Welcome to Switched On, your whistle-stop tour around the big news stories breaking in digital communications this month. Forward this email to a friend
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The enormous ideas factory that is the BBC continues to drive convergence forward. Hot on the heels of announcements about the iPlayer, Kangaroo and Freesat comes murmurs that it is developing plans to bring its web video iPlayer catch-up service to television screens.
Mark Thompson, BBC director-general, told the FT it was "looking very hard at" forming an alliance to introduce "a very simple standard" for getting online video from computer screens on to standard televisions and was understood to be already in talks with manufacturers and content owners. Thompson went on to say that the aim was to create a user-friendly technology where consumers 'open up the box, get a bit of kit out, plug it into the TV and your broadband connection and instantly get IPTV on your television set.'
As the BBC has already demonstrated with platforms like Freeview and iPlayer, its reach and unmatched promotional muscle can take products that have been peripheral and make them universal. This one has legs.
Register for the next Convergence Conversation»
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 Drawing up a road map
Real progress for the digital radio industry as the interim report from the government appointed Digital Radio Working Group was presented. It recommended that the migration of most radio services over to digital should be completed by 2020. Intellect chaired the sub group looking at barriers to growth for set and car manufacturers and was closely involved in writing the report. Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said pleased the group had set out a possible framework for digital radio migration and insisting: 'Millions of people are already enjoying the benefits of digital radio. I believe that radio must have a digital future if it is to remain relevant.'
Intellect's own Director of Consumer Electronics echoed these thoughts: "We believe the future is digital and fully support the findings of the interim report. We think the collaborative approach that the government has taken in the Digital Radio Working Group is the right one. With over 7 million DAB sets already in households, growing listening figures and a variety of exciting new products to come to market, digital radio is set to go from strength to strength."
Find out more about Intellect's DAB Digital Radio Group»
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 Number crunching
A mass of stats to pick through from PricewaterhouseCoopers' comprehensive 'Global Entertainment and Media Outlook' review published last month, some of them to be expected, some of them more counter-intuitive.
Highlights include news that the UK is the largest media and entertainment market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and will continue to grow from $115bn this year to $152bn in 2012. Over a similar timetable, and in a matter dear to all our hearts, the number of UK households with broadband is expected to rise from 56.4% to 84.9%. This will obviously have a number of knock on effects including the online advertising market overtaking the newspaper advertising market - in PWC's estimates by 2012. So far, so expected.
Slightly against the grain though is PWC's prediction that TV advertising will grow substantially, boosted in particular by the London Olympics. 'The death of TV is over-hyped. TV remains a powerful medium for advertising' said Phil Stokes, one of the authors of the report. Finally on all of this is Stokes' analysis of Convergence, which he says has reached a 'tipping point, the pace of change is both real and accelerating - of critical importance is that the revenues from those new business models are finally becoming significant'.
Download Capitalising on Convergence 2, chapter 4 - 'The blizzard of content'»
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 The shape of things to come?
The business models around convergence have always been a sticking point and there have been any number of contortions and evolutions as previously distinct industries converged (read clashed) together. Big moves last month though as Sony announced it intends to exploit its position as both a maker of electronic hardware and producer of entertainment by streaming Hollywood blockbusters over the internet to its latest television sets before they are released on DVD. Hancock, starring the all-American hero Will Smith, will be the first film to be delivered over the internet, rather than by satellite or cable, to Sony's Bravia LCD models. The service will be available in America from the autumn onwards.
There are still lots of things to work out yet though, including the perenial bandwidth question. To access the content consumers will need purchase a $299 Internet Video Link accessory to attach to the TV and they will also have to pay a fee, yet to be determined, to watch the stream. Their viewing experience will be in standard definition as broadband speeds were not up to high-definition standards, said Sony Electronics US President Stan Glasgow.
Find out more about Intellect Consumer Electronics Council»
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 Apple magic
Lots of good stuff around the re-release of the iphone this month which will now come with 3G wireless connectivity to ramp up the speed and, crucially, the reliability of its connectivity. The device appears well on track to hit its target of 10m sales by the end of 2008. Plaudits came from amongst others The Economist which says Apple has managed to 'double the speed, halve the price and add a host of essential features. In this Apple's clever mobile phone will appeal not only to the 6m fashionistas and faithful, but also to the 60m mere mortals who want a mobile communication and computing device they can take anywhere and use for practically anything.'
Competition abounds in this market in the shape of the some of the giants of the CE industry: Nokia, Blackberry manufacturer RIM, Motorola, Ericsson and others but for now the apple magic seems to be holding.
Register for the next Convergence Conversation»
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Consumer Electronics Customer Services Group
16/07/08 10:00-13:00 more»
Consumer Electronics Council
17/07/08 10:00-13:00
more»
The Convergence Conversation
17/07/08 17:00-20:00
more»
Digital Communications Market Group - Swipe phones and Near-Field-Communication technology
24/07/08 10:30-13:00
more»
Glorious Goodwood - A day at the races
01/08/08 11:30-17:45
more»
Consumer Electronics Technical Committee
04/09/08 10:00-13:00
more»
Smart marketing and intelligent selling
08/09/08 09:00-18:00
more»
DAB Digital Radio Group
23/09/08 10:30-13:00
more»
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Capitalising on Convergence 2, chapter 4 - 'The blizzard of content'
This report looks at universal access to high quality content in a converged environment.
Is public service content different in a converged world?
We believe the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Like many things when looked at through the prism of convergence, public service content goes from being something straightforward to a tricky and multi-faceted entity. More»
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