Report: VOIM Sounds Better Than PSTN

Mark Sullivan (2.23.07)
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=118017


A recent study has found that voice over IM services such as Skype, Yahoo, and Google provide higher quality more realistic quality sound than TDM-based phone services.

More support for IP telephony, and that traditional phone carriers will have to start making adjustments as interest grows in what VOIM can offer.

The codecs used in TDM-based voice systems cover an 8kHz band directly in the middle of the voice frequency range, explains Global IP Sound AB CEO Gary Hermansen.

By contrast, Hermansen says, new IP codecs cover a 16kHz swath of the frequency range, which better conveys the highs, lows and texture of a caller's voice. Hermansen says VOIM codecs can also compensate for packet loss, and cancel out echo and background noise.

The end result is that VOIM makes the human voice sound more, well, human than traditional telephony ever did.

"Carriers will ultimately need to reconcile traditional telephony with VOIM as they face increasing pressure from their customers to receive the same types of flexible services" that VOIM enables, report writer John Longo writes.

Don’t Panic. Yet.

Broadcasters, Cable Operators Think They Can Prevent 'Tsunami of Public Outrage’ If Millions of Televisions Don’t Work Two Years From Now

By Ted Hern (2.19.07)
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6417227.html

On February 17, 2009, analog signals to TVs will be no more leaving many millions of TVs dark and millions more customers angry.

With this impending deadline, the way people receive TV might go through some radical overhauls depending on government subsidies, and innovations in IPTV, for example.

By forcing TV stations from their analog channels by a specific deadline, the DTV (digital TV) law cleared the way for the FCC to auction off what would become surplus analog spectrum for at least $10 billion, paid by companies, perhaps even cable companies, that want to grab the channels for wireless broadband services. The other channels are to go for free to fire, police and emergency organizations hungry for new frequencies.

One and a half billion dollars will be set aside to subsidize analogue to digital converters, but legislators and broadcasters believe this will not be enough, and many are speaking out against the hard deadline, saying it is too soon.

The other concern is making people aware of the switch date. On Jan. 31, the Association of Public Television stations released a survey showing that 61% of Americans polled “had no idea the transition was taking place.” The cost of this campaign to reach large channel stations to small local radio stations is estimated at 100 million dollars, and manufacturers have been ramping up production of converter-boxes to meet the deadline that is now just under 2 years away.

Broadband video-to-TV trend seen roiling business models

By Kenneth Li (1.9.07)
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=

Technology unveiled at CES last week allows people to more easily access Internet and PC content via their TVs potentially driving demand for bandwidth to supply high definition streaming content as well as creating new potential business partnerships.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, electronics manufacturers from Sony Corp. to start-ups such as Sling Media unveiled a raft of new products to allow consumers to play Internet videos, or media files stored on PCs, directly on their TV screens.

"There are a lot of companies looking to bypass cable," said Bob Greene, executive vice president of Liberty Media Holding Corp.'s Starz Entertainment network.

Consumers are currently unwilling to pay more for a device that lets them view PC content on TV screens, according to a poll of 5,000 U.S. homes by Forrester Research. Moreover, the bandwidth constraints of current broadband services essentially rule out any downloading or streaming of high-definition programs.

Some big cable operators have conceded they need to craft a response to the growing trend in watching PC-based Internet videos on big screens, one media executive said. On a panel discussion, Chase Carey, chief executive of No.1 U.S. satellite TV provider DirecTV Group Inc., said he saw more opportunities than challenges. DirecTV is also in discussions with top online video sites YouTube and News Corp.'s MySpace to allow viewers to watch clips directly on TV screens.