Viodi View – June 8th, 2005 Issue – Go to Viodi.com and Viodi.tv for current posts

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Viodi View Newsletter – June 8th, 2005

Viodi’s Local Content Workshop

IP Video @ Supercomm
Youth are the Future, No the Present
The Korner – Introducing Airship Viodi

The one word I would use to describe what I saw and heard at the IP Video @ Supercomm conference is “serious”. The various constituencies required to make IPTV a widespread reality were represented by both the speakers, as well as the audience attendees. I was impressed by the number of folks from cable programmers, the financial industry and, of course, operators who attended this event. Judging by the nature of the questions and the level of attendance to the various sessions, these players believe that telcos are serious about their efforts to add video and other features to their product portfolio.

Right now, I feel an awful lot like the shoe salesman whose kids never had new shoes. Trying to absorb and make sense of the information provided by 40+ speakers, as well as handle the last minute details associated with the two day IP Video @ Supercomm conference is a little too much for my pea-brain. It is going to take me a few weeks to process what I heard and saw; by that time, I will probably be scooped on something that I should reporting on in these online pages today.

In fact, Fred Dawson, wrote a great summary piece of the IP Video @ Supercomm’s regulatory panel, which can be found on Xchange magazine’s site at:

http://www.xchangemag.com/tdhotnews/56h86192769747.html

Fortunately, Hank Magnuski of nCast recorded the IP Video @ Supercomm sessions with his magic box, the Telecaster. This box records audio, video and XGA/VGA. As such, we will be making the sessions available on DVD format in a few weeks. After listening to these presentations, I will try to have a more complete report on IP Video @ Supercomm in the next issue.

Currently, I am listening to Steven Sheppard’s Telecom Crash Course workshop. He is very engaging and I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to get a good grasp of IP and other telecommunications’ topics.

Hopefully, I will be able to report on some tidbits from the tradeshow floor. It is Wednesday morning and I still have not been to the exhibit hall. We will see if my antics get me kicked off the floor when I do get there. I have a few scoops,

Youth are the Future, No the Present

I believe that most independent telcos will successfully make the shift from being regulatory and technology focused to becoming market-driven organizations. By combining new product features together with soft attributes, such as a strong brand, superior customer service and reliability, Independent Telcos will continue to grow into the 21st century. The question is how will Independent Telcos get the feedback from customers that they need to help them make the necessary changes to their service; in a word, youth. Click here to read the rest of this article that was recently published in Telephony’s Independent Magazine.

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Audience at IP Video @ Supercomm – Note, Airship Viodi in the background

The Korner – Introducing Airship Viodi

As usual, I got up to the stage to open the IP Video @ Supercomm conference and spoke off the cuff, instead of reading my prepared notes. The following represent my intended comments. I will let the attendees judge whether or not my improvisational comments matched what I had intended. To put these comments into context, it is important to note that, to open the conference, the 54 inch long, Airship Viodi was launched and flown around the room.

Good morning everyone and welcome to Chicago and to the IP Video @ Supercomm 2005 conference. It is great to be back here in Chicago with so many friends and colleagues to discuss the hot topic of IP Video.
So, you are probably wondering what a remote controlled airship has to do with today’s activities. Is it just a cheap publicity stunt? In a word, yes. I believe this airship may serve as a metaphor and model for what is happening in the industry today.
Like the airship, there are a great deal of inflated expectations surrounding IPTV and how great things will be with this new approach. Anytime there are great expectations for a new approach, there are bound to be disappointments when things do not happen as quickly or as efficiently as experts had predicted.
But, just as airship technology has been around a long time, so too there have been operators deploying IPTV or variations of IPTV networks, almost in stealth mode, for several years. Just as Airships went from the volatile gas hydrogen to the stable helium, these operators have been perfecting the technology and operations aspects of IPTV. These operators are definitely proving that IPTV will fly.
Finally, marketing and publicity is going to be a key factor in helping an operator standout in a market place that will become increasingly commoditized. Of course, airships have long been used to help create name or brand recognition.
We have a diverse group of speakers addressing who will provide a comprehensive overview of the content, marketing, technical, regulatory and operational challenges surrounding IPTV. A special thank you to all of the speakers for their time and effort in making today’s event a reality.
Similarly, thank you very much to all of the sponsors. Without their support, this sort of event would not be possible. Thank you also to USTA and their staff, Sean Sullivan, Lori Cefus and Meredith Tenney, for their leadership in producing events like this one. Thank you also to my Viodi associates, Roger Bindl, Peter Lowten and, of course, Jane Pyle for their help.
Also, thank you to Hank Magnuski of nCast for recording this event. nCast produces a very interesting IP Video/Audio/VGA recorder and I encourage you to talk to Hank about it in between breaks.
Speaking of breaks, we won’t have many long ones today. As you may have noticed, we will signify the end of a break with our audio/visual cue. The upbeat music in that audio/visual cue is brought to us courtesy of Bill Fielding. Yes, that is the same Bill Fielding that you may know from companies like Nortel, Seiscor, Raynet and Next Level. Thanks Bill.
Lastly, thank you for very much for your attendance and participation. I look forward to a very interactive two days.

And thank you for reading the Viodi View.

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