IP

Due to the large volume of news generated by the IFA, IBC and CEDIA trade shows--and because the [itvt] editorial team has been working on TVOT NYC Intensive 2011--we are covering stories in this issue in round-up/summary format. We anticipate that it will take us several days to catch up with all the recent news: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us.

Due to the large volume of news being generated this week by the Cable Show, we are covering today's stories in abbreviated round-up/summary form:

Due to the large volume of news being generated this week by the Cable Show, we are covering today's stories in abbreviated round-up/summary form:

In a Form 8-K filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Monday, Rovi (formerly Macrovision), a company best known for its EPG solutions (note: its other solutions include entertainment data, content protection and content networking technology; among other things, it recently announced a cloud-based advertising solution for connected devices), announced that it "has entered into a multi-year agreement with Apple, Inc. whereby Apple shall license intellectual property from the company." The filing provided no other details, except that "the specific terms of the license agreement are confidential."

US cable-industry research, development and standards organization, CableLabs, has provided some information on the technologies that were featured at its Innovation Showcase, Monday. The Innovation Showcase, which was part of CableLabs' Summer Conference, saw 11 companies pitching new technologies to conference attendees, who then voted for the one they deemed most likely to succeed in the marketplace. The winner was BelAir Networks' new BelAir100SP Strand Picocell (see below):

Cedar Point Communications, a company best known for its VoIP switching technologies, said Monday that it is holding the first North American public demonstration of its new SafariFusion Visual Communications Suite of applications at the CableLabs Summer Conference in Keystone Colorado this week.

Comcast Labs has developed a prototype of a Web-based remote control application that it says will extend its interactive programming guide to many IP-enabled devices. Dubbed the Xfinity Remote and designed to work with EBIF-enabled set-top boxes, the prototype was demo'd on an Apple iPad, Wednesday, by Comcast CEO, Brian Roberts, at the NCTA Cable Show.

International cable operator, Liberty Global, on Wednesday announced plans to work with Samsung, Intel, NDS and Nagravision to build a new multimedia home gateway device for its digital TV customers. According to Liberty Global, the device will be an all-IP platform, capable of distributing video, voice and data throughout the home and to multiple video displays; and will sport a user interface that will "seamlessly" integrate video content, widgets, apps, and an advanced search and recommendation engine that the company promises "will forever change how our customers experience digital TV and IP-based content." The device is scheduled for deployment to Liberty Global's European cable customers in the first half of 2011.

At the NAB show in Las Vegas, Monday, Cork, Ireland-based digital TV technology provider, Digisoft, announced the general availability of its DigiHost Service Delivery Platform and Java-based middleware for the delivery of advanced, hybrid DVB/IP personalized digital video services. The company says it will be demo'ing the solutions, together with various "revenue-generating" applications and services, in the NAB's Destination Broadband Pavilion (Upper South Hall, Booth SU9506D).

UK incumbent telco, BT, has launched a new set-top box for its Microsoft Mediaroom-powered hybrid IP/DTT service, BT Vision.

Digital video networking specialist, BigBand Networks, will today announce that it has completed a number of technology integrations which it claims will "advance the delivery and availability of IP video, securely and to multiple devices." The company says its IP delivery products, including its recently announced vIP PASS solution, have been integrated with solutions from leading providers of chipsets, off-the-shelf DOCSIS 3.0-compatible cable-modems and digital rights management systems. These integrations, according to the company, are designed to provide an open, secure and reliable end-to-end vIP PASS solution for delivery of IPTV, which capitalizes on existing infrastructure to deliver video services to a broad range of customer devices and screens.

International digital TV standards body, the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), on Friday announced that it has officially approved the A/153 ATSC Mobile DTV Standard. According to the organization, the new standard defines the technical specifications necessary for broadcasters to provide new services to mobile and handheld devices (including mobile phones, handheld DTV's, laptops and in-vehicle entertainment systems) using their DTV transmissions. The new services are carried alongside current DTV services, in existing digital broadcast channels, without any adverse impact on legacy receiving equipment, the organization says.

KIT Digital, a provider of IP-based video management technologies (note: the company, formerly known as Roo, announced earlier this week that it had acquired pioneering broadband video company, The FeedRoom--see the article published on itvt.com, October 6th), said Tuesday that it has signed a new deal with the Associated Press (AP) to manage and deliver the latter's video content globally. The new deal builds on a 10-year relationship between KIT Digital and the AP, and, according to KIT Digital, will deepen technology integration and improve service provision for the AP's clients around the world.

Comcast, the US's largest cable MSO, announced Thursday that Discovery Channel has joined its On Demand Online trial and is now making a selection of its full-length programming available online to trial participants.