After being rejected last year when it applied for a loan from the Dept. of Agriculture to offer rural broadband service, WildBlue is trying again, it told us Wed. WildBlue is “working with” the USDA’s rural development program to offer its satellite broadband service, said CFO Mark Adolph. The broadband loan program, part of the 2002 Farm bill, is administered by the USDA’s rural development program, formerly known as the Rural Utilities Service (RUS).
Nearly 1/2 of Europeans watch TV on the Internet, IPTV set-top maker Motorola said, citing study data to be released today (Thurs.). The study by StrategyOne of 2,500 broadband users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K., found 45% of respondents view IPTV. French viewers were most engaged, with 59% watching previews and episodes of favorite shows via Web. Italians and Britons were 2nd and 3rd respectively, with Germans most bound to broadcast TV, only 33% catching shows online. The TV itself appears to be evolving from a static box into an interactive entertainment and communications tool, the study said. On average, users now plug 3 devices into a TV set, with nearly 1/3 of Europeans linking a digital camera to download and view photos. Expanded use of the TV continues to grow; 45% of Europeans expect to be making video calls via home TVs by the time the 2012 Olympics occur. Nearly 57% of respondents to be able to go online via the TV during a live broadcast, for example, to get sports data mid-game or check retail stores for fashion show items. And 35% want to be able to pause, fast forward or rewind live broadcasts.
Nearly 1/2 of Europeans watch TV on the Internet, IPTV set-top maker Motorola said, citing study data to be released today (Thurs.). The study by StrategyOne of 2,500 broadband users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K., found 45% of respondents view IPTV. French viewers were most engaged, with 59% watching previews and episodes of favorite shows via Web. Italians and Britons were 2nd and 3rd respectively, with Germans most bound to broadcast TV, only 33% catching shows online. The TV itself appears to be evolving from a static box into an interactive entertainment and communications tool, the study said. On average, users now plug 3 devices into a TV set, with nearly 1/3 of Europeans linking a digital camera to download and view photos. Expanded use of the TV continues to grow; 45% of Europeans expect to be making video calls via home TVs by the time the 2012 Olympics occur. “Viewers across Europe are no longer satisfied with fitting into schedules dictated by broadcasters and are turning to the choice and flexibility offered by TV over the internet,” Karl Elliott, Europe mktg. dir. for Motorola’s Connected Home Solutions division, said: “We are witnessing a nation of citizen schedulers who are in control of their entertainment, allowing them to watch what they want, how and when they want it.” Other study data show desire for freedom of choice in watching TV. Nearly 57% of respondents to be able to go online via the TV during a live broadcast, for example, to get sports data mid-game or check retail stores for fashion show items. And 35% want to be able to pause, fast forward or rewind live broadcasts.
After being rejected last year when it applied for a loan from the Dept. of Agriculture to offer rural broadband service, WildBlue is trying again, it told us Wed. WildBlue is “working with” the USDA’s rural development program to offer its satellite broadband service, said CFO Mark Adolph. The broadband loan program, part of the 2002 Farm bill, is administered by the USDA’s rural development program, formerly known as the Rural Utilities Service (RUS).
Nearly 1/2 of Europeans watch TV on the Internet, IPTV set-top maker Motorola said, citing study data to be released today (Thurs.). The study by StrategyOne of 2,500 broadband users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K., found 45% of respondents view IPTV. French viewers were most engaged, with 59% watching previews and episodes of favorite shows via Web. Italians and Britons were 2nd and 3rd respectively, with Germans most bound to broadcast TV, only 33% catching shows online. The TV itself appears to be evolving from a static box into an interactive entertainment and communications tool, the study said. On average, users now plug 3 devices into a TV set, with nearly 1/3 of Europeans linking a digital camera to download and view photos. Expanded use of the TV continues to grow; 45% of Europeans expect to be making video calls via home TVs by the time the 2012 Olympics occur. “Viewers across Europe are no longer satisfied with fitting into schedules dictated by broadcasters and are turning to the choice and flexibility offered by TV over the internet,” Karl Elliott, Europe mktg. dir. for Motorola’s Connected Home Solutions division, said: “We are witnessing a nation of citizen schedulers who are in control of their entertainment, allowing them to watch what they want, how and when they want it.” Other study data show desire for freedom of choice in watching TV. Nearly 57% of respondents to be able to go online via the TV during a live broadcast, for example, to get sports data mid-game or check retail stores for fashion show items. And 35% want to be able to pause, fast forward or rewind live broadcasts.
Microsoft is making Windows Live Messenger available to Xbox 360 users, enabling them to instant message (IM) via TVs, in another move by Microsoft to link its console gaming and Windows services. Windows Live Messenger now has “more than 260 million active accounts,” Microsoft said. The Xbox 360 Spring Update debuting the week of May 7 will give Xbox 360 owners worldwide with access to Windows Live Messenger features, “broadening the communication options on the Xbox Live social network,” it said. The Xbox Live online gaming community’s 6 million or so members send 2 million-plus text and voice messages daily, Microsoft said. Now members can use Windows Live Messenger to text chat with up to 6 people on their contact lists at a time, while playing games, listening to music or watching movies, the company said. But current relationships on Windows Live Messenger and Xbox Live will be unified on Xbox 360 and users “will see at a glance if their existing friends on Windows Live Messenger have gamertags,” it said. Bringing Windows Live Messenger -- “the largest IM community in the world” -- to Xbox 360 “makes sense” because Xbox Live “has really become the largest social network” on TV, Microsoft claimed. Starting the week of May 7, users of Windows Live Messenger on Xbox 360 will be able to text chat using a virtual keyboard accessible on Xbox 360 or by linking a USB keyboard to the console. This summer Microsoft will launch a QWERTY text-input device, a new accessory it said will connect directly into the Xbox 360 controller to support text and instant messaging. The spring 360 update also will provide “a richer achievement notification pop-up” showcasing the name of the unlocked achievement and the gamerscore value so users don’t have to leave a game to check the achievements list, family settings features enabling different defaults for video chat and voice chat and updates letting owners see quickly which Xbox Live Arcade games friends are playing so they can join them. A new option in Auto Downloads will offer faster access to all free, trial-version Xbox Live Arcade games, Microsoft said. New progressive download controls will mean “easy access to optimal viewing options by letting people fast forward, rewind, pause and resume as their video is downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace,” it said. An extension of the background download functionality will enable console owners to set Xbox 360 consoles to turn off automatically once downloads finish. The update, to be provided at no charge, can be downloaded through Xbox Live or at Xbox.com.
Microsoft is making Windows Live Messenger available to Xbox 360 users, enabling them to instant message (IM) via TVs, in another move by Microsoft to link its console gaming and Windows services. Windows Live Messenger now has “more than 260 million active accounts,” Microsoft said. The Xbox 360 Spring Update debuting the week of May 7 will give Xbox 360 owners worldwide with access to Windows Live Messenger features, “broadening the communication options on the Xbox Live social network,” it said. The Xbox Live online gaming community’s 6 million or so members send 2 million-plus text and voice messages daily, Microsoft said. Now members can use Windows Live Messenger to text chat with up to 6 people on their contact lists at a time, while playing games, listening to music or watching movies, the company said. But current relationships on Windows Live Messenger and Xbox Live will be unified on Xbox 360 and users “will see at a glance if their existing friends on Windows Live Messenger have gamertags,” it said. Bringing Windows Live Messenger -- “the largest IM community in the world” -- to Xbox 360 “makes sense” because Xbox Live “has really become the largest social network” on TV, Microsoft claimed. Starting the week of May 7, users of Windows Live Messenger on Xbox 360 will be able to text chat using a virtual keyboard accessible on Xbox 360 or by linking a USB keyboard to the console. This summer Microsoft will launch a QWERTY text-input device, a new accessory it said will connect directly into the Xbox 360 controller to support text and instant messaging. The spring 360 update also will provide “a richer achievement notification pop-up” showcasing the name of the unlocked achievement and the gamerscore value so users don’t have to leave a game to check the achievements list, family settings features enabling different defaults for video chat and voice chat and updates letting owners see quickly which Xbox Live Arcade games friends are playing so they can join them. A new option in Auto Downloads will offer faster access to all free, trial-version Xbox Live Arcade games, Microsoft said. New progressive download controls will mean “easy access to optimal viewing options by letting people fast forward, rewind, pause and resume as their video is downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace,” it said. An extension of the background download functionality will enable console owners to set Xbox 360 consoles to turn off automatically once downloads finish. The update, to be provided at no charge, can be downloaded through Xbox Live or at Xbox.com.
A stick-sized USB device that lets users receive and record HDTV on Windows PCs will ship next month at $99 from Plextor, the company said Wed. The PX-HDTV500U Mini Digital HDTV Receiver joins a group of similar devices that let PC users receive, pause and record terrestrial HDTV. The 20- gram receiver comes with software that automatically scans for free SD and HD signals in the area, which are pulled in by a flat digital antenna, Plextor said. Recordings are compressed with MPEG-2 in real time and stored on the PC’s hard drive. The USB receiver works with desktop and laptop PCs running Windows 2000, XP or Vista. Minimum hardware requirements for SDTV are a Pentium III 1-GHz or equivalent CPU, 256-MB RAM, 32-MB VGA card, sound card or on-board sound chip. For HDTV, the receiver requires a Pentium 4 3-GHz or equivalent CPU, 512-MB RAM and 128-MB VGA card.
With Comrs. Copps and Adelstein dissenting in part, the FCC approved Verizon’s sale of Puerto Rico Telephone’s parent company, Telecomunicaciones de Puerto Rico,(TELPRI) to America Movil, a Mexican company. The Commission said the transfer is in the public interest because America Movil “has experience in designing products for rural and low income populations,” should be able to speed deployment of “state- of-the-art mobile telephony, including third generation networks,” and “has advantages of scope and scale in bringing mobile telephony to customers.”
Cablevision can’t introduce a remote PVR service -- which would give subscribers full PVR functionality without delivering a set-top box to their homes -- unless it has licenses from the programmers it carries, U.S. Dist. Judge Denny Chin, N.Y., said late Thurs. Programmers including Time Warner’s Cartoon Network and Fox sought an injunction against the service after Cablevision announced its plans last year. The ruling not only puts the kibosh on Cablevision’s plans but will give pause to other digital media innovators including online, said industry and consumer advocate lawyers. Cablevision will continue to market its set-top box PVR service while it considers appealing Chin’s ruling, it said: “We are disappointed by the judge’s decision, and continue to believe that remote-storage DVRs are consistent with copyright law.”