Digital Lifescapes

The professional video camcorder market experienced a groundswell of activity in EMEA last year, with incremental growth outstripping the previous year's performance by nearly three to one, according to the latest market study by Futuresource Consulting. "In 2008 we saw the development of a pure non-tape pro camcorder segment at the lower end of the market -- a significant milestone for the industry and a core driver for last year's phenomenal growth," says Adam Cox, Senior Market Analyst, Futuresource Consulting. The huge success of the low-cost Sony HVR-HD1000E -- as well as several other entry-level products -- contributed to pro camcorder sector growth in 2008. With new products from Panasonic and JVC due for release in the first half of 2009, further market activity is ensured. "As the price of broadcast quality hardware continues to decrease, professional video production has become available to a wider audience," says Cox. "In particular, the pr...

Creating a video composition with a music soundtrack has its challenges. Using commercially published music is often the most troublesome approach, due to copyright limitations and licensing requirements. Besides, there are several alternatives for videographers that produce content -- even those on a small budget. Some non-linear video editing software packages include a few sample music tracks -- often referred to as license-free or royalty-free music. There are a variety of online sources that sell stock music , which is also royalty-free. And, there are a few sources that offer songs with creative commons music licenses that you can use at no cost, providing you give attribution to the creator. However, all those options require that the music still must be customized to fit your specific needs, and trimmed to the exact durations of each segment within your video. Instead, there's fully automated soundtrack creation software that enables customizing the score by actual...

The global market for set-top boxes will grow gradually over the next few years, then will peak at around 110 million shipments in 2012, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. Thereafter STB unit volumes for all platforms -- Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS), and CATV (cable television) -- will begin a gradual decline. STB revenues show a different pattern. According to ABI Research principal analyst Robert Clark, "STB revenues for all platforms have declined significantly between 2007 and 2009, but will recover by 2010 and remain relatively stable through at least 2013." Sales of basic STBs have already been falling for some time; now HD-only and PVR-only STBs are also showing the first signs of downturn. From 2009 on, Clark expects to see a greater share of combined HD/PVR sales, especially in the DBS segment. Apparently, the decline in shipments after 2012 is due in part to the expecte...