IBC 2006

World Screen Weekly, September 14, 2006

Despite the blast of warm, sunny weather that tempted people to frolic outdoors, a record number of attendees (44,808, to be exact) entered Amsterdam’s dark and cavernous RAI complex to sample the latest in TV technology at the annual IBC convention, September 8 to 12. While interactive and digital television, VOD and conditional access were top-of-mind among the delegates, video content for mobile devices was the sexy new theme this year as the show doubled the space of its “Mobile Zone” exhibits.

Innovations were plentiful. Among the companies showing new products was Madrid-based Createcna, which introduced a technology that lets TV journalists send streaming video back to their TV station news department just by using the cameras on their 3G mobile phones.

Although the quality, at only 64 kilobits per second, is well below what can be captured with video cameras, it allows instant transmission of images. “The system is enough to get first images of an unexpected event,” says Jose Maria Carrera Mestas, Createcna’s sales manager. “You don’t have to wait for the truck, you just pull out your mobile, call the station, tell them ‘I’m about to send you pictures,’ and then aim the phone and start sending.”

Thus a reporter on the scene of a breaking story such as an accident, a fire, or a terrorist attack can start informing viewers immediately with pictures and commentary. The one-time cost to TV stations is 27,000 euros, and the Createcna system is already installed at Spain’s state-owned TVE network and at the regional station in Valencia. In addition, Brazil’s TV Globo used the system during last summer’s FIFA World Cup in Germany to capture behind-the-scenes interviews with players in locker rooms and other areas where TV cameras were barred.

Carrera Mestas adds that as picture quality improves with future increases in mobile bandwidth, the Createcna system “will change TV” by allowing not just news reporters but viewers themselves to contribute their own content to TV stations—a practice that could turn broadcasters into over-the-air versions of YouTube communities.

Another mobile application was shown by Milan-based Simple, a subsidiary of ADB Group, a digital TV technology company. Simple produces and transmits “near live” clips of sporting events like football matches to mobile devices and other portable media.

“We don’t have the license to show the events live, or to transmit the goals when they occur,” explains Gianluca Morello, Simple’s software director. What Simple does license is near-live rights from TV broadcasters. The company takes these broadcasters’ video signals, customizes them by adding different graphics, a different announcer’s voice, edits them so they don’t resemble the original broadcast, and sends them out with a slight time delay.

This allows fans who are not near a TV set—say in an office, or on a train—to watch highlights of their favorite game just after they occur. Simple also produces and distributes original comedy clips. Each is five minutes long or less and available to mobile users for 50 euro cents per clip. All of Simple’s content is protected by digital rights management protocols so the material cannot be forwarded by the consumer to other devices.

Also participating in the IBC Mobile Zone for the first time was the FLO Forum, a growing, nonprofit industry association now boasting 63 dues-paying member organizations—including Harris, LG, Mobix, Motorola and Thomson—a major increase from the 10 members it had at last year’s show.

Established in 2005, FLO Forum describes its mission as facilitating the growth of the mobile content industry by promoting a global standard of FLO (forward link only) technology, a multimedia delivery system designed to increase capacity and reduce cost for content delivery to mobile handsets.

FLO Forum CFO Mary Beth Selby believes that future mobile video services could follow one or more of several business models, including the subscriber model, the ad-supported model, or the VOD model—but is decidedly sceptical about free services. “I believe that as the service matures and operators gain more knowledge of how their subscribers see value in it, the models could change,” she says. “However, it has to be questioned whether the free-to-air model provides enough incentives for the relevant parties in the mobile TV value chain to invest in developing new technology, infrastructure, content and services.”

In other words, don’t count on advertising footing the entire bill.

—By Peter Caranicas