24th July 2006 - Vodafone's new 3G technology has enabled a New Zealand first live streaming; which provides 3G phone users with the unique ability to view great music or sporting events as they happen. The first being a live concert stream of New Zealand band EVERMORE from Auckland's Transmission Room tomorrow night.

Vodafone 3G users in 3G coverage areas will be able to stream the concert for free. This new mobile technology can be viewed anywhere and is not limited by the fixed boundaries of TV or the web.

Tim Nichols, Head of Vodafone live!, says "This is another great new development from Vodafone live! and we are excited about providing a new medium for our customers to enjoy the best of New Zealand's cultural and sporting events. The mobile streaming concept is unique to Vodafone and will change the rules about broadcast media and the viewing choices people have.

"The live streaming format thrives on mobile because the nature of live events means if you are not physically there or in front of your TV, you miss out. With live streaming to your mobile there is no reason not to see your favourite event. Most people carry their mobile everywhere and from now on major cultural and sporting events can be accessible anywhere too."

Live streaming is similar to live TV with multiple cameras shooting the action. The feeds are either encoded on a PC on location, or if filming is conducted in remote areas, the feeds will be sent by radio to a 'production facility'. Then they are mixed and encoded into .3gp format and sent to Vodafone via an available internet connection - satellite, ADSL or Cable. Once the feed arrives at Vodafone it is passed through the streaming servers and made available to 3G customers via the live! portal.

Vodafone's first live streaming sports event will be at New Zealand's premier snowboarding competition - Burton NZ Open. The Burton NZ Open takes place on 3-5 August at Snow Park, Wanaka. Vodafone will stream all three days of the event which attracts world class riders from all over the world.

Tim Nichols says, "Vodafone is an active supporter of music and snow sports and this is an example of how we work with our sponsors and use our expertise to provide consumers with innovative technologies which add real value to their lives.

"This will be the first of many live streams. We are planning on streaming more music gigs, surf events in the summer and lots of other great events."

Vodafone 3G users will be able to stream the EVERMORE concert for free at 7.30pm on Tuesday 25th July. In the future users will pay a nominal amount per day to watch as much coverage as they want, and do not pay for data once they are inside Vodafone live!

Live streaming will be easy to access with links to the streams appearing on the Vodafone live! homepage. To access live! users simply need to press the live key on their handset or FreeTXT live to 5483 and follow the links.

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