Obviously any TV News Channel or Radio Station dreams about getting live reports from locations where their regular reporter hasn’t arrived yet.

“It is all possible with our technology”, says Samuel Keret from the Israel/US based company Waze. “Millions of users are sharing traffic information, creating maps, reporting incidents, accidents.”

Samuel explains how the first TV stations are now using the Waze community in their live News Reports. In the US TV channels such as ABC and Channel 2 have already introduced Waze users, normal citizens, as live reporters.

During their live shows they can now offer new accidents to the viewers at home before any other systems report them, highway reroutes, and other info. Waze offers a remarkable application that anyone should try, and it’s free.

Waze is a social mobile application providing free turn-by-turn navigation based on the live conditions of the road. 100% powered by users, the more you drive, the better it gets. This is a really cool mobile app that uses other people to both build maps and show traffic and incident information.

It seems to be a great opportunity for News and Radio channels to bring their viewers and listeners news, which is more up-to-date than ever before.

Inspired by Waze technology? Waze will be present at IBC 2011. Feel free to book a face-to-face meeting with this amazing company.

In the past, managing TV broadcast operations was a straightforward matter since there were a only three delivery platforms: airwaves, cable and satellite. But the advance of new technologies has multiplied the number of platforms. Consumers can now watch TV and video on their TVs, PCs, smartphones, tablets and game consoles. As a result, viewer demand for traditional broadcast TV and so-called non-linear services like over-the-top (OTT) TV and video on demand has risen dramatically.

To expand their presence, broadcasters and TV service providers have to meet this demand using different systems, each with its own database and user interface. They also have to manage content workflow, scheduling, media trafficking and rights issues across an increasingly fragmented media landscape. In addition launching new services, channels and billing systems can be labour-intensive, time-consuming and error-prone. How do you streamline operations and maximize income from your content whilst keeping firm control of infrastructure and IT costs?

Several companies now offer advanced broadcast management software that allows small and large TV service providers to integrate broadcast operations for multiple platforms in a single system.

Meet and greet some of these technologies at IBC 2011

1. A SaaS broadcasting system that enables faster, easier, and more accurate management of broadcasting, without requiring extensive investment in IT infrastructure. Magic Software Enterprises provides such a Multi-channel Broadcasting System (MBS) that offers a whole range for linear and non-linear broadcast management.
2. Experience the power of Pilat Media’s feature-rich broadcast business systems with a face-to-face demonstration conducted by Pilat Media’s product specialists at IBC 2011. Pilat Media offers a number of different software modules for all aspects of broadcast operations including content management, advertising sales as well as rights management and licensing distribution.
3. Or get introduced to from BroadTec. The Broadtec system philosophy is intended to provide a complete solution from start to finish for all administrative and logistical aspects of running a broadcasting station. Call it Content Management, Traffic Management, or Broadcast Management – it’s ALL of them! Designed to effectively handle all phases and operations of planning, scheduling,
and Managing Your TV station.

Magic Software Enterprises, Pilat Media, and BroadTec will be displaying their broadcast management systems at IBC 2011. Schedule a demo here, or another with a related technology at IBC.

Bypassing the keyboard is now possible

Take the technology company Snapkeys. By replacing the traditional keyboard, Snapkeys not only spares users from a clumsy typing experience, they spawned new applications that unleash the potential of touchscreen devices. What’s cooler than a keyboard layout that one can adapt to and learn to type on without even looking? With ‘SnapKeys 2i’ users are, for the first time, able to bypass the unworkable on-screen typing experience of the traditional QWERTY keyboard.

Entering your choices is far easier and faster without having to look down at your device. SnapKey’s technology can turn your smartphone or tablet into an IPTV remote and SnapKeys will be showing a demo of this technology at IBC 2011 in Amsterdam.

In control without touching

How do you issue complex commands to a computer without touching it? It’s a crucial issue now that televisions are connected to social networks and cars are fitted with computerized systems for communication, navigation, and entertainment. The successful company Primesense can only confirm this statement. They introduced a 3-D vision system that lets anyone control a computer just by gesturing in the air.

Microsoft adopted the technology to power its popular Kinect controller for the Xbox 360 game console. Players can use it to direct characters with their bodies alone—no need for the wands, rings, gloves, or colored tags that previous gestural interfaces relied on to detect the user’s movements.

Who has the most exciting products this year? Find out more at IBC 2011. Many new technology companies will be showing their technologies.

Or read more:

SnapKeys’ videos show disruptive applications for its invisible keys, including turning your fingers into the keys.
The great smartening of the idiot box continues: Primesense.

Another real challenge facing multi-screen, Personal TV service providers is that there is absolutely no way of knowing which directions consumers will go. Predicting the future implications of Getting Personal is like wagering on the winner of next year’s Oscars before the movies ever premiere. For operators who are used to making decisions based on clear market trends, this is extremely discomforting and it prevents them from taking necessary steps to protect their markets.

So what words of advice can we offer that will help operators make the right decisions? Focus on the following do’s and don’ts:

• Do accept the challenge of creating a personal experience. An enhanced customer experience is addictive. Once customers are hooked on you, luring them away is a big challenge.
• Do get aggressive and think big! The number one motivation for churn is lack of perceived value (Strategy Analytics, Multiplay Market Dynamics). Getting Personal can expand your reach to previously “out of bounds” customers–those of your competitors!
• Do leverage your existing assets as much as possible. While you cannot ignore the imperative for implementing a true personal, multi-screen TV strategy, you should keep in mind the lack of a clear cut incremental monetization strategy. Manage your investments wisely.
• Do not set up even one more, tiny little silo. Like an extra helping of dessert, it is very tempting and seemingly harmless but it will inevitably expand your waistline (overhead) and most of us know very well how hard it is to get back to your original size.
• Do not settle for the lowest common denominator when it comes to device capabilities. The advances in technology create exciting new content opportunities that consumers are quick to pick up on. By trying too hard to achieve uniform functionality, you will end up with a sub-par service. Personalization applies to devices, too.
• Do not gamble with technology. Whether the iPad will rule supreme or Android TVs will be the rage, you can’t get caught betting on the wrong horse. You should treat online video as a promising but volatile stock market. Diversify your portfolio by investing in capabilities that are centralized and not device specific.

As operators continue to scramble to stay relevant and exciting to consumers, they would do well to keep these tips in mind.

You’ve just enjoyed an excerpt of the ‘TV all around YOU series of blogs’ leading up to IBC 2011, Sept. 9-13 in Amsterdam. Read more on: http://www.orcainteractive.com/orcablog/

Orca will be present at IBC 2011. You can book your personal face-to-face meeting online.

Home wiring is a major challenge for telcos, broadcasters and TV service operators. They want to stream HD video content throughout the home to multiple devices with consistent high quality. Wire-based networks are either too costly, do not offer enough coverage or are prone to interference from household appliances. So what’s the answer? Let’s look at two companies offering interesting solutions.

Celeno offers a solution that allows consumers to enjoy premium video services on TVs, PCs, tablets and smartphones anywhere in their homes. The company produces a range of chips that can be installed in set-top boxes or home gateways. These chips stream as many as four HD channels over a wireless network with full home coverage of up to 500 square metres and carrier-grade quality.

Celeno enables consumers to effectively manage distribution and routing of IP streams. Commercial businesses want to do the same. Retail outlets are looking to run in-store ad campaigns and companies want to deliver enterprise-wide video and corporate messages. How can they do this cost-efficiently and still deliver high-quality video content?

Another example is Vbox Communications. This company produces set-top boxes that stream SD video, HD video and broadcast TV over IP networks for a range of applications. Retail stores and commercial businesses can use them to deliver digital signage and advertising anywhere on the premises. Commercial companies can deploy these solutions to provide communications and e-learning, whilst hospitality businesses can use them to provide TV services. Consumers can also use them to access broadcast TV, recordings and video on demand throughout the home.

Celeno and VBox will be exhibiting at IBC 2011. It’s an ideal opportunity to see their solutions first hand. Schedule a demo here, or another with a related technology at IBC.

So says Devin Coldewey on techcrunch.com, a network of technology-oriented blogs. PrimeSense described plans to supplant traditional controls, and demonstrated the flexibility of the company’s OpenNI framework by coding a basic game in under half an hour. PrimeSense hopes that the open framework will help bring new and intuitive controls to increasingly powerful TVs:

“The key products in your living room are evolving. Living rooms now have connected TVs and smart TVs that can run a range of applications beyond TV shows. But all these smart TVs will need a new remote control device, because all these smart TVs need richer and deeper levels of input.”

Prime Sense’s concept is a device, which allows a computer to perceive the world in 3D and derive an understanding of the world based on sight, just the way humans do. Read the full article here.

Emma Barnett, digital media editor of the British Telegraph, examines Israel’s strong technology start up scene as the world’s second Silicon Valley in her article. Furthermore, in a couple of Dutch articles by Wouter van Noort, reporter at the Dutch magazine ‘Elsevier’, the author highlights the groundbreaking Israeli technology companies Playcast and Waze.

In Gaming via TV: Israeli company about to close deal with Dutch Telco KPN, Van Noort elaborates on Playcast, an on demand gaming service delivered via TVs without a games console. Playcast’ s solution is characterized as a potentially serious competitor for gaming computers.

Van Noort’s second article Navigating as a team: new free app enables drivers to help each other find the quickest route, features the Israeli start-up Waze. Waze’s solution is a community-driven mobile navigation app that is updated in real-time. The solution is portrayed as an interesting mobile navigation app with interactive features like used in Twitter and Wikipedia.

You can download the Elsevier articles here (only available in Dutch):

Gaming via TV: Israeli company about to close deal with Dutch Telco KPN
deel 1: Playcast article page 1 (88)
deel 2: Playcast article page 2 (71)

Navigating as a team: new free app enables drivers to help each other find the quickest route
deel 1: Waze article page 1 (75)
deel 2: Waze article page 2 (86)

High-speed internet throughout the home is in high demand amongst consumers. Then there are commercial businesses. Hotels, shopping malls and airports all want to gain a competitive edge by providing multimedia services. How do you supply these services in homes and commercial premises without spending time, money and effort on wiring the whole building?

One answer is to use existing internet cabling, but most buildings do not have this unless they are new. Another option is to use coaxial cables or telephone lines that already deliver TV and telecom services to the premises. “Coax and phone lines are just one gateway,” Mor points out. “You then have to distribute the services within the home. If you want three IPTVs, how do you network them?”

A fourth option is to use powerlines. These are present throughout most homes and buildings with plenty of outlet points. “Powerline technologies are primarily strong in Europe,” says Mor. “The downside is there’s a lot of noise and performance isn’t as good. That’s why service providers in the US tend to favour coax and phone lines.”

So what’s the answer? Seeing the dominance of powerline delivery in Europe and the substantial increase in performance of coaxial cable, phone lines and powerlines, TangoTec has developed a solution for all three structures. Using a HomePlug AV standard and proprietary technology, it can distribute IP services over any wire. “Now you can use all three structures: coax, phone line and powerline with the same standard throughout the house,” says Mor.

This gives operators the flexibility to choose which structure suits a particular customer, house or building. Some homes or rooms may not have coax or a phone line so the operator can use the powerline. If the powerline communication is poor in one part of the building, the coax or phone line can be used. “An operator can come into the home and plug one room to the power outlet, another to the coax and another to the phone line and you can stream IPTV in high definition through all three structures in that one building,” explains Mor.

As well as flexibility, HomePlug AV’s new performance of 500 Mbps is also an advantage. “We’re getting 350 Mbps on coax, 300 Mbps over the phone line and 250 over the powerline,” explains Mor. “That’s substantially better than anything available on the market right now.”

What about the future? There is only so much data you can transmit through conventional wiring. “All these structures have a speed limit,” admits Mor. That’s why the future is G.hn, a completely new standard developed by the telecom industry for all three structures.” G.hn offers 1 Gbps and next year will see the introduction of products offering that speed.

In the meantime, TangoTec will be exhibiting its latest 500 Mbps “Triple play” network system at IBC 2011 (Hall 3, A15). “What we’re bringing to the market is high performance and flexibility in one box,” says Mor.

Schedule a demo with TangoTec, or another related technology at IBC.