Summary information from Day 1: CONNECTIONS™ May 2007, hosted in Santa Clara, CA.
As digital media distribution evolves, business models must evolve to account for convergence between pure consumer-paid services and those supported by advertising revenues. This panel includes industry luminaries on the cutting edge of new media who will discuss its impact on the digital lifestyle.
Brad Davis, Vice President, Advertising Sales, Disney Online, Walt Disney Internet Group
Christine Heckart, General Manager, Microsoft TV, Microsoft Corp.
Yoav Tzruya, COO, Exent Technologies
Moderator: Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates
This panel took up the debate surrounding Sokola’s contention that current TV advertising dollars are wasteful and inefficient. The panelists agreed that today’s television advertising is not very good at being targeted and measured. Brad Davis acknowledged that Google’s purchase of DoubleClick keeps him up at night since it gives Google a leg up in display ads. Whether gaming or IPTV services would be the savior of advertising was certainly debatable during the panel. Yoav Tzruya is certainly optimistic, but it’s not a panacea. Christine Heckart acknowledged that the IP properties of IPTV make it a compelling application for targeted and measurable advertising but the footprint of IPTV subscribers is currently so small that advertisers aren’t ready to make the move yet.
More than anything, the panel laid out questions in need of answers. For example, Heckart indicated that most implementations of next-gen advertising are a “science experiment” and some determinations need to be made as to who will be responsible for measuring and reporting advertising results. Will it be today’s well-known companies such as Nielsen, or will it be other parties? In the end, one looming question that the industry needs to answer, according to all of the panelists, is how does money flow from a small core of beneficiaries (content owners) to other players?
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Opening Keynote — Media Mobility and the Connected Home
Summary information from Day 1: CONNECTIONS™ May 2007, hosted in Santa Clara, CA.
Opening Keynote — Media Mobility and the Connected Home
Presented by: Ray Sokola, Chief Technology Officer and Corporate Vice President, Motorola, Inc.
More than ever, consumers expect providers to offer seamless, on-demand access to a wide array of personal and professionally created media. The next-generation of technology for the Connected Home will not only enable this access, but expand the consumer's choice and offer more individual personalization than ever before. With these new technology platforms come new and emerging business models: content mobility, on-demand ad insertion, push-to-consumer technologies, mobile advertising and more. In his presentation, Mr. Sokola spoke about the technology innovations that enable the Connected Home environment and discussed how these technologies open the door to new revenue streams for service providers.
In his CONNECTIONS™ keynote, Ray Sokola discussed the underlying trends that allow a product to be “mobility-enabled.” A key starting point is the rise of very affordable storage, both for local (the in-home DVR) and network-based applications (such as video-on-demand with DRAM-based VOD servers). Take every single conversation that a person has during his or her lifetime, for example. They could all be stored on a terabyte (and it could be accomplished rather cost-effectively).
The consumer is going to benefit from the evolution of the set-top box (STB), Sokola noted. First, the STB was all about controlling the channel. It then evolved to a platform to control the time and place of viewing (with DVRs and whole-house DVRs). The third stage will be user-motivated control of programming and content, which leads to interesting applications, such as Motorola’s Follow Me TV™, where time-shifted programming can flow from room to room using home networking.
Finally, Sokola discussed the evolution of advertising, where $70 billion was spent last year just on television ads. Sokola wondered aloud whether this was an inefficient use of ad dollars and if there are ways to make it more meaningful – “repartitioning” it, as he put it. Two new models that may come to fruition are location-based and personalized-driven advertising.
Introduction to CONNECTIONS™: Digital Lifestyle Developments
Summary information from Day 1: CONNECTIONS™ May 2007, hosted in Santa Clara, CA.
The pace of digital lifestyle developments continues unabated. A great deal of activity has occurred in the since CONNECTIONS™ 2006. The Parks Associates’ analyst team has compiled this list of the top trends in the last year:
The pace of digital lifestyle developments continues unabated. A great deal of activity has occurred in the since CONNECTIONS™ 2006. The Parks Associates’ analyst team has compiled this list of the top trends in the last year:
- Broadband penetration in the U.S. will surpass 50% of residences in the middle of 2007. On a global basis, broadband penetration is approaching the 300 million household mark.
- The two large U.S. telcos – AT&T and Verizon – officially entered the IPTV space in 2006, accounting for more than 200,000 subscribers in the first full year of availability. On a global basis, Europe surpassed Asia in terms of overall subscribers, and there is much more activity in Europe in terms of cross-border competition among different telecommunications providers. At the end of 2006, the total number of IPTV subscribers worldwide was slightly more than four million.
- Entertainment content disruption accelerated with News Corp. buying MySpace and Google buying YouTube – leading to the “NewTube.”
- The launch of all the three new game consoles (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation3, and the Nintendo Wii) was significant. The Xbox 360 and its associated content services are now positioned – according to Microsoft – as second only behind Apple for video downloads.
- Agreement on the underlying protocols that make up the next Wi-Fi standard – 802.11n – was reached. We’re already seeing high volume shipments of Draft-N products, and wireless is aiming at the entertainment and multimedia space.
- Apple announced a month ago that they had sold 100 million iPods (plus two billion music downloads as of year-end 2006), a testament to consumers’ desire for more accessible and easy-to-use media services and products. In addition, the company released AppleTV, where PCs and CE seamlessly interoperate to enhance entertainment applications, and this move should be a significant boost to the growth of multimedia networks.
- Microsoft officially launched the Vista operating system, which places a new level of media creation and consumption capabilities in front of end users.
- Virtual economies are booming — World of Warcraft has nine million subscribers, and Second Life has more than five million users. With this growth, the online gaming community is becoming more entwined with unique social and commerce applications.
- Digital rights management (DRM) issues continue to ebb and flow:
- High-end media server company Kaleidescape was found to be within compliance of the DVD Copy Control Association's license to the Content Scramble System, the method used to encrypt video and audio data on DVDs. Speculation is that this may open the door to “managed copy,” where the studios agree that consumers can take their owned DVDs and make a copy on a server for safekeeping.
- On another positive front, Dan Glickman, the head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), recently affirmed the studios’ blessing on “authorized copies of the content they [consumers] purchase.”
- Steve Jobs at Apple recently discussed the abolition of rights management for digital music. After all, he argues, fewer than 2 billion songs were sold under DRM with digital music services (such as iTunes); at the same time, the music industry sold 20 billion unprotected songs on CDs.
- Legal challenges persisted to dampen any positive DRM news. A federal judge recently blocked Cablevision from continuing its RS-DVR service, which basically put time-shifting capabilities in the head-end. We view Europe and Asia as much more significant markets for “nDVR” applications. And music publishers are suing XM Satellite for allowing subscribers to copy broadcasts to MP3 players.
- Companies in home controls continued to consolidate, with Nortek acquiring LiteTouch and Gefen and Legrand acquiring Vantage and UStec. Best Buy released its Home System in a Box, called ConnectedLife.Home. BT and Bell Canada marked the entry of telcos into the home security space.
- Retailers, service providers, and third-party entities are discovering there are significant business opportunities in digital home tech and customer support services. Revenues from Best Buy’s Geek Squad services (including product installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and repair) exceed $1 billion in U.S., and other major big box retailers have either launched or rebranded their own digital home technology service offerings. Circuit City launched its firedogSM service in September 2006, and OfficeMax® just launched ctrlcenter™ for remote tech support in April 2007. Both CompUSA and Staples rebranded their tech support services to TechPro and EasyTech, respectively.
Finally, Stuart Sikes, president of Parks Associates, said the industry is moving forward because big players are spending big money to build out the digital home.
KNX is now an International Standard for Home and Building Electronic System (HBES)
KNX is the only worldwide approved INTERNATIONAL STANDARD for home and building control. It already meets the requirements of both the CENELEC EN5009 and CEN EN 13321-1 European standards. Its recent approval as an international standard (ISO/IEC 14543-3) now confirms its global importance.
The predecessor specifications to KNX, Batibus, EIB and EHS, came into being in the early 1990s. At that time nobody could foresee their individual future. These three highly important homegrown European solutions for home and building control initially tried to develop their markets separately and tried to find their own places in European standardisation. Batibus did particularly well in France, Italy and Spain, whereas EIB enjoyed success in the German speaking and north European countries. EHS was the preferred solution for manufacturers of white and brown goods.
In 1997, the three consortia in charge of the above mentioned specifications decided to join forces to develop the market for intelligent homes with the agreed goal to develop a new, common industrial standard that could also be proposed as an international standard. The KNX specification was published by the newly set-up KNX Association in the spring of 2002. It is based on the EIB specification, supplemented with new configuration mechanisms and communication media originally developed by Batibus and EHS.
As KNX increasingly provides specifications that are not only used for the automation of electrical installation equipment but also for HVAC applications, the KNX Association proposed its specifications to CEN for publication as a European standard for building automation control systems. CEN accepted the proposal and the KNX specifications were published by CEN as EN 13321-1.
In view of the large interest in KNX compatible products outside European countries and its proven technology, the KNX association also initiated the necessary steps to have the KNX standard approved on an international level. Countries active in CENELEC proposed the European EN 50090 norm for standardization by ISO/IEC at the end of 2004. In November 2006 the KNX protocol, including all transmission media (TP, PL, RF and IP) was approved for publication as the ISO/IEC 14543-3-x International Standard. This makes KNX the only worldwide open standard for home and building control.
This set of International Standards will encourage users and planners to implement intelligent controls in homes and functional buildings worldwide. Thanks to the published standard, appropriate guidance is now available for parties interested in the use of home and building control. The KNX association expects the publication of its specifications by ISO/IEC to accelerate the development of the market for intelligent home and building controls considerably and offers its services to researchers, suppliers, installers and users worldwide.
Non-European suppliers offering products based on ISO/IEC 14543-3-X will benefit from the well-developed European KNX market for products that meet these specifications and will be able to sell their KNX specified products to a well established customer base. At the same time, suppliers and installers outside Europe will be able to develop their home markets since they are able to offer a wide range of applications from the start.
By joining the KNX Association, companies from all over the world can benefit from the transfer of know-how and licenses within the association, have the opportunity to include their products in the manufacturer and product independent design and commissioning tool, ETS (Engineering Tool Software) and participate in the partnerships and research programs of the KNX Association.
KNX Association is the creator and owner of the KNX technology – the world’s only open STANDARD for all applications in home and building control, ranging from lighting and shutter control to various security systems, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, monitoring, alarming, water control, energy management, metering as well as household appliances, audio and lots more. KNX is the only global standard for home and building control with a single, manufacturer independent design and commissioning tool (ETS), with a complete set of supported communication media (TP, PL, RF and IP) as well as a complete set of supported configuration modes (system, easy and automatic mode). KNX is approved as a European (CENELEC EN 50090 and CEN EN 13321-1) and an International standard (ISO/IEC 14543-3). This standard is based upon more than 15 years of experience in the market including its predecessors, EIB, EHS and BatiBUS. Over 100 member companies worldwide from different application domains have almost 7000 KNX certified product groups in their catalogues. The KNX Association has partnership agreements with more than 21,000 installer companies in 70 countries.
heinz.lux@knx.org
Pictures can be downloaded at:
www.knx.org/news-press/press-room
The predecessor specifications to KNX, Batibus, EIB and EHS, came into being in the early 1990s. At that time nobody could foresee their individual future. These three highly important homegrown European solutions for home and building control initially tried to develop their markets separately and tried to find their own places in European standardisation. Batibus did particularly well in France, Italy and Spain, whereas EIB enjoyed success in the German speaking and north European countries. EHS was the preferred solution for manufacturers of white and brown goods.In 1997, the three consortia in charge of the above mentioned specifications decided to join forces to develop the market for intelligent homes with the agreed goal to develop a new, common industrial standard that could also be proposed as an international standard. The KNX specification was published by the newly set-up KNX Association in the spring of 2002. It is based on the EIB specification, supplemented with new configuration mechanisms and communication media originally developed by Batibus and EHS.
In December 2003, the KNX protocol as well as the two media, TP (twisted pair) and PL (power-line) was approved by the European national committees and ratified by the CENELEC Bureau Technique as the EN 50090 European Standard. The KNX Radio Frequency communication medium was approved in May 2006.
As KNX increasingly provides specifications that are not only used for the automation of electrical installation equipment but also for HVAC applications, the KNX Association proposed its specifications to CEN for publication as a European standard for building automation control systems. CEN accepted the proposal and the KNX specifications were published by CEN as EN 13321-1.
In view of the large interest in KNX compatible products outside European countries and its proven technology, the KNX association also initiated the necessary steps to have the KNX standard approved on an international level. Countries active in CENELEC proposed the European EN 50090 norm for standardization by ISO/IEC at the end of 2004. In November 2006 the KNX protocol, including all transmission media (TP, PL, RF and IP) was approved for publication as the ISO/IEC 14543-3-x International Standard. This makes KNX the only worldwide open standard for home and building control.
This set of International Standards will encourage users and planners to implement intelligent controls in homes and functional buildings worldwide. Thanks to the published standard, appropriate guidance is now available for parties interested in the use of home and building control. The KNX association expects the publication of its specifications by ISO/IEC to accelerate the development of the market for intelligent home and building controls considerably and offers its services to researchers, suppliers, installers and users worldwide.
Non-European suppliers offering products based on ISO/IEC 14543-3-X will benefit from the well-developed European KNX market for products that meet these specifications and will be able to sell their KNX specified products to a well established customer base. At the same time, suppliers and installers outside Europe will be able to develop their home markets since they are able to offer a wide range of applications from the start.
By joining the KNX Association, companies from all over the world can benefit from the transfer of know-how and licenses within the association, have the opportunity to include their products in the manufacturer and product independent design and commissioning tool, ETS (Engineering Tool Software) and participate in the partnerships and research programs of the KNX Association.
KNX Association is the creator and owner of the KNX technology – the world’s only open STANDARD for all applications in home and building control, ranging from lighting and shutter control to various security systems, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, monitoring, alarming, water control, energy management, metering as well as household appliances, audio and lots more. KNX is the only global standard for home and building control with a single, manufacturer independent design and commissioning tool (ETS), with a complete set of supported communication media (TP, PL, RF and IP) as well as a complete set of supported configuration modes (system, easy and automatic mode). KNX is approved as a European (CENELEC EN 50090 and CEN EN 13321-1) and an International standard (ISO/IEC 14543-3). This standard is based upon more than 15 years of experience in the market including its predecessors, EIB, EHS and BatiBUS. Over 100 member companies worldwide from different application domains have almost 7000 KNX certified product groups in their catalogues. The KNX Association has partnership agreements with more than 21,000 installer companies in 70 countries.
heinz.lux@knx.org
Pictures can be downloaded at:
www.knx.org/news-press/press-room
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Waiting for Media Convergence
Hello Readers. Andy Angelos from Venture Midwest visiting CONNECTIONS blog once again. After reading the recent post entitled "New Models for Personalized Media Distribution," the Angelos brainstorm turbine ignited with notions surrounding the convergence of personalized media. Internet to TV, TV to phone, music to phone, tv, and Internet, text anywhere - digital convergence is creating an endless tail of consumer decisions. However, overwhelming choices for media consumption may be responsible for the following statistics:
- 84% of American Businesses consider print media their most important information source
- 40% of American Businesses rely on information from podcasts or webcasts
- 32% of American and European mobile phone users use the web on their devices and only 34% of the group is willing to watch mobile ads in current form
Yes, these statistics are from 2007...not 1997 and are courtesy of Publishing Executive - a monthly print publication. Despite the increasing tail of media options, the average consumer continues to interact with the traditional triad of media outlets - print, radio, and television. The print may be online, the radio may streaming, and the TV maybe Tivoed, but the experience remains essentially intact and therefore, separated. Dismal sales for AppleTV reiterate the continued mainstream preference for isolated media experiences.
Digital media adapters, such as AppleTV, are still nascent utilities. Hopefully, improvements like the release of OCAP tool kits from Motorola will enable further integration of media devices.
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