--180Squared Secures Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV Integration Deals with SureWest, RTC
IPTV middleware and applications provider, Minerva Networks, said Wednesday that Vietnamese telco, VTC Digicom, has selected its flagship iTVManager platform to deliver premium digital video entertainment services as part of a triple-play offering. According to the company, the deal represents the first deployment of IPTV in Vietnam. The Minerva-powered video services will be offered to over 100,000 subscribers in the first phase of roll-out and will be expanded in the near future, the company says. "We needed a proven, open and scalable system that would enable us to offer our customers a differentiated television experience," VTC Digicom EVP, Tien Dat Chu, said in a prepared statement. "Minerva's iTVManager combines a responsive and flexible client module with a robust and highly scalable backoffice service management platform."
Minerva bills iTVManager as a comprehensive software platform for delivering and managing next-generation video services over broadband networks. Services supported by the platform, according to the company, include HDTV, PPV, VOD and set-top box- and network-based DVR. Minerva says that the platform also incorporates a widget engine that enables the "seamless blending" of television services with Internet content.
In other IPTV news: 180Squared--a company which specializes in software and integration services for Microsoft's Mediaroom IPTV platform and which describes itself as "a team of Microsoft Mediaroom alumni with extensive Mediaroom product and services expertise" (note: according to an article in Telephony magazine, the company is seeking to reposition itself as "platform-agnostic")--announced Wednesday that SureWest Communications and Reservation Telephone Cooperative (RTC) have selected its v.Allegro solution set in order to plan, integrate and launch their implementations of the Mediaroom platform (note: earlier this year, SureWest announced that it had decided to switch to Mediaroom from Minerva's iTVManager platform--see the article published on itvt.com, July 29th). "When we evaluated and selected Microsoft Mediaroom to power our new Advanced Digital TV service, we also looked for best-in-class software and services to integrate and manage this complex environment," SureWest CTO, Bill DeMuth, said in a prepared statement. "180Squared's unique expertise and knowledge made us confident in our selection. 180Squared's v.Allegro solution set--particularly the integration and management platform--provides us with a robust and extensible platform to easily integrate, manage and make future enhancements to our service."
According to 180Squared, its v.Allegro solution set consists of a range of products and services from its v.Orchestra offering that are designed to facilitate rapid planning and deployment of IPTV services. The company says that the solution set includes its:
- v.Orchestrator Launch Services, which it bills as ensuring that service providers receive the essential support to plan, architect, integrate and launch their IPTV solution.
- v.Maestro IPTV Middleware Integration and Management Platform, which it bills as providing "the critical entry point into a complex IPTV middleware implementation" and as managing, integrating and "policing" multiple disparate B/OSS systems and third-party applications.
- v.Harmonizer Device Provisioning Module, which it bills as providing multiple methods of set-top box device activation and provisioning.
- v.Harmonizer Billing Adapter Module, which it bills as enabling the required extraction and auditing of billing events from an operator's IPTV middleware to its billing systems, in the formats that the systems require.
- v.Crescendo Caller ID Application, which it bills as providing operators with a "competitive" solution, including on-screen capabilities, call logs and notification management to subscribers.
- v.Crescendo Remote PVR Scheduler Application, which it bills as enabling operators to offer remote PVR management from any device to the subscriber's home DVR system.
"Our approach to the v.Orchestra set of services and products was to create extensible building blocks," 180Squared co-founder and VP, Amir Littman, said in a prepared statement. "These building blocks empower both large and small service providers to explore new business opportunities and maximize the potential of their current, or future, IPTV infrastructure investment. The v.Allegro solution set was specifically designed with this in mind. Easily and rapidly deploy a feature-rich service, as quickly as possible."
