Page 1 of 13New media Digital communications are just what they sound like: communications performed with and by digital technology. Multimedia developers and managers use digital communications methods to create any variety of entertainment, graphic design, and artistic productions. If you major in this field, you’ll learn the fundamentals of digital communication, including computer programming, teleprocessing, graphic design, photography, and audio and video production. You’ll learn how to build websites and create 3D animation. You’ll learn about CD-ROM production and computer imaging. All of these methods of digital communication together constitute the “multi” nature of “multimedia.” You’ll also learn about the laws and regulations in place for digital communications, and what our role is in the development and use of new technologies. Multimedia, as you probably know, is a rapidly expanding field. Been to a museum lately? Then you’ve probably seen video installations and interactive works of art. Heard about ebooks? A hardcover paper volume isn’t the only way to publish or read novels anymore. Multimedia is evident on websites that involve animation and virtual reality, photography, and audio. The field is new, exciting, and evolving; and it’s nearly impossible to define or set bounds for it because your major in digital communications and media/multimedia will be largely defined by your own ideas and experiments. New media in the information society Since their emergence around 1985, the new media have significantly changed the way in which we, the consumers, view and interact with our everyday world. Developed countries already have access to advanced new media applications, while developing countries are continually making innovations and increasing their presence in the new media sector. New media in the information society discusses social, economic, educational, political and regulatory aspects of the new media, as well as their impact on society and users in general. New media in the information society guides the student through the world of new media – from earliest history to modern-day theories and applications. Large-scale issues such as e-government, cyber crime and Internet policy are explored, although the focus remains on the impact of new media on the individual. Revision questions are provided for each chapter. Contents include the following: Social networking Virtual worlds New media and journalism: offline and online newspapers and magazines Mobile telecommunications, promotion and distribution Globalisation and the public broadcaster Information and communication technology infrastructure in South Africa and the rest of Africa Internet addiction disorder New media in the information society is aimed at senior undergraduate students who are studying new media courses or information and communication technology modules, as well as at students of telecommunications policy and regulation. Telecommunications policy researchers and ICT sector analysts will also find this book useful. The new technologies are doing much more. answering questions. It is the social change that accompanies the technologies that must be our prime concern. multimedia and interactive communication technologies. countries and companies and our expectations of them and also our expectations of ourselves. The telegraph allowed an instantaneous transmission of text characters to a remote receiver. The invention and proliferation of the telephone. Telegraphy utilized a coded translation (via the Morse code. A significant revolutionary step in the development of written communication was embodied in the printing press. Unlike written correspondence or telegraphy. providing needed information. on the other hand. retrieval. In addition. the telephone added a critical component" one . the organization of the verbal language into discrete components with a lexicon and syntax allowed the eventual development of forms of written communication. did provide pervasive change in everyday interperonsal communication. However this means of communication is essentially one-way and /or nonreal time. or taking needed action. This coded representation became the basis for storage. as well. The new technologies are changing the way we perceive people. manage our money. While it can be argued that the species has always had an underlying basis of verbal and nonverbal language. Although telegraphy provided an important means of communication for critical business and personal one-way communication. who listened to the clicks of a remote solenoid . The first remote communications method that exhibited a real-time nature was telegraphy. They are changing the way we live-the way we work. trade and communicate with each other. among other ) of letters and numbers into an on/off digital representations that could be easily decoded at the remote end by a trained human operator. An electronic superhighway is beginning to girdle the globe as voice. bringing in their wake a new basket of digital. telegraph progressed to a constant-length code that was encoded and decoded by mechanical means. A new digital communications technology has emerged. it created little change in every day life. But it is not just the technologies that concern us. and transmission of text by computers. cultures. video and data converge.Page 2 of 13 MEDIA CONVERGENCE The Gutenberg era is over. The Past Days of Communications Several preliminary steps occurred in human history which are the basis for all human communication. Later. This was the first generation of communication. which allowed a rapid reproduction of written thought and eventually the reproduction of drawings and photographs. relax. two parties could now give immediate feedback by responding to statement. which progressed from symbolic drawings to phonemic symbols. E-mail. These needs have resulted in global standards that are more open. As a result. At present second generation systems are still evolving with ever-increasing data rates via new technologies such as HSCSD (high-speed circuit switched data) and GPRS (general packet radio service). like Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). but hear the tone. Properly implemented. Japan and Europe will adopt WCDMA-DS when they usher in 3G in 2001-2002. Subsequently. enhancements in education and recreation. although recent years have seen the addition of more extensive content selections through cable and direct satellite transmission. The deployment telephone and two-way radio systems have brought us instantaneous voice communication. and cross-cultural understanding. data and fax transfer. Applying high-speed data transfer and radio terminal technology (like bluetooth). third generation systems are now evolving to provide the bandwidth required for multiple usage. From the early beginnings of television. video and Internet access on one single device. we can have quick and easy voice access to others around the world. there is an increasing demand from consumers for data delivery. Europe and the America which is helping to establish technical specifications). For the first time a merging of communications media is becoming practical. this will make immediately available the vast knowledge base we have been busy computerizing. with adequate security and safeguards. and even in aircraft and ships at sea. with instantaneous multimedia communication which will provide substantial increases in productivity. one-to-many mode. and emotion that is so important to effective interpersonal communication. Data sharing. The 3G enables multimedia and is currently in the process of being standardised under 3GPP ( a Standardisation body with representatives from Asia. global roaming. apart from a range of other value-added services. MC-CDMA and UTRA TDD). At the same time. we have had the ability to communicate fixed and moving images in real time. the development of wireless voice communication through two-way radio equipment provided similar benefits without the need for fixed wiring. telephony services. These Second generation systems are digital and capable of providing voice. We will create a true global village.Page 3 of 13 could not only recognize the other person's voice. a better quality of life. One-way transmission of video and audio content are now second nature. Among the three types of system to be standardised (WCDMA -DS. Now technological advance will allow new applications for video communication that are not limited to a single direction. It will also make direct voice and video communication ubiquitous. Video communication has also moved quickly to influence our everyday lives. The Genesis . urgency. we allow information and commerce flow freely. In this context one can safely assume that there will be a rash of new user terminals that will let us communicate in ways we dream. thanks to the distance insensitive Internet. and video to or from anyone. such as communication. It also efficiently maximizes the transfer of information by allowing more signals to move through a single communication path. more easily transferable pieces of information. video. But convergence does not necessarily sound the death knell of age-oldtechnologies. . Hence. We can think about convergence in several different ways. Customers now want to pick and chose from narrowcast and broadcast. and computing. entertainment. In fact. which reduced information into discrete. and video in all possible mixes.Page 4 of 13 The roots of network convergence can be traced to the advent of digital communications. video and data on the same communication network. video. and data whose different characteristics led to the development of separate communication network that were designed differently.voice. Network convergence utilizes this attribute of digital communication to efficiently and effectively distribute different types of information . and are often incompatible. Till recently. this means the availability of multiple technology choices to fulfill the customer's desire for anytime access to people. Another is converging voice. and data over computer network that were originally developed only for data transmission. information. the technology now exists to deliver it. majority of business and individual are becoming part of a high-speed networking fabric which will enable secure digital communication of voice. any where and anytime. each technology will find its niche and redefine new and old classes of service and user terminals. Moreover. This is because no one technology can meet all the requirements of the market-place. data. video. it wold have sounded like a chapter straight out of science fiction fortunately. The PC today is a collaborative communication and media tool . One important factor during convergence is the transformation of the desktop computer through faster processors supporting advanced graphics and multimedia capabilities. Such as IP telephony that permits the transmission of voice. In other words. Network convergence has also developed from the implementation of digital packet-switching technologies. it leaves enough room for many technologies to co-exist and one will not replace the other outright. They want a fusion of voice. Convergence is the key today. data. One is in terms of the actual industries converging. network convergence reduces the inefficient flow of voice. and data over a common infrastructure or within a common computing platform. The New Paradigm With blurring of geographical boundaries. and commerce. identifiable and thus. While legacy networks are designed to handle many protocol and one type of data. class and quality of service. staff. and policy management. and services by using converged networks. Corporations can realize substantial saving in equipment. can talk to low-end desktop system using the same application standard. Its Affect on Data Networks Convergence is fundamentally changing what a data network is .Page 5 of 13 Another factor driving convergence is the cost of maintaining three separate networks for voice. a professor's lecture can be delivered to remote campuses live or as stored video-on-demand files on a web sites. resulting in substantial cost savings. multi-cast support. according to their service requirement. That really changes data network requirements and drives the need for higher bandwidth. and data. Many people believe that we still need to run ATM to the desktop to support these new features. one way video. Using Same Application Standard With standards-based converged applications. Enterprises are looking at cost savings in the WAN as the first leverage point for convergence. and interactive video).high-end videoconferencing systems. However . converged networks are designed to handle one protocol and provided the services necessary for multiple types of data (such as voice. Protocol convergence is the movement away from multi-protocol to single protocol (typically IP) networks. from a traditional data packet store-and -forward mechanism. Next. we see interoperability between different vendors . Using Voice-over-Frame Relay. enterprises want to install the LAN and WAN infrastructure to do real-time video and audio information delivery. video. and training to employees directly at their desktop. . VOIP and Voice-over-ATM the same WAN lines can be used for voice as well as data. for example. Converged networks can also be used to deliver corporate communications. For education. Ethernet has evolved into a very suitable technology for delivering these advanced features at about a third of the cost of running ATM to the desktop. the payload convergence does not prohibit the network form handling packets. presentations. to a real-time communication infrastructure. Payload convergence is that aspect of converged networking wherein different data types are carried in the same communication format. This is now changing with digital compression techniques the limited transmission capacity of existing telephone and cable infrastructures can be expanded to deliver a range of multimedia services that previously could only be carried on expensive broadband networks. even though the former has more stringent bandwidth. Both multimedia and Web traffic can use the facilities of an edge network. Traditionally. Each was regulated by different laws and different . At the technical level. Web browsers allow the incorporation of plug-in applications that allow web pages to carry multimedia content such as audio. For example. digital transmission has the potential to deliver integrated interactive text. high-resolution graphics. communications media were separate. Services were quite distinct . Application convergence represents the appearance of applications that integrate formerly separate functions. For example. video. TV sets. video. consumer choice. ATM can be used to provide both LAN and WAN services. One key message is that convergence should not lead to additional regulation. Device convergence means the trend in network device architecture to support different networking paradigms in single system. historically each part of the spectrum and mode of transmission became associated with a different form of communication : point-topoint communication became the province of the telephone. They operated on different networks and used different "platforms". voice and data to a mass audience what we might call 'real multimedia'. telephones and computers. and wireless transmission became associated with broadcast news and entertainment . delay and jitter requirements than the later. Similarly digital compression allows point-to point communication to be conducted increasingly by advanced forms of radio transmission. The countries need to have the right regulatory framework in order the maximise the benefits of this convergence in terms of job creation. virtual reality graphics and interactive voices. television or personal computing. Current rules should be reviewed to check whether they will still be relevant in the light of convergence. Convergence is happening already on a global scale. voice telephony and on-line computer services. However. growth. Institutional convergence Nowadays digital technology allows a substantially higher capacity of traditional and new services to converge towards the same transporting networks and to use integrated consumer devices for purposes such as telephony.Page 6 of 13 Physical convergence occurs when payloads travel over the same physical network equipment regardless of their service requirements. cultural diversity. Technology convergence signifies the move towards common networking technologies that satisfy both LAN and WAN requirements.broadcasting. Convergence will increasingly blur all the distinctions between services. falling between the two main camps. CONVERGENCE REGULATIONS The extent to which convergence will really transform markets and the speed of any changes are two crucial factors affecting the debate on regulation. They favour two sets of rules. Convergence will certainly expand the overall information market and be the catalyst for the next stage in the integration of the world economy. usually at national level. but the social and cultural ones as well. television or personal computing. national media. Its proponents argue that media policy should actively promote social. There is a wide range of views. far beyond traditional. plus increased consumer choice and cultural diversity. According to the maximalist. media and IT companies are using the flexibility of digital technologies to offer services outside their traditional business sectors. The Changes will offer many new opportunities for citizens to enrich their lives. that it will not alter the specific nature of different types of service. by creating a supportive environment. one for economic aspects and another for service content. increasingly on an international or global scale. most current regulation originated in an era when distinctions between sector were clear. the maximalists and the minimalists. all networks will be able to deliver any service to any platform . Telecommunications. By putting in place the right . The global nature and interactivity of new communications media like the Internet are already opening new vistas.Page 7 of 13 regulators. not just the economic dimension. change will be a powerful motor for job creation and growth. Nowadays digital technology allows a substantially higher capacity of traditional and new services to be transported over the same networks and use integrated consumer devices for purposes such as telephony. as in broadcasting today. cultural and ethical values whatever technology is used for delivering services. Convergence is a debate about the impact of technology and a quantum leap towards a mature Information Society. Even small business can market globally. in order to guarantee efficiency and quality. A powerful motor for job creation and growth Convergence is not just about technology. The minimalist point of view holds that convergence will have a more limited impact. thanks to the low cost of the World Wide Web site. If India can embrace the promise of convergence. The cable operators deliver the cable and satellite channels to the consumers. The optical fiber cable carries more bandwidth resulting in more signals being carried with superior clarity. video on demand. would open up subscription revenue for the broadcasters. The much awaited delivery of Internet through cable network has already started in Delhi and Mumbai. As it can pup the broadband network on its exiting network at a very low cost. who would not be willing to subscribe to the high cost DTH services.Page 8 of 13 regulatory framework. Both the services have user addressability in ear of convergence. India On The Threshold Of Convergence The convergence in India has arrived faster than expected. It is capitalizing on price sensitiveness of consumers of India.Direct to Operator (DTO) and Direct to Home (DTH). internet via cable. tracking the subscription revenue but calls for additional investment for the decoders for down linking of signal. . It operates using C band. In DTO channels are digitized and encrypted by the broadcaster. The signals are downloaded by the cable operator by using the Integrated receiver decoder (IRD) and distributed to cable homes. The convergence would help in web casting. The DTO transmission helps in saving of the cost. the channel will be carried on two platforms . With more and more channels going pay to air. moving towards subscription channels. The upgradation of cable network (optical fiber). The digitized channels are broadcast using the Ku (above 4800 Mhz). governments and policy makers will have a key role in ensuring a supportive environment. . In future it will emerge a major source of revenue and much large than the advertisement revenue stream . The subscription of the convergence is expected to the Rs 250 per month per subscriber in India. the cable companies are expected to rule the roost due to investments made by them in the cable networks. The consumers have the option to receive more than one signal which are downlinked by the consumer directly by using dish antenna at their home. Direct To Operator (DTO) The DTO is a step. Direct To Home (DTH) It offers an alternative to the DTO service addressing superior reception with advance level of multi channel subscription revenue for broadcaster. The MTNL poses tough competition for all the players. more than 60 (national. The installation cost of DTH is high enough to deter price sensitive consumer of India and it is estimated that subscription of 2 million consumers would be needed to make the service profitable. With more than 40 ( national and regional) channels on air and 30 more lined up in the next two years. The success of channel is dependent on the quality of content.the term 'viewed' is defined as 10 or more continuous minutes context and delivery for loyal audience. The transmission at C band needs dish antenna of 3-4 meters. which attracts the attention of an audience. regional and foreign) channels are broadcast in India. does not permit the transmission of signals at Ku band in India. The current mushrooming of channel suggests that shakeout in the industry inevitable. This C band preposition does not seem to be possible in metros where the potential consumer of the DTH would reside. which requires antenna of 60-75 cm . The investment of dish antenna and other hardware is borne by the consumer. we have made our assumption on the basis of free to air channels.Page 9 of 13 DTH can broadcast more than 100 channels using IRD. DTH can be broadcast using C band (below 4800 Mhz) or Ku Band (Above 4800 Mhz). the number of channels actually viewed were 13 . The Ku band. The popularity and growth of channels would be driven by originality and quality content (five to six hour a day of Original Programming). The growth of Cable and Satellite has opened a new vista for the Indian media sector. The entertainment has found its roots in the regional market also. We expect these issues to be addressed in the broadcasting bill. which ensures conditional access on payment of subscription. The government currently. The US experience suggests that while the average TV homes were able to receive 57 channels in 1998. The growth of regional channels wold come on the expense of falling advertising revenue of the regional print media. . Content is Key Content has emerged as king in the fierce battle of television channels. Demand for content is expected to grow by 40 percent for three years. would attract the attention of consumers. It is expected that more than 30 new channels would be launched in the next three years. In a short span of two years. The content would drive the success of the channel. Although the subscription market is larger than the advertising market it will add substantial revenue to the broadcasters. The total advertising on the C&S TV was Rs 27912 million for 2000 E. Since majorities of the channels are free to air and subscription market is yet not developed. and Web Casting. can be exported and can add to the revenue stream of the IPR holder. and an explosion of innovative services and products. The 'convergence' of these technologies has given birth to the prospect of multimedia services which will offer interactive compute based applications that will combine text. the average production by a content producer is six to eight hour a week . graphics. no storage cost and can be exported. The development of multimedia services will not replace judgment value that is provided by the traditional media. greater choice. the popularity of content depends upon the understanding of the audience and making the right genre of program for the target audience. truly interactive services allowing the viewer to descend through a series of levels of information are still at the experimental stage. This would translate into substantial opportunity of the content providers. the traditional media will still have a large role to play in the new multimedia world. .Page 10 of 13 The television software industry is valued at Rs. The availability of intellect and low manpower cost has made the Indian content popular world over and exports of content has opened a new revenue stream for the content provider. As the industry experience suggests. This is the promise. The merger between telecommunications. computer and broadcasting is going to change the way people will work. The content is shown either on terrestrial or C&S Network . A successful and good quality content has high recyclable value and can also be delivered through various delivery mechanisms such as Compact Disc. this translates into an opportunity for 35 producers in the current demand scenario and more to join the fray. audio and animation features into a media experience for users. The content producers working with DD have built up a substantial library (IPR) of content and are exploring the same. Content has high recyclable value. Current original programming is 5 hour per day per channel and with the competition intensifying it could be increased to seven hours/day/channel. to date. A good quality content has a recyclable value. Hence. Conclusion The increasingly competitive environment in the multimedia industry promises tremendous user benefits through increased savings in time. 5840 m. play and live. how they will manage the flood of options. above all. publishing and computing to become involved in each other's business. and. the goal is to connect and connect with purpose of sharing information. CONVERGENCE in technology is understood by common man in terms of the ability of different network platforms to carry essentially similar kind of services. the radio and television broadcasts are now feasible via the internet over telecommunication networks and internet services possible through satellite. As computers were . film . television.g. software and digital transmission. The users' wants and needs. terrestrial or space. as their common purpose. Digitalization of telecommunications and computer equipment has broadened the existing technology base and facilitated the emergence of large-scale communication networks that carry voice. data and images. All our different medium of various information technologies. Today.Page 11 of 13 Multimedia has the potential to vastly increase the range of services available. Using the internet for voice telephony. Now-a-days. telecommunication. convergent services include: Services delivered to TV sets via systems like Web TV. E-mail and World Wide Web access via digital TV decoders and mobile telephones. Recent examples of new. It could be a massive interconnection of digital technologies. Convergence : technological and institutional 'Convergence ' has become a cliche of the information age. voice or data. and telephony. cable and terrestrial television broadcast networks. In its current usage it refers to two distinct though related phenomena : The way that all transmission media become bit-carriers so that different 'network platforms' can carry similar kinds of services and The tendency of the previously separate worlds of broadcasting. has the transmission and manipulation of information. it is the people who use it who will decide the future of multimedia. Digital technologies cover a range of disciplines generally associated with the computer and telecommunication industries – digital microelectronics. blue tooth etc). whether or not they will pay for the freedom of choice are what counts. convergence is most often discussed in terms of the technologies used in computers. The connection could be with wires or wireless (e. and offer its users a larger choice of applications but new technology alone will not ensure success. collective agreements.g. its essence is the freedom to interact with people electronically but on a personal level. For these proponents of convergence. terrestrial or space but the goal is to enable all technologies. video. employer-provided job training. Once digital television technology is common. what is essential. . convergence implies a world in which people are not denied access to any ideas or visions that have been written. voice or data. such as relatively stable employment relations. which need careful attention of governing bodies. painted. The chaotic nature of the change in progress exacerbate fears that the global information society will be polarized. The human being. and hearable world – wide. seeable. from the kitchen appliances to the data server in any university. and jointly funded social security schemes. it is a massive interconnection of digital technologies. photographed. employee representation.Page 12 of 13 increasingly accommodated within those telecommunications networks. And the survival mechanisms which have been developed in recent decades. Convergence Defining Convergence The term convergence eludes precise definition. Some even look at convergence and see people connected to each other. the collision centers around bandwidth and carrier capacity. spoken or performed. connection with purpose. The technological convergence has put many questions in regard to regulations. must not be neglected for sake of advancements. sound to streams of digital bits and make it readable. Technologies and industries are converging to offer more and different information through what were once divergent communication channels. communications and media. or even “atomized”. the goal of convergence is to convert everything recorded by humanity – text. ultimately for whom all this technology is meant for. the connection can be wire or wireless (e. Hence. arduous and devoid of feeling or touch. where the life is more complicated. Convergence is also leading to the dissolution of traditional industry boundaries. The basic aim or objective in all these advancements needs to be aimed at making the life beautiful and easy. Not the other way. blue tooth etc). For some. fragmented. There is growing fear in individuals that in future they will be forced to struggle for survival in an increasingly electronic environment. may be sorely tested in a world where work crosses borders at the speed of light. employment. Sociologists are already wondering what effect convergence and its by products will have on society. but it is most commonly expressed as the ability of different network platforms to carry essentially similar kind of services. training and education. with speed and accuracy is. Simple connection is not sufficient. previously existing technological and market boundaries became vague. To some. Digital convergence is already provoking a major upheaval in the industries involved in information. transporting one form of content is no different than any other.” The concept therefore revolves around following products/services: Services previously seen as actually or potentially delivered by telecom or broadcasting platforms now provided over the Internet (e. providing audiovisual services such as near-video on demand and cable television? . home shopping. World Wide Web) over mobile phone networks? Digital broadcasters providing new services such as data broadcast and Intenet webcasting? Internet service providers distributing audiovisual material? Telecoms operators.g. television and personal computers. home banking. an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan.Page 13 of 13 The most often cited in the popular press is the coming together of consumer devices such as the telephone. “Once everything becomes digital. How it become possible is best understood by the statement made by Jeffery Mackie Mason (Jones). in their new competitive environment. voice telephony)? Access to IT services (e-mail.