Services, such as Caller ID on the TV and local content, that are addictive are what independent telcos need to provide if they want to gain and retain broadband subscribers. Horizon Telecom’s Ed McKell talks of these services in this brief video interview. McKell, who spoke at the IP Possibilities Conference, discusses how partnerships have helped them provide new and better services to their
Introductory pricing for telecom services has caused this author extreme frustration. Warren Lee, President and CEO of NeoNova, explains how one cable operator gradually gets their customers to pay more for services they might not have ordered in the first place. The operator has something like an 88% retention rate of its customers using this technique. Lee also implores telcos to look at bundles as more than just speed and to shape bundles to meet customers’ lifestyles and needs.
ViodiTV at IP Possibilities 2008 is being brought to you by Entone. 
David Lewis of TCA , a prominent consulting firm to independent telcos, discusses the importance of broadband for an independent telco to retain its subscriber base. He recommends that independent telcos find services to add value to the broadband pipe; before someone else does.
This program at IP Possibilities 2008 is brought to you by Entone.
ViodiTV at IP Possibilities 2008 is being brought to you by Entone.
Do you have loads of old analog tapes that you need to convert to digital or need a way to bring analog video into your iPod? The Pinnacle Video Transfer [PVT] may be just the device you need. The PVT converts composite or S-Video and stereo audio inputs into highly compressed MPEG-4 files. There are three levels of encoding quality available with resolutions ranging from 320×240 to 720×480.
This device is about simplicity, as a computer is not required. Composite or S-Video is input one side of the device, while a USB 2.0 port interfaces to an external flash drive, hard-drive, iPod, or PSP on the other side of this unit. LEDS indicate recording status, signal presence and encoding quality. The output is MPEG-4 file, encoded from 512 Kbs to 1.5 Mbs, depending upon the quality selected.
I was able to edit the files in both Sony Vegas 6.0 and Pinnacle’s VideoSpin video editor. The above video includes clips digitized by the PVT (indicated by the time stamp in the upper left hand corner of the video). I found no problems in uploading the MPEG-4 files to YouTube.
Operation of the PVT was straightforward, although there were some recording issues, which were resolved with an updated driver. A scene detection feature would be nice, such that it automatically would split files into one large file. Another interesting feature would be if it had a Firewire interface, such that it would be possible to convert digital feeds directly into MPEG-4 files.
Although I cannot really think of how an independent telco might use this, the quality is amazing for a consumer-grade device. This is a cost-effective way to convert analog video to digital, in lieu of more expensive video capture devices. Others in this class that bear a closer look, that may have more features, but also come with more complexity include the SanDisk V-Mate and the Neuros MPEG4 Recorder 2.
The biggest news from day one of the Minnesota Telecom Alliance’s 99th Annual Convention is the Minnesota Telecom Alliance (MTA). By unanimous votes of their respective memberships, the MTA and MART (Minnesota Association for Rural Telecom) agreed yesterday morning to merge into a combined organization that will retain the MTA moniker. This is significant for several reasons, as their merger reflects the ongoing industry consolidation of independent telcos. In this brief video, we interview the current President/CEO of MART and the soon-to-be President of the new MTA.
The catalyst for bringing these organizations together was the departure of a large member company from MTA. This merger is fundamentally not about cost savings, but providing better service for the independent telco members. Mike Nowick, the current President of MTA, will be responsible for Membership Services for the new organization. And yes, the MTA convention will continue to be of significant national and regional importance.
