Posted by: Tenderloin
In reply to: None Date:5/30/2003 12:11:07 PM
Post #of 36972
Coming soon. IFE in a box! e.Digital!
Name Steve Ferguson
Title VP sales and marketing
Company e.Digital Corporation, San Diego, California, USA
Before joining e.Digital in 1999 Steve Ferguson served as chief operating officer and VP business development for Enterprise Design Group, an Internet software development firm. e.Digital designs, licenses, brands, manufactures and sells digital audio and video products and technologies. Specialising in the integration of new technologies into applications for portable and home or office-based products that connect to PCs and the Internet, the company is developing a portable IFE device.
What are the basic capabilities of your new product? What can it do that a top-of-the-line laptop cannot?
Our device holds pre-loaded motion pictures and music. With a 20GB hard drive, it will have room for about 25 movies and perhaps a few hundred songs. It has a seven-inch colour screen and the audio will play through high-quality stereo earphones. The major difference between this device and a laptop will be the availability of entertainment content from motion-picture studios.
What is its development status and when will we see it on the market?
The device, code-named “Sky View,” is currently in production for our first licensee and you can expect to see it on the market in the third quarter of this year.
Which markets are showing early interest in the device?
IFE is the primary market. Airlines which lack an IFE capability but want to add a valuable service for their passengers could implement our device as part of an integrated system, without making a huge investment or losing revenue through aircraft downtime. We are also seeing interest from other travel and leisure-related entities whose commitment to providing excellent amenities is combined with an eye for some rental-fee revenue.
How might the device be used by airline passengers?
Sky View will provide passengers with a wide selection of entertainment options. It will be a very personalised experience because they will have complete control over what they want to play.
How will content be loaded to the device when it first enters service?
We are working with a partner whose process for loading content includes secure facilities and procedures approved by the motion-picture studio providing the content. Using proprietary connectors, key codes specific to each device, content encoding, and numerous levels of software security, our partner will pre-load content on to the players before they are delivered to the terminal in a flight bag.
How practicable would it be to load content wirelessly through, for example, a WiFi hotspot in an airport lounge?
With the necessary hardware built into our device it would be very practicable indeed. The emergence of WiFi hotspots in airports and other facilities makes it a natural progression for our product to have direct, live connectivity to a local or worldwide network. This is definitely an area that we think will expand quickly.
Can you envisage airlines making the device available to passengers on loan for use while they are waiting to embark?
Yes. With the necessity of early check-in, some passengers find themselves with quite a lot of time to spare once they reach the gate. Having already checked their baggage and cleared security, these passengers are an ideal market for the device.
Further into the future, can you see airlines carrying onboard stocks of wireless-enabled devices and using them to replace conventional wired-in IFE/communications?
Yes. Definition of a standardised protocol for use of wireless consumer applications inside the aircraft will significantly improve the timeliness of content and could certainly expand the uses of a portable IFE device.
Do you have any other views on the potential impact of the device and its successors on IFE/communications?
Our target with this first-generation device is to provide entertainment for passengers young and old in the form of movies, music and eventually games. We are especially interested in providing motion pictures earlier in the release cycle than is currently possible in traditional IFE. Adding WiFi communications will eventually open up new applications and will provide passengers in the air with all the convenience and utility they are accustomed to having on the ground.
What was the most significant development in IFE/communications in the last 12 months?
I believe it was the creation of Connexion by Boeing. Although it calls for heavy infrastructure spending and service fees for the airlines, it has raised passengers’ expectations. We believe every airline wants to offer something special in IFE, and Connexion has inspired a cost-sensitive industry to look for alternatives such as portable devices to help them stand out from the competition.
If you could improve one aspect of the passenger inflight experience, what would it be?
I’m over six feet tall, so I’d have to say that I’d improve on legroom.
Which industry word or phrase would you ban?
I think I’d focus on a general business term that I hear overused - “All our ducks in a row”. There has to be a more intelligent way to say it!
Describe your most memorable flight.
In college I won a prize of one free flight lesson at a local airport. I went along with an acquaintance who had been taking lessons for some time - his instructor was the donor.
I was allowed to sit in the pilot’s seat of the single-prop Cessna, start the engine and take off! In spite of being more than a little terrified I managed to make a couple of turns, and after a while we landed - whew! Then I sat in the back while my friend took his lesson. I should mention that he was barely 19 and had never impressed me as mature enough to drive a car, much less fly an aircraft. For the next 45 minutes the instructor repeatedly stopped the engine and let a perfectly good aircraft free-fall towards the ground until my pal re-started the engine and regained control. I’ll never forget the deafening silence, accompanied by the loud pounding of my heart, every time that engine was switched off.
