hdtv

Panasonic said Tuesday that it has activated a Twitter app on plasma HDTV sets equipped with its Viera Cast connected-TV platform. The company also said that it will launch Twitter functionality on Viera Cast-enabled Blu-ray disc players at a later date.

OTT video infrastructure provider, Sonic Solutions, said Tuesday that Haier, a Chinese manufacturer of home appliances and consumer electronics, has chosen its RoxioNow platform to enable delivery of a library of Hollywood movies and TV shows over the Web to a new line of Haier-branded Blu-ray players and HDTV sets. "Digital movie services powered by the RoxioNow platform will play an important role in our next-generation connected devices and help make it easy for consumers to browse, purchase and enjoy the best in digital entertainment from the comfort of their living rooms," Doug Lane, president of Haier Digital Products Group for the Americas, said in a prepared statement.

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been on the road the past few weeks, we are covering recent news stories in summary/round-up form. We apologize for any inconvenience to our readers. We will resume our regular format and publishing schedule tomorrow (Tuesday).

Panasonic and Internet communications software provider, Skype, on Tuesday announced the activation of a service called "Skype on your Viera" on 2010 Panasonic Viera Cast-enabled HDTV sets (note: Viera Cast is the brand through which Panasonic designates its OTT offering; other services available through Viera Cast include Amazon VOD, YouTube, Google's Picasa, Netflix, Pandora, Twitter, Fox Sports, and a weather service), and also announced the availability of a new Skype-enabled communication camera from Panasonic, dubbed the TY-CC10W. Skype first announced its integration partnership with Panasonic in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, where it also announced partnerships with rival HDTV manufacturers, LG Electronics and Samsung.

Bristol, UK-based digital TV software provider, Ocean Blue, said Tuesday that its Voyager MHEG-5 engine is now compliant with the UK's specification for DVB-T2 Freeview HD receivers. The announcement comes in time for an anticipated surge in demand for HD services on Freeview, the UK's free-to-air digital terrestrial television platform, in the run-up to the World Cup, the company points out.

Due to the volume of news generated by the NCTA Cable Show in Los Angeles this week, [itvt] is covering a number of stories in this issue in round-up/summary form:

The [itvt] editorial team will be on the road this week and next, so we will be covering most stories in round-up/summary form, and we anticipate that there will be some additional interruptions of our regular news publishing schedule beyond that. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers.

A Swedish company called People of Lava said Monday that it has become the first company to launch an Android-based TV. Dubbed the "Scandinavia," the new connected TV, which is billed as featuring USB connectivity and a full-HD LED display, is slated to be available in stores following an official launch at the IFA Berlin in September. However, the company says that, starting in early summer, it will offer a beta-test program that will allow "selected early users" to purchase and evaluate the set. The company also says that it is currently engaged in discussions with potential content and application partners.

Miniweb, a London-based company that offers a platform designed to enable converged broadcast and broadband entertainment on the TV, said Wednesday that it has signed a deal with Eurosat, an EU-wide distributor of terrestrial and satellite TV products, to integrated its flagship Connected TV Services Platform and its broadband content guide with Eurosat's new Manhattan range of set-top boxes, which are designed for use with Freeview HD, the new HDTV service from the UK's free-to-air digital terrestrial platform. The Miniweb-equipped boxes are slated to be available in retail later this year.

Softel, a UK-based company that claims to have over 25 years of experience in providing ancillary data solutions--including solutions for interactive TV, opt cuing/ad insertion, subtitling and captioning--to leading broadcasters and service providers across the world, said Tuesday that Showtime Networks is using the Softel MediaSphere ITV playout platform to power its new HD EBIF application.

IP Vision--a company which is backed by French set-top box vendor, Netgem, and which offers a hybrid service that combines reception of linear channels from the UK's free-to-air digital terrestrial platform, Freeview, with OTT access to pay-per-view and subscription-based online VOD services, as well as to free, online programming catch-up services such as the BBC iPlayer--contacted [itvt] Tuesday to let us know that it is teaming with Netgem to showcase at the IPTV World Forum in London this week (Stand 911) what the companies claim is the UK's first high-definition hybrid Freeview+ set-top box (note: Freeview+ is the brand/certification program through which Freeview seeks to promote awareness and sales of DVR's designed for use with its service).

UK-based set-top box company, Pace, has unveiled an HD set-top box that is designed to make games developed for the PC accessible in the living room. According to the company, the device, which was developed under the auspices of the European Union-funded Games@Large project (of which Pace is a consortium member), allows high-quality PC games to be played on the TV, using a combination of game servers and streaming technology. It is being demo'd this week in Pace's stand (89) at the IPTV World Forum in London.

VOD and advanced advertising technology provider, SeaChange International, announced Tuesday that satellite TV provider, DISH Network, is upgrading its entire platform of SeaChange Spot advertising insertion systems to meet what it claims is a growing demand for HD ad placements across its North American footprint. SeaChange is DISH Network's exclusive ad insertion technology provider, having delivered ads for the satellite TV provider since it launched its DBS service back in 1996.

A number of pieces of connected TV news came across [itvt]'s desk, Tuesday. Here is a brief--and by no means exhaustive--round-up (note: also see "Vudu Unveils Vudu Apps OTT Service," "ActiveVideo Networks in Deal to Provide Blockbuster with Cloud-Based User Interface," and "Showtime Networks, Betfair Launch Interactive TV Widgets"):