Interactive TV News Round-Up (IX): Verizon FiOS TV, Vizio, Yamaha

Submitted by tracyswedlow on January 3, 2011 - 9:39pm

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been on the road the past few weeks, we are covering recent news in round-up/summary form. Due to the volume of news we are covering in this issue, our summaries are somewhat more abbreviated than usual (note: extensive background information on most of the companies and technologies covered in this issue can be found by using itvt.com's search functionality). We apologize for any inconvenience to our readers: our regular daily news coverage will return shortly.

Verizon FiOS TV has begun a "Sneak Peak" program, under which customers in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania can receive advanced access to version 1.9 of the company's Interactive Media Guide. "The first thing customers will notice when they see the new upgrade is the totally improved look and feel of the user interface," IMG product manager, Jessica Lee, writes on a Verizon corporate blog. "This includes new content-based and graphics-rich screens and menus, a TV listings guide that takes full advantage of larger HDTV screens, enhanced video-on-demand navigation with movie posters, and more. There are also a number of enhancements to the Search interface, making it easier than ever to find content that you are looking for, and a brand new Channel Guide view that gives you a deep dive of all upcoming programs on any given channel. For our DVR and Home Media DVR customers, a number of improvements have been made to the navigation and controls. Customers can easily play all or delete all episodes of a recorded series to manage their entertainment experience with the click of a button. The new IMG will also support thumbnail images of chapters for quickly and easily navigating within a recorded program, just like on a DVD player. If you have Home Media DVR, you will now be able to use multiple STB's as hubs to share recorded content within your home, and also schedule recordings to a DVR from any of the connected non-DVR boxes." More information on new features provided by IMG 1.9 is available here.
In other Verizon FiOS TV news: 1) The company has announced that FiOS Mobile, a free app that allows customers to use their iPhone or iPod touch as a remote control and DVR manager, is now available for the iPad. 2) The company has unveiled a new Home Monitoring and Control service, which is currently in trials (with a launch scheduled for the first or second quarter), and which it says will "enable customers to lock doors remotely; see what's going on at home via networked cameras; and set, adjust and control lights, smart thermostats and appliances--all by using a smartphone or a computer or through FiOS TV." 3) The company has launched the Anime Network on its VOD service.
Vizio has announced the "VIA Plus ecosystem," which it describes as "the next generation" of its Vizio Internet Apps offering. "The new ecosystem will allow for unified on-demand content and application consumption across multiple consumer electronic devices including Vizio HDTV's, Blu-ray players, smartphones and tablets," the company states in its press materials. "VIA Plus expands upon the VIA experience and extends it to new devices creating a world-class connected ecosystem that combines the latest technologies and a unified user experience to provide the very best HD entertainment experience. Consumers will be able to begin content consumption from one device and seamlessly transition the content to another device allowing entertainment to be continuously enjoyed anywhere and anyplace without interruption. VIA Plus HDTV's and Blu-rays will incorporate Google TV and feature a premium Bluetooth QWERTY universal remote with touchpad, dual-band 802.11n built-in WiFi and enhanced on-screen navigation including search and Web browser. The VIA Plus Phone and Tablet will be based on the Android Platform and feature built-in IR blaster with universal remote control app, HD playback with HDMI output, and access to hundreds of thousands of apps in Android Market...With VIA Plus devices, consumers will be able to search, organize and access their favorite apps more easily than ever. At its core, the VIA Plus experience is a unified, consistent and intuitive user interface that allows consumers in just a few clicks to quickly group favorite apps by categories, customize the dock with their most frequently accessed apps or switch apps with the multitasking bar." (Note: More information on the new Via Plus smartphone and tablet products is available here.)
Yamaha has begun experimenting with a method for enabling interactive TV broadcasts that it is calling Infosound, according to a report by Gareth Halfacree in Expert Reviews. "Designed to be used with existing smartphones as a downloadable app, the Infosound technology uses sound frequencies carried by TV broadcasts but inaudible to the human ear to transfer information directly to the smartphone," Halfacree writes. "The concept is simple: if a TV show--or, more likely, an advert--wants you to visit a Web site to obtain more information on a subject, it plays the Infosound ID while alerting the user via an on-screen graphic that they should activate the Infosound Browser on their smartphone. If all goes well, the smartphone will pick up the inaudible frequencies and translate them into a URL for the browser to automatically open."