Want a romantic version of Star Wars?
Future Forward is the name given to the small exhibition in the BBC studio where today’s Wemedia global sessions are being held. British Telecom mans a small stand, showing off the early results of a research project modestly called ‘New media for a new millennium‘ (NM2) .
Future Forward is the name given to the small exhibition in the BBC studio where today’s Wemedia global sessions are being held. British Telecom is showing the early results of a research project modestly called ‘New media for a new millennium‘ (NM2) .
It happens to be one of those multi-country-multi-organisation beasts supported by the European Union’s Framework 6 research programme, and has 13 partners in 8 countries working on new software tools for broadband TV. But let’s not dismiss it right away: companies like BT, Telefonica, Sony, Cambridge University and the like would not dedicate time and staff to it if they did not feel they could use their results in the near future..
What NM2 is developing is a set of software tools aimed at creating personalised productions from a larger pool of original content. Putting together writers, TV producers and technology experts, ‘story structures’ are developed, and tags added to separate and identify different programme elements. From genre, to topic, to place in the schedule. All this with the idea that individual users have very specific desires: do you want the 5 minute version of this particular show, you want to decide on length and genre and be surprised otherwise, or do you want a 20 minute romantic version with this particular main character? The ‘adaptable interactive videos’ resulting can be viewed online on the NM2 website..
As its says on the site, NM2 aims to identify ‘a new mass market media genre’. I am sure we will only see what it really means when all the programme elements as well as the tools to re-combine them, are released to the wider audience. After all, it might not be so much about building your own personal TV show – it may be much more about sharing your own TV show with others…
TAG: wemedia
To become a reality IPTV needs carriers to move the political goalposts.
This is already happening in the US:
http://dw.com.com/redir?destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politechbot.com%2Fdocs%2Fensign.telecom.bill.072705.pdf&siteId=22&oId=2100-1035-5807278&ontId=1035&lop=nl.ex
European carriers, and BT in particular, cannot expect an easy ride for such changes.
All of which avoids the obvious question:
What is IPTV for exactly?
If carriers stopped spending money on political machinations they could easily afford the cost of testing very big bandwidth. If carriers stopped spending money on putting electronic toll gates for information, at the front of every home and business, they could afford to instal very big bandwidth instead.
If we all had very big bandwidth we would be paying the carriers enough to make a living.
IPTV, or NM2, means
– Charging for connection; and
– Charging the user to download; and
– Charging the publisher to upload.
Or: Charging three times for one message.
Ergo; It seems to me that this is about the carriers making more of a killing than a living. I don’t mind people making a living, but I do mind people killing my bank balance…