Today's Top Stories
1. TV Everywhere pushing video transcoding to a $460M business by 2015
2. Harmonic software suite looks to build on video boom
3. ESPN 3D picked up by AT&T U-verse with a bang, dropped with nary a whimper
4. AT&T U-verse adds more HD, international and movie channels to lineup
5. Comcast to offer subscribers HD videoconferencing option Editor's Corner: The bloom isn't quite off TV Everywhere's rose just yet… it's still evolving Also Noted: Spotlight On... Service providers respond to competition, market maturity with new business models
Rovi sues Hulu for patent infringement; Best Buy jumps into connected TV market and much more... Industry Voices: Sustaining TVE and the evolution of video News From the Fierce Network:
1. Does a 55-inch Apple TV make a Hulu deal more likely? Fox's new paywall makes Hulu even more attractive
2. Prospect Park looks to make labor deals on ABC soaps to bring them to Web
3. Citrix launches GoToMeeting with no-charge HD videoconference add-on
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The bloom isn't quite off TV Everywhere's rose just yet… it's still evolving
TV Everywhere has quietly developed into a booming ecosystem that, while not accelerating at the speed many pundits had hoped for, is nonetheless changing the way we watch video, and it's continuing to evolve as content owners become more comfortable with it.
A report out today from In-Stat, for example, says the video encoding market is poised to grow to a $460 million business by 2015, and that may be a conservative estimate as content providers and service providers look to find new markets and new delivery avenues for programming. Elemental CEO Sam Blackman, who last month announced his encoding company had snared a major deal to prepare Comcast content to stream on its Xfinity TV Everywhere play, told me in June that his business had zero growth--as in it just keeps adding zeros to the end of its annual revenue. "In 2008 we had six figures of revenue," said Blackman. "In 2009-2010 we had seven figures of revenue, and I think there's a very good change we'll have eight figures of revenue this year. An order of magnitude every other year... if we can keep that run rate up we'll be all right." Avail-TVN, at the Cable Show in June, said it would deploy in excess of 100 channels of content, as it offers service providers a TV Everywhere solution. Time Warner Cable and Cablevision have both pressed forward, despite legal battles with iPad apps that put virtually their entire lineup onto the tablet, and there's little doubt that tablets will migrate further and further afield this year. Comcast, set to release earnings on Thursday, has pushed out its Xfinity service to nearly all of its footprint, and there's plenty of talk that it will eventually push beyond its own service area to offer Xfinity to anyone with an Internet connection. HBO GO is pushing its way onto more service providers, most recently Charter Communications, and consumers are gobbling it up. In-Stat's Research Director Michelle Abraham said, content providers expect as much as 75 percent of their content to be available online in a few years."The industry is at the start of multiscreen delivery and TV Everywhere," Abraham said. TV Everywhere had a rough start, but is there really any doubt about how it will finish?--Jim Read more about: TV Everywhere, Pay Tv Operators, over-the-top delivery
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Today's Top News 1. TV Everywhere pushing video transcoding to a $460M business by 2015
Consumers and initiatives like TV Everywhere are driving the video transcoding business to record revenues as their hunger for video anywhere and on any device. This business, according to a new report from In-Stat, is forecast to surpass a $460 million market by 2015 for companies like Elemental, Harmonic, Envivio and Encoding.com. The market for online video, delivered to multiple devices over unmanaged networks with fluctuating bandwidth, is driving content creators and service providers to produce multiple outputs of every piece of content they send out. As more and more video content becomes available via the Internet and mobile networks, the need for video transcoding products that can ingest content in one format and output content in the video formats used for distribution will grow, said In-Stat. "The industry is at the start of multiscreen delivery and TV Everywhere. Content providers expect in a few years that as much as 75 percent of their content will be available via the new distribution platforms," said Michelle Abraham, research director at In-Stat. "Multi-screen delivery, either directly on the part of content providers, or via pay-TV service providers, is driving a lot of the market for multiformat transcoders. In-Stat expects this to remain the case for the next several years. We define multi-screen as delivering content files or streams to displays of various sizes and resolutions, not just to the TV and the PC." Elemental CEO Sam Blackman in July told FierceIPTV that the company was experiencing explosive growth... and that was before it landed a major deal to encode for Comcast's Xfinity TV Everywhere play. Blackman said Comcast currently is releasing 10,000 hours of programming a month on Xfinity and requires 18 adaptive bitrate multi-screen outputs for each piece of content. That is a number, Blackman said, that will increase as Xfinity continues to expand. In-Stat said multiscreen services from content providers are primarily being launched in the Americas and EMEA and added that the expectations for TV Everywhere have brought new vendors to the market in 2011. In 2010, the file multiformat transcoding market grew by 72 percent due to the growth in multiscreen services from content providers. For more:
- see this release Related articles:
ThePlatform to bring cloud-based video management to Comcast TV service
Alcatel-Lucent, thePlatform partner on TV Everywhere solution
OTT Delivery: An online video revolution that's changing the industry
Avail-TVN plans summer trials for TV Everywhere service Read more about: In-Stat, transcoding, multiscreen video, Trends & Metrics
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2. Harmonic software suite looks to build on video boom
Video encoding specialist Harmonic (Nasdaq: HLIT), looking to make hay with the growing demand for video on a variety of devices, today rolled out its ProMedia family of software solutions, designed to help content creators and service providers implement an efficient and scalable infrastructure that can support a wide variety of input, editing, and output formats. The ProMedia family of software solutions performs a range of functions, including transcoding, packaging and origination, to enable high-quality video creation and delivery of live streaming, live-to-VOD and VOD services to TVs, PCs, tablets, smartphones and other IP-connected devices. The suite of products can be deployed individually or as an end-to-end video processing solution; ProMedia is based on the same intellectual property behind Harmonic's Electra encoders. The ProMedia family includes ProMedia Live, a real-time video processing and transcoding system with H.264 video codec technology; ProMedia Carbon, a file-based transcoder that scales from a single instance to a large automated multinode transcoding farm; ProMedia Package, a carrier-grade adaptive streaming preparation system for secure, high-value Internet video services; and, ProMedia Origin, an HTTP and RTMP streaming video server. For more:
- see this release Related articles: RGB Networks says 2010 success sets ups banner 2011
Harmonic sales up, but Omneon purchase pushed back to Q3
Harmonic powers HD, nVOD rollout in Maldives for CableNET
Elemental lands transcoding deal for Comcast's Xfinity TVE play
Avail-TVN plans summer trials for TV Everywhere service Read more about: Harmonic, Video Transcoding, multi-screen, encoding
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3. ESPN 3D picked up by AT&T U-verse with a bang, dropped with nary a whimper
Here's some more evidence that supports critics' contentions that 3D TV is going nowhere fast in the U.S.: AT&T (NYSE: T), whose carriage contract with ESPN 3D expired last month, has dropped the channel with little, or no, public outcry.  | | AT&T did not renewed its carrier contract with ESPN 3D. | The channel, which the telco picked up last June, required subscribers pay $10 a month for the service's 3D technology package--and, of course, required subscribers have a 3D TV and the requisite glasses. The price tag for customers, and AT&T apparently, was too high. Here's what the telco had to say: "We're always listening to customers and working to make sure we're delivering the channels they want, while keeping costs down. The price tag for ESPN 3D was too high, especially considering the low demand we've seen from customers. We've decided not to renew our agreement for ESPN 3D. For our customers who subscribe to the U-verse 3D Technology package, it will be automatically removed from their bills and any charges after the channel has been removed will be credited. "We continue to add new channels and content that our customers want. We offer several 3D titles today in our U-verse Movies library, and we'll look to deliver more 3D channels and content, at a reasonable cost, as more of our customers purchase 3D TVs and tell us they want it." Several blogs and forums that follow AT&T's U-verse had little--and in some cases--no comment on the news. As one forum poster wrote: "I don't know how many of you out there have 3D televisions, but my reaction to this notice from AT&T was "so what." SNL Kagan is projecting sales of 3D-capable TVs to slow this year with only 1.8 million households, or about 2 percent of all TV homes, expected to have 3D TVs by year's end. But, as CE manufacturers begin to include 3D capabilities in more TV sets, those numbers are likely to improve dramatically, especially as prices for the hardware continues to erode. Kagan says just 21 percent of households will have the technology by 2015. For more:
- see this HDReport article Related articles:
CBS weighs entry into 3D market
3D TV sees slow uptake in U.S. market, for now
Survey: 3D adopters love the new technology
Samsung launching 3D video-on-demand service this summer
Report shows consumers not ready to buy 3D TVs... yet
ESPN 3D to finally debut on Verizon FiOS TV Read more about: ESPN 3d, AT&T u-verse
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4. AT&T U-verse adds more HD, international and movie channels to lineup
AT&T added five new HD channels to its lineup, including Fox Soccer HD, Fox Sports Arizona HD, fuse HD, GolTV HD, and Nat Geo Wild HD, four international channels and a movie channel that gives customers packages with up to 400 channels.  | | Nat Geo Wild HD (pictured) is one of five new HD channels new to AT&T U-verse's lineup. | The international channels include two Spanish-language selections, a general entertainment channel from India, and MTV Arabia, which blends pop music from the Middle East and North Africa with classic and new MTV programs, with Arabic subtitles. AT&T also is offering the Starz Movieplex channel. The new HD channels bring AT&T's total offering to 170 HD channels. For more:
- see this release Related articles:
AT&T adds 202,000 U-verse TV subs in Q2; revenue up, profits slip
U-verse rollout in Atlanta extends to more than 1M living units Read more about: IPTV, Hdtv Channels, International Channels, AT&T u-verse
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5. Comcast to offer subscribers HD videoconferencing option
Add another feather to the cap of cable TV provider Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), which last month announced a deal with Skype to provide video calling to its cable customers. Today, the MVPD announced it would work with Technicolor to develop an HD videoconferencing offering that would work through existing set-top boxes and HDTV sets, as well as across wireless LAN networks. Technicolor said it would deliver a custom telepresence adapter to Comcast that would enable the cable provider to deliver an interactive video calling experience to its subscribers using existing hardware and software. "We engaged Technicolor to design and develop the adapter based on their successful track record delivering custom-built solutions and their ability to develop innovative products in a cost-effective, timely and seamless manner," said Steve Reynolds, senior vice president of home networking for Comcast." Trident Microsystems will provide the product's semiconductor solution. Technicolor's telepresence adapter includes an HDMI input and output, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, RF4CE control, external USB and SD card slot and an integrated external camera and microphone. Comcast first demonstrated its telepresence offering at The Cable Show in Chicago in June 2011 and has announced its plans to conduct market trials later this year. For more:
- see this release Related articles:
Comcast to offer HD video Skype calls on TV sets to subscribers
Microsoft, Skype and reasons to worry that a good technology is DOA
Skype yanks support for Asterisk, Microsoft blamed
Logitech: Microsoft's Skype purchase will drive industry growth
Microsoft pays $8.5 billion to acquire VoIP provider Skype Read more about: Comcast, Technicolor, videoconferencing
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Also Noted SPOTLIGHT ON... Service providers respond to competition, market maturity with new business models 
As network convergence eliminates once-safe protected telecom, TV, and wireless franchises, service providers are seeking increasingly sophisticated business models with more complex interactions between their customers, suppliers, partners and even competitors. A secondary driver? The maturation of the voice, video, and data markets. And there is a little headroom for video, however, because we just can't get enough of the stuff. Industry Voices More news from Fierce: > Rovi Corp., which in December bought Sonic Solutions, licenses its electronic program guide technology to a number of companies like Apple, Comcast and Microsoft. One of them, however, isn't Hulu, and the company has sued Hulu claiming the online TV site is infringing on its electronic program guide patents. Article > With increasing consumer demand for easy access to over-the-top online video content from services like Netflix and Hulu, it's no surprise that CE manufacturers are jumping on the connected TV bandwagon. Add Best Buy to that list. Article > Hawaiian Telcom may be determined to take on the state's near-monopoly video provider Oceanic Time Warner with its own IPTV service on Oahu, but the company does not want to reveal when it is actually going to start delivering the service. Article >E-tailer Amazon kicked its chase of Netflix up a notch, acquiring the rights to stream part of NBCUniversal's Universal Pictures library. Article > Fox, which in May said it would start to count online viewers as part of its audience and to set ad rates, is planning to put its programming behind a paywall starting Aug. 15. Article > Video-on-demand vendor Vudu is moving up. The streaming video service is getting a place on owner Walmart's Web homepage--Walmart.com--as the retailer tries to position the service for growth. Article > A federal judge Wednesday criticized the antitrust settlement that allowed the merger of Comcast Corp. and General Electric's former NBCUniversal unit, threatening to hold up court approval of the agreement. Article > Bulking up its international content, Netflix inked a nonexclusive two-year pact with CBS to offer subscribers in Canada and Latin America a range of broadcast TV shows and episodes from Showtime Networks streamed over the Internet. In Canada, where Netflix had 970,000 customers as of the end of June, members will be able to access past seasons of Showtime's Californication, Dexter and The United States of Tara, current and full prior seasons of CW's 90210; as well as CBS library content including Numb3rs, Sleeper Cell and Twin Peaks. Article > The Sundance Institute said Wednesday it was expanding its Artist Services program, helping connect alumni of the non-profit organization's film festivals and labs with streaming partners like iTunes, Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, SundanceNOW and YouTube. Filmmakers will be able to make their movies available online at any or all of the sites, but retain ownership of their work. Article > Akamai Technologies Inc. , the operator of a server network that lets businesses deliver data quickly, fell as much as 14 percent in late trading after its third-quarter revenue and earnings forecast missed estimates. Profit will be 31 cents to 34 cents a share, excluding some items, said Akamai CFO J.D. Sherman, compared to analysts' estimates of 38 cents. The company expects sales of $273 million to $283 million, compared projections of $288.7 million. Article And finally... Annoyed that drivers were ignoring parking regulations, the mayor of a city in Lithuania took matters into his own hands... he used an armored personnel carrier to crush an offending car. Article
Sustaining TVE and the evolution of video
 Throughout the industry, companies are rushing to provide TV Everywhere (TVE) capabilities for consumers. Lauded as the future of how we watch video and also condemned as being an industry fad, TVE is a hot topic among analysts and online video enthusiasts like myself. The video helping drive the TVE revolution is HTTP adaptive streaming.
But who is right--those who say TVE is here to stay or those who say TVE is doomed to fail? The beginning of TVE TV Everywhere was announced in March 2010 by Comcast and Time Warner as a way for them to verify access to content. Basically, this allows HBO or another content creator/owner to offer up web versions of its content and have it viewable only by the subscribers of the Multiple System Operator. who already paid for access (instead of the MSO having to set up its own subscription system). The TVE name actually comes from Time Warner, while Comcast calls its solution Xfinity. But like any good branding, TVE is close to becoming the Xerox or Kleenex of the industry. It has become a ubiquitous way of referring to traditional television content that is viewable on non-TV devices. While many analysts prophesied the end of TVE and similar authentication systems, the idea behind TVE caught on and has become something that will impact the future of the industry...Read more Read more about: TV Everywhere, industry voices, SeaWell Networks
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