canada

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related news stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) contacted [itvt] Wednesday to let us know that it has launched a free, downloadable iPad app in the iTunes Store and on its own NFB.ca Web site. According to the organization, the new app--which it says has the same features as its existing iPhone app, but has been optimized for the iPad--allows users to view over 1,000 NFB documentaries, animated shorts and trailers, streamed over both WiFi and 3G, and includes a selection of content in 3D and HD.

Key features of the new iPad app, according to the NFB, include:

itaas--an Atlanta-based company which provides a range of software development, integration and testing services for interactive TV (including ETV/EBIF, tru2way and IPTV solutions), and which last month announced 1) that it had ported the EBIF user agent of Comcast-subsidiary, TVWorks, to Cisco set-top boxes, and 2) that it had signed an agreement with Charter Communications that includes licensing, installation and support for the TVWorks ETV platform (see the articles published on itvt.com, May 11th)--said Monday that it has opened a new office in London, Ontario and expanded both its US headquarters and its offices in India.

The [itvt] editorial team is currently on the road, so we are covering today's stories in round-up/summary form. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers.

HITS (stands for "Headend in the Sky"), a business unit of Comcast Media Center that provides content management and distribution solutions for MSO's, and communications technology company, ARRIS, said Wednesday that four smaller cable operators--Cass Cable TV, Mediastream (formerly Waycross Cable Company), MTC and Plantation Cable--are using the companies' VOD In a Box service to deliver VOD to their subscribers.

Canadian telco, Telus, has launched a new version of its Telus TV service in Western Canada that is based on the Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV platform. The company says that the service is initially available in and around Edmonton and in 40 or so communities in British Columbia and Alberta, and will be expanded over time. Customers of Telus's earlier implementation of Telus TV, which is powered by Minerva Networks' IPTV platform, will have the opportunity to upgrade over the coming months, the company says. "We're excited that Telus has chosen Microsoft Mediaroom as the platform for their next-generation Telus TV service," Andreas Mueller-Schubert, general manager of Microsoft's TV and Video Platforms Business, said in a prepared statement.

Sonic Solutions, the digital media company that in 2008 acquired the pioneering broadband VOD service/platform, CinemaNow (it subsequently added "Roxio" to the service's name in order to make its branding consistent with its other products), announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Canadian movie theater chain operator, Cineplex Entertainment. According to the company, the deal sees Cineplex licensing the Roxio CinemaNow platform to power a new movie streaming and download service at http://www.cineplex.com, that will make content available on a range of connected devices and that is scheduled to launch later this year. The service will be targeted at the Canadian market.

Current Media--the company founded by former vice president, Al Gore, and his business partner, Joel Hyatt, that operates Current TV, an interactive TV channel that has hitherto been devoted to short-form informational programs, dubbed "pods," around 30% of which are contributed by viewers via its Web site (note: the channel, whose distribution partners include Comcast, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon, AT&T, BSkyB, Virgin Media, and Sky Italia, also invites viewers to help determine its programming schedule by voting for video submissions on its site)--has put plans to enter the Canadian market on hold, according to a report Tuesday by

Evolution Digital--a division of Evolution Broadband, a reseller of digital equipment to independent cable operators--said Tuesday that Compton Communications has become the first Canadian operator to select its TiVo HD DVR offering. "Now that the TiVo HD DVR is a one-box solution in Canada, acting as the sole cable box, TiVo's brand recognition as the world's leading user interface and DVR made it the logical next step to enhance our product offering," Travis Campbell, marketing manager for Compton Communications, said in a prepared statement. "It has been Compton's goal to offer our customers the very best, cutting-edge entertainment choices available.

Canadian cable MSO, Shaw Communications, has announced the launch of its new VOD Web site (http://www.vod.shaw.ca), which it says offers thousands of movies and TV shows, including premium content from Movie Central, 500 HD offerings and various high-profile sporting events. According to the company, the site features a redesigned look-and-feel, improved search capabilities, filtering and sorting. The company also says that Super Channel subscribers have been able to access that channel's VOD offerings through the new site since November 3rd.

Multiscreen video-management software solutions provider, ExtendMedia, said Tuesday that its OpenCASE platform is now powering a "TV Everywhere"-type service for Canadian pay-TV operator, Bell TV.

Espial, the Canadian DTV software company that last year acquired US IPTV and VOD technology provider, Kasenna (note: the deal valued Kasenna, which had raised $90 million in funding since its launch in 2000, at around $6.5 million), announced Thursday that it has signed a reseller agreement with Power & Tel, that calls for the latter to resell the Espial MediaBase VOD platform (a product that the company acquired through the Kasenna purchase) to US telcos. Power & Tel, an independent distributor of technologies for the telecommunications and cable industries worldwide, will offer MediaBase as part of its end-to-end IPTV solution.

Current TV--a cable/satellite interactive TV channel that was founded by former vice president, Al Gore, and his business partner, Joel Hyatt, and that features short-form informational programs, dubbed "pods," around 30% of which are contributed by viewers via its Web site (note: the channel also invites viewers to help determine its programming schedule by voting for video submissions on its site)--is one step closer to launching in Canada (note: versions of the channel have previously launched in the UK and Italy).

Silicon Valley-based IPTV middleware provider, Minerva Networks, said Tuesday that its flagship iTVManager platform is now supporting the largest IPTV deployments in Canada and Latin America--by Western Canadian telco, Telus, and Chilean telco, Telefonica del Sur, respectively. Minerva bills iTVManager as a comprehensive software platform for next-generation IP-connected TV services, including HDTV, PVR, whole home PVR, and VOD. According to the company, the platform also offers a robust set of API's that allow third-party developers to easily integrate and deploy interactive TV communications and entertainment applications.

LiveHive Systems, an Ontario-based company that specializes in two-screen interactive TV solutions, has signed an agreement with Rogers Sportsnet to make a service based on its flagship NanoGaming platform available in conjunction with the latter's broadcasts of regional NHL games. The service, dubbed "Game in the Game," debuted October 12th and is being offered for the 2008/09 and 2009/10 hockey seasons. Viewers access it by logging into a dedicated area on the Rogers Sportsnet Web site (sportsnet.ca/gameinthegame). They can then play along with a sports broadcast by making predictions (i.e. by answering such questions as "Who will score the next goal?" or "Who will be thrown into the penalty box first?"), answering trivia questions (e.g.