News has been emanating out of Zurich (Ramistrasse to be exact) that Strategic Capital Partners Portfolio Management AG, has been involved with a company (for which the Swiss asset management group has been working a placement agent with their early funding) that may have found the answer to a growing question within the broadband industry, i.e. what can we do about the bandwidth dilemma?
You may well have noticed that we live in a world where impatience is the norm. Non of us seem to be willing to wait for anything, stand in line, or tolerate anything that we deem to be second best.
Wait three months for my new car to be delivered? Forget it! I’ll take that one over there...
Wait fifteen minutes to be seated at your favourite restaurant? No thanks, we’ll eat elsewhere!
Don’t shake your head, I bet this sounds like you!
Anyway, can you imagine the intense frustration of saving up and spending out on the latest all singing-all dancing High Definition TV, only to find that there are still very few channels with the capacity to broadcast in HD! (By the way, a word to the wary, if you’ve never watched HD TV - don’t ! ... at least not yet, because doesn’t seem to be any going back to normal, grainy TV after your first experience without being overcome with feelings of immense frustration and loss.)
So what’s being done by our broadcasters to provide more HD channels? Well, unfortunately, at the moment they can do very little. ‘Surely, you must realise how much bandwidth is taken up by an HD channel compared to a regular channel,’ they cry.
But do you?
No, probably not; we just want to watch! Let’s just say you could squeeze three regular channels using the same space taken by that one big fat HD channel – and this is the problem which has so far left the broadcasters scratching their heads ... at least it has until now.
After hearing from Strategic Capital Partners AG, we had a look around and the whispers in the technology industry tell us it may well be true! That we are shortly going see the launch of the IBM Bladecentre QS21 server. A server which is to be targeted directly at the video streaming and broadcasting industry. These new servers will finally be able to live up to the claims on the box because of a revolutionary, new technology called CodecSys from Broadcast International Inc. (BCST.ob).
The combined IBM/BI product line will provide encoding and transcoding solutions for worldwide broadcast, cable, satellite, IPTV, telco, wireless and streaming customers, as well as applications for business/enterprise communications, training and digital signage. For example, a telco will be able to deliver HDTV over DSL connections, and, where cable/satellite operators now have one HD channel, they will be able to deliver six different HD channels at the same quality – great stuff!
So how does it work?
Well, rather than relying on any single of the latest codecs to transform our viewing pleasure, the CodecSys technology uses a multi-Codec approach, employing a real-time artificial intelligence system to manage libraries of standard and specialized codecs. This fully patented system dynamically changes codecs or codec settings - on the fly - on a scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame basis. And it would seem there are a multitude of applications waiting for this holy-grail technology that may finally unlock the blockage in our bandwidth-hungry age. It will allow a plethora of companies to create excellent quality video and audio transmission at a fraction of the bandwidth that, until now, has been traditionally required.
As an application its future appears rich and varied, however, the boffins in Broadcast International have firmly set their sights on the video streaming and broadcasting market as the first area to conquer, teaming up with no less than ‘Big blue’ to establish a joint development team and shortly the launch of the QS21 server.
While IBM’s cell blade technology looks set to turn the traditional server market on its head across their new range, the CodecSys technology in the QS21 server will provide the ultimate, highest quality in full-screen, full-motion video at the lowest possible bandwidths allowing the broadcasting and video streaming industry to finally expand along with consumer needs.
All of which means of course that you may begin getting a lot more High Definition channels on that huge great HDTV of yours!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Be clever with your strategic capital and partner with a green initiative
Specializing in the outsourced management of water services for municipal or industrial clients, Paris listed company Veolia (VIE.PA), is one of the world leaders in engineering, design and construction projects for environmental facilities and water treatment plants.
In a world of investments more and more of us are seeking to place our strategic capital in companies that will not only leave us with a better, cleaner, healthier planet, but will also return a good profit on our portfolios and our investment dollars ... or Euros in the case of Veolia.
Established for more than 150 years, Veolia can rightly claim to be one of the world leading environmental companies. They have recently been selected to supply 3 million inhabitants with drinking water in Tianjin, one of China's most rapidly growing and important economic cities. The contract, for a period of 30 years, is worth an estimated cumulated turnover of around 2,65 billion Euros for Veolia Water, and involves a participation of 49% in the Tianjin Shibei Water Company Ltd.
Investment into the company? Well, if you had placed €1000 euros in January 2006 and sold it today, you would walk away with €1,769. Not a bad return for helping save the planet.
Another Parisian listed company that you might want to turn your investment eye upon as you seek to save the world, is Alstom (ALO.PA), a global leader in equipment and services for power generation and rail transport.
Interesting, but green? Well yes. Set to become a major player in the world of wind turbines, the company claims a ‘reputation for setting the benchmark in innovative and environmentally friendly technologies to meet the growing demand for clean and efficient electricity and rail transport technologies.’
Great, but what about the investment? Well, our €1000 invested in January of 2006 would now be worth an incredible €3,846!
Both these companies appear to be worth continued interest and if we had invested in January 2006? Well a little profit taking is never a bad thing but the outlook continues to be solid for both allowing us continued expectations of profit, and a good nights sleep while we save the planet at the same time.
In a world of investments more and more of us are seeking to place our strategic capital in companies that will not only leave us with a better, cleaner, healthier planet, but will also return a good profit on our portfolios and our investment dollars ... or Euros in the case of Veolia.
Established for more than 150 years, Veolia can rightly claim to be one of the world leading environmental companies. They have recently been selected to supply 3 million inhabitants with drinking water in Tianjin, one of China's most rapidly growing and important economic cities. The contract, for a period of 30 years, is worth an estimated cumulated turnover of around 2,65 billion Euros for Veolia Water, and involves a participation of 49% in the Tianjin Shibei Water Company Ltd.
Investment into the company? Well, if you had placed €1000 euros in January 2006 and sold it today, you would walk away with €1,769. Not a bad return for helping save the planet.
Another Parisian listed company that you might want to turn your investment eye upon as you seek to save the world, is Alstom (ALO.PA), a global leader in equipment and services for power generation and rail transport.
Interesting, but green? Well yes. Set to become a major player in the world of wind turbines, the company claims a ‘reputation for setting the benchmark in innovative and environmentally friendly technologies to meet the growing demand for clean and efficient electricity and rail transport technologies.’
Great, but what about the investment? Well, our €1000 invested in January of 2006 would now be worth an incredible €3,846!
Both these companies appear to be worth continued interest and if we had invested in January 2006? Well a little profit taking is never a bad thing but the outlook continues to be solid for both allowing us continued expectations of profit, and a good nights sleep while we save the planet at the same time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)