Tag Archives: itu

ITU roundtable narrows scope of debate around standard-essential patents, doesn’t create world peace

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ITU roundtable narrows scope of debate around standardessential patents, doesn't create world peace

The ITU's roundtable discussing the controversy over standard-essential patents has wrapped up its first day, and surprise -- there wasn't immediate harmony. While strict press rules prevent discussing exactly which companies said what in the Geneva meeting, the UN's telecom agency mentioned that the initial, partly publicized discussions saw a "heated debate" that mostly followed party lines. Certain companies kept to their view that bans over standard-essential patents hurt innovation, while others were adamant that bans were harmless and potentially necessary -- you can probably guess who's on each side. The meeting mostly helped whittle down the subjects for the closed meetings, which should focus on how much of a curb there should be on injunctions as well as the definition of just what the "reasonable" in Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (RAND) patent licensing terms should mean.

ITU officials remain ever the budding optimists, however. They felt that it was tough to leave injunctions "completely unchecked" and that their institution could shape policies, even if it wouldn't get involved with ongoing talks. Legal Officer Antoine Dore also explained to Engadget that his organization wasn't surprised at the uncompromising stances early on and expected the companies involved to open up "a lot more" once they weren't under the watchful eyes of cameras and reporters. If they don't, we suspect other international organizations could exert their own pressure.

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ITU roundtable narrows scope of debate around standard-essential patents, doesn't create world peace originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ITU approves NHK’s Super Hi-Vision as 8K standard, sets the UHDTV ball rolling very slowly

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ITU approves NHK's Super HiVision as 8K standard, sets the UHDTV ball rolling very slowly

We'd heard that the International Telecommunication Union was close to approving Super Hi-Vision as an Ultra High Definition TV standard, and the UN agency hasn't waited long to confirm the rumors. The recommendation to use NHK's 7,680 x 4,320 format has gone unopposed and should define the parameters for incredibly detailed 8K video worldwide. This shouldn't lead anyone to return that 4K TV just yet -- once again, it's important to remember that NHK still won't start any kind of wider testing until 2020. That's also assuming that the first 8K sets are down to Earth instead of the incredibly expensive 145-inch variety.

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ITU approves NHK's Super Hi-Vision as 8K standard, sets the UHDTV ball rolling very slowly originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikkei: ITU near recommending NHK’s Super Hi-Vision as official TV standard

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NHK Super Hi-Vision at Olympics

We've seen NHK preparing its Super Hi-Vision 8K video since time immemorial. Wouldn't it be nice if the TV broadcast technology was more than just a perpetual research project? If sources for Japan's Nikkei aren't dreaming, the International Telecommunication Union is now "likely" to declare the format an official standard for broadcasters and TV makers. Should it go ahead, the UN telecom body would ask the world to rely on Super Hi-Vision as an eventual successor to HDTV and reduce the balkanization of TV standards that we've seen in the past. Neither the ITU nor NHK is known to have commented on the claim so far, but NHK isn't exactly in a rush to get a seal of approval from anyone -- widescale test broadcasts aren't coming until 2020, and production TVs themselves are only just entering a 4K universe.

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Nikkei: ITU near recommending NHK's Super Hi-Vision as official TV standard originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ITU wants to bring smartphone makers to peace talks, hash out patent wars

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ITU wants to bring smartphone makers to peace talks, hash out patent wars

The United Nations defines the stereotype of a peace broker, so it's not that far-fetched to hear that its International Telecommunication Union (ITU) wing is hoping to step in and cool down the rapidly escalating patent world war. The organization plans to convene a Patent Roundtable on October 10th -- in neutral Geneva, Switzerland, of course -- to have smartphone makers, governments and standards groups try and resolve some of their differences. Those mostly concerned about Apple's actions won't be happy with the focus of the sit-down, however. Most of the attention will surround allegations that companies are abusing standards-based patents, which will put the heat largely on a Google-owned Motorola as well as Samsung. Still, there's hope when the the ITU's Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun Touré talks of desiring a "balancing act" between what patent holders want and what customers need. Our real hope is that we don't have to hear talk of customs delays and product bans for a long while afterwards.

[Image credit: Patrick Gruban, Flickr]

ITU wants to bring smartphone makers to peace talks, hash out patent wars originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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‘Facebook tax’ could make web companies pay for usage outside the US

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ITU ponders Facebook tax for developing nations

Leaked documents purportedly from the ITU reveal that the body is considering a levy on content-heavy services like Facebook and Netflix to pay for the bandwidth they use outside of the US. Tabled by lobbyists representing Europe's biggest cellphone networks, the proposal suggests that Google and others should shoulder some of the cost of bringing their services to customers in the rest of the world. In response, Cisco VP Robert Pepper has argued that any such charge could cause web services to block queries from developing nations, "effectively cutting them off from the internet." The motion will be discussed at a December meeting of the ITU council, where all 193 member countries will be allowed to vote.

[Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons]

'Facebook tax' could make web companies pay for usage outside the US originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 06:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ITU lays out recommendations on 3DTV, Ultra High Definition TV standards (video)

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ITU lays out recommendations on 3DTV, Ultra High Definition TV standards video

The ITU has stayed busy, as we mentioned earlier it met to hammer out standards for UHDTV (Ultra High Definition TV), and also recently announced a new set of recommendations for 3DTV. On the 3D front it focused on standardization for delivering video in both 720 and 1080 line formats, digital interfaces used for studio production and methods to evaluate quality based on picture quality, depth and comfort levels. As far as UHDTV which is still quite a bit further off, the group has decided the term will cover both 4K and 8K (aka Super Hi-Vision) resolution video, as multiples of the existing 1080p standard. That means Quad Full HD (QFHD, or 3840x2160 resolution) and Digital Cinema 4K resolution (4096x2160) both fall under the umbrella of 4K (check the aspect ratios to see where the "missing" pixels went, or have a listen to this week's podcast. After the break we've got a video with Study Group Chairman Christoph Dosch discussing the future possibilities of both 3DTV and UHDTV, as well as press releases with a few extra details.

Continue reading ITU lays out recommendations on 3DTV, Ultra High Definition TV standards (video)

ITU lays out recommendations on 3DTV, Ultra High Definition TV standards (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 19:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ITU meets to define 4K and 8K UHDTV parameters

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ITU meets to define 4K and 8K UHDTV parameters

This month NHK has been previewing a slew of Super Hi-Vision equipment, but there's still much work to be done to make high res broadcasts a reality worldwide. There's where the ITU steps in, and as it did for HDTV back in the 90s it's been meeting to decide just what 4K and 8K Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV) broadcasts are and how they will work. There's no word on minimum pixel counts for the standards -- we expect that quad-HD vs. 4K battle to rage on, remember these are the people who "defined" 4G -- but they're establishing color range, frame rate, and whether the broadcasts will go over unused satellite bandwidth or regular antenna frequencies. If you're somehow confused by the 33MP video streams that are coming our way... some day, check out a video featuring European Broadcast Union Deputy Director of Technology and Development David Wood.

Continue reading ITU meets to define 4K and 8K UHDTV parameters

ITU meets to define 4K and 8K UHDTV parameters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 08:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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