Digital Media Convergence: IPTV

Digital Media Convergence: IPTV

The notion of digital media convergence is tendency for distinct groups of media to develop gradually toward sharing resources and cross-media work over time, initiating social and cultural change (Dwyer, 2010). Previously, two-way communications had been limited to voice and text by the limited availability of bandwidth, hence the broadcast media was restricted by their one-way exchanging of information (Ellis, Pursell and Rahman, 2003). Nowadays, the new technology, Internet Protocol Television has been changed radically by media convergence; gathering and combining kinds of media devices including telephone, video and data communications into a single network over an Internet Protocol platform (Dwyer, 2010).

Media convergence discovers a solution to free the limit of one-way delivery of information by the introduction to an Internet Protocol (Bing, 2010), allowing to communicate data, visual and audio signalling method over the Internet. To see that, the Internet Protocols are innovations tend to occur with fluctuations in the dynamic political economy of information systems - implying that they are produce transformations of new media industries as well as find their significance and form in relation to cultures of production with regards to their everyday use. (Bassett, Hartmann and Riordan, 2008) However, some people believe that the popularity of broadcast on television may be decreasing over time due to the ability to access features on the Internet such as downloading contents and users have the ability to control the contents such as pause and rewind. (Murphy, 2011). Nevertheless, with Internet Protocol Television such as Foxtel now more accessible to a broader and wider audience, allows viewing in real time or provides downloads to a device such as a computer, television, or portable device at any time and it has added a control functionality including live recording, fast forward, jump to frame, etc.

For this reason, media convergence has invested new ideas, which allows customers to have more freedom of access to the content they desire at anywhere, anytime. In the wake of television being broadcasted on the Internet, the demand is becoming greater. The Internet Protocol Television is also becoming popular (Balnaves, O’Regan and Goldsmith, 2011). Wherefore, television companies have expanded the possibilities of manipulating customers by putting the effective use of the Internet Protocol for their digital media transmitted electronically as a result of becoming mainstream (Nafziger and Ross, 2011). One main goal of such integration is to deliver better services and lower prices to customers.

A video game console, Microsoft’s Xbox, has introduced to the Internet Protocol Television and Video on Demand by adding services such as SBS on Demand, ABC iView and even Youtube from multiple programmers and networks, into Xbox 360’s digital media delivery service, Xbox Live (Lawler, 2011). According to Dwyer’s (2010) theory, technologies have been significantly evolved over time. This proves that Xbox Live service is set to become the most important step up to a true digital media convergence in the modern era, dues to the service has provided a new technological factor by adding a search engine that has the ability to find content through from a wider range of services, choose among more service providers. Likewise to Dwyer’s social factor, they also added a social network to the part of the service, allowing users to watch online content together simultaneously. As mentioned above, due to multiple providers on the single service; it is easier to access these contents by paying a simple subscription then to go dues on a payment to the convergence of economic factor (Dwyer, 2010).

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6U3ziTro4g

Comparatively, Australia’s major service provider, Foxtel, has been significantly growing popularity towards increasing media influence in convergent of culture and politics (Dwyer, 2010), so then they have become partners with many companies to supply channels through the service. In this case, Samsung and Foxtel are joined to offer the Internet more entertainment forms, allowing customers to watch Foxtel’s live streaming via Samsung’s Smart TVs, and “this opportunity is only going to grow, and it’s something we believe is highly complementary to our existing service” (Robertson and Phillips, 2012). 

Meanwhile, Foxtel continues using its traditional device; the set-top box, which plugs into a television that receives channels through a signal. Previously, a set-top box was the only way to use the service on a television. Until lately, in order to gain and evolve technology potentials for the audiences need of access to a range of physical media; they have provided development technologies including Foxtel on Xbox 360, Internet TV and mobile devices, “means that people are able to organize their everyday contacts and their personal, leisure and work activities while on the move.” (Dwyer, 2010). This in turn provides a digitised format of television being incorporated among many other platforms and products which can be implemented on all up to date technology.

Digital media convergence is filled with revolutionary ideas toward convergent of culture, social and technology procedures to surmount the traditional television medium with Internet Protocol. Briefly, the Internet has the sufficiently great impact on television programmers by discovering the new technology, Internet Protocol Televisions and integrating it into the television service providers on expanded Internet Protocols platforms.

References:

Dwyer, T. (2010) Media Convergence. In culture and media studies. Berkshire: McGraw Hill.

Ellis, J. Pursell, C. and Rahman, J. (2003) The Convergence of Voice, Video & Network Data. San Diego: Elsevier Science.

Bing, B. (2010) 3D and HD Broadband Video Networking. Massachusetts: Artech House.

Murphy, S. (2011) How Television Invented New Media [online]. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. Available at: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=jfBm9jR4GiQC&lpg=PA59&ots=I_CxcsHyyK&dq=television%20is%20dead%20media%20convergence&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false [Accessed 28 August 2012].

Balnaves, M. O’Regan, T. and Goldsmith, B. (2011) Rating the Audience: the business of media. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Nafziger, J.A.R. and Ross, S.F. (2011) Handbook on International Sports Law. Gloucestershire: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.

Bassett, C. Hartmann, M. and O’Riordan, K. (2008) After convergence: what connects?. After convergence [online] (13): pp.1. Available at: http://thirteen.fibreculturejournal.org/ [Accessed 27 August 2012].

Samsung Electronics (2012) Foxtel and Samsung to offer Foxtel channels on selected Samsung Smart TVs [online]. Available at http://www.samsung.com/au/news/localnews/2012/foxtel-and-samsung-to-offer-foxtel-channels-on-selected-samsung-smart-tvs [Accessed 29 August 2012].

Lawler, R. (2011) Xbox Live is the first big step to true video convergence [online]. Available at: http://gigaom.com/video/xbox-live-update/ [Accessed 29 August 2012].

Foxtel (2012) Discover [online]. Available at: http://www.foxtel.com.au/discover/default.htm [Accessed 29 August 2012].

Amazing New Entertainment from Xbox Live Partners (2011) XboxViewTV           (released 5 December 2011) [video]. Munchen: Youtube. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6U3ziTro4g [Accessed 29 August 2012].

McDonald, I.P. (2008) Voice: Foxtel TVC Voice Over [photograph]. Available at http://www.ipfmcd.com/2008/02/voice-over-artist-foxtel-tvc-voice-over/#.UD6A-tYgeac [Accessed 29 August 2012].