No EU standard for interactive digital television, yet
Technical standards to assure interoperability of interactive digital television products should be set by the industry, according to an Aug. 2 decision from the European Commission in Brussels.
The commission delayed taking action to impose a standard until late 2005.
For interactive digital television to reach its full potential, standardization is required so consumer platforms can talk to each other. However, the commission held that for the time being industry players should be given the latitude to develop a standard.
The commission expressed support for the Multimedia Home Platform used by RTL.
CCTV to launch six digital pay TV channels
Six pay digital television channels were scheduled to go live Aug. 9 in China.
China Central Television, the nation’s largest television network, launched channels devoted to coverage of the Olympics as well as world geography, theater and music, according to a report from the Xinhua news service.
UK mobile phone company 3, BMG launch video jukebox
UK mobile phone company 3 has teamed up with record company BMG to launch a mobile video jukebox enabling 3 customers to stream the latest music videos direct to their video mobiles.
The new video jukebox service - the first of its kind in the UK - will allow 3 customers to choose from a selection of music videos to watch on their 3 handsets. They will be able to watch the latest releases on 3’s music video chart through ‘Today on 3’ – the UK’s first live mobile news and entertainment channel that launched in March.
The service began Aug. 2 with a range of full-length videos from artists such as Christina Aguilera, Dido, Outkast, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Will Young.
