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Feature Article
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Customer Applications
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Feature Articles
Video Avatar Messaging: Can you see me now?
By Maggie Smith, Director, Product Marketing, NMS, Maggie_Smith@nmss.com
Video avatar messaging is a newly emerging application that is gaining momentum as subscribers around the world search for new ways to personalize their mobile communications. It harnesses a variety of protocols that enable a mobile phone user to either create their own video message or use a chosen avatar, and then send the talking video message over both 2.5G and 3G networks. Recipients can then respond using their own voice and the avatar of their choice or create their own video-based response, if the handset is 3G video capable. Compared to basic text messaging, video avatar messaging has the convenience of allowing users to record messages without having to key them in, plus the added touch of personalization that comes with the user’s voice and video.
Advantages of Video Avatar Messaging
For the operator, the primary advantage of offering a video avatar messaging service is a significant source of new revenue. ABI Research reports that large European operators are reporting double-digit increases in data revenue versus single-digit growth in voice service revenue. Creative operators can create additional revenue streams by charging more for a premium avatar or they can run promotions to launch the service using avatars to advertise a reduced subscriber price. Video avatar messaging services also allow users to record only a simple voice SMS message instead of using a video or selected avatar, giving operators the flexibility to market multiple services to their subscribers with premium rates for the video-based application.
How does it work?
To describe the subscriber’s point of view imagine that it is Tom’s birthday and his wife wants to send him a birthday greeting. She dials a prefix preceding her contact’s number on her mobile phone to access her video avatar messaging service. The service takes her to a display of avatars and she chooses an avatar for her greeting. She records her greeting, which is combined with her chosen avatar and stored on a network server. Tom then receives an automatic SMS alerting him to his wife’s video avatar messaging. He dials a special code to play the message.
What is needed for the service?
The basic set of components required for a video avatar messaging application includes:
A Video SMS Server — this server is used as a gateway and a video media processing platform. It accepts requests from the application server to process the incoming call.
An Application Server — this server hosts the service logic for video avatar messaging. When a call is received on the video server, information is fetched from the application server and returned to the video SMS server for the required action. The application server is also responsible for receiving recorded audio/video clips from the video SMS server and submitting it to the avatar engine.
An Avatar Engine — the key function of the avatar engine is to accept the audio clip from the application server and use sophisticated algorithms to lip-synch the avatar with the voice message, outputting the "talking" avatar. The output files are sent back to the application server and stored there before the video SMS server fetches them for playback.
Solutions from NMS Communications
NMS provides the building blocks needed to develop and deploy a robust and fail-safe video avatar messaging solution, as shown in Figure 1. The Vision VoiceXML Server provides integrated 3gp video support as an extension to VoiceXML 2.1 language and acts as the video SMS server, supplying 3G video-based VoiceXML logic between the application and video SMS server. In addition to the 3gp video support, the Vision VoiceXML Server supports a wide range of voice and video encoders suitable for application deployment across IP, TDM, and 3G networks, and supports 2G and 3G mobile video handsets and SIP broadband video devices.
For more information, contact an NMS sales representative at info@nmss.com or visit our website for information on the sales office nearest you.
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Introducing the NMS Partner Network
By Mark Lunardoni, Director of Business Development, mark_lunardoni@nmss.com
NMS is excited to announce the NMS Partner Network, designed to promote collaboration with NMS customers, business partners, and distribution channels. A benefit of joining this network is to build awareness within the NMS ecosystem of your NMS based application.
Included within the NMS partner network are NMS global channel partners who distribute NMS technologies to all market segments. NMS channel partners add value to NMS by integrating and supporting our products (and often the products of other technology innovators) in order to comprehensively address diverse markets needs. Through the NMS Partner Network, NMS will continue to provide product information and industry knowledge to help our partners and their customers achieve success.
NMS is eager to expand its network of technology innovators and channel partners. To learn more about the NMS Partner Network, or to apply for membership, please visit our website at www.nmscommunications.com.
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Product News
MG 7000A with TDM Support
The MG 7000A, NMS’s ATCA media processing blade, is now available with TDM support, via an optional rear transition module (RTM) that supports up to 16 T1/E1/J1 connections. This version of the blade is supported by Release 2.0 of Natural Access MX, the development and runtime environment for the MG 7000A, available for download from the NMS web site (beta version available now; GA at the end of May).
Natural Access MX 2.0 adds support for the following features:
- T1/E1 support; echo cancellation
- PSTN call control — ISDN
- PSTN conferencing
- SNMP 2.0 MIBs
- IPv6
The MG 7000A blade is compliant with PICMG 3.0 R1 and Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) Version 1.5 specifications. Dual Gigabit Ethernet interfaces support the AdvancedTCA Switch Fabric and dual 1000Base-T Ethernet interfaces support the AdvancedTCA Base Fabric. The MG 7000A supports board-level hot swap and the AdvancedTCA shelf manager through the dual IPMI bus with on-board OAM software.
To jump start your development efforts, NMS offers two MG 7000A Starter Kits — an IP-only kit and a TDM kit. Each kit comes with a blade, software, documentation, and technical support. These Starter Kits provide a great way for you to leverage our experience and get your development efforts off the ground.
For more details on the MG 7000A and Natural Access MX, follow the links in the "Related Links" sidebar or contact your NMS sales representative. Don’t know who to call? Send an email to sales@nmss.com.
Related links:
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New 90-Day Trial Licenses for NMS’s Video Offerings
Two new 90-day evaluation licenses are now available for NMS’s Video Access mobile and IP video tool kit and the Software Video Transcoder (SVT). To use these new evaluation packages, you must first order the part numbers below to obtain the appropriate licenses and then download the software from the NMS web site. Information on product activation using the NMS License Key Manager is available on the NMS web site here.
| Part Number |
Description |
List Price |
| VAL313120 |
Video Access 3.1 License,
120 ports, all OS, 90-day trial |
$0 |
| VHL213060 |
Video Transcoder 2.1,
60 sessions, 90-day trial |
$0 |
Once you are ready to begin your development efforts, you can take advantage of our Video Access Starter Kits. Each kit contains the Video Access 3.1 SDK, a 30-port runtime license, a powerful PCI or CompactPCI media processing engine and technical support.
For more details on the Video Access and SVT, follow the links in the "Related Links" sidebar or contact your NMS sales representative. Don’t know who to call—fill out this short inquiry form to have a NMS sales representative contact you.
Related links:
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Customer Applications
Witcom Ringback Service for SK Telecom
South Korea’s largest telecommunications provider, SK Telecom, has launched a new ringback tone service that allows its subscribers to know when they are making in-network calls, thanks to a partnership between telecommunications services platform provider NMS Communications and Korean mobile services developer WITCOM Co. Ltd.
SK Telecom’s new service, called T-Ring, automatically sends a special ringback tone that lets the caller know that the call is in-network, meaning that the charges will be lower than an out-of-network call. T-Ring enables subscribers to save up to 50 percent when they’re calling in network. The service was recently made available to SK Telecom’s 20 million subscribers. In 2001, SK Telecom launched the world’s first personalized color ringback tone (CRBT) service, which enabled subscribers to attribute different ring tones to friends and family.
WITCOM used NMS Open Access media processing boards and signaling products to develop T-Ring. Open Access products are open, scalable, high-density building blocks that give developers the processing power and capacity needed to rapidly develop an ever-increasing array of current and next-generation services.
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Articles and Publications
I Want My Mobile TV (on Demand)
By Brough Turner, CTO, NMS, rbt@nmss.com
Mobile TV is a still-nascent technology that promises huge benefits to early adopters with the creativity, infrastructure and resources to take it from infancy to widespread use. But mobile TV has become an omnibus term that either means broadcasting TV content to handsets, or providing video on demand to mobile subscribers. The difference is important, as costs and potential returns are very different.
Read the full article, published in WirelessWeek magazine, here.
Giving Text Messages a Voice
By Brough Turner, CTO, NMS, rbt@nmss.com
A combination of text messaging and voicemail, voice SMS is the latest twist on the burgeoning short message service market. While still an emerging technology, voice SMS’ widespread adoption hinges on pricing and delivering a service that doesn’t require network upgrades, new handset purchases, client downloads and end-user training.
In this article, Brough provides an overview of the global market, the benefits of voice SMS, and some approaches that have worked so far in spurring adoption and increased average revenue per user (ARPU). He also discusses how regional markets in Asia and the U.S. are spurring different strategies for providing voice SMS services.
Read the full article, published by Wireless Business & Technology, here.
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Spotlight Events
May Webinar: "Mobile Messaging – It’s Not Just About Texting"
Location: On Your Desktop
Date: May 6, 2008
Time: 9:00am EDT
Speaker: Brough Turner, CTO
Mobile text messaging has created new opportunities for additional revenue resources for global mobile operators. Industry analysts predict mobile messaging to reach $65B in annual revenue by 2010. As a result of this messaging explosion, operators continue to look for ways to differentiate themselves in messaging services and to increase the revenue realized from text messaging. Adding voice and video messages to the standard text message service is just one of the services operators are using to enhance the texting experience within their subscriber base. This webinar will examine video and voice short messaging services (SMS), discuss the technical considerations of implementing these types of services and review various operator successes with media messaging services.
Register today!
Join Us in London!
Seminar: Reinventing the Traditional Contact Centre
A free seminar and lunch from NMS, POSTcti and Vicorp
Location: Hilton London Paddington
Date: 6 June 2008
Time: 10:00am–1:00pm
Leading analyst firm Gartner Group points to three new technology trends that are dramatically transforming the contact centre towards more customer focus:
- standards-based architectures for voice portals
- increased use of speech recognition
- web architectures to manage customer response systems
Combined with these trends is the advent of network-based virtual contact centers enabled by voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology. These technologies are transforming traditional isolated contact centres into problem-solving profit centres, resulting in higher caller satisfaction and reduced caller abandonment for a truly winning combination!
Topics of Discussion:
- creating best-of-breed self-service contact centers, using the latest in standards-based technology;
- technology trends to enhance contact centres for improved customer service;
- getting to deployment faster with the use of service creation tools;
- practical considerations applied to today’s broad spectrum of contact centre development options.
Who Should Attend:
This seminar is designed for IVR and call centre application developers and/or systems integrators planning or considering the development improvement, and/or deployment of voice based contact centres.
Seating is limited. Register now.
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