Osmosys News:

--Launches EGG for 3D Interactive TV Graphics
--ADB, STMicroelectronics to Use New EGG Technology
--Company Also Launches Push-VOD Application

At the IBC show in Amsterdam last month, interactive TV software company, Osmosys (note: the company, which is part of the ADB Group, specializes in Java-based ITV solutions, such as MHP and OCAP), launched a new, patent-pending product, dubbed the Enhanced Graphics enGine (EGG). The company bills the new product as a "revolutionary" graphics engine and library, which allows video content creators and designers to develop interactive TV graphics (for example, in games, EPG's, VOD menus, and advertising) that offer fluid motion, 3D effects and full animation on set-top platforms that were previously limited to 2D. "Digital TV displays in the 21st century should be far more dynamic and visually enticing to the consumer," Osmosys managing director, David McElhatten, said in a prepared statement. "The appearance of television display graphics has not moved apace with the industry and is now looking very dated indeed. Up until now, no one has invested the know-how, time and effort to create a solution that delivers the kind of graphical and visual experience for today's set-top boxes and other digital devices. EGG truly provides phenomenal increases in performance, new special effects, and levels of animation never before seen in the world of interactive TV."

According to Osmosys, EGG has been designed so as to be very parsimonious in its memory requirements, and so as to easily port to future API's, such as OpenGL (standard or embedded subset), OpenVG and DirectX. Thus, the company says, moving applications written using EGG to future hardware and software environments will be easy. Osmosys also claims that the engine is middleware-independent and is portable to all current HDTV set-tops: it works in both Java and C-centric environments, and presents API's in both languages, the company says, and it also operates in a multi-threaded or multi-application environment, meaning that multiple applications can exploit it simultaneously. "EGG is a revolution--until today it simply wasn't possible to achieve this level of graphical sophistication on currently deployed digital television hardware," Osmosys CTO, Paul Bristow, said in a prepared statement. "Our innovative technology pushes the capabilities of the graphics hardware in set-top boxes to bring them to a level that will rival any of the more expensive entertainment devices, out there. Since the dawn of digital TV, we have been operating in a severely constrained graphics environment; EGG changes the game."

In other Osmosys news:

• Osmosys' corporate stablemate, set-top box vendor ADB, says that EGG is available today on all its HD set-top boxes. At the IBC show, the company demo'd EGG-enabled Osmosys navigator and VOD applications running on its ADB-5800C HD set-top, together with HD content from the BBC Motion Gallery.
• The company says that it is finalizing an agreement with STMicroelectronics, under which the semiconductor giant will use the new EGG technology to support advanced graphics and animation capabilities in its HD video decoder family. According to Osmosys, ST will deploy EGG on its current generation of STi71XX chipsets, and on future chipsets for use in set-top boxes, integrated digital TV sets, and HD DVD players. "Our video-decoder platforms are among the most deployed throughout the world, and we are constantly looking to strengthen our lead in a very competitive market," Philippe Lambinet, corporate VP and general manager of ST's Home Entertainment and Displays group, said in a prepared statement. "EGG should strengthen our platforms, ensuring that our technology is now an even more attractive proposition. Osmosys' innovative graphics engine will ensure that our customers can achieve unrivalled 3D effects on today's set-top boxes. We are very excited about the opportunities EGG will bring to the interactive digital TV market." According to Osmosys, on an STi71XX-based platform, EGG is capable of drawing hundreds of objects per frame in 3D at interactive rates. EGG fill-rate is largely determined by the blitter available and the bus bandwidth in the system, Osmosys concedes, but on the STi7100 platform, EGG is easily capable of drawing full-screen 3D effects at 20-30fps at a resolution of 1280x720p, the company claims.
• The company has launched a push-VOD application, Osmosys Push VOD, which it says offers a bandwidth-independent means of distributing any form of digital content. Because the app is bandwidth-independent, Osmosys says, it is ideal for networks with bandwidth restrictions or where the cost of delivery is high: in an IPTV environment, its bandwidth-independence makes it especially useful for distributing HD content, the company claims. According to the company, Osmosys Push VOD can work with any conditional access system, is middleware-agnostic, can be deployed without first being integrated with other headend equipment, and is available for any broadcast platform (i.e. satellite, cable, terrestrial or IPTV). It makes content available to the viewer in the form of customized catalogs, via different payment methods (e.g. pay-per-view or subscription). In addition to a client application, Osmosys Push VOD includes a server, which stores and plays video content, and which is controlled by a Push VOD Manager solution. According to the company, this Web-based control system is at the heart of the new push-VOD system, allowing operators to manage program descriptions, control bitrates, schedule events, manage disk space usage, monitor file transfer status and monitor DVR status. Osmosys touts the new push-VOD solution as being ideal for use in conjunction with a number of its other products, including Osmosys MHP-IPTV middleware (an IPTV solution based entirely on DVB standards), Osmosys Globally Executable MHP (GEM) IPTV middleware (provides a standardized interactive layer that the company says can be made to work with any existing IPTV solution), Osmosys Navigator (provides a customizable user interface, completing the software stack on an MHP IPTV device), and Osmosys Interactive Services Manager (provides the services platform for controlling an IPTV network).

Philips, eventIS Unveil 3D VOD System

--Also Unveil "Personal Channels" Application, Aprico.tv

At the IBC show in Amsterdam last month, Philips and systems integrator, eventIS, announced that they have successfully completed testing of a 3D VOD (see demo video here) system that employs eventIS's metadata management system and Philips' 3D displays (note: the latter do not require use of special glasses). According to Philips, this collaboration with eventIS proves that a new 3D video format, which is based on 2D-plus-depth, can easily be integrated into existing media distribution and management systems, such as VOD via cable, satellite, Internet or terrestrial broadcasting. Philips has been bullish on 3D technology for some time now: earlier this year, for example, it teamed with Deutsche Telekom to demonstrate interactive 3D applications, including home shopping and games apps. The company claims that VOD will play an important role in the early distribution of high-quality 3D movies to the consumer.

Philips and eventIS conducted a demo of their 3D system at the IBC, using eventIS's metadata management platform (which is employed by a number of major European VOD providers), Philips' 3D displays, and a library of 3D videos. "Easy distribution of any 3D content over existing infrastructures will be a key success factor for 3D-TV," Jos Swillens, CEO of Philips 3D Solutions, said in a prepared statement. "The 3D format known as 2D-plus-depth , is now standardized in MPEG, and offers the flexibility to deliver a high-quality 3D viewing experience with minimal bandwidth requirements." Added EventIS CEO, Erwin van Dommelen: "Experiencing TV content at its most immersive and realistic is not a distant prospect, but is already a reality through 3D VOD. The combination of exciting 3D content and 3D displays is the new way to experience high-impact digital TV content on-demand."

In other Philips/eventIS news: the companies also used the IBC to unveil a set-top application, called Aprico.tv, that enables viewers to access personal channels featuring programming from linear-TV, VOD and the Internet that is likely to be of interest to them. According to Philips, the app automatically learns viewers' TV preferences and favorite programs, makes recommendations, and uses the information it gathers to add appropriate content to their channels--thus making it unnecessary for them to browse their EPG or channel-surf. The company claims that using Aprico.tv "is as easy as changing channels on a regular TV" and that viewers do not need to learn anything new.

Philips will license the Aprico.tv technology to EventIS, which in turn will offer it to operators that offer VOD. "There is never something interesting on TV is no longer an excuse," eventIS sales director, Harry Koiter, said in a prepared statement. "In your personal movie channel there are always 10 movies you would actually like to see. When you return home after a week of a business trip and you zap to your favorite series channel, you continue where you left off watching. And if there is a boring part, you can easily fast-forward through it." Added Philips senior director, Frank Bistervels: "Aprico.tv manages the entertainment explosion in a very simple way. In order to let as many consumers as possible enjoy this application, we will make it widely available to operators, hardware manufacturers and system integrators." At the IBC show, Philips and eventIS demo'd Aprico.tv integrated into a set-top box as part of an eventIS VOD system.

Ensequence's on-Q Now Supports Interactive TV Authoring for Mobiles

--Ensequence Powers ITV Ad Campaign for Nike

Portland, Oregon-based interactive TV technology provider, Ensequence, says that its flagship on-Q suite of interactive TV authoring software and services now supports the creation of interactive TV viewing experiences for mobile devices: according to the company, its on-Q Create suite will speed the process of creating, managing and delivering mobile interactive TV apps, including interactive weather reports, sportscasts, news, and movie guides, voting apps and mcommerce apps. Ensequence says that the expansion of on-Q's capabilities means that the product suite now enables interactive TV on all digital platforms: cable, satellite, broadband, IPTV, digital terrestrial, Blu-ray, and now, of course, mobile. "Programmers, advertisers and operators are seeking ways to deliver innovative interactive TV applications that reach and resonate with elusive viewers in today's converging communications and entertainment world," Ensequence CEO, Dalen Harrison, said in a prepared statement. "Our commitment to supporting interactive TV applications on mobile devices will help our customers reach and engage with their viewers in new ways." According to Ensequence, applications authored using on-Q Create support WCDMA and EVDO and are DVB-H-ready.

In order to support its expansion into enabling ITV on mobile devices, Ensequence has hired Max Spinelli as director of business development for mobile. He will be tasked with representing the company with mobile operators, and with working closely with content owners and advertisers on the deployment of interactive mobile TV content. According to Ensequence, he has an extensive background in the mobile industry, including experience developing and launching in-mobile entertainment applications, content distribution platforms, mobile messaging and location-based services.

In other Ensequence news: the company recently collaborated with advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy Portland, to create an interactive TV campaign for Nike's Zoom footwear line. The campaign allowed DVR-equipped subscribers of EchoStar's DISH Network satellite TV service to click from Nike Zoom commercials to an interactive area where they could learn more about Zoom footwear, and watch additional footage, including a "first-person" version of a Nike Zoom linear TV commercial, featuring football player, LaDainian Tomlinson: the version featured in the interactive ad put viewers "in" the commercial, so to speak, by allowing them to experience the commercial from Tomlinson's perspective.

Ericsson, Endemol Launch Interactive TV/User-Generated Content Platform

--"Me-On-TV" Already in Use in the Netherlands

Mobile phone giant, Ericsson, has partnered with formats developer, Endemol (the company behind such shows as "Big Brother"), and Dutch technology company, Triple IT, to develop an interactive TV/user-generated content technology called "Me-On-TV." According to the companies, the technology is network- and device-independent, and allows consumers to upload, publish and share live or pre-recorded video via any mobile device from anywhere to any screen in the world. Viewers, the companies say, can use the technology to, among other things, transmit video to live TV broadcasts and Web sites. The companies say that the technology also allows broadcasters, Web sites and mobile network operators to directly manage live and on-demand content via a set of "state-of-the-art" editorial management tools. "We're delighted to be working with Ericsson on this exciting new technology," William Linders, executive director of digital media at Endemol, said in a prepared statement. "The market for digital content is rapidly evolving and 'Me-On-TV' could have a significant impact on the way consumers interact with TV and digital media."

Endemol and Ericsson say they will offer Me-On-TV as a white-label service to broadcasters, Web sites and network operators. It will be marketed as an end-to-end service, fully integrated, hosted and managed by Ericsson. Endemol will serve as a distributor for the technology, licensing it as an integrated service to be used by existing and future TV and multimedia formats. The formats developer is itself already using Me-On-TV in the Netherlands, where last season's "Big Brother" saw ex-housemates making use of the technology to communicate with the "Big Brother" house, and where the company recently launched an "Ik op TV" program on TV and the Internet that allows viewers to broadcast live and recorded content (such as interviews) from their mobiles.

Zappware Launches New Interactive TV Platform, "iView Platform"

--Also Launches iView Service Packages for Broadcasters, Operators

At the IBC show in Amsterdam last month, Belgian interactive TV technology provider, Zappware, launched an integrated suite of tools for the production and management of interactive TV services. Dubbed, iView Platform, the new product suite supports the management and editing of content, the management and authoring of applications, and the management and editing of timelines, and automates the roll-out of applications on a variety of digital TV platforms, the company says. According to the company, the platform's main components are:

• iView Portal, an integrated Web environment for creating and managing content, applications, timelines and deployments.
• iView Producer, a visual authoring environment for the creation and/or modification of ITV applications.
• iView Playout Manager, an automation tool that integrates with a broadcaster's playout room in order to automate the roll-out and lifecycle of interactive layers on top of TV programs or commercials.
• iView Zaphire, a portable runtime environment that allows applications produced by iView Platform to run on a variety of set-top boxes with minimal memory footprint and minimal use of processor resources.

iView Platform is part of a new iView product line, which also includes iView for Operators, a series of interactive TV services for operators, and iView for Broadcasters, a series of interactive TV services for broadcasters (see below). In addition to supporting these two sets of iView services, iView Platform supports the production and management of services provided by third parties, Zappware claims. Services powered by iView can be produced and managed on a broad variety of set-top boxes and middleware platforms, including MHP, OpenTV and IPTV, the company says.

iView for Broadcasters and iView for Operators were also launched at the IBC. iView for Broadcasters is comprised of:

• iView TextPlus, which is billed as enabling broadcasters to easily set up digital teletext portals, and which features numbered pages; RSS-based news and information feeds; advertising and direct-marketing modules; and quizzes.
• iView TVPlus, which is billed as enabling broadcasters to easily create interactive layers on top of TV programs, and which features quiz, direct-marketing and informational modules.
• iView AdPlus, which is designed to enable easy creation of direct-marketing layers on top of commercials. It supports impulse-response ads, DAL's and microsites.
• iView Babalooza, a games service complete with a portal that allows viewers to browse and order games. It supports various business models, including pay-per-play, day passes, monthly subscriptions and sponsored games.

iView for Operators, meanwhile, is comprised of:

• iView EPG, which, according to Zappware, features a flexible data import and processing engine, a grid or list display mode, reminders, a flexible search engine, integration with the iView PVR and iView nPVR applications (see below), so as to allow viewers to record programs with a single key-press, and startover TV.
• iView VOD, which allows viewers to browse through an operator- or broadcaster-defined catalog of movies, and order movies for viewing. According to the company, it supports a flexible pricing model, allowing assets to be combined in various product offerings; and VOD billboard advertising. It is designed with a modular architecture and pre-integrated with a broad range of video servers, Zappware says.
• iView PVR and iView nPVR, which allow viewers to record programs on a hard drive on their set-top or on an operator-managed storage service respectively. According to Zappware, iView PVR allows viewers to pause live broadcasts, offers conflict-resolution capabilities, and supports remote programming over the Web or mobile devices.
• iView Personal TV, which automatically recommends programs based on viewers' preferences: viewers express their preferences by highlighting programs in the EPG, and the programs are then presented to them in virtual channels.
• iView Babalooza (see above).
• iView Home, which Zappware describes as a portal service that provides viewers with an integrated frontend for starting and personalizing all services provided by the operator or by third parties, and for configuring the set-top box.

In other Zappware news: the company has developed an interactive TV service for the show, "Bestemming Vlaanderen" ("Destination Flanders"), that integrates three separate ITV applications into one. When viewers press the red button during the show, a menu appears with options to participate in a quiz, request a brochure, or access more information about the show itself. If viewers opt for the quiz or the brochure, both interactions are handled while the show continues to run in full-screen mode. If viewers opt to access more information about the show, a separate "walled-garden" site opens up, and the show runs in a scaled-down window (note: the walled garden can also be accessed via cable operator Telenet's ITV portal). According to Zappware, this combination of two different types of ITV application is "so far unique in Belgium."

Veoh in Deal with Search Company, Pixsy

--Round-Up of Recent Veoh News

San Diego-based peer-to-peer broadband TV company, Veoh Networks (note: last year, the company--which claims that traffic to its Web site grew from 4.4 million uniques in February to 18 million in August--secured $12.5 million in Series B venture funding from a group of investors that included former Disney chief Michael Eisner's Tornante Group and Time Warner; Eisner now sits on its board of directors), said last week that it has formed a strategic partnership with Pixsy Corporation, that will see it using the latter's search platform to offer enhanced video and image search functionality to users of Veoh.com and VeohTV (for more on the latter, see below). According to Veoh, Pixsy's technology will allow Veoh users to search a vast index of videos and images on the Web, with content updating to the minute. Pixsy claims that its technology makes it easy for any site to run a branded multimedia search engine with content customized to its own audience. "Pixsy is an ideal media search partner for Veoh because they will allow us to provide even more fresh, up-to-date entertainment content to our millions of viewers," Veoh founder and chief innovation officer, Dmitry Shapiro, said in a prepared statement. "Pixsy's vast index and ability to organize their breadth of video and image content in a way that maps to our users' interests will meaningfully enhance the viewing experience on Veoh."

In other Veoh news:

• The company says that two high-profile media-industry figures have invested in its $25 million Series C funding round, which was led by Goldman Sachs, and which closed in August. The new investors are former Viacom and MTV CEO, Tom Freston (through his new company, Firefly3), and former Viacom chairman and CEO, Jonathan Dolgen.
• In August, following what it described as "unreasonable threats" by Universal Music Group (UMG), the company filed a pre-emptive action in federal court in order, it said, to "reinforce its rights as a copyright-compliant company under the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)." The court action seeks a declaration that "Veoh has not infringed UMG's copyrights and that, "because Veoh complies with the copyright laws, it is entitled to safe harbor under the DMCA from any claims brought by UMG." The action does not seek any damages from UMG. In a press release announcing its lawsuit, Veoh argued that it respects the rights of copyright holders, and that this is "evidenced by thousands of independent content producers utilizing Veoh to publish video content and relationships with dozens of major media brands." The company also cited its "ongoing, diligent compliance with the DMCA through proactive distribution of automated tools that enable enforcement of DMCA notification and prevent repeat offense publishing" and its work "with industry groups such as the MPAA and content holders to implement state-of-the-art technologies that include filtering and special compliance tools for copyright holders." UMG, meanwhile, has indeed acted on its purported threats against Veoh: it recently sued the company for copyright infringement, accusing it of building "its business on the backs of others' intellectual property," and promising to hold "Veoh, and those who own, control, and run it...financially responsible."
• In July, the company appointed ex-Yahoo! executive, Steve Mitgang, as CEO. Mitgang, who was previously SVP of a team responsible for defining, creating and marketing Yahoo!'s advertising products, platforms and services, succeeded founding CEO, Dmitry Shapiro, who has been assigned the role of "chief innovation officer," and who is now responsible for advancing the company's technology platforms and consumer standards. The company also recently appointed Jennifer Betka, an ex-Sirius Satellite Radio executive, as SVP of marketing.
• In June, the company beta-launched an application called VeohTV, which it says is meant to serve as a specialize video browser and DVR for discovering, viewing and managing online video, and which features a patent-pending recommendation engine. According to the company, the new app supports open Internet standards, and thus has access to "virtually all of the content on the Internet." "Unlike Joost, which is a closed system with content from a limited number of sources, VeohTV supports open Internet standards, and has access to virtually all of the video content on the Internet, on-demand," Veoh's Shapiro said in a prepared statement. "We asked Veoh.com users what they really want in their online video experience and VeohTV is the culmination of that feedback. We believe that it will be the dominant standard for online video consumption moving forward." The app provides end-users with a single interface with which to search, browse and view all the broadband video available on the Internet--ranging from professionally produced content from broadcast networks to amateur content on sites such as YouTube and Veoh's own Veoh.com site. Veoh bills the app's interface as being "simple enough to be driven by a remote control, consistent from program to program," and as displaying video content in full-screen mode. Key features of the app include: 1) the ability to browse for content by channel (e.g. CBS, NBC, etc.); 2) keyword search; 3) the ability to subscribe to content from specific shows, channels and producers, and to download and store favorite videos; 4) a recommendation engine that makes suggestions based on viewer preferences and previous viewing habits; and 5) the ability, while viewing videos, to use "widgets" that access services from Amazon, eBay, Gmail, Hotmail, Craigslist, AOL and other companies. When installed on a PC, VeohTV launches into a channel guide similar to a cable EPG, and users can then browse through channels, conduct keyword searches and watch full-screen video-on-demand. The app allows users to stream video directly from the host site or to click a button to download permitted videos to watch later. According to Veoh, the app also allows content owners to serve advertising and measure the audience generated by their content.
• The company has partnered with a number of companies and organizations to launch broadband TV channels on its Web site over the past few months, including the NCAA (which is offering a channel devoted to college football), the National Lacrosse League, and Billboard magazine.

Phonoscope to Use C-COR/CMC "VOD in a Box"

Phonoscope, an indie cable operator in the Houston area, will this fall launch a VOD service using "VOD in a Box," a pre-integrated VOD solution which was co-developed by the Comcast Media Center and C-COR (note: the latter is in the process of being acquired by Arris), and which is targeted at operators with 25,000 or fewer digital customers. According to the companies, the solution provides all the basic hardware and software elements needed to launch VOD: components include C-COR's n5 Compact VOD server, the company's nABLE software management platform, and around 1,200 hours of premium and free programming content that is aggregated and managed by Comcast Media Center. The solution also comes with professional services, installation and support. According to the companies, VOD in a Box affiliates do not need an on-site asset management system or content-management personnel; instead, the companies say, Comcast Media Center's VOD operations team addresses all the requirements for acquiring and managing content, including creating and validating metadata, pitching VOD content to the C-COR servers, and providing 24/7 quality assurance monitoring. CMC's VOD content management services also include a secure Internet portal that allows affiliates to track when programming has propagated from the CMC catcher to the affiliate's VOD system, and that lists VOD assets by programmer or provides a total view of all VOD assets.

Tandberg Television News:

--OpenStream Platform Wins Technical and Engineering Emmy
--Company Hires Two New SVP's
--Secures New Deals with DirecTV, UPC, Swisscom, Time Warner Cable

Tandberg Television--the company which over the past two years or so has purchased VOD infrastructure provider, N2 Broadband, interactive TV technology and services provider, GoldPocket Interactive, IPTV content delivery company, SkyStream Networks, and Internet video company, Zetools; and which was itself recently acquired by Ericsson--has generated a fair amount of news over the past few weeks. Recent interactive TV, VOD, and IPTV-related announcements from the company include the following:

• The company has named Terry Lee SVP of sales and Ian Tapp SVP of business development. Lee will be responsible for driving revenue and leading the company's Americas sales team, while Tapp will be responsible for expanding the company's business in the Americas by developing and managing partnerships in the cable, satellite, telco and terrestrial broadcast markets. Both of the new hires will report to Al Nunez, Tandberg's president of the Americas. Lee, a 20-year industry veteran, was previously VP of North American sales for BigBand Networks. Prior to that, he was an executive manager at Scientific-Atlanta, responsible for strategic sales and business development for cable MSO's. His resume also includes stints as a sales executive at Texas Instruments and Amphenol. Tapp, meanwhile, worked for NDS for 13 years where, according to Tandberg, he played an integral role in establishing new business opportunities for the company in North America. He most recently served as the News Corp.-subsidiary's VP of business development and marketing, in which role he focused on the IPTV market.
• The company has been awarded a Technical and Engineering Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for its OpenStream Digital Services Platform (which it acquired through its purchase of N2 Broadband). The award--which is officially for "development, productization, and commercialization of interactive video-on-demand two-way infrastructure and signaling, leading to large-scale VOD implementations"--will be presented at a ceremony during next January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. According to Tandberg, the OpenStream platform has enabled rapid deployment of VOD and implementation of commercial VOD business models by enabling service providers to easily deploy open VOD architectures. Operators that use the platform can use best-in-class VOD servers, applications, billing systems and other system components, the company says, thus avoiding "single-vendor lock-in." The company also touts the platform's open architecture as "extend[ing] the headend beyond VOD to support television's next generation of interactive services." Customers of the platform include China's Oriental Cable Network, Holland's UPC, US MSO's, Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable, and the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC). Tandberg claims that over 80% of on-demand content seen by US cable subscribers is made possible by its VOD solutions.
• Satellite TV provider, DirecTV, has deployed the company's WatchPoint workflow management and automation solution to manage its new, multiplatform (set-top, Web and mobile) VOD service. (Note: Tandberg bills WatchPoint as a scalable workflow management system that streamlines and automates the creation, management and distribution of media assets to multiple platforms, thereby reducing expenses. According to the company, the solution enjoys an open, extensible architecture that integrates with multiple in-house and third-party systems for content management and distribution; provides visibility and control over multiplatform video offerings by effectively processing multiple types of content in multiple types of format, such as MPEG-4 AVC high- and standard-definition, Windows Media and Flash video; adapts to customers' existing workflow processes; and scales in volume and complexity to support new service offerings.) According to DirecTV, the DirecTV On Demand service, which is slated to launch this fall, will offer customers thousands of movie, music and TV titles via the DirecTV Plus HD DVR. "The flexibility of WatchPoint enabled us to customize the platform to support our individual workflow process and make our DirecTV On Demand service a reality," Hanno Basse, DirecTV's VP of broadcast systems engineering, said in a prepared statement. "Tandberg Television simplified a complicated process by automating our entire on-demand workflow, so we could focus our efforts on delivering a compelling line-up of video-on-demand services to our customers." DirecTV is also using a number of other Tandberg technologies to power its new VOD service, including its compression solutions and its Xport Producer content-production solution.
• The company says that Liberty Global-owned pan-European triple-play operator, UPC Broadband, is using its technologies, along with technologies from Motorola, to power its new VOD service in The Netherlands. According to UPC, the service, which has already been deployed in a number of locations, will reach over 500,000 UPC video subscribers by the end of the year. Tandberg provided UPC with its OpenStream Digital Services Platform, and also served as lead integrator on UPC's VOD launch: it says that a team of its VOD engineers and systems architects worked closely with UPC's engineering team to provide systems integration, including the incorporation of components from a number of third-party vendors in addition to Motorola. Motorola, meanwhile, has provided UPC with its B-1 video server to stream MPEG-2 content. The server is billed by Motorola as separating storage of programming from streaming, thus allowing operators to independently scale content libraries and streaming resources at a fraction of the cost of legacy servers.
• The company says that its iPlex UltraCompression standard- and high-definition IPTV headend, which it debuted at the recent IBC show in Amsterdam, has passed interoperability and qualification testing for Microsoft's Mediaroom (formerly known as IPTV Edition) IPTV software platform--meaning that the new headend can now be deployed in tandem with the Microsoft software. According to the companies, this latest integration of their technologies marks five years of collaboration between them (Tandberg was one of the first companies to integrate its encoding solutions with Microsoft's IPTV platform), and will deliver "a comprehensive solution for new revenue-generating IPTV services with more channel choice, as well as the efficient introduction of HDTV and on-demand video offerings over DSL and FTTH broadband networks." According to Tandberg, operators can now choose from a wide range of Tandberg encoders for HD and SD MPEG-4 and SMPTE VC-1, as well as select broadcast 1RU or telco chassis-based options, which have qualified for interoperability with the Mediaroom platform. The iPlex UltraCompression IPTV headend, which is based on Tandberg's AVC platform, is billed by the company as combining the broadest choice of density and enhanced features with industry-leading picture quality, and as enabling bandwidth efficiency improvements of up to 50%. The company is positioning it as a "flexible video processing platform, rather than just being an encoder chassis," and says that it supports MPEG-2 SD encoding, MPEG-4 AVC HD and SD encoding, MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 transcoding, MPEG-2 transrating, and picture-in-picture service generation, all in a high-density, NEBS-certified telco-designed chassis.
• The company says that incumbent telco, Swisscom, has chosen the new iPlex UltraCompression IPTV headend for the next stage of its Microsoft-powered Bluewin IPTV service. The Bluewin service has used Tandberg compression technologies since its trial launch in the fall of 2004 (it launched commercially last November). "Tandberg Television has been our partner throughout our IPTV journey and we are pleased to continue to work with them as we enter the next stage of our development," Felix Graf, head of TV and portals at Swisscom, said in a prepared statement. "Tandberg Television has pioneered advanced compression, lowering the bandwidth required for delivering television over DSL and enabling IPTV business models to become a reality. We are deploying Tandberg Television's best-in-class technology to enable the expansion of our IPTV service and continuously improving its quality, while still maintaining flexibility and efficiency." The Bluewin service currently offers, among other things, around 120 linear TV channels, over 80 radio channels, and around 500 VOD movies. It also allows viewers to search for and record programs, select them for later viewing, and pause them during transmission.
• The company says that Time Warner Cable is using its technologies to power a VOD solution for small markets. According to the company, a "unique configuration" of its OpenStream Digital Services Platform allows Time Warner to manage VOD services from its headquarters in Denver, and deliver content via satellite to smaller markets throughout the US; while its Xport Producer platform allows the operator to provide local VOD content tailored to each of those markets. The small-market VOD solution has to date gone live in four markets--Clarksburg, West Virginia; Dothan, Alabama; Fort Benning, Georgia; and Terre Haute, Indiana--and the operator plans to expand it to 10 additional cities--Coeur D'Alene, Idaho; Cullman, Alabama; El Centro, Calif.; Greenwood, Mississippi; Kennett, Missouri; Moscow, Idaho; Owensboro, Kentucky; Richlands, Virginia; Richmond, Kentucky; and Yuma, Arizona--by the end of the year. "Tandberg Television's powerful architecture helps us provide enhanced television services to our subscribers and expand our video-on-demand offerings to parts of the country not previously possible," Dick Amell, VP of engineering at Time Warner Cable's National Division, said in a prepared statement. "The flexibility of Tandberg Television technology to interoperate with multiple VOD servers, billing systems and on-demand applications from our Denver headquarters was a key reason we chose its solution to support our VOD deployments thousands of miles away." According to Tandberg, its OpenStream platform enables "tremendous cost savings" for large operators looking to deliver VOD to small markets. The company claims the OpenStream solution, which also incorporates its MediaPath Secure Content Delivery System and Asset Management System, facilitates the deployment of VOD services using satellite catcher technology, and a multi-vendor mix of VOD servers, applications, billing systems and set-tops; it can be configured to suit operators' on-demand requirements and remotely managed from a central location to avoid traditionally cost-prohibitive bandwidth requirements, the company says.

OpenTV Deploys with J:COM, Casema, MultiChoice, Reshet, Canal Digitaal

Interactive TV software provider, OpenTV (note: voting control of the company was acquired earlier this year by content-protection specialist, the Kudelski Group--see [itvt] Issue 7.16 Part 1), has secured a number of new deployments over the past few weeks:

• The company says that Japan's Jupiter Telecommunications (J:COM) has chosen its OpenTV Integrated Browser as the standard browser for new VOD and interactive TV services that it launched in August. The browser, which supports HTML browsing and Broadcast Markup Language (BML) content, has been widely used in the Japanese market: it is offered on digital televisions from Matsushita and Victor Company of Japan, in conjunction with Matsushita's T-Navi portal. It has also been adapted to work with acTVila, a common Japanese TV portal that launched in February (see [itvt] Issue 7.36 Part 2). J:COM, which is Japan's largest MSO in terms of subscriber count, has offered VOD since early 2005, using browsers from multiple vendors to support its interactive TV services. However, it selected OpenTV's browser in order to provide a common user interface and functionality across its subscriber base. As a result of its deal with OpenTV, all of J:COM's set-tops will now be equipped with the OpenTV Integrated Browser and VOD client software. "We recognized the requirement for a standard browser deployed across devices making our services much easier for our subscribers," Tatsuya Yoshihara, deputy general manager of J:COM's Service Strategy division and general manager of its New Technology department, said in a prepared statement. "We looked at many options in the market and chose the OpenTV Integrated Browser as the best-in-class standard product. OpenTV Integrated Browsers had already been widely used in the digital TV industry represented by major CE vendors such as Matsushita Electric and have recently started to support the portal site, 'acTVila.' We will further strengthen J:COM's interactive services, including VOD and interactive TV services for local communities as well as nationwide content, to meet ever increasing customer needs."
• Dutch cable operator, Casema, has tapped the company to provide technologies to power its new, high-definition interactive TV service. According to OpenTV, Casema will deploy Scientific-Atlanta Explorer 8455DVB HD DVR's (which are powered by the STMicroelectronics 7109 chipset) equipped with OpenTV Core3 middleware, OpenTV PVR2 software, and the OpenTV HTML browser. The broadband-enabled, dual-tuner HD DVR's, which are being offered in retail, will support, among other things, an HD EPG with integrated VOD services, and will be secured by conditional access from Irdeto. Casema's new digital platform will initially be offered in a number of Dutch cities, including The Hague, Amersfoort, Utrecht, Delft and Breda. "With the aggressive timeline we have put in place for deployment, it is of paramount importance that our key vendors have solid experience in launching complex projects," Casema CFO, Walter Blom, said in a prepared statement. "OpenTV has demonstrated this know-how not only in Europe, but around the world."
• The company says it has been selected by pay-TV provider, MultiChoice South Africa, as a "key partner" for the latter's launch of advanced TV services on its digital satellite platform. According to OpenTV, MultiChoice is "investigating" deploying HD DVR's with OpenTV Core2 middleware and OpenTV PVR2 software, in combination with Irdeto content-security technology, and has appointed OpenTV as system integrator for its roll-out of new services. The DVR's will initially power a push-VOD service, and eventually, OpenTV says, interactive TV services. "OpenTV has been one of our key partners in our efforts to offer advanced services and improve the overall user experience," MultiChoice South Africa CEO, Nolo Letele, said in a prepared statement. "We are excited about the new applications supported by OpenTV Core2 and OpenTV PVR2, as well as the other applications and upgrades that will provide customers with new ways to enjoy their video services."
• The company says that Israel's largest broadcaster, Reshet, has chosen its OpenTV Participate cross-platform interactive and participation TV solution to power live, broadcast-synchronized mobile interactive TV services for the game show "1 vs. 100." (Note: OpenTV Participate is a server-based system which the company claims can process several thousand transactions per second, allowing viewers to compete against studio players and one another simultaneously. According to the company, it features powerful "competition logic," which enables points to be allocated for each correct answer and provides viewers with real-time audience response statistics and personalized scores and results for each response. Prizes can be set in the system, OpenTV says, which automatically selects winners, ensuring a fair process that can be independently audited; the system also creates a unique account for each user, allowing broadcasters to contact winners and track weekly retention and usage statistics. Other recently announced Participate customers include NBC, Mojo Media Works, and Active Loop Television; for an in-depth overview of the platform, see [itvt]'s interview with OpenTV's VP of global sales and marketing for participation TV, Amos Manasseh, in Issue 6.61.) During the show, a graphical mobile interface developed by Tel Aviv-based Internet and mobile solutions provider, the Vario Group, will display synchronized content, allowing viewers to enter answers to the actual questions presented to the show's contestants; according to OpenTV, this mobile app works on both Brew- and Java-enabled phones, and has been ported by Vario to the majority of mobile handsets used in Israel. In addition to allowing viewers to play along with the show, OpenTV Participate will also be used by Reshet to present viewers with trivia and "fun facts," sponsor messages and interactive advertising at various intervals throughout the show, and during commercial breaks.
• The company says that Canal Digitaal Netherlands, which is currently the only provider of DTH services in the Netherlands and northern Belgium (it claims to have 700,000 subscribers and to be growing at a rate of 100,000 subscribers per year), has chosen its Core2 and PVR2 software to power its new HD and HD PVR offerings. "This deployment is another indicator of the strength of OpenTV's offering for HD and HD PVR services," OpenTV's SVP of sales, Michael Ivanchenko, said in a prepared statement. "Canal Digitaal's decision, together with our recent win at Casema and our long-time relationship with UPC, positions OpenTV as the de facto standard for digital television solutions in the Netherlands." At the recent IBC show in Amsterdam, Canal Digitaal revealed that it plans to use its PVR platform to launch a push-VOD service next year.

OpenTV in Partnership with Broadcom

--OpenTV Launches Education Services Group

At the IBC tradeshow in Amsterdam last month, system-on-a-chip manufacturer, Broadcom, and Kudelski-owned interactive TV software provider, OpenTV, announced a collaboration which they say will "drive next-generation cable, satellite, IP and terrestrial-based set-top box products with advanced features and capabilities that enhance the end-user viewing experience." The companies claim their alliance will enable new set-top box products for a wide range of high-performance HD and SD AVC/VC-1 platforms, including "state-of-the-art" video processing and "smooth" PVR trick modes. Their collaboration centers on OpenTV's flagship middleware product, OpenTV Core2, which the company claims can route multiple sources of media streams to multiple destinations, and which integrates support for PVR. The software is also designed to support EPG's, VOD, interactive and addressable advertising, IPTV, participation TV, games and gaming, and a range of customer care and communications applications.

According to OpenTV, Broadcom has "the advanced technologies and mature drivers required to assist OpenTV with their vision for advanced set-top box, PVR and interactive services." The companies' collaboration seems set to focus on one Broadcom product in particular: the BCM7400 dual-channel AVC/VC-1/MPEG-2 video decoder, which features a high-performance processor and support for 3D animation. "With its advanced, integrated set-top box silicon solutions with 3D capabilities, Broadcom's partnership will help OpenTV's customers deploy services with innovative, advanced user interfaces," Tracy Geist, OpenTV's SVP of market development, said in a prepared statement. "Our ongoing relationship with Broadcom demonstrates a commitment to quickly and cost-effectively deploy advanced digital television features and functionality that operators need to provide differentiated services." Added John Gleiter, SVP of marketing for Broadcom's set-top business: "We're pleased with the growth of our relationship with OpenTV and feel that their vision of advanced user interfaces for television aligns well with our product development roadmaps. A complete team effort has already begun with OpenTV that will allow both companies to enable the next generation products that will enhance the end-user experience in the areas of broadcast video, video-on-demand and personal video recording."

Concurrently with the announcement of their new partnership, OpenTV and Broadcom revealed that a number of Broadcom systems-on-a-chip have passed OpenTV's verification testing system, including the BCM 7401 high-definition AVC/VC-1/MPEG-2 digital video SoC with watch/record DVR; the BCM7402 high-definition AVC/VC-1/MPEG-2 digital video SoC; and the BCM7018 standard-definition AVC/VC-1/MPEG-2 video decoder (supports DOCSIS 2.0 and downstream channel bonding). At the IBC, the companies demo'd an HD PVR platform based on OpenTV Core2 and PVR2 software, working in conjunction with the Broadcom BCM7401 SoC.

In other OpenTV news: the company has launched a training group, that will provide education on its products to its customers and partners. Dubbed the OpenTV Education Services Group, the new unit consists of industry experts, OpenTV's own in-house technical specialists, and a number of learning and development professionals. "OpenTV's Education Services Group is the first step in helping our customers and partners deliver high-quality, feature-rich applications and services faster and more cost-effectively," OpenTV's newly appointed COO and acting CEO, Ben Bennett, said in a prepared statement. "The new training team will provide a comprehensive set of education and training programs designed to meet the diverse needs of operators, programmers, application developers, advertisers, and others who create interactive broadcast applications and services using OpenTV products." Added OpenTV's Tracy Geist: "Our goal is to provide top-notch content and workshops that are tailored to job function and product usage. They are presented through channels and methods that respect our customers' and partners' time, attention, and learning style." According to OpenTV, the new Education Services Group's classes are designed "with the relevant scenarios, information, and learning methods applicable to each role and product usage," and heavily emphasize "hands-on" training for "real-world" scenarios. The company says that the group will provide a regular schedule of classes, but will also work with customers and partners to create customized education plans. More information on the new Group's offerings can be found by emailing educationservices@opentv.com.

NDS News:

--Unveils Initiatives to Reduce Carbon Footprint
--Will Acquire Broadband Video Company, CastUp
--New Deals with Serbia Broadband, Yes, Vision TV, KT

Conditional access and interactive TV technology provider, NDS, has announced a series of initiatives which it says are aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and enabling digital TV subscribers to reduce their energy consumption. According to the company, the cornerstone of its new environmental strategy is research and development efforts to reduce the power consumption of set-top boxes and DVR's. The strategy is part of a "global energy program" which has been launched by NDS's corporate parent, News Corp., and which the latter claims is designed to not only reduce its own impact on climate change, but to "engage audiences, employees and business partners on the issue."

The first of NDS's environmental initiatives is "Auto Standby" technology, which automatically switches inactive set-tops and DVR's into standby mode overnight. The company claims that reducing standby consumption in the 500 million digital set-tops that are expected to be deployed over the next five years could potentially save carbon emissions equivalent to five super power stations. "Currently, an HD DVR can use as much power as a domestic refrigerator and we want to address this," James Field, NDS's director of technology and new initiatives, who has been named the company's "Carbon Czar," said in a prepared statement. "With this new Auto Standby feature, we can help our customers--namely, consumers of digital TV--to reduce their carbon footprint, with the additional benefit of lowering their electricity bills. We look forward to supporting both the environment and our consumers in this way one set-top box at a time."

According to NDS, its new Auto Standby technology monitors whether viewers are using their DVR or HD set-top during night-time hours: it could, for example, be set to monitor from 11:00PM to 4:00AM; and, if a device had not been used for a period of two hours after 11.00PM, an Auto Standby warning would appear on the TV screen for a few moments; then, if the device continued not to be used, it would go into standby mode automatically, and the hard disk would stop spinning.

NDS claims that the new Auto Standby solution is just the "first step" in its environmental strategy, and that it is working with set-top manufacturers and platform operators around the world to develop other solutions to reduce set-top power consumption. It also claims to be the only middleware vendor participating in an EU group that is developing a code of conduct, designed to optimize the energy efficiency of end-user devices used with digital TV services.

NDS has also generated a fair amount of news in the interactive TV, conditional access and wireless gateway spaces over the past few weeks. Recent ITV-related news from the company includes the following:

• The company has announced plans to acquire CastUp, a provider of solutions for the management and delivery of video over the Internet, for $11.3 million in cash, plus additional payments to employees and senior management. The acquisition is expected to be complete during the first quarter of 2008. Through a wholly owned subsidiary in Israel, CastUp provides an end-to-end solution for the acquisition, processing, distribution, serving and monetizing of video and other rich media content over IP. According to NDS, it is profitable and fast-growing, and its customers include major TV and media companies in Israel, and the Israeli subsidiaries of large companies such as HP, Amdocs, MTV and Blockbuster. NDS says that CastUp will provide it with significant know-how and experience in online video delivery; will provide it with technologies that will help its operator customers expand their broadband video distribution services; and will help it develop new services and applications for broadband-connected hybrid set-top boxes. CastUp will continue to operate as a separate unit within NDS, under its current management team. "We are very excited about the possibilities for new and comprehensive solutions for the delivery, management, and control of online media assets," NDS chairman and CEO, Abe Peled, said in a prepared statement. "We believe that NDS' market-leading experience in securely delivering digital content, and our global presence, will combine with CastUp's proven technology to allow us to continue to enhance the businesses of our media and entertainment customers. Through this important acquisition, NDS can meet the requirements of broadcasters for control, management, distribution, reporting, and monetization of their digital assets any time, anywhere and on any device. We are of course committed to serving all of CastUp's current customers after the transaction closes, as well as helping the CastUp team expand their market penetration worldwide."
• The company has signed a contract to provide Serbia's largest cable operator, Serbia Broadband (SBB), with an end-to-end system to power and secure its cable platform (note: NDS already provides its VideoGuard Express system to Serbia Broadband's satellite-TV service, which incorporates NDS's conditional access technology, MediaHighway middleware and EPG). The new deal will see NDS providing Serbia Broadband's cable network with its VideoGuard CA technology, its MediaHighway middleware (which the company claims is now in over 61 million set-top boxes) and its EPG solution. The roll- out will take place over the coming months. "We are very happy to announce the extension of our relationship with SBB to now protect and enable their cable platform, which is the largest in the country," Jeremy Maddocks, NDS's business development director for central and eastern Europe, said in a prepared statement. "This demonstrates NDS's unique capability to deliver a robust and secure multiplatform television service from a unified headend, and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership with SBB."
• The company says that Israeli satellite-TV provider, Yes, has selected its VideoGuard PC solution to enable and secure its new Web-based video portal. The deal represents the first deployment of VideoGuard PC, a DRM solution that is designed to securely deliver content--including VOD, video downloads and streaming programming--directly to PC's over the open Internet. Yes's new broadband video service allows anyone in Israel to go to Yes's Web site, register as a customer, and then access the operator's complement of HD and SD channels, and PPV and VOD offerings. Users of the service can also download content to portable media devices. According to NDS, VideoGuard PC integrates Yes's current headend architecture with standard Web technology easily and economically, and supports advanced PC video formats (including those not currently available on set-top boxes), extending media reach in the home from the set-top to the PC. "At Yes, we want to extend our brand to reach a diverse group of customers, while enhancing our offerings for our current subscribers," Yes CTO, Itzhak Elyakim, said in a prepared statement. "NDS VideoGuard PC is the ideal solution. It has broadened our offerings to include Internet-based content, and since the implementation uses our existing infrastructure, we are realizing efficiencies in costs and operations." NDS says it developed VideoGuard PC in accordance with common Web standards, while enabling the use of existing headend infrastructure: the company claims that this "Unified Headend" solution for managing both a PC service and a pay-TV platform minimizes costs and helps streamline operations (note: [itvt] will publish an in-depth overview of NDS's Unified Headend in an issue to appear shortly). NDS's technology partners on Yes's new broadband TV portal are Vbox and Cyberlink. The former is providing its DVB-S tuner (comes in both PCI and USB form factors and is pre-integrated with VideoGuard, so that the PC receives the requested channel pre-encapsulated in VideoGuard DRM) and the latter its PowerCinema entertainment software for PC's (supports live broadcast channels, VOD, content-downloads, EPG's and PVR functionality).
• The company has secured a deal with Vision TV, the first operator to be awarded a DTH broadcasting license by the Ukrainian government, that will see it providing the latter with its VideoGuard conditional access technology, its MediaHighway middleware and an EPG. According to NDS, Vision TV will offer a dynamic on-screen programming guide, and plans to roll out VOD and PVR services in the future.
• Korean telco, KT, has chosen the company's content-protection solutions for its new Mega TV On Demand IPTV service, which has just commercially launched (it will initially be available in Seoul, Gwa-Cheon, Dong-Tan and a number of other cities in Kyung-Ki province), and which is delivered over the telco's Megapass broadband network. According to NDS, the service will offer a range of interactive TV services, including an NDS-developed EPG, and a broad array of on-demand content including movies, sports, cultural programming, animation, documentaries, dramas and educational programming. "NDS is proud to be working with Korea's leading fixed-line telephony and broadband provider," Sue Taylor, general manager of NDS Asia- Pacific, said in a prepared statement. "The launch of Mega TV is the start of a comprehensive strategy to offer VOD and ITV services that will eventually capitalize on the substantial network investment to offer full IPTV services, subject to regulatory approval."

Strategy & Technology News:

--Launches MHEG Applications Toolset, MHEG Developer, I-Framer 3
--Forms Strategic Partnership with Alticast

At the IBC show in Amsterdam last month, UK-based interactive TV technology provider, Strategy & Technology (note: the company's offerings include DSMCC object and data carousels, MHEG application development, MHEG engines for receiver applications, TV-Anytime stream generation, and more), launched a new set of tools which it says will allow broadcasters to achieve "enhanced value" from interactive technology. The tools include two new, customizable applications for the publishing of information using MHEG: an EPG application and MHEG Presenter.

According to the company, the new EPG app provides a customizable, configurable and reskinnable product for broadcasters and operators. The company stresses that it is a "platform-wide" EPG that looks and behaves the same on all receivers, as opposed to a set-top box-resident EPG, which is subject to manufacturers' interpretation and implementation. When carried on all channels on a platform, S&T says, it offers consistency of user access to services, combined with the ability to launch with the current channel's data in view. It also allows broadcasters to display advertising banners and sponsors' logos.

S&T claims that the EPG application can take multiple kinds of input data, which are processed using the company's software to provide an efficient datastream for transmission. However, the company especially recommends the TV-Anytime standard data input format for this purpose. Compressing the information inside an object carousel makes it extremely bandwidth-efficient, the company says, especially when compared to EIT schedule-based EPG data.

S&T's new MHEG Presenter product, meanwhile, which uses the features of MHEG Profile 1.06, is billed by the company as enabling broadcasters to create complex MHEG applications, using graphical layout tools and structured content data. The system needs structured input, built using XML, which is then processed to provide configuration data and content data for the MHEG application. The company claims that this makes for a highly flexible design that enables the creation and publication of text and graphical information (including digital teletext and related information services) and interactive advertising; this, it says, is achieved without the need for custom application development--being purely content-driven with no need for any extra code to be written. "S&T is now providing software tools that allow users to deploy applications quickly and easily and without the need to write new MHEG code," S&T managing director, David Cutts, said in a prepared statement. "Broadcasters and platform operators should always be allowed to concentrate on what they do best and that is creating compelling content."

In other Strategy & Technology news:

• The company also used the IBC to launch a product called MHEG Developer, that is intended to speed the process of creating interactive content. Billed as a complete, integrated environment that provides all the tools needed to produce final code, the product is equipped with a full-featured editor, in order to enable MHEG source code to be created and edited. It supports an ASN.1 data compiler/encoder and MHEG desktop engine to provide the complete environment, the company says. "MHEG Developer allows users to write the code, publish to their desktop, work with it, debug it and then test it on a set-top box of choice via TSDeveloper," S&T's Cutts said in a prepared statement. "This process can obviously be repeated until users are satisfied with the outcome."
• Also at the IBC, the company unveiled a new version of its I-Framer product, I-Framer 3. According to the company, the new version supports HD and multiple resolutions, in addition to allowing static images to be used as full-color MPEG I-Frame backgrounds for interactive applications. It also now handles all the key graphical formats--for example, JPEG, TIFF and GIFF--as input, the company says.
• The company has entered a strategic partnership with Alticast--a Korean company best known for its MHP and OCAP solutions--covering HD integrated digital TV and set-top box software. According to the companies, the partnership will target the IPTV, MHEG-5, MHP and Blu-ray markets, and, among other things, will see them collaborating on open standards. In a press release explaining the reasons behind their alliance, the companies stated that, as the television industry moves towards IPTV and HD, it is to be expected that "the middleware carried in consumer devices must follow the transmission and graphics quality that HD presents," and that combination or hybrid products will become standard offers in the marketplace--which "leads to the problem of duplicity or multiplicity of middleware stacks." They therefore believe that a "GEM (Globally Executable MHP)-based approach and combination of GEM-IPTV/MHEG-5/Blu-ray/MHP/OCAP is a natural path in today's converging hardware market." "Alticast has always followed the professionalism and market awareness of S&T, especially in the MHEG-5 field," Anthony Smith-Chaigneau, managing director of Alticast EMEA, said in a prepared statement. "This is the partnership of two very strong software houses that supply a large percentage of open-standard middleware, tools and services in today's real business of interactive television. The union will provide new levels of efficiency for customers. Added Paul Daly, S&T's general manager of client systems: "S&T recognize that many manufacturers want a single digital television software solution covering a multitude of markets. Working with Alticast as one of the leading suppliers of MHP/OCAP/DMB/IPTV/BD-J solutions will create an attractive offering as well as opportunities to create new markets and products."

Ocean Blue in MHEG-5 Software Deal with Sharp

Digital TV software company, Ocean Blue, has secured a contract to integrate its Voyager MHEG-5 software into the next generation of integrated digital television sets from Sharp (note: MHEG-5 is the standard that enables interactivity on the UK's free-to-air digital terrestrial platform, Freeview). The latter company's new IDTV hardware platform runs on Trident digital decoders and video processor chips. According to Ocean Blue, the combination of its software and Trident video-decoding and processing technology means that the Sharp television sets will conform to all DTG 1.06 MHEG test suites, and meet the criteria for the UK Digital Tick standards. The combo will also be HD-ready and support both 50Hz and 100HZ displays, the company says, with the latest motion-compensation technology for a "smooth, judder-free viewing experience."

Alticast News:

--Launches Three New Products: Alticast BDJ, altiExcite, altiTOK TV Plus
--Software Selected by Astra, KT

Korean MHP and OCAP specialist, Alticast, has generated a fair amount of news over the past few weeks:

• At the recent IFA consumer electronics tradeshow in Berlin, the company unveiled its AltiCaptor Blu-ray Disc Java (BDJ) solution, which is based on the same core software that the company has deployed in around 4 million set-top boxes around the world, and which has been developed to run on Broadcom's single-chip BCM7440 Blu-ray Disc solution. Alticast bills the combo if its software and Broadcom's hardware as providing a high-performance turnkey solution for developing Blu-ray Disc devices quickly. "We are very excited to be working with Broadcom on next-generation DVD products," Alticast VP and general manager, Jeffrey Bonin, said in a prepared statement. "Our software has been deployed in millions of digital television devices around the world, and the Blu-ray Disc platform is a logical extension of these successful products. Broadcom's single-chip BCM7440 is the most advanced solution in the market today."
• The company has developed a digital receiver software stack for the new Astra satellite-TV platform, entavio. Dubbed "entavio Total Solution," the new software stack has been built to the requirements of Astra Platform Services and content-protection specialist, Nagravision, and has been pre-certified by those companies. Among other things, it features a mosaic EPG. Alticast says that it has signed license agreements for the new software stack with a number of set-top box vendors. The company claims that the stack runs on all major hardware platforms; can be easily integrated onto set-tops "due to its very well-defined abstraction layer"; and reduces development time by up to 60%.
• The company says that its IPTV middleware has been ported to hybrid IPTV-terrestrial set-top boxes from Samsung and that the combo has now been commercially launched by "Korea's largest telecommunications operator" (i.e. KT). According to Alticast, the middleware will be used to support VOD and a range of interactive TV services, including an EPG. In addition, the company says, the operator "has adopted streaming technologies which allow viewers to watch videoclips as an enhancement to existing video-on-demand services, as well as an upgraded version with an emphasis on interactive features."
• The company has launched a mosaic-style EPG, called altiExcite, which it says provides a customizable channel view, using patent-pending technologies and user-interfaces, and enables high-speed navigation and tuning. According to the company, the application can run in most set-top box environments. The company demo'd the new product at the IBC show in Amsterdam last month.
• At the IBC show, the company also unveiled a new solution which it says is designed to improve the quality of IPTV services. Dubbed altiTOK TV Plus, the solution is billed by the company as enabling video services in a non-QoS network environment, using download-and-play (DnP) and push-VOD technologies. (Note: Alticast also recently formed a partnership with UK-based MHEG-5 specialist, Strategy & Technology--see article in this issue.)

TAG Networks (Formerly TVHead) Using itaas' Remote Headend

Atlanta-based interactive TV technologies and services company, itaas (note: the company is perhaps best-known for the istart developer program which it operates for Scientific-Atlanta; the program's scope was recently expanded--see [itvt] Issue 7.32 Part 2), says that TAG Networks has begun using its Remote Headend service. TAG Networks, which was formerly known as TVHead and which renamed itself earlier this year, is in the process of developing and rolling out a games-on-demand TV channel called TAG, which it claims integrates seamlessly into existing IPTV and cable VOD infrastructures. It claims to have assembled a broad range of branded and classic games in multiple genres, and that its new service supports rich community features and multi-device interaction.

The Remote Headend service, which is available 24/7, is designed to enable ITV application developers to access a full digital headend without leaving their facility, and thus eliminates the need for them to either purchase their own headend equipment or rent off-site lab facilities. TAG Networks is the service's sixth customer to date. The service requires a remote virtual hub to be installed at the application developer's premises; the hub is then connected via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to itaas' lab. itaas claims to be the only company to offer such a service, and provides all the necessary hardware, software and support. According to the company, the service allows application developers to access all the key functionality of the headend: they can, for example, boot and operate production set-top boxes in fully interactive mode, test and run client applications, access headend API's, and test with encrypted video streams, the company says (note: broadcast and VOD content can be inserted at the remote virtual hub). "We have worked extensively with itaas, from development support, OCAP expertise to the remote headend, they are a valuable partner," Cliff Mercer, TAG Networks' CTO and VP of engineering, said in a prepared statement. "This unique service has helped us control costs and increase productivity, without the overhead of maintaining a headend." Added itaas president and CEO, Vibha Rustagi: "Our Remote Headend service, coupled with the istart developer program and our ITV technology consultancy, makes itaas a one-shop stop for the application developer community."

SysMedia Launches "Gold 2008"

--Offering Targets Operators Looking to Offer ITV Coverage of Olympics
--Company also Powering Teletext and Subtitling for Greenland's KNR

SysMedia, a UK-based company that specializes in content-management and production systems for teletext, subtitling and interactive TV, has launched a new offering based on its Plasma Gold interactive content production and management engine (note: according to SysMedia, Plasma Gold separates content from the way it's presented, using a templated design, and so offers "a powerful author-once/publish-to-many solution for multiplatform content production"), that is targeted at broadcasters who want to add interactive services to their programming inexpensively. The company is positioning the new solution, dubbed Gold 2008, as being of particular interest to broadcasters interested in offering interactive TV coverage of next year's Beijing Olympics.

The Gold 2008 offering will allow broadcasters to purchase a three-month license for Plasma Gold; according to SysMedia, it will include content templates that can be easily and inexpensively customized with a broadcaster's look-and-feel (note: longer-term license upgrades are available that will allow broadcasters not just to reskin applications, but develop entirely new ones, SysMedia says). Among other things, it provides multiscreen video selection, allowing viewers to choose from multiple feeds, as well as connection to external news feeds, such as Reuters, which, SysMedia says, will provide a "huge range of up-to-date graphical information"--for example, the latest results (in-vision, if required) and medal tables. The company says that the offering can be deployed over digital broadcast, using any deployed middleware, as well as over mobile and IPTV systems, where Web servers are used for data dissemination. The company also claims that, once set up, it can operate completely automatically. "By using Gold 2008, broadcasters and network operators are able to achieve a very low-cost entry into providing interactive services," Kevin Lingley, SysMedia's interactive product manager, said in a prepared statement. "It has long been proven that sports events attract a high usage of related interactive services and these Olympics are only likely to extend that. This system provides broadcasters with access to complex data handling technology at a highly competitive cost, with ease of deployment also a design imperative."

In other SysMedia news: the company says that Greenland's national broadcaster, Kalaallit Nunaata Radiao (KNR), has completed a complete technical revamping of its broadcast facility in Greenland's capital, Nuuk, using SysMedia teletext and subtitling technologies. The broadcaster has installed SysMedia's Plasma teletext content management system and WinCAPS subtitling technology, tapping Denmark's AVITSystems to act as systems integrator. Subtitling capabilities are a must-have for KNR, as it sources much of its content from Danmarks Radio (DR), and thus needs that content to be translated from Danish to Greenlandic. Its teletext system, meanwhile, uses a mixture of feeds and also sources teletext pages from DR. According to SysMedia, one of the reasons its teletext technology was chosen by KNR and AVITSystems is that it can accept pages from a wide variety of sources and reproduce them exactly as required. "KNR is thinking ahead, like SysMedia, about truly interconnected authoring systems and the ability to facilitate transnational sharing and distribution of information in a variety of formats and languages," SysMedia CEO, Andrew Lambourne, said in a prepared statement.

Concurrent News:

--Launches HTML-Based VOD Application-Authoring Platform
--Secures Deals with Panama's Cable Onda, Estonia's Elion
--Forms Partnerships with Scansatec, Scaberia, 3Vision

VOD technology provider, Concurrent, has launched an HTML-based VOD application-authoring platform, which it says is particularly suited for promoting real-time content such as time-shifted TV and network DVR programs. Dubbed MediaHawk PRISM, the new Web authoring platform--which has already been employed by Japanese MSO, Jupiter Telecommunications (J:COM), and which is now commercially available--is based on commercial-off-the-shelf Web-development technologies and standards, the company says, allowing cable operators to control their applications' look-and-feel via standard Web-authoring tools.

According to Concurrent, the MH PRISM Web application development platform is hosted on a Microsoft .NET Web server. The HTML Web pages authored through the platform are accessed via commercially available Web browser technology on the set-top box over a DOCSIS network, the company says. Using the platform, MSO and third-party developers can create custom, traditional VOD menu navigation, including category-based navigation, jacket art display of VOD titles and launch of VOD titles and previews. According to Concurrent, the platform also allows the incorporation of scaled video into customer interfaces, and is capable of supporting marketing packages and special promotions. "As the volume of on-demand content continues to explode, advanced navigation technologies are needed to connect the consumer with the programming they desire," Michael Pasquinilli, Concurrent's VP of engineering for VOD, said in a prepared statement. "MH PRISM represents the next-generation of VOD navigation application development, targeting a new generation of IPTV, OCAP and DOCSIS enabled set-top boxes. It signifies Concurrent's continued adherence to industry standards, yet provides a development platform for future custom VOD applications, the types of which are limited only by the imagination of Concurrent customers."

According to Concurrent, MH PRISM, which is part of what the company terms its "BEYONDEMAND" line of VOD products, incorporates its MediaHawk Navigation Server and its MediaHawk Database Server, which it says provide a scalable VOD menuing and navigation solution built upon industry-standard Web and Web-development technologies. The MH Navigation Server operates on one or more Dell 2950 servers, utilizing hardware load-balancing to distribute incoming HTTP traffic. MH PRISM traffic is isolated from the Concurrent backoffice software by replicating the navigational metadata into the MH Database Server. The latter is developed utilizing Oracle 10g Real Application Clusters technology running on Linux on one or more Dell 2950 servers. According to Concurrent, J:COM launched a new VOD navigation system in June that was entirely developed using MH PRISM.

In other Concurrent news:

• The company's MediaHawk 4000 video server has been tapped to power what it claims is the first commercial deployment of VOD in Central America. Panamanian cable operator, Cable Onda, is using the platform to offer VOD to around 15,000 digital subscribers via a centralized architecture. The operator has also launched Concurrent's Real-Time Media, enabling it to offer its subscribers on-demand access to real-time content, such as news, sports, select broadcast television series, and its own original programming. Real-Time Media is an optional component of the MediaHawk platform that allows viewers to pause, fast-forward and rewind broadcast programs shortly after they have aired. "Panama has long been considered the 'gateway' to Latin America," Concurrent president and CEO, Gary Trimm, said in a prepared statement. "There are over 15 million cable households in Latin America, with 1.2 million in Central America and the Caribbean. The Cable Onda launch represents Concurrent's continued success in this lucrative cable market."
• The company has formed a partnership with Scansatec, a supplier of broadband and IP technologies and services, that will see the latter marketing Concurrent's flagship MediaHawk VOD platform in the Nordic and Baltic regions. Under the terms of the deal, Scansatec will offer MediaHawk as its "recommended" VOD platform for cable and broadband operators looking to offer on-demand services. According to Concurrent, Scansatec, which is based in Finland and serves all of the Baltic states, has established a network of key contacts in those states' emerging television markets. "We are proud to add Concurrent's products and services to our product portfolio," Tero Jousi, Scansatec's owner and general manager, said in a prepared statement. "The MediaHawk on-demand platform is reliable and widely deployed, and can easily integrate with both Nordija middleware and Widevine CAS. We look forward to working with Concurrent to make our partnership a success."
• The company has formed a partnership with Norwegian technology consulting company, Scaberia, and UK-based content strategy and acquisition specialist, 3Vision, that the partners say will allow them to offer clients in Europe "creative technology and content solutions for on-demand." "Scaberia and 3Vision have defined a strategy merging technology and content which provides a comprehensive, end-to-end solution for on-demand to our customers," Concurrent's Trimm said in a prepared statement. "We are pleased that Concurrent can be a part of this solution." Added Scaberia CEO, Frank Schmull: "The on-demand market has evolved from an experimental phase to a full-blown business. With a global technology player like Concurrent and a content expert like 3Vision, Scaberia can now provide an all-in-one service to systems looking to add on-demand to their video product line."
• The company says that Estonian telecommunications and IT provider, Elion, has chosen its MediaHawk 4000 platform for what it claims is the first commercial deployment of VOD in the Baltic states. The deployment--which was secured for Concurrent by Scansatec--sees the platform providing roughly 1,200 streams to around 40,000 IPTV subscribers via a decentralized architecture. "Concurrent was chosen because of easy integration with our proprietary middleware and Widevine CAS," Scansatec's Tero Jousi said in a prepared statement. Added Elion technical manager, Jaan Inno: "[Concurrent's] technical support during the test phase was extraordinary, and we are confident that this strong support will continue throughout the relationship. We also were impressed with Concurrent's product roadmap, which convinced us they will be there with the products and services to support our continued growth."

ADB in Deals with Yes, Telefonica, T-Com Innovation, Grundig

--Also Secures its First North American IPTV Deal

Geneva-based set-top box vendor, Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB), has generated a fair amount of news over the past few weeks:

• Israeli satellite TV operator, Yes, has selected the company's ADB-7820S set-top box for its launch of HD services, which is slated to take place later this year. The companies have a longstanding relationship that has seen Yes use ADB equipment for the past five years or so: "ADB has supported Yes in supplying state-of-the-art digital television equipment for over five years, and having worked closely to launch a significant number of set-top boxes into the market, we believe that these new units will enable Yes to successfully develop its digital satellite television business, accessing revenues afforded by premium quality services such as high definition and video-on-demand," ADB's SVP of sales and marketing, Karl Tempest-Mitchell, said in a prepared statement. According to ADB, the ADB-7820S incorporates MPEG-2 and H.264/MPEG-4 advanced video coding, and includes such advanced features as a single-chip microprocessor, an HDMI interface, and an Ethernet interface that supports such services as VOD.
• Spanish telecommunications giant, Telefonica, has selected the company's hybrid, high-definition DVR, the ADB-5810TWX, as the first DVR to be offered on its IPTV service. Telefonica will be the first operator to deploy the box--which was launched at the recent IBC tradeshow in Amsterdam--in volume. The deployment builds on an existing relationship between ADB and Telefonica: "We are delighted to have been selected by Telefonica to develop and supply this new and innovative product," ADB's Tempest-Mitchell, said in a prepared statement. "ADB has established a close working relationship with Telefonica since the launch of their highly successful IPTV service, supporting them with award-winning set-top box technology. We believe that the new units will enable Telefonica to expand their service portfolio and increase revenues, while providing their customers with a very attractive, personalized television service including high-definition and digital video recording." According to ADB, the ADB-5810TWX supports both SD and HD reception, and both MPEG-2 and H.264/MPEG-4, and sports a 160GB hard drive, as well as a powerful processor that enables fast channel decoding and rendering of applications such as EPG's. Designed specifically for the hybrid IPTV market (i.e. for deployments that combine broadcast linear TV with IP-based on-demand TV), it supports such services as VOD and video conferencing, and can also act as a "home server" in a home entertainment network.
• Telefonica has also tapped the company to supply its ADB-3800W-SD IPTV set-top box to its Chilean subsidiary, Telefonica Chile, which claims to be the first telco to deploy IPTV services in Latin America (note: its new IPTV service expands upon its existing satellite service). The units are integrated with Telefonica's Imagenio middleware and application software, in order to support interactive TV services, and are the first products of their kind to be certified and launched on a Telefonica service in the region. "We are happy to have appointed ADB as one of our key suppliers," a Telefonica Chile spokesperson said in a prepared statement. "ADB's experience in supplying state-of-the-art products in very short timescales, coupled with their knowledge of Telefonica and its technology roadmap, positioned the company to supply our product needs." The ADB-3800W-SD is a standard-definition set-top that supports both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 compression (note: MPEG-4 is the main compression format being used by Telefonica Chile for its new IPTV service), and that, among other things, features a single-chip microprocessor and an HDMI interface.
• Germany's T-Com Innovation has chosen the company's new ADB-3810TW set-top box (which was also unveiled at the IBC) to power a consumer pilot of a broadband TV service. According to ADB, the pilot is designed to test consumers' acceptance of a new interactive TV concept that is based on Internet standards; it involves a limited number of subscribers, and has been specifically designed to test a number of new services distributed over the Internet to set-tops running HTML and Javascript-based software. For the purposes of the pilot, the ADB set-tops have been integrated with Quative's IPTV service delivery platform. "With this interactive TV pilot, we are testing innovative service concepts based on ADB's 3810TW hybrid IPTV set-top box with a limited number of subscribers under real operating conditions," Thomas Staneker, SVP of T-Com Innovation, said in a prepared statement. ADB bills the 3810TW as an advanced, hybrid IPTV/Internet TV set-top that supports both SD and HD reception, using MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Among other things, the box, which employs ADB's Linux-based operating software, supports video conferencing, Internet radio and Web browsing, and offers a DVB-T frontend for the reception of digital terrestrial services.
• A deal with Germany's Grundig will see ADB providing the latter with a range of digital terrestrial products, including HD set-top boxes, DVR's and HD IDTV modules (for integration directly into Grundig television sets), for distribution throughout Europe. According to ADB, the first products with which it will be supplying Grundig will be deployed in the second half of this year. The first unit to launch will be the ADB-3800T set-top, which will be followed towards the end of the year by an upgraded DTT platform, the ADB-3810T. The latter will be integrated with MHP software from ADB's corporate stablemate, Osmosys, ensuring that it can support advanced interactive TV services. Both units feature SD and HD support, based on MPEG-2 and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC. "We are very pleased to be working with ADB to bring new DTT products to market," Grundig CEO, Hans-Peter Haase, said in a prepared statement. "ADB has been instrumental in leading the digital terrestrial and MHP market in Europe--we needed a technology partner who we could trust to meet operators' requirements in a very short lead time and ADB has proved to be that unique partner."
• The company has secured its first commercial IPTV deployment in North America, with the launch by North Dakota Telephone Company (NDTC) of its ADB-3800W high-definition IPTV set-top box. The deployment sees the box running Minerva Networks' iTVManager software, which will support a range of revenue-generating services in both standard- and high-definition, using both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 compression. According to ADB, the boxes have also been launched on over 30 Independent Operating Company (IOC) networks throughout North America. "We have been waiting for availability of a fully functional and certified MPEG-4/AVC set-top box for some time," an NDTC spokesperson said in a prepared statement. "We expected a standard-definition unit at this point, so we consider the high definition/AVC capabilities of the ADB-3800W to be a huge bonus. The solution will ensure that our set-top boxes are future-proof and allow us to launch our service and upgrade to HD services without changing hardware." The deployment was secured for ADB by its distributor, Border States Electric, which services the independent telco market in the US Midwest region.

EchoStar, DirecTV Launching New HD DVR's

US satellite-TV provider, EchoStar (operates the DISH Network service), recently unveiled a new HD DVR, the ViP722. The new DVR, which the company describes as an "advanced version" of its ViP622 DVR, is a dual-tuner device that can deliver programming in two rooms--one in HD and one in SD. It features a 500GB hard drive, capable of recording 55 hours of HD programming (in MPEG-4), 350 hours of SD programming, and around 100 hours of programming from EchoStar's push-VOD service, DISH On Demand--i.e. a total of up to 500 hours of programming. It supports Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and, like the ViP622, offers a 30-second skip feature, which EchoStar bills as "allowing subscribers to watch television commercial free." It also offers an IP call-back feature, which, among other things, allows customers to order pay-per-view programming without using a phone line. Like the ViP622, it allows customers to connect an off-the-shelf hard drive (up to 750GB) through one of two USB 2.0 ports. The ViP is available for free to what EchoStar describes as "qualifying new DISH Network customers"; a one-time fee of $39.99 is levied for activating its external hard drive feature.

In related news: EchoStar rival, DirecTV is set to launch a high-end HDTV DVR, dubbed the HR21 Pro. The box, which will be manufactured by Samsung, will be able to store up to 100 hours of MPEG-4-encoded HD programming, giving it roughly twice the capacity as DirecTV's HR20 HDTV DVR. Other features of the new box will include an HDMI connection and an optical HDMI transmitter.

Sling Media Launches Lower-Cost Slingbox

--SlingPlayer Mobile Software Now Supports New Nokia N95
--UPC to Trial Slingbox

TV place-shifting company, Sling Media (note: the company is in the process of being acquired by satellite-TV provider, EchoStar--see article in this issue), has launched a new, lower-cost version of its flagship Slingbox device. Dubbed the Slingbox SOLO, the new box, which retails for $179.99, features standard (4:3) and widescreen (16:9) video support; streams in full VGA resolution (640x480); and accepts inputs from both standard- and high-definition set-top boxes. According to Sling Media, it allows end-users to connect virtually any audio/video device via component video, S-Video or composite video connectors, and features integrated looping outputs for each input. While the company's high-end Slingbox Pro device allows end-users to connect to one HD feed and three SD feeds, the new SOLO allows them to connect only to one HD or one SD feed (hence the name). "Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of place-shifting their favorite TV and DVR programming, and are demanding products that are both attractively designed and future-proof as they look to upgrade their TV service from standard definition to HD in the coming year," Slingbox co-founder, chairman and CEO, Blake Krikorian, said in a prepared statement. "Slingbox SOLO has all of the right features built-in, making it an ideal fit for a wide range of customer needs. The Slingbox SOLO fits the digital media needs of both new and existing customers, giving them the flexibility and capability to enjoy personalized content from any of their home entertainment devices--virtually anywhere."

In other Sling Media news:

• The company says that its SlingPlayer Mobile software (lets Slingbox owners control and view their home television from a network- connected mobile phone) is now available in the US for select Nokia Nseries and Eseries devices running S60 3rd edition software on Symbian OS, including the recently released US HSDPA version of the Nokia N95. Sling Media says that "for a limited time" it will offer current and future US-based Nokia N95 handset owners a discount on its Slingbox AV model, and that all US-based Nokia N95 customers will receive a free version of SlingPlayer Mobile. "Customers have been calling for this software from the time we first announced support for Symbian OS last fall, and I am thrilled to be answering the call with today's announcement," Sling Media's Krikorian said in a prepared statement. "SlingPlayer Mobile really showcases the multimedia capabilities of the N95 and we are greatly enhancing the overall mobile experience on these Nokia handsets with our SlingPlayer Mobile software."
• The company is partnering with Dutch cable operator, UPC Broadband, on a trial that will make the Slingbox available to UPC's digital customers. The Slingbox will allow those customers to control their set-top boxes and DVR's, and thus access their digital TV service and their recorded programming, remotely on a PC or laptop over a broadband Internet connection. It will also allow them to schedule recordings remotely. "The Slingbox brings a new digital TV experience to our customers," Diederik Karsten, CEO of UPC Netherlands, said in a prepared statement. "They can view and record their favorite programs remotely by using a broadband Internet connection. We believe the Slingbox will certainly enhance UPC's leadership position on the digital TV market."

Cabot, NXP Semiconductors in "Connected Home" Integration Partnership

--Cabot's Aurora XT DVB Middleware Achieves Freeview Playback Compliance

UK-based digital TV software company, Cabot Communications, says that it is partnering with NXP Semiconductors on a technical collaboration exploring the integration of advanced "Connected Home" interoperability software into its Aurora DVB middleware suite. "Exploring this extension to Ca