Viodi View - December 14th, 2007 Issue

In this on-line publication, we share our analysis, opinions and direction on the interactive television news and views that we believe will be of interest and use to our friends associated directly or indirectly with independent telephone companies. For more information as to the various ways Viodi works with independent telephone companies, please go to http://www.viodi.com/alliance/

Disclaimer:

The Viodi View [Viodi, LLC] and its associates used their best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein. However, the Viodi View [Viodi, LLC] does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.

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Viodi View Newsletter - December 14th, 2007

Click here to learn how Viodi can help your organization with Local Content

By Ken Pyle, ken.pyle at viodi.com, Managing Editor, Viodi View

Crystal Clear Water Bottles & More

“TV will become free,” so stated John Chambers, Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems at the C-Scape Global Forum 2007. Chambers was speaking of the transformative nature of the network and compared video to voice in terms of how the cost of voice has dropped, in some cases, to zero. The over-the-top providers will probably be leading this transition, as one slide Chambers showed indicated that, by 2011, 15 to 20% of Internet traffic would be video delivered to the television. Click here to read about Cisco’s plans to quench the world’s thirst and give Microsoft a run for its money.

Head in the Cloud Computer?

The idea of cloud computing, where the applications and user files reside in computers somewhere in the network and are accessible by any device connected to any access network, is central to Cisco’s future. Cisco will be in the middle of that effort. Rewind a few weeks ago to the CableNEXT conference in Santa Clara and Tony Werner predicts that cloud computing will be a game-changer. Considering that, Cisco is providing the backbone network for Comcast, the idea of Comcast as the provider of cloud computing applications ( VOD is really a cloud computing application) may not be too unrealistic.

The CableNEXT show could have been subtitled, ‘Where the Cable Industry and Silicon Valley converge.’

One long time friend characterized it as refreshing, because the intimate nature of the conference made it easy to mingle with the top executives of the cable industry in a way that is not possible at the traditional conferences. The speaker line-up was excellent. ViodiTV was there and we have a series of videos from this 3-day conference, including this overview video that can be found by clicking here.

ViodiTV at CableNEXT - Advertising, Commerce, OCAP & More

Click on any of the following images to go to the associated video post; there are lots of great video interviews from topics ranging from TV-commerce to OCAP..

A Slice of the Megastore John McDevitt of HSN Shop by Remote discusses how their interactive application that allows people to order items through their cable remote control is increasing the conversion of viewers to buyers. He talks about what they learn including the idea that speed matters more than fancy graphics. He also provides some very open advice to new entrants to the video distribution business.	Electronic Megastore - The Interviews Kelly Anderson of the TM Forum and Kshitij Kumar of Tellytopia summarize their CableNEXT presentations regarding the concept of the "Electronic Megastore". Anderson talks of the importance of the back-office, while Kumar suggests that the online world has set the bar for electronic commerce.
The Internet Video Proving Ground Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform, discusses how Internet Video can be used as a proving ground for television applications. He points out the importance of applications in creating a sticky service.	Correll’s Interactive Perspective Industry consultant and former Sun Microsystems executive, Bill Correll, provides an overview of the panels he moderated at the CableNEXT conference. Additionally, he provides some interesting perspectives on the state of interactive television and advertising.
Start-Ups Working in the Cable Space Jeff Binder, Founding CEO and President of Broadbus and, through acquisition, Motorola, provides some sound advice for start-ups looking to sell into the cable market. He suggests have a diverse customer base in terms of both geography and market segment.	Spanning Video Platforms Michael Collette talks about standards and the possibility of creating a devices that span the cable, telco and satellite platforms in this brief interview at CableNEXT.
Another GEM from CableNEXT Bill Sheppard, Chief Digital Media Officer for the Client Software Group, provides an excellent overview of OCAP and its relationship to MHP and GEM. He also talks explains what operators of IPTV networks should look for in middleware to ensure that applications designed for OCAP can be easily ported to IPTV.	Bound and Unbound Applications Gary Sasaki of Digdia explains the difference between OCAP’s bound and unbound applications in this brief video. Digdia provides excellent reports and consulting assistance regarding the intersection of technology and entertainment. Digdia’s latest report discusses how CAT5 cabling and IP is changing the way CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) are networking the home. Check out Digdia’s web site at www.digdia.com
OCAP from Investor’s Perspective OCAP from an investor’s perspective is given in this ViodiTV interview with Gary Lauder at CableNEXT. Lauder Partners, LLC is a long-time investor in the cable industry and has some good words of wisdom in terms of what the cable industry needs to do to make OCAP a success.	Perspectives on Advertising "It’s not about television anymore. It’s about video across multiple touchpoints," so says Tim Hanlon, Executive Vice President of Duneo Ventures in this interview at CableNEXT. He discusses how quickly online video is doing the things that cable VOD has promised for years. He and his group bring an interesting perspective to advertising and its impact on new media.

A Word from Our Sponsor - An Introduction to an Old Friend

Transparent Video Systems ’ sponsorship allowed us to provide ViodiTV coverage at CableNEXT. In this brief video, Norman Gillaspie talks about TVS and how its product and company philosophy aligns with the smaller operator. To see the other 39 video segments we produced for TVS, please click go to http://www.transparentvideo.net/videos-1.htm.

Maybe John Chambers Is Right About TV......

And to prove John Chambers aforementioned point about where the cost of content is headed, MTV Networks’ announcement that it is releasing the Jacka** 2.5 movie as an Internet release at no cost is a significant event. This is the first time a major studio ( Paramount) has tried an Internet first release. Revenue will be in the form of advertising and DVD sales.

Meanwhile, like Century Telephone, Embarq is embracing over-the-top video with their new broadband video service. They are aggregating a variety of content sources from channels such as CNN to cartoons to movie trailers. It will be interesting to see if this approach augments a franchised IPTV approach or becomes an alternative.

Bringing a Little Christmas Cheer

Both Cisco and Packet8 are doing a neat thing by using their respective video conferencing technologies to spread a little joy. They are each using videophones to bring Santa Claus to kids in hospitals via videophone. Although Viodi has reported on these efforts in past issues, it is still a neat and clever way to use technology to do what otherwise might be impossible.

A Sneak Peak of OPASTCO - Gila River Telecom

The brochure for the OPASTCO Winter Convention indicates that Gila River Telecom will be part of the agenda. ViodiTV caught up earlier this year with one of the leaders of this innovative and relatively young telecommunications firm. Watch this video to get a sneak preview of the way Gila River is giving back to their community by building up their community. Make plans now for the Winter Convention (Jan 12-16th, 2008) and prepare for lots of ViodiTV coverage brought to you courtesy of our friends at Innovative Systems.

Brought to you by Innovative Systems

Club Viodi Posts - Local Content Ideas

Here are some of the recent Club Viodi posts :

Note, to view the above links, you must be a club.viodi member. Club.Viodi membership is only open to independent telcos and is made available at the sole discretion of Viodi, LLC.

People on the Move

A couple of people I had the pleasure of working with at various levels are now free agents. Kirsten McGregor, former Director of Marketing Communications at Occam Networks, produced one of the best User Group meetings I have ever attended this past year at the Occam User's Group. She managed to orchestrate an event that was both fun and with relevant content. She would be a valuable addition to any company looking to ramp-up, refine or reinvigorate their marketing efforts. Contact Kirsten at kirstenmcg@gmail.com

Ron Jeffries was an early Occam Networks veteran who had roles ranging from product and program management to customer service. He would be a great addition for any company looking to transition from start-up to the next level. You can contact Ron, as well as catch his wit and wisdom at his blog.

The Korner - Fortunately, She Is a Great Writer

One of my favorite things about writing the Viodi View is coming up with material for Krazy Ken’s Korner (aka The Korner). It is always nice to have a willing victim and a great editor to help the cause. In this issue, we almost get to hear from cable technology analyst extraordinaire, Leslie Ellis. Leslie made it to Santa Clara, but somehow she left her voice somewhere over the Rockies.

I was hoping to get her on camera as an interviewer for ViodiTV, but by the time we caught up to her, well, you can see and hear the results. The funny thing is that, besides being an excellent writer, Leslie is one of the best panel moderators I know. She is always able to create a lively and entertaining session, while bringing out the best in her panelists. Even without her voice, Leslie managed to find a way to communicate in this fun video. Of course, Roger Bindl’s excellent editing skills make it seem like we actually had something planned.

And on that note, thanks for reading and viewing in 2007.

Happy Holidays!

Please feel free to forward the Viodi View to anyone who may be interested in our unique view of the intersection of the independent telecom, entertainment and technology industries.

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The Video Business Case for Independent Telcos – The Report

Viodi’s report, Video Business Case provides results to a survey of independent telcos and their business case for video. Most of the telcos that responded to the survey have figured out a way to deploy video services. This survey provides insight from the independent telcos as well as several of their Engineering firms.

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