living room via HDTVs and BD players.

Perhaps the biggest announcement in the emerging technology was delivered jointly by Intel and Yahoo, which teamed up to release the Widget Channel, a TV software application embedded into televisions that allows viewers to interact with the their TV through online content. The Widget Channel is powered by Intel’s new Media Processor CE 3100 chip, created specifically for consumer electronic devices such as TVs, BD players, and cable set-top boxes.

The Widget Channel allows users to browse Yahoo sports, MySpace, the Weather Channel or AP News while still watching their regular TV programming. The Widget Channel information appears as a crawl at the bottom of the screen, and is fully customizable — including the ability to create personal widgets. ABC and CBS are reportedly developing their own widgets as well.

Like Viera Cast, the Widget Channel is all about simplicity.

“Intel’s approach is to complement the TV and not turn the TV into a PC,” Ms. Ragland said. “It really is seamless. We’re not bringing keyboards into the living room; all of these functions you will be able to control with a remote control.”

The technology is not only easier to use, it’s also faster and easier to deliver thanks to an increase in residential broadband speeds and a proliferation of special software. That makes the cost of delivering content cheaper, said Evan Young, director of product marketing for TiVo, which is increasingly integrating broadband and broadcast content into its DVR devices, including the ability to search Cnet, New York Times, and The Onion.

“A few years ago it was a few dollars to deliver a new gig,” he said. “Now it’s a few cents. Lowering the cost is important to get the economics to work.”

With the technology more affordable, the once-wide gap between the lean forwards (PC users) and the lean backwards (TV watchers) is narrowing.

“This stuff is mainstream,” Mr. Young said. “People who are buying TiVos today are overwhelmingly hooking it up to broadband. People want to take advantage of the broadband services.”

While the new technology appears to be drawing the computer and television closer together, Young and others are adamant they will remain separate.

“I wouldn’t call it a convergence of TV and a PC,” Mr. Young said, “but using the Internet to make TV better.”

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BY KIRK BAIRD, BLADE STAFF WRITER
Source：toledoBlade.com

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The Toledo Times ®

Microsoft Does IPTV Deal In China

Microsoft (MSFT) and Guangzhou Digital Media Group have formally launched Zhujiang Digital, a connected TV service powered by the Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV platform.
##CONTINUE##
"With the launch of Zhujiang Digital Interactive TV service, the Guangzhou Digital Media Group is delivering a personalized and connected alternative to existing TV services," said Guan Zhijian, director-general of Guangzhou TV Station and chairman of Guangzhou Digital Media Group. "Powered by the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, the new service will allow residents in Guangzhou to enjoy their TV when they want it, without missing a thing as well as rich interactivity."

This is the first Mediaroom-enabled TV service to launch in China and the first time Mediaroom has been delivered over a cable network anywhere in the world. The new service, available to residents in the region around Guangzhou, also includes the first deployment of the Mediaroom Anytime feature set, which will take time-shifted TV to the next level in China. Mediaroom Anytime will let subscribers access previously aired shows from their Interactive Program Guide and immediately restart currently airing programs without any pre-planning or prior digital video recording.

Guangzhou Digital Media Group also has taken advantage of the capability within Mediaroom for rich interactivity and the ability to seamlessly blend Web content and services with broadcast TV. The company has already engaged a number of local enterprises to develop interactive TV applications to complement the TV viewing experience. The applications being developed will enable Guangzhou Digital Media Group to offer its viewers new ways to communicate, share media and personalize the TV experience.

Guangzhou Digital Media Group plans to connect 2.5 million subscribers to this new IPTV service within three to five years.

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BY N/A
Source：China Tech News

Yahoo’s mission: Access to Web content, no computer required

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"Google" has now entered the lexicon as essentially meaning "to find something on the Internet."

If another big online search company has its way, to "Yahoo" might mean getting Internet content on a television.

One of the big product roll-outs at this year's CES is Yahoo's TV Widgets. The goal here is simple, even if the technology and compatibility issues aren't: to make it so that a television viewer can easily jump to online content without having to fire up a computer.

One of the things that has become a staple of television debuts at CES over the last few years has been the integration of Web connections into TVs. But the usability of those connections has been questionable at best.

And that's where Yahoo is trying to fill the void.

The integration of the Yahoo TV Widgets into the latest Samsung television models seemed fairly slick as I tried it out earlier this afternoon.

It starts with accessing the Web via a button on the remote and some pre-installed Yahoo TV widgets sliding across the bottom of the screen.

Navigating the widgets comes from the left-right/up-down buttons on the television's remote. There's weather, sports score, news and all of those sorts of basic kinds of content that extend into the left-hand side of the screen when selected. Photos from flickr also were available.

The cooler part is when accessing Web video widgets, like the one from YouTube.com, which has basically the same sort of fairly intuitive integration that YouTube has on iPhones. Once a clip is selected from YouTube, the video clip then takes over the full screen.

Granted, I was getting the demonstration from one of the developers at Yahoo, but it all looked fairly straight-forward and pretty dang easy to use. I saw it on one of the new Samsung TVs.

I don't know if my mom could use the Yahoo TV Widgets, but I'm suspecting she could. My mom is often my litmus test for if something has mainstream accessibility.

At CES, a Yahoo spokesperson said that along with Samsung, the company's TV widgets would also eventually be available in televisions from Sony, LG, Vizio and Toshiba. At least one major cable company, Comcast, also is working on a cable box that would seamlessly integrate the Yahoo TV Widgets.

The Yahoo TV Widgets site shows widgets that are currently available, or soon to be available -- including widgets from CBS, eBay, MySpace, Showtime, Netflix, Twitter, USA Today, the New York Times and a couple of others.

The CBS profile on the Yahoo site says the network will be offering content from shows like "CSI," "NCIS," "Survivor" and "The Late Show with David Letterman."

If integrated correctly, and that's a big IF considering mainstream media's awesome ability at screwing up things like this, content on demand like this could be a powerful force for Yahoo and its widget partners in an on-demand world.

Imagine being able to easily watch Letterman's Top 10 list or a great musical performance from the show in an easy fashion whenever you really wanted to see it.

I can, and I hope it catches on and gets easier and easier to use.

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BY Rob Curley
Source：LAS VEGAS SUN

New Intel TV chip is backed by Disney

A new Intel chip designed to provide interactivity features to television content has been backed by Disney. The chip aims to allow users to interact in certain ways with their favorite programs. "It has the potential to make TV viewing more functional and more fun," Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney-ABC Television group said.
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Sweeney said that viewers may be able to access complementary content during the series finale of the hit TV series "Lost", through use of Intel's new chip, which is designed to provide Internet applications on televisions. When present in a TV set, its on-board software lets networks, content creators and other developers to add their own applications and features.

"We know fans of Lost have a huge appetite for insight and information into the show," Sweeney said. "Using the Intel Widget for the series finale could be a great way to give our fans an extraordinary viewing experience for the end of a truly iconic show." ABC's Good Morning America was also presented as a viable candidate, where users could cast votes or comment in real-time on stories being broadcast.

"It's not just about great content and cool technology," said Sweeney, adding that there are some legal concerns that need to be addressed before such features can be introduced.

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BY James Delahunty
Source：afterdawn.com

Taking 3-D to the TV set at CES

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, companies such as Panasonic, Samsung and Texas Instruments will show off TV technology capable of displaying 3-D-like pictures. The industry is billing it as the next big leap in TV technology.
##CONTINUE##
In December, the National Football League dipped its toe in the water by broadcasting a 3-D game between the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers to select theaters, and the NBA is doing the same with some events during next month's All-Star game weekend.

What's more, a slate of nearly two dozen movies that can be shown in 3-D is scheduled for release over the next two years, including "Toy Story 3," "A Christmas Carol" and "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."

Now, those same forces are lining up to find a way to bring 3-D into the living room.

"In many ways you have the perfect storm brewing," David Wertheimer, executive director of the Entertainment Technology Center at USC told The LA Times. "Content makers, electronics vendors and consumers are aligned in their interest in bringing 3-D from the theater to the home."

Said the story: “Who will want to don 3-D glasses? The current generation is essentially miniature LCD screens that flicker at high speeds, filtering different images to the left and right eye to produce an image that appears three-dimensional.

"Early pairs looked like welders' goggles," said Dan Schinasi, senior manager of product planning at Samsung's consumer electronics division. "They functioned well but they weren't very stylish. Now, they're pretty lightweight and they look just like sunglasses. Of course, in a perfect world, we wouldn't need glasses. But at this point, we believe glasses produce the best optical experience."

Glasses or not, it will be several years before 3-D TVs become mainstream. That's because the consumer electronics industry, movie studios and broadcasters have yet to agree on standards for recording, transmitting, receiving and interpreting 3-D signals. Many are hoping those technical details can be ironed out this year, Hunt said. Only then can the work of creating discs, players and TV sets to display 3-D video begin in earnest, he told the paper.

That hasn't stopped companies such as Philips, Samsung, Mitsubishi and Panasonic from introducing "3-D-ready" sets. Philips last fall demonstrated a 3-D display that didn't require glasses. Panasonic is expected to make announcements about its 3-D plasma technology at CES.

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BY N/A
Source：RBR.com

Intel and Adobe to Extend Flash Platform to TVs

Adobe® Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and Intel Corporation today announced plans to collaborate on the development to port and optimize Adobe® Flash® technology for the Intel® Media Processor CE 3100. This effort is expected to provide consumers with richer and more seamless Web-based and video viewing experiences through advanced Intel-based cable set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players, digital TVs and retail connected AV devices.
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The high-definition capabilities of the Adobe Flash Platform, together with the Intel® Media Processor CE 3100, the first in a new family of purpose-built Intel System on Chips (SoCs) for CE devices, creates a powerful entertainment hub capable of delivering rich Web content and Adobe Flash based applications to an array of Internet-connected CE devices. Intel and Adobe are working together to optimize both the Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Flash Lite™ for the CE3100. Intel plans to ship the first CE3100 with support for an optimized implementation of Adobe Flash Lite before mid-2009.

The two companies are uniquely positioned to support consistent, rich Internet content across PCs, laptops, netbooks, mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and now the TV, extending the shared business objectives of accelerating rich video and Internet content across the full breadth of consumer devices.

"The Intel® Media Processor CE 3100 is a highly integrated solution that provides a powerful, yet flexible technology foundation that will bring to life the high-definition capabilities of Adobe Flash,” said William O. Leszinske Jr., general manager of Intel’s Digital Home Group. "Our effort with Adobe is poised to accelerate a rich, yet relevant Internet experience on the TV that will provide consumers with access to a growing number of Flash based applications that will ultimately be enjoyed across a number of screens seamlessly, from the laptop to a MID and now the TV.”

Intel and Adobe have a long history of technical collaboration, including, most recently, being founding members of the Open Screen Project. Announced in May 2008, the Open Screen Project is designed to enable a consistent runtime environment across screens. The initiative has 20 major industry partners and is dedicated to enable Web content, standalone applications and full Web browsing across televisions, set-top boxes, mobile devices and other consumer electronics that take advantage of Adobe® AIR™ and Adobe Flash capabilities.

"The Open Screen Project is striving to remove barriers for developers and designers as they look to publish content and applications across desktops and devices,” said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business Unit at Adobe. "The Intel® Media Processor CE 3100 provides a powerful platform capable of delivering outstanding Flash experiences to millions of homes as a new generation of televisions and set-top boxes makes its way into the living room.”

Adobe and Intel are also working together to bring an optimized implementation of Adobe® AIR™ technology to Intel’s digital home platform in the future.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information - anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

About Intel Corporation

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

All products and dates are based on current expectations and subject to change without notice.

Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. 2009 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Adobe AIR, Flash, and Flash Lite are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

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BY N/A
Source：WELT ONLINE

Yahoo, Intel have high hopes for Internet TV

Yahoo and Intel built their success upon widespread use of personal computers, but the two companies hope products to be shown at next week's Consumer Electronics Show will mark the beginning of their Internet-fueled expansion to the world of TV as well.

The two companies have attracted several significant manufacturing and content allies in the attempt to bring new smarts and interactivity to a part of the electronics world that has remained a more passive part of people's digital lives.
##CONTINUE##
Intel and Yahoo showed off Net-enabled TV prototypes in August, but the companies' technology will be presented in more finished form at the electronics show within products by Samsung, Toshiba, and a number of new partners that have signed on since the debut.

What exactly are they trying to achieve? For Yahoo, it's establishment of the Widget Channel, a software foundation that can house programs for browsing photos, using the Internet's abundant socially connected services, watching YouTube videos, or digging deeper into TV shows -- and through which Yahoo will be able to show advertisements.

For Intel, it's a foothold in an industry whose microprocessors have typically been cheaper, less powerful, and less power-hungry.

Yahoo is confident the products will catch on, in part because it's set "very low" licensing requirements, said Patrick Barry, vice president of Yahoo's Connected TV initiative.

"We do not see it as a niche offering in a few high-end models. We see this as moving into the mainstream. In 2009 we're going to see good penetration into the product lineups of the consumer electronics companies," Barry said. "Beginning in 2010, I think, you're going to see Internet-connected consumer electronics devices dominating the lineup."

But for both companies, TVs are terra incognita. "We emerged from the ocean of the PC," Barry said.

An anthropologist's view

Despite years of effort, the idea to put media-centric PCs in the living room hasn't caught on widely. But Intel, stung by its poorly received Viiv brand, has been taking the challenge seriously.

It even dispatched its top anthropologist--yes, the chipmaker employs anthropologists--to carefully study how people use TVs. In other words, Intel is trying to adapt to reality, not foist its ideas on an unwilling market.

Some people like to watch TV, but anthropologist Genevieve Bell, director of user experience for Intel, likes to watch people watching TV. Specifically, Intel concluded that unlike the PC, TVs are social. People watch it together, and what they watch turns into what they talk about. Another difference from PCs: it must be simple and reliable, she said.

When bringing the Internet to the TV, "You couldn't just turn it into a PC," she said.

And it's pretty obvious why those not in the TV market would be angling for a piece of the action. People in the U.S. spend about 5 times more time watching TV than using a computer, Bell said. Globally, it's a factor of 25; unusually, the TV and PC time is at parity in Israel, perhaps because of communication habits, she added.

More ads

For decades, people have been accustomed to advertising-supported television. The Widget Channel technology opens up some new horizons for Yahoo, though Barry said the company isn't going to rush to plaster sponsorships over the new interface.

"We have a lot of support from the advertising community, but we're focused on the consumer now," Barry said. "What you'll see initially is us trying to fall all over ourselves trying to make the consumer happy. The advertisers understand that." He wouldn't comment on when advertising will be launched with the technology.

Although Yahoo will eventually show ads, it won't have a lock on them. Barry said: "We are not going to be locking down anything from a walled garden perspective, including monetization. We get a nice advantage, knowing the ins and outs, but we will not limit the platform to being addressable by us."

There are many opportunities for ads, including the dock that can be shown across the bottom of the TV screen and in pages that fill the screen.

The Widget Channel technology is based on the Widget Engine software Yahoo got in 2005 with its acquisition of Konfabulator, and it lets programmers write a wide variety of applications.

Course corrections

Intel learned from initial testing of the TV technology, Bell said. For one thing, the company found that people didn't like the Widget Channel controls appearing on the left edge of the screen, one option the companies had demonstrated. Instead, people prefer the bottom, where they're accustomed to seeing text already.

For another, she said, people expressed a powerful desire for a big button to make the software go away in one fell swoop--no menus or arrow keys or complication--so they could get back to watching TV when they wanted. That big button is also used to activate the Widget Channel.

And nobody wanted yet another remote control.

To help chart its long-term course, Intel gauged consumer sentiment in part by asking what people thought the future of TV would look like. People's answers generally fit into a few categories:

• Something that would provide relevant information in real time, such as the weather right before heading to a sporting event.

• Something that would connect them to other people they care about, a variation of social networking.

• Something that would let them participate more with what they're watching, for example by figuring out where a show's cast members already had acted, or finding, rating, and sorting content.

Few, though, wanted a full-on Web browser, nor a keyboard to clutter up the room.

Yahoo sees the same fallow ground as Intel in the market.

TV innovations that have succeeded focused on screen size, image fidelity, and flat-screen technology, Barry said. "But the consumer electronics industry has not really explored the...connectivity that the Internet provides."

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BY Stephen Shankland
Source：cnet