Mogulus Launches Pro offering, VOD Support

--Also Signs Deal with Gannett
--Company Offers Interactive Web Broadcasting Platform

Mogulus--a company which offers a free, ad-supported service that allows people to launch their own live broadband TV stations (it claims that its service, which launched last November, has already enabled over 50,000 producers to launch their own Internet TV stations, streaming over 100 million unique viewer minutes each month)--was attempting to generate some visibility for its platform at the NAB show earlier this month. In addition to showcasing its basic service (consisting of 1) the Mogulus Studio, a browser-based collaborative application that supports such features as multi-camera mixing and broadcast graphics; 2) the Mogulus Broadcast Network, billed by the company as a turnkey, scalable content delivery network for Flash-based linear, live--and now, on-demand--broadcasting; and 3) the Mogulus Video Player, a customizable, embeddable player with integrated chat functionality), the company announced:

• a new Mogulus Pro offering, targeted at professional media companies. Features of the new service, according to the company, include a white-label or skinless player; analytics, professional terms of use, options for higher-quality video (16/9, HD Live and On-Demand, H.264), access to Mogulus API's, time-based autopilot scheduling, private channels (i.e. not published in the Mogulus directory), additional library storage, and priority transcoding. In addition, the Mogulus Pro service does not include the advertising that is placed in regular Mogulus channels.
• a partnership with US newspaper publisher, Gannett. According to Mogulus, the companies have been collaborating for over two months and have deployed the Mogulus Pro platform for use by Gannett's newspapers and its TV stations. They have now signed an agreement to formalize their partnership and say they are continuing to collaborate on testing and deploying the platform. The platform was recently used by Gannett publication, The Indianapolis Star, to broadcast a Bill Clinton speech live.
• new support for VOD. According to Mogulus, its platform now allows producers to offer a VOD library alongside their live linear-TV channel, integrated in the same embeddable player widget. The company says that its platform's server-based recording capability means that producers can offer on-demand replays of live events immediately after those events, without lengthy post-event archive uploads.
• integration of its platform with the Kulabyte encoder product range. The company says that this will enable the platform to deliver live Flash HD-quality encoding and broadcasting to more producers.

Sun Expands its Video Streaming System

At the NAB show in Las Vegas earlier this month, Sun Microsystems announced that it is expanding its Sun Streaming System product portfolio to create what it claims is the only IPTV platform that can scale "seamlessly and cost-effectively" from 100 to 160,000 simultaneous streams. The portfolio's Sun Fire X4950 Streaming Switch has been joined by new server and storage platforms for small to mid-scale streaming of television and IP-based video; and Sun has also launched Release 2 of its Sun Streaming Software, which it claims leverages the Solaris 10 Operating System to enable customers to scale economically from 500 to over 1.5 million subscribers and from 200 to over a million hours of content.

According to Sun, the launch of the new platforms means that Sun Streaming System customers can now configure and grow very diverse deployments and service offerings with a single software framework running on "the right-sized servers, storage and networking" from 1U to 14U. This, it says, simplifies deployment planning and network management, and also prevents service disruptions as deployments grow. "The Sun Streaming System is the only streaming product family on the market today to offer customers both disruptive economics and non-disruptive growth at nearly any scale point--giving customers the ability to evolve their networks and services without the pain of major retrofits or integrations," Graham Lovell, Sun's senior director of storage servers and IPTV, said in a prepared statement. "Sun's innovation makes us uniquely positioned to serve the needs of IPTV service providers and bring consumers the latest video technologies such as personalized video and social networking."

According to Sun, the Sun Streaming System includes the 1U Sun Fire X4150 server, which is powered by Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors; the 4U Sun Fire X4600 M2 server, which is powered by AMD Opteron processors; and the Sun StorageTek 2530 Array. Later this year, the company says, its Sun Streaming Software will also support carrier- grade Netra x64 servers, Netra ATCA x64 blade servers, and the option of Sun's own flash-based storage technology. According to the company, these new server and storage options offer service providers "the maximum flexibility to independently scale streaming capacity, content capacity, ingest rates and degree of user interactivity as the needs of the subscribers evolve."

Sun says it is collaborating with a number of partners, including Nortel, EDS and TechMahindra, to offer end-to-end video delivery solutions based on the Sun Streaming System. In addition, it says that it has extended its relationship with Harris to combine the system with the latter's video technologies and scheduling software, and that it has also integrated it with Tandberg Television's OpenStream Digital Services Platform.

Adobe Media Player Launched

--Features Content from CBS, MTV, PBS, Scripps and Others

Earlier this month, Adobe Systems launched its long-awaited Adobe Media Player 1.0 software (available for download at http://www.adobe.com/go.mp). The company touts the new cross-platform, customizable media player as providing new ways for viewers to discover and interact with content, and as offering content providers a range of revenue- and brand-building opportunities. A number of high-profile broadcasters and other content providers are providing content for the new player, including CBS, MTV Networks, Universal Music Group, PBS, CondeNet and Scripps Networks; and Adobe is also offering its own channel on the player, Adobe TV, which features programming devoted to its own products. "With Adobe Media Player, we're bringing viewers and content owners closer together, with an experience that doesn't constrain them by platform or proprietary software application," John Loiacono, Adobe's SVP of creative solutions, said in a prepared statement. "It's a merger of TV Guide and DVR for Internet video content. Some great shows, like 'The Hills' from MTV and 'CSI' from CBS, is already available to view and more will be coming soon."

According to Adobe, the new Media Player can provide high-quality playback of streamed, downloaded or locally stored video in the Adobe Flash format. It marks the first time that it has been possible to download video outside the browser in the Adobe Flash format; and it allows that video to be viewed in 1080p, 720p or 480i resolutions with advanced audio, the company says. Among other things, the new player allows end-users to subscribe to specific TV shows and other broadband video content, and then automatically receive new episodes of those shows as they become available. At launch, it features what Adobe touts as a "broad," searchable catalog of shows and videoclips from the company's various content-provider partners, including "CSI: New York," "CSI: Miami," "Big Brother," "Star Trek," "Melrose Place," "Hawaii Five-O," "The Twilight Zone" and "MacGyver" (CBS); clips from "The Hills," "MTV News" and "Yo! MTV Raps" (MTV Networks); various shows from HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network and Fine Living Network (Scripps Networks); video from Epicurious.com, Style.com and Wired.com (CondeNet); various programs from PBS; and music videos from Universal Music Group. According to Adobe, additional content from MTV Networks brands, including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, VH1, CMT, Logo, Spike, The N, GameTrailers and Atom Films will launch on the player over the coming months.

Adobe bills the new Media Player as providing content owners with new ways to distribute, measure, monetize and brand video content: unlike existing media players, the company says, the new player enables viewers to subscribe to free content, allowing them to watch shows both on- and offline. Monetization and branding capabilities, according to the company, include "viewer-centric" dynamic advertising for targeted marketing campaigns and the ability to customize the player's look-and-feel to match the brand or theme of its video content. It can provide content providers with anonymous measurement of usage data, Adobe says, including when and how often a video has been viewed; and also supports various content-protection options, such as protected streaming, advertising protection and video DRM protection.

BBC iPlayer Now Available on the Nintendo Wii

The BBC has formed a partnership with Nintendo UK to make its BBC iPlayer "catch-up TV" service available via the Nintendo Wii gaming console (note: last month, the Corporation also made the iPlayer available via the Apple iPhone). The partnership was announced by Erik Huggers, the BBC's group controller for future media and technology, in a keynote speech at the MIPTV-Milia conference in Cannes earlier this month. "Working with Nintendo marks another exciting milestone for BBC iPlayer," he said. "It underlines our commitment to reaching new audiences by making BBC iPlayer available on as many platforms as possible. The BBC's catch-up TV service can now be accessed on an increasing number of different platforms--from the Web and portable devices to gaming consoles. It will shortly be available on TV."

Once the Wii iPlayer service went live, a message was sent to all Wii consoles in the UK that were connected to the Internet, to notify them of the service's availability. Wii owners can access the iPlayer via the Internet Channel on the Wii main menu (note: new users may be required to download the Wii Internet Channel): once it is installed, they click through to bbc.co.uk/iplayer to search for programs they want to watch. According to the BBC, the current version of the Wii iPlayer service is a "beta phase" and improved versions of the service are expected to be rolled out later this year. The Corporation claims that, since it launched last Christmas, over 42 million programs have been accessed on the iPlayer.

Earlier this month, the BBC announced that the iPlayer enjoyed significant growth in the first three months since its official launch on Christmas Day 2007. According to the Corporation, requests for downloads and streams of its programs on the iPlayer totaled 17.2 million in March, compared to 14 million in February and 11.2 million in January--representing month-on-month growth of 25%, and contributing to a total of over 42 million programs accessed on the platform since Christmas. In addition, the BBC says, average weekly users of the iPlayer totaled 1.1 million in March, compared to 750,000 in January; and the average daily number of requests to download or stream programs via the platform totaled over 550,000, compared to an average of 360,000 in January. (Note: the BBC qualified its claims with the following rider: "The BBC's iPlayer measurement system uses a sample of users and there are variances with the other page traffic measurement systems. This data is not yet audited. The BBC is working towards meeting industry standards for video and audio streaming and downloading. The BBC is constantly working on its measurement systems and reserves the right to augment or change its methodology as the platform develops.")

According to the BBC, the two most-streamed programs on the iPlayer in its first three months were the first episode of the current series of the reality show, "The Apprentice," and "Louis Theroux: Behind Bars," a show in which the eponymous documentary-maker investigated the US penal system. Other titles appearing in the BBC's list of top 20 most iPlayer-streamed shows include "Gavin and Stacey," BBC One's coverage of a rugby game between England and France, "Ashes to Ashes," "EastEnders," and "Torchwood." "BBC iPlayer continues to show significant growth and we are delighted that audiences are responding to it so positively," Ashley Highfield, the BBC's then-director of future media and technology, said in a prepared statement. "Its initial performance proves the case not only for BBC iPlayer, but for all video-on-demand services over the Internet, and benefits both our audiences and the industry as a whole. We continue to work closely with the internet service providers with a view to driving the next generation of broadband Internet access." Added Jana Bennett, the BBC's director of vision: "The depth and range of the BBC's programming is genuinely prospering in an on-demand world. The series opener of 'The Apprentice' was the first program to break through 100,000 requests-to-view in a single day, and then added 200,000 further requests-to-view over the week it was available. Audiences are picking up on the big drama, factual and entertainment highlights of the season after the linear broadcast, as well as embracing the best of BBC Three. Within the last few days, the season premiere of the new series of 'Doctor Who' generated over a 150,000 requests in a single day, which bodes well for the future." Among other things, the popularity of the iPlayer has resulted in an increasing volume of complaints from UK broadband ISP's.

Time Warner Cable of NY & NJ Launches Start Over-Enabled "Enhanced HDTV"

Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey has announced plans to expand its HDTV programming line-up, which it says will see it carrying 100 HD channels and "more than 250 HD On Demand choices" by the end of the year. The company is launching what it is calling "Enhanced HDTV," a free offering that includes Start Over (i.e the ability to start a program over during its allotted timeslot, without a DVR) for both high- and standard-definition programs. It claims that customers with HD-enabled set-top boxes will be able to Start Over more than 13,000 SD and around 1,500 HD choices per month at no additional charge. "By delivering the most HD choices and Enhanced HD for free to its digital cable customers, Time Warner Cable reaffirms our position as the pre-eminent multimedia provider in New York City," Howard Szarfarc, EVP of the company's New York City region, said in a prepared statement. "The added capacity for HD channels and content didn't require significant upgrade expenditures or labor costs, and reflects the robust and flexible nature of our existing advanced fiber network. Unlike with DirecTV, DISH and some telecommunications companies which charge extra for these HD services, our customers can watch what they want, when they want, in HD...for free."

Japan's Zentek Targets North American DTV Market with tru2way Solution

Zentek, a Tokyo-based provider of software and engineering services for the DTV market, earlier this month launched a tru2way/OCAP-based solution, targeted at the North American market. Dubbed MediaStack-tru2way, the solution includes CableCARD and DTV middleware and libraries, and is billed as enabling set-top and iDTV manufacturers to shorten their development cycle for tru2way-based DTV products. Zentek says that it can also provide customers of the solution with access to a bidirectional headend located in its San Mateo, Calif. offices, thus enabling development-time testing with tru2way streams. "Zentek has developed an integrated reference solution to reduce the development risk of tru2way for digital set-top box and TV manufacturers," Zentek CEO, Shozo Ohtani, said in a prepared statement. "MediaStack-tru2way and Zentek's ATSC and CableCARD libraries provide the software solution for many products targeted to the North American market, promising short product development and quick time-to-market."

Comcast Launches AnyRoom On Demand

--Says its VOD Service has Generated over 7 Billion Views since 2003
--Company's Fancast Service now Features Video from over 100 Providers
--Company to Spend up to $70 Million on "Project Canoe" this Year

Comcast, the US's largest cable MSO, last week launched a service called AnyRoom On Demand to its digital cable customers in New ‘ Jersey who are equipped with Motorola set-top boxes (note: the company says that New Jersey customers with Scientific-Atlanta digital set-tops will receive the new service later this year, and that it also plans to roll it out in other markets over the course of the year). As its name suggests, the new service--which requires no extra equipment and is offered free-of-charge--allows customers to select VOD programs on one television and view them on any other TV in the home that has a digital cable box.

"We are delighted to bring this feature to our New Jersey digital cable customers," Greg Arnold, regional SVP of Comcast Cable in New Jersey, said in a prepared statement. "We are committed to providing our customers with the ultimate TV viewing experience and the addition of AnyRoom technology is yet another value-added feature that allows them to view their favorite programming, whenever and wherever they want to watch."

According to Comcast, the AnyRoom service enables customers' "Saved Programs" list to be shared among all digital set-tops within a household registered to the same account, thus allowing VOD titles to be ordered in one room and then viewed in another, and also allowing customers to watch the same program from two or more different boxes simultaneously. To continue watching or to restart a program in another room, customers go the "Saved Programs" folder (which is located on Comcast's On Demand Main Menu) and select the desired program, which will resume where left off. All titles that have been saved on one set-top are displayed in the "Saved Programs" list on other boxes in the household. The service works for any Comcast program that is longer than 19 minutes.

In other Comcast VOD and ITV news:

• The company announced last month that its VOD service has generated over 7 billion views and 1 billion hours watched since 2003. According to the company, each month people are accessing its on-demand programming more than 275 million times (i.e. over 100 times a second), for a total of 130 million hours of content watched. "The numbers speak for themselves...each month our customers watch roughly 40 million movies on-demand," Derek Harrar, Comcast's SVP and general manager of video services, said in a prepared statement. "With thousands of on-demand choices, a crystal-clear HD picture and hundreds of HD on-demand offerings, why leave the comfort of home?" Comcast claims that its VOD service--called simply Comcast On Demand--now has a library of over 10,000 titles per month. It recently announced plans to significantly expand that library, under an initiative dubbed "Project Infinity.” It also revealed at CES earlier this year, that it is planning to launch a Start Over service (allows viewers to start over a TV program in the middle of its broadcast).
• The company also said last month that its online service, Fancast, which its Comcast Interactive Media division launched at CES in January, now features video content from over 100 content providers. The service allows users to view programming, search for video content (whether on Fancast itself, on the Internet in general, on TV, or in movie theaters), and manage their content choices. According to Comcast, it provides instant access to around 20,000 free long- and short-form TV and movie videos from major networks (including CBS, NBC's and Fox's Hulu, MTV Networks and BET Networks) and movie studios at any time, with an average of 5,000 new videos a month. It also provides local program listings (including listings from competing pay-TV services), and a tool called "Watch it," that lets users know where (on Fancast, on linear-TV, on VOD, online, on DVD or in theaters) they can find a particular piece of content. Comcast claims that Fancast allows searches of over 11 million Web pages that contain information on over 50,000 TV shows, 80,000 movies and 1.2 million people. Later this year, Comcast says, the service will allow end-users to program their DVR's from their PC's, and establish a "Watch List" that will organize and catalog upcoming programming, set a personalized play list, and send reminders to them about what they should watch in the future.
• The company appears to be beginning to deliver on the promises it made when it announced Project Infinity at CES by expanding the line- up of programming on its VOD service. The line-up, most of whose titles are available in HD, now includes a number of Hollywood movies available on the service the same day as they are released on DVD (recent examples include "11th Hour," "Shoot Em Up," "Invasion," "The Brave One," "Rendition," and "Michael Clayton"); and a number of TV series premiering on the service at least a week before their linear TV broadcast (recent examples include "MTV's Real World," "The Tudors" and "Flavor of Love"). Comcast also recently began offering the HealthiNation and Shalom TV on-demand programming services; and the Chicago and San Francisco Bay Area versions of the company's regional sports programming service, Comcast SportsNet, recently began offering free, on-demand coverage of Major League Baseball games for approximately 24 hours after those games are played. The move follows a decision by MLB last fall to allow such VOD offerings.
• During a conference call with financial analysts in February, Comcast COO, Steve Burke, revealed that the company plans to spend anywhere between $50 million and $70 million this year on the cable industry's secretive national targeted interactive TV advertising and tracking initiative, Project Canoe. The other cable operators involved in the initiative are Bright House, Cablevision, Charter, Cox and Time Warner Cable. According to a recent article in the New York Times, the six operators are committed to spending a total of $150 million on the initiative, which is headed up by Comcast's Burke and Time Warner Cable COO, Landel Hobbs.
• The company recently announced a detente with BitTorrent, following their recent dispute over Comcast's "traffic-shaping" activities. For more on this story, see [itvt]'s interview with BitTorrent founder and president, Ashwin Navin, in Issue 7.69.

Comcast Media Center Launches HITS Broadband

--Says it will Enable Small Operators to Offer Advanced Interactivity

Comcast Media Center (CMC)--a business unit of the eponymous MSO that provides centralized content-management and distribution services for cable operators, programming networks and advertisers--has launched a service called HITS (stands for "Headend in the Sky") Broadband, which it says will provide IP connectivity to cable operators and enable them to launch advanced, interactive services that it will support. "By tapping into Comcast's terrestrial fiber capabilities, the CMC can provide a cost-effective alternative to cable MSO's for addressing their IP connectivity needs," CMC COO, Gary Traver, said in a prepared statement. "This is becoming increasingly important as the industry moves toward an IP-based operating environment."

The CMC says that it is working with its industry partners to expand the capabilities of its content-management services to support the deployment of IP-based applications, including apps based on the cable industry's tru2way (formerly OCAP) platform. It claims that, just as its HITS service minimizes the headend equipment and on-site tech support required for launching DTV services, the enhancements to its centralized content-management services will allow customers of its HITS Quantum service (provides around 210 linear HD and SD video and audio channels) to avoid much of the investment required for managing advanced applications.

Verizon Launches FiOS HD VOD in More Markets

--Interactive Media Guide Now Available across Entire FiOS Footprint

US incumbent telco Verizon has launched HD VOD service in parts of nine more states where it offers its FiOS TV service: California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, eastern Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas (note: it has also announced plans to launch it in Oregon in the near future). It initially launched the service last December in Florida, Indiana, western Pennsylvania and Virginia. It also recently expanded the service's content line-up via new deals with CBS (note: the CBS deal allowed it to offer both SD and HD on-demand coverage of the NCAA "March Madness" basketball tournament), Discovery, Music Choice, HDNet, Howcast (DIY content) and Ovation TV (note: the service's content includes free HD programs from a range of sources, including instructional videos from Howcast, movies from FearNet, and music programming from Blastro Music, as well as a selection of new-release movies), and says that it aims to offer over 1,000 HD VOD titles this year. Verizon's SD and HD VOD services together offer around 10,000 titles a month, around 70% of which are free-to-view. Its SD free-on-demand content includes sports, lifestyle and children's programming from high-profile networks and channels, such as CBS, Discovery, NFL Network, HGTV, TLC, USA Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, as well as special- interest programming from niche channels, such as World Fishing Network and Smithsonian Channel, and movies from Film Fest Channel and other providers. The FiOS VOD service also offers new-release movies on a pay-per-view basis, and content from premium programmers, such as HBO and Showtime, on a subscription basis.

In other Verizon FiOS news:

• The company has rolled out its interactive media guide in New York, Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania--which means that the guide is now available across the entire FiOS TV footprint. It previously launched the guide in western Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia. The guide allows viewers to access programming from FiOS TV's linear-TV and VOD services, and from their DVR's, as well as personal music and photos from their home network (note: in order to access home media content, viewers must have access to FiOS TV's Media Manager, which is part of its DVR service). According to Verizon, future versions of the guide will allow viewers to access Internet video and radio, podcasts and games; and will also allow them to use mobile phones and the Internet to schedule their DVR's and manage their home media (note: for an in-depth overview of the guide, see [itvt] Issue 7.39 Part 3A).
• The company recently filed an application with New York City's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to offer FiOS TV in the city.

Ocean Blue to Offer Solution for HD Interactive TV on DTT

--Company also Integrates Technologies with STMicrosystems, MediaTek

Bristol, UK-based digital TV software provider, Ocean Blue, announced earlier this month that it will shortly be releasing what it claims is the first digital terrestrial television solution to support high-definition interactive TV services. According to the company, the solution uses the enhanced graphics capabilities of HD-ready televisions during red-button sessions to provide consumers with an enhanced viewing experience. The solution is based on the latest version of Ocean Blue's Voyager MHEG-5 software, which it says will be available in early summer and will comply with new HD specifications that were finalized last month by the Digital Television Group, the industry association for DTV in the UK (note: Ocean Blue claims to have been involved in numerous DTG working groups tasked with defining standards): the HD MHEG-5 profile introduces the use of JPEG bitmaps, AAC audio (streams and clips), and improved color map definitions in order to enhance the visual and audio experience. Ocean Blue says that additional changes to graphics have been made, in order to ensure that any upscaling of standard-definition MHEG applications to HD generates a high-quality image on HD graphics plains. As is the case with all enhancements to the Voyager software, Ocean Blue says, the new HD solution is based on adding software interfaces to the existing API: the company claims that, by maintaining the existing API and only adding relevant functionality, it ensures that its existing customers will "require minimal effort to update and integrate; whilst new customers benefit from integrating a mature and stable software solution."

Ocean Blue bills its Voyager platform as a DVB-based MHEG-5 interactive middleware system that is ready for integration into digital televisions and set-top boxes. Its MHEG-5 engine allows set-tops and iDTV's to receive digital interactive terrestrial television transmissions from DVB-S, T or C broadcasters. The company supplies a DSM-CC data carousel as part of Voyager MHEG-5; it says that support for HD platforms with and without MPEG-4/H.264 capabilities is included in the new release. Voyager MHEG-5 and DSM-CC were originally developed by Philips Electronics, from which Ocean Blue has acquired the sole development and worldwide distribution license.

In other Ocean Blue news:

• The company has teamed with STMicrosystems on a solution that it says will enable "the first devices able to receive mobile TV in a mixture of broadcast standards." The solution, consisting of Ocean Blue's Azure TV software running on STMicrosystems' Nomadik platform, will offer support for DVB-H, DVB-T and DVB-SH, the company says. In addition to supporting multiple standards, the Azure-Nomadik solution will also be able to receive DVB-SH broadcasts, Ocean Blue claims: DVB-SH is a new standard for satellite broadcast to handheld devices that allows satellite TV to be received on the move, without the need for a dish, thus bypassing the bandwidth and country-border restrictions associated with terrestrial broadcast. Ocean Blue bills the new Azure-Nomadik solution as allowing consumers "to take their mobile devices to any country operating digital TV and be able to view TV, whether it be from DVB-H, -T and, when available, -SH transmission." "A universal media receiver in a portable device makes complete sense," Ocean Blue CEO, Ken Helps, said in a prepared statement. "Owners will be able to enjoy mobile TV no matter where they are. Previous systems have simply stopped working at country borders, meaning mobile TV hasn't really been portable before. The introduction of mobile satellite TV will hopefully do away with the other mixture of standards: until then this multi-standard system will pick up all broadcasts." According to Ocean Blue, the Azure-Nomadik solution will allow designers to easily develop multimedia applications for such devices as portable media players, smart phones, wireless PDA's, Internet appliances and in-car entertainment systems. According to STMicroelectronics, in addition to supporting mobile TV reception, the Nomadik STn8815 application processor enables devices to play back Web content, capture high-resolution pictures, record HD video clips and play 3D immersive games. It is based on the company's distributed-processing architecture.
• The company says that it has completed a joint project with system-on-a-chip provider, MediaTek, to integrate its Voyager MHEG-5 and DSM-CC software with the latter's DVB platform, the MediaTek MT533x series. The integration is designed to enable devices based on the platform to support red-button interactive TV applications, such as tcommerce, voting and video stream selection. The MT533x series consists of a DTV backend decoder and a TV controller and is billed as offering high-level integration for advanced applications. As a result of the companies' collaboration, it will be supplied with DVB-T software and Ocean Blue Voyager MHEG-5 and DSM-CC v1.06 as a complete solution for integrated digital television manufacturers. "The addition of Ocean Blue Software's MHEG-5 suite will give our customers a broader platform for development," MediaTek VP, Eric Hsu, said in a prepared statement. "With it, they will be able to deploy richer applications within DVB-T, including revenue-generating content."

Electra Entertainment Unveils its New Interactive TV Middleware

--OpenTV Holds Worldwide Rights to Market the Platform
--Electra Taps Pace Micro Co-Founder, Barry Rubery, as CEO

Last month, Electra Entertainment--a company that was founded in early 2003 by Static 2358 founder, Jasper Smith, and former Gemstar-TV Guide CTO, Jonathan Drazin--unveiled its new interactive TV middleware platform. The company claims that the proprietary middleware, which its says has been in development for three years "with substantial investment," allows "fast, efficient, and content-rich" interactivity on low-cost/low-resource digital receivers and other consumer electronics devices.

According to Electra, the new middleware, which it is licensing free-of-charge to major manufacturers for use in set-top boxes, DVR's and integrated digital television sets, enables interactive TV applications that run 10 to 100 times faster than competing solutions; requires less than 1% of the bandwidth required by competing solutions; and supports both DSM-CC OC and TCP/IP SSL v3. It also uniquely operates over both digital terrestrial broadcast and networked IP environments, the company says.

Electra is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Entertainment Technology (GET), Jasper Smith's recently established holding company which also controls an 81% stake in Static 2358 and the latter's PlayJam ITV games service. Smith recently repurchased that 81% stake from OpenTV (see article in this issue), which retains a 19% share of Static 2358 and which also holds the worldwide rights to market Electra's technology to its customer base. Static 2358, which manages global operations for OpenTV's content business (it claims to have built and tested over 3,000 applications and delivered them to over 100 pay-TV operators), has developed a service, called Trove, for Electra's new middleware, which it says delivers targeted content (through partnerships with such companies as IPC Media and Cartoon Network) and advertising to individual set-top boxes and TV sets: according to Static, broadcasters and operators can customize and rebrand the application, offering free, pay-as-you-go and monthly value packages. The company says that the IP version of the application, dubbed iTrove, offers the ability to deliver content simultaneously over DVB and IP, enabling real-time interaction for live betting, social networking, messaging and audience response. "Electra allows content- providers and manufacturers to 'own' their digital TV viewers via a rich, sticky, customizable portal that isn't diluted by individual channel ratings and can be deployed in mass markets to derive a plethora of revenue streams," Smith said in a prepared statement. "The phenomenal consumer take-up of digital television in the UK and the roll-outs in Asia and Europe create many exciting opportunities for us to deliver a new era of interactivity to millions of viewers worldwide."

In related news:

• Electra has tapped Barry Rubery, the co-founder and former CEO of UK set-top box manufacturer, Pace Micro Technology, as its chief executive. Rubery, who co-founded Pace in 1982, left it in 1996, shortly after it was floated on the London Stock Exchange for £750 million. "Electra's technology allows broadcasters to harness fully the potential of interactive revenues, enhancing loyalty and reducing churn," Rubery said in a prepared statement. "I'm delighted to be back in the industry, this time delivering the next phase in IPTV entertainment." Added Jasper Smith: "I am delighted that Barry has chosen to join Electra. His industry foresight, commercial acumen and proven track record will ensure that under his leadership Electra is able accelerate its roll-out to a wider base of customers."
• John Swingewood, a high-profile figure in the UK interactive TV industry, has been appointed as a strategic advisor to the board of General Entertainment & Technology. "Electra's middleware is free to deploy and enables the delivery of fast, efficient and content-rich interactivity to low-cost digital receivers and other consumer electronics devices, creating the potential for a plethora of revenue streams," Swingewood said in a prepared statement. "With Freeview now the largest digital TV platform in the UK, this is certainly an exciting time to work with manufacturers opting Electra and its Trove/iTrove services." According to GET, Swingewood spent 25 years at BT, where he was responsible for transforming the company's Broadcast Services into a £250 million global business, and where he also served as director of the company's Internet and Multimedia division. He subsequently became director of new media at BSkyB, where he led the company's efforts in Internet, ecommerce and online TV services, in addition to its telephony and WAP efforts. He also founded the Digital Interactive Television Group and The Gaming Channel, which were sold to YooMedia. He is currently an active investor in various entrepreneurial ventures, and holds non-executive director positions at several technology companies.

DigiSoft in IPTV Deals with Sun Microsystems, Video Ezy

Cork, Ireland-based interactive TV and IPTV technology provider, DigiSoft (note: the company, which has racked up some significant successes in the Italian market, also operates offices in the US, the UK, Singapore and New Zealand; for an in-depth interview with its CEO, John Allen, see [itvt] Issue 6.40), announced earlier this month that it has signed a global "Binary Value Added Partner" agreement with Sun Microsystems for the distribution of a Java Platform Micro Edition (Java ME)-based software stack for IPTV set-top boxes. The company claims that the combination of Sun's Java technology-based media client and its own middleware solution for IPTV set-tops will enable service providers to quickly launch feature-rich, revenue-generating HD interactive services, such as VOD, music-on-demand, karaoke, tcommerce, network PVR/time-shifted TV, and games, on a wide range of IP set-tops with H.264 HD and SD video. It also says the joint DigiSoft-Sun software stack--which it touts as "the most open, cost-effective, flexible IPTV middleware solution available in the market today"--supports the latest encryption and watermarking technologies from a number of companies.

DigiSoft also says that it has already sold over 1.5 million middleware license worldwide, and promises that Java technology-based set-tops running its middleware solution will be rolled out across 30,000 retail outlets this year. "Service Providers are now seeking more open and scalable middleware platforms that enable them to launch high-quality HD applications and services to meet customer demand across large client bases," DigiSoft CEO, John Allen, said in a prepared statement. "This will become a bigger issue as the mass adoption of HDTV sets worldwide means that operators and customers alike will demand services that make maximum use of this new format. The combination of Sun's Java client technology and DigiSoft's middleware means that they can now scale their TV service roll-out and achieve a much faster return on investment while having more control of their middleware and applications than ever before."

According to DigiSoft, the use of Java technology for its software stack enables the creation of multiplatform, converged Java applications for a range of Java-based devices, including Blu-ray Disc players, OCAP- and other GEM-based set-tops, mobile handsets and PC's--with minimal re-authoring required. "For over 10 years, Sun has been working with standards bodies, operators, and vendors to define a family of specifications for digital television applications and services such as OCAP/tru2way and BD-J, and we are now seeing great momentum in the deployment of products based on these open standards," Jeet Kaul, VP of Sun's Client Software Group, said in a prepared statement. "We are very pleased to be working with a company with DigiSoft's global experience and track record in delivering IPTV technology, and look forward to extending the presence of Java technology in the DTV marketplace with DigiSoft's middleware solution."

In other DigiSoft news: The company said last week that it has signed a deal with Australian movie rental franchise, Video Ezy, that sees the latter--which operates over 1,000 stores and claims to serve over 8 million customers--using its IPTV delivery platform and set-top middleware to power a new electronic video rental service that will be rolled out in Video Ezy and Blockbuster stores in Australia and New Zealand. The main components of the Video Ezy Electronic Rental service include an in-store kiosk that contains a movie library; a branded USB or iPod-type storage system; and a Java set-top box at the consumer's home: the consumer plugs the USB or iPod device into the kiosk to select movies to rent to play back later on the Java set-top, which incorporates DigiSoft's middleware.

Nortel Launches IPTV Solution

Canadian telecommunications equipment giant, Nortel, last month launched a new IPTV solution which it claims is designed to make it simple and inexpensive for its service provider customers to offer video services, complete with integrated communications capabilities, over their existing networks. According to the company, the new solution is already being trialed by a number of tier-one operators around the world, and is being deployed in the US by Grafton Technologies, a triple-play provider in Jersey County, Illinois, over the latter's existing voice and data network (note: Nortel is providing Grafton with its Global Services for IPTV package, which includes project management, engineering, integration, installation, technical support and assisted operation). "Being able to provide IPTV services blended with advanced services such as click-to-call, text messaging and picture sharing, will provide critical advantage for us in the market," Grafton Technologies general manager, Mike Arnold, said in a prepared statement. "With the Nortel IPTV solution, we will be able to use simple, affordable upgrades to our existing network infrastructure, to launch a range of new services." Added Sameer Sheth, general manager of video solutions at Nortel: "The solution we've announced today directly tackles the issues that our service provider partners face, such as holding down costs while expanding new services, by creating a solution that can be added simply to their existing network."

According to Nortel, the foundation of its new IPTV solution is the Nortel Video Services Platform (VSP) 9500, which it bills as facilitating the rapid introduction of new services on a video or IPTV network, and as having open interfaces that allow applications to be easily developed and deployed. Those applications could include interactive advertising, yellow pages with click-to-call functionality, and social networking tie-ins to TV shows, the company says, and could be created by Nortel, third-party developers, or the service providers themselves ("previously, applications were tightly coupled to the specifics of the network and video infrastructure--applications built for one network would not run on another network without changing network components," Nortel says). Nortel claims that the VSP also delivers application data across multiple different devices, including mobile phones, TV's and computers, by automatically pushing content to the specific end-user device.

Nortel is also launching its first video application in conjunction with the VSP 9500: according to the company, the new Communications Module 9520 offers a complete communications bundle that converges wireline and mobile phones with desktop functionality, such as IM, caller-ID, click-to-call, voicemail and address books--all through an interface on the end-user's television set.

V4x Launches iTV Factory for Adobe Flash and Flash Lite

--Also Launches V4x Interactive Services Manager for Mobile TV

A French company called V4x recently contacted [itvt] to let us know about a new product suite it unveiled at the NAB show in Las Vegas earlier this month. Dubbed V4x iTV Factory for Adobe Flash and Flash Lite, the new offering is based on the company's flagship production platform (also called V4x), which is billed as allowing content creators, mobile operators and television stations to easily assemble, repurpose and enhance programming and multimedia content for delivery to Web CDN's and mobile networks. According to the company, the new V4x iTV Factory solution offers a "straightforward" workflow, using the timeline in the company's V4x Sequencer to produce shows and content channels, and makes it easy to use Flash overlays to create interactive video for the Web (via Adobe Flash and Media Players) and mobile devices (via Adobe Flash Lite or Java/JSR). In addition to tools for interactive video overlays, the company says, it offers template-based graphic branding and plug-ins for template customization in Adobe Flash CS3. The company also claims that the solution facilitates looping; that its show templates speed up the production process; and that content-related interactive sponsorships and ads can be automatically inserted into program streams. It says that essential metadata, such as program names, dates, durations etc., are embedded with the content.

V4x also used the NAB show to demo its new aggregation platform for producing and distributing interactive services for mobile TV. Dubbed the V4x Interactive Services Manager, the new product is billed by the company as providing the necessary platform and infrastructure for aggregating and managing the delivery of scenes in OMA-BCAST/IPDC profile for DVB-H, 3G and other mobile TV standards. It says that the software makes it possible to insert contextually relevant, interactive elements into mobile content with minimal effort, and simplifies the production of these elements with templates for creating synchronized links, polls, tickers and other services. The company also claims that the new product allows services for managing transactions with ad servers and CRMS to be handled "seamlessly," including reporting and analytics.

Key features of the new product include (to quote a press release supplied by V4x):

• "Real-time aggregation of live, contextual interactive services enhancing mobile TV channels.
• Catalog of services. Shell templates are provided for SMS/MMS, participation TV, voting, interactive Web links, ads, RSS info tickers, etc.
• Synch interactive elements with content. Operator can mix live or scheduled synching.
• Single or shared services--V4x Interactive Services Manager can be supplied for a single customer or as a collaborative platform for shared services for Application Service Providers (ASP). All functionality can be accessed by authorized users through a Web client.
• Transaction Hub--V4x Interactive Services Manager acts as a communications manager with ad servers, SMS/MMS gateways, CRM and other services and provid[es] advanced reporting and analytics.
• Interface with ESG servers for mobile broadcast deployments.
• Compliant with mobile broadcast standards such as OMA-BCAST, OMA-RME, DVB-IPDC and a range [of] video and graphic engine handset technologies: Java/JSR, LASeR, Flash Lite, SVG etc.
• Documented API available for the development of custom applications and interfaces."

Macrovision, Samsung Partner for "Next-Generation" Set-Top Boxes

Macrovision--the company that is in the process of acquiring dominant EPG developer, Gemstar-TV Guide--and consumer electronics giant, Samsung, recently announced plans to create "next-generation" set-top boxes which they say will be able to seamlessly download, find and manage digital content throughout the home. The partnership between the companies sees Macrovision providing its Macrovision Connected Platform, which is billed by the company as enabling CE manufacturers to develop consumer entertainment products with the ability to acquire, manage and playback digital content (for example, music, photos and video) from other digital entertainment devices. The set-tops that Samsung is basing on the platform are scheduled for availability in late 2008. The agreement between the companies provides Samsung with a license to use the Macrovision Connected Platform SDK as an embedded digital media server and digital media player: Samsung plans to combine the platform with its own tru2way-based platform to create the new set-tops. According to Macrovision, the Macrovision Connected Platform includes application software for media players and servers, middleware that is a component of the Digital Living Network Alliance standard and that is compliant with the Universal Plug and Play standard, and flexible API's.

Gemstar-TV Guide News:

--License Deals with Digeo, TiVo, Nintendo, MobiTV, Mitsubishi & Others
--Files Patent-Infringement Lawsuit Against Virgin Media
--Rebrands TV Guide Network's VOD Service
--Launches TVG Broadband on Hulu

EPG developer/interactive TV programmer, Gemstar-TV Guide (note: the company is in the process of being acquired by Macrovision--see [itvt] Issue 5.78 Part 1; last week, it announced that independent US proxy advisory firm, RiskMetrics, has recommended that GMST shareholders vote in favor of the deal), has generated a fair amount of news over the past few weeks:

• The company says that it has signed a multi-year patent license agreement with DVR developer, Digeo. The deal also sees the two companies settling their outstanding litigation by mutually dismissing claims. According to the terms of the agreement, Gemstar-TV Guide is providing Digeo with a patent license that covers both its currently deployed EPG's, as well as EPG's that the company plans to deploy with service providers and for use on consumer electronics devices and PC's. The companies' legal dispute dates back to 2006, when Gemstar-TV Guide sued Digeo for patent infringement. Digeo, whose EPG interface is the central feature of its platform, subsequently filed a counter-suit.
• The company has rebranded TV Guide SPOT, the advertising-supported VOD service of its entertainment channel, TV Guide Network, as TV Guide Network On Demand. In addition, it says that the service--which is available to around 32 million digital viewers through distribution partnerships with Bright House, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Insight, Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon and other operators--will now feature an extra hour of content each week, and will ramp up its production of original programming and its acquisition of third-party programming, in order to appeal to a broader base of viewers. New programs set to be offered on the service next month include "Making News: This Just In" (complements TV Guide Network's docu-reality series, "Making News: Texas Style") and an original comedy from the duo, Rhett & Link, that will satirize the shows, "Hannah Montana" and "Lost." "Rebranding our on-demand network will help TV fans find the Hollywood news and behind-the-scenes content they love more easily in their VOD channel line-ups," Dmitri Ponomarev, VP of TV Guide Network On Demand, said in a prepared statement. "This is the perfect time to make this change as we are now increasing the volume of our original programming."
• The company has signed a patent license agreement with DVR vendor/service provider, TiVo, that covers retail products and "certain service provider deployments" of the TiVo service in international markets. The agreement, whose financial terms have not been disclosed, expands an existing patent license deal between the companies which covers retail products and service provider deployments in North America. "International interest in TiVo is at an all-time high as retailers and service providers globally seek to deliver the TiVo service as a way to differentiate their video products," Joshua Danovitz, TiVo's VP and general manager for international, said in a prepared statement. "In most instances, our partners are seeking a one-stop solution that provides the industry's leading personal video recorder experience without the need to acquire separate licenses for third-party intellectual property. Through this arrangement with Gemstar-TV Guide, we have made deployment of TiVo even more seamless for our growing portfolio of international partners."
• The company says that it has expanded its relationship with KDDI, a Japanese provider of information and communications services: the latter has been using Gemstar's G-GUIDE Mobile EPG for its handsets since 2006 (note: the guide, which is built directly into mobile devices, is adapted specifically for the Japanese market); the companies' new agreement sees the license granted to KDDI expanded to cover deployment of the guide on 1-seg, a mobile terrestrial digital video broadcasting service. As part of the agreement, the companies will work together to integrate 1-seg services with the G-GUIDE Mobile EPG. "We remain focused on broadening the relevance and reach of our guidance technology and services, particularly to emerging platforms such as mobile, IPTV and broadband," Mike McKee, Gemstar's COO and president of interactive program guides, said in a prepared statement. "We're very excited to expand our relationship with KDDI and look forward to working with them on further deployment of not only our G-GUIDE Mobile IPG, but on other guidance services in Japan."
• The company has launched a mobile version of its television guidance Web site, TVGuide.com. Dubbed M.TVGuide.com, the new site offers 14-day localized TV listings, complete with episode descriptions, and allows users to set up series and show reminders that are sent to their mobiles via SMS. It also features such areas as "Breaking Entertainment News" and "Last Night's TV" (recaps), and customizable services such as "My Favorite Shows" and "My Favorite Channels." The site is ad-supported, and available to anyone with a Web-enabled mobile phone. According to Bob Shallow, VP and general manager of the TV Guide Mobile Entertainment Group, the new site is targeted at younger consumers: "Nearly 25% of our existing user base falls within the 25 to 34 year-old range," he explained. "Our new service plays to the preferences and demands of this extremely connected market."
• The company has convinced Korean set-top box manufacturer, Humax, to sign a multi-year patent license. The license, most of whose specifics have not been disclosed, allows Humax to incorporate EPG technology that Gemstar claims is based on its patents into digital set-top boxes that it distributes in retail in Europe. The license also covers incorporation of the technology into Humax digital televisions and DVR's.
• The company's interactive horseracing channel, TVG, has launched a broadband version of its service, dubbed TVG Broadband, on Hulu, the new broadband TV service which is the result of a partnership between News Corp. and NBC Universal and which launched commercially last month, following a private beta launch that began last October. TVG Broadband offers a range of specially produced or selected short-form video content, including racehorse and horseracing personality profiles, expert analysis, handicapping information, and feature programming. "This is a significant step for our company and our partners in the horseracing community," TVG general manager, David Nathanson, said in a prepared statement. "Innovation has been a key factor to our success to date. For almost a decade, TVG has been dedicated to televising world-class horseracing globally; now TVG Broadband will allow us to introduce a whole new audience to the sport of kings through Hulu's next-generation platform."
• The company has signed a deal with European digital terrestrial provider, Eurosport, that enables it to use the latter's platform in Germany to supply data to its GUIDE Plus+ EPG, which is offered in DVR's and TV sets from a number of consumer electronics manufacturers, including Panasonic, Philips, Sony and Pioneer. The launch of Gemstar's DTT programming data distribution service in Germany will complement an analog service that it already offers in that market. "This agreement strengthens an already excellent multi-country relationship with Eurosport to distribute our data in Europe and will greatly contribute to the implementation and development of digital terrestrial services in Germany," Lydie Levy, COO of Gemstar-TV Guide's consumer electronics business, said in a prepared statement. "This agreement with Eurosport reinforces our commitment to be at the forefront of guidance technology and services as Europe transitions to a digital future."
• The company has signed a multi-year agreement with Nintendo, that will see its G-GUIDE EPG offered on the latter's Wii gaming console in the Japanese market. The deal is Gemstar's first-ever license agreement with the Japanese company. "We are pleased to partner with Nintendo to deliver a unique guidance experience to Wii users in Japan," Akitaka Nishimura, president of Gemstar's Japanese subsidiary, Gemstar Multimedia Limited, said in a prepared statement. "Our G-GUIDE guidance technology is already well established in digital recorders, televisions, mobile phones and online in Japan. This agreement with Nintendo allows us to extend the reach of G-GUIDE to gaming consoles--an emerging platform that is increasingly becoming an important component of the digital living room experience."
• The company has signed a multi-year deal with Mitsubishi Electric Corp. that extends the existing license under which the latter incorporates Gemstar's G-GUIDE EPG into its digital television sets and DVR's in the Japanese market. The extended license allows Mitsubishi to incorporate the recently launched digital version of the G-GUIDE (which is already used by rival Panasonic in its digital TV sets and DVR's) into its products.
• The company has signed a multi-year patent license agreement with SnapStream Media, covering various of the latter's software products, including its Beyond TV PC-based DVR. The deal will facilitate SnapStream's offering of PC-based EPG's in association with its products.
• The company (together with its subsidiaries, StarSight Telecast and United Video Properties) has filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against UK cable operator, Virgin Media (and its subsidiary, Virgin Media Payments Ltd.), in the English High Court. In its complaint, Gemstar, which claims to have over 200 issued and pending patents covering the UK, alleges that Virgin Media is infringing upon three of its European patents--EP (UK) 0 969 662, EP (UK) 1 377 049, and EP (UK) 1 613 066--which cover such areas as techniques for providing EPG's and for handling recordings from EPG's. "We have worked diligently to license Virgin Media for their distribution of various set-top boxes that contain IPG's covered by our patents, but negotiations did not lead to a resolution," Samir Armaly, Gemstar's EVP of intellectual property and licensing, said in a prepared statement. "The substantial value of our European patent portfolio has been recognized by leading service providers, as well as leading consumer electronics manufacturers, in the UK and throughout Europe. While we would have preferred to reach a commercial solution with Virgin Media, we ultimately have a responsibility to our shareholders, licensees, and other stakeholders to protect the value of our intellectual property."
• The company has signed a multi-year patent-license agreement with MobiTV. According to the companies, the deal covers EPG's for mobile TV programming offered on the MobiTV service "both directly by MobiTV and via MobiTV on behalf of leading mobile and broadband service providers." "Due to the ever-expanding amount of video content available, we believe that interactive guidance technology is quickly becoming a must-have tool, not only for the TV at home, but for other emerging platforms, including online, IPTV, and mobile," Rich Cusick, Gemstar's SVP of digital media, said in a prepared statement. "We are pleased that MobiTV, recognized for offering the most extensive mobile entertainment experience to users on-the-go, and its partners, will benefit from TV Guide's guidance patents."
• TV Guide Broadband, the broadband video service of the company's entertainment and program guidance channel, TV Guide Network, has signed production deals with Rhett & Link and Nick Davis Productions. The deal with Rhett & Link sees the latter producing three music videos for the service, while the deal with Nick Davis Productions sees the latter producing a 10-part broadband video series, entitled "Making News...This Just In," that is intended to supplement the TV Guide Network shows, "Making News: Texas Style" and "Making News: Savannah Style."

CableLabs Launches "OpenCable Project" on Java.net

US cable-industry research, development and standards organization, CableLabs, has launched an "OpenCable Project" on Sun Microsystems' Java.net site, with the goal of expanding resources for tru2way application developers (note: the project can be found within Java.net's Mobile & Embedded Community). tru2way, which was originally known as the OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) and then as the OpenCable Platform (note: the "tru2way" brand was adopted to describe OCAP-/OpenCable Platform-based interactive TV applications because it was deemed more consumer-friendly--a consideration that will presumably become increasingly important now that the standard appears set for significantly wider deployment; however, according to CableLabs, the cable industry plans to continue using "OpenCable Platform" to describe "the underlying set of technical specifications that support tru2way applications"), has its roots in the international Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) standard, and is similar to Blu-ray Java, both of which are also based on Sun's Java platform. "The delivery of tru2way functionality into consumers' homes will open up a new universe of application development opportunities," Time Warner Cable CTO, Mike LaJoie, said in a prepared statement. "To support the growth of this application development, we felt a 'go to' resource Web site is essential for independent, third-party tru2way application developers. For instance, application developers need a resource where they can understand the specifications, stay updated, test their work-in-progress, and have the opportunity to exchange ideas with other application developers." Added CableLabs president and CEO, Richard Green: "Since OpenCable is based on Sun Microsystems' Java language, it was a logical step to take advantage of Sun's already established Java.net resource. The resources that Sun Microsystems is providing will ensure a vibrant developers' community."

According to Roger Brinkley, who holds the title Mobile & Embedded Community Leader at Sun, CableLabs' decision to launch its OpenCable Project as part of the Java.net Mobile & Embedded Community will give it "direct access to thousands of experienced Java application developers" and allow it to "draw from years of experience of application development expertise from within the wireless phone industry." David Preisman, VP of interactive television at Showtime Networks, concurred: "We are constantly thinking of creative uses where two-way applications can benefit our viewers," he said in a prepared statement. "Now we'll have a readily available talent pool whose resources we can tap. Together, we can get applications off of the drawing board and actually in front of our customers." The launch of the new OpenCable Project comes at a time when tru2way finally seems to be on the cusp of broad deployment: Time Warner Cable has deployed around 600,000 tru2way set-top boxes to date, while Comcast has committed to supporting tru2way devices systemwide by the end of this year. (Note: more information on the Java.net OpenCable Project can be found at http://opencable.dev.java.net. For an in-depth overview of the project and its goals, see [itvt]'s interview with Phil Bender, CableLabs' project director for OpenCable, and Roger Brinkley, community leader for the Mobile & Embedded Community at Sun Microsystems, in Issue 7.70. For an in-depth overview of OEDN.net, another newly launched OCAP/EBIF developer network, see [itvt]'s interview with Will Kreth, director of product management for interactive TV at Time Warner Cable, in Issue 7.67.)

In other CableLabs news:

1) The organization's chief scientist, Jason Gaedtke, recently left that post to become CTO of broadband video service, Joost. Gaedtke, who had only been at CableLabs since last November (he was previously chief architect at Comcast Interactive Media), replaces Dirk-Willem van Gulik, who left Joost earlier this year for a post as chief technical architect at the BBC's Future Media and Technology group.

2) The organization is trumpeting the level of support exhibited for tru2way at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year. "The 2008 CES was a landmark event for the cable industry," CableLabs' Richard Green said in a prepared statement. "It permitted us to showcase our partnerships with leading consumer electronics manufacturers to develop TV's and other devices that will free consumers from the set-top box. The deployment of tru2way technology is the next evolution of TV in America." Among CES tru2way highlights cited by CableLabs:

• Four consumer electronics companies that account for over 28% of global television sales demonstrated tru2way products at the show: 1) Panasonic displayed 42-inch and 50-inch tru2way plasma television sets from its Viera line that require no set-top box and that are scheduled for retail availability by the 2008 holiday season; 2) Samsung displayed a tru2way HD set-top (model DCB-H670C) running the Comcast/TV Guide tru2way EPG; 3) LG Electronics displayed its tru2way-enabled Model 42LG51 LCD television set; and 4) Thomson exhibited a tru2way set-top box, the 9000 Series HD MPEG-2/4 Interactive Cable Decoder, which will be targeted at the North American market.
• Panasonic and Comcast announced a new, portable DVR that uses tru2way technology. The device, dubbed the AnyPlay P-DVR, allows consumers to record programming at home and take it with them when they are on the go.
• A number of other companies exhibited tru2way products at the show, including 1) VividLogic, which demonstrated tru2way software (note: the company's customers include Funai, Mitsubishi and Pioneer); 2) ViXS and Advanced Micro Devices, which both demo'd CableCARD chipsets that support tru2way technology; and 3) Digeo, which demo'd its tru2way-compatible Moxi Media Center.

CableLabs, citing demos by Dell, HP and Sony of interfaces for Media Center PC's, also says that CES 2008 showed that there is a growing level of support for the OpenCable Unidirectional Receiver (note: OCUR, which currently allows some cable content to flow to PC's, is viewed by CableLabs as an "intermediate step" towards the goal of allowing reception of all digital cable services on the PC without requiring a separate set-top box; the organization is currently working with Microsoft and a number of other companies to enable tru2way on future Windows Media Center PC's). In addition interfaces for Media Center PC's have been built into high-end home media management systems from Niveus Media and Life/Ware, the organization says. (Note: CableLabs is teaming with the NCTA and Vidiom to produce the second annual Tru2way Developers Conference on May 17th and 18th, just prior to the start of the NCTA Cable Show--see article in this issue.)

Navic's Admira Media Placement System Now Supports ITV Advertising

--Company's Solutions Receive Motorola Acadia Validation

Interactive TV and addressable advertising technology provider, Navic Networks, says that its Admira media placement system now supports various interactive TV capabilities that allow advertisers to more accurately tailor their messages to specific audiences, generate well-qualified customer leads, and collect usage data to measure a campaign's effectiveness. According to the company, advertisers can now layer such interactive features as requests for information, SMS and telescoping onto ads placed using the Admira system. These features, the company points out, provide additional metrics that allow advertisers to determine how effectively their campaigns are reaching their target audiences, based on viewers' interactions with those campaigns.

Admira is billed by Navic as a unified backoffice system for campaign management, media optimization and media buying, that has been designed with an increasingly fragmented television market in mind. According to the company, the system accounts for the constantly changing habits of TV viewers through its ability to target ads even as program viewership varies from day to day and week to week: it looks at all available inventory, the company says, in order to match "the best ad to play with the best opportunity to play it," while simultaneously taking into account target, program and budget constraints. The company claims that, since it allows targets to be defined by behavior, Admira is able to "find opportunities to insert advertisements on many more networks and programs than would normally be included in a media buy which also helps to achieve a higher frequency of views early in a campaign." According to Navic, Admira tracks the reach and frequency of advertising, so that advertisers can make real-time modifications to their ad-placement criteria as necessary: advertisers know how many individual set-tops have shown an ad and how frequently the ad has been viewed, the company claims. (Note: for an in-depth overview of Admira and Navic's other offerings, see [itvt]'s interview with the company's CEO, Chet Kanojia, and its VP of business development and marketing, John Hoctor, in Issue 7.44.)

In other Navic news:

1) The company said last month that its various advertising and interactive TV solutions have completed Motorola's Acadia Application Integration and Test validation process. By ensuring that its solutions are certified to run on Motorola's digital set-top boxes, Navic says, it has "more than doubled its potential market." "Pursuing Acadia validation was about giving operators, advertisers and programmers the broadest possible footprint for advanced advertising and ITV applications," Navic's John Hoctor said in a prepared statement. "Navic's compatibility with all the major set-top platforms and cable industry standards enables our MSO partners to attract even more national advertisers and programmers who are interested in engaging viewers with two-way interactivity and who want to measure actual campaign results in real time."

Navic solutions now certified for compatiblity with Motorola include:

• Admira.
• Addressable advertising solutions that provide targeted interactive overlay enhancements for spot ads.
• Enhanced TV solutions that provide targeted interactive overlay enhancements during a program's broadcast.
• Audience measurement solutions that provide real-time tracking and quantifying of viewership of TV programs and commercials.
• Diagnostic data collection solutions that are billed by the company as providing the collection and distribution services needed by MSO's in order to extend the functionality and revenue-generating capabilities inherent in their networks of subscriber services.

In addition to Motorola's set-tops and Motorola's implementation of the Gemstar-TV Guide i-Guide, Navic says that its solutions are compatible with set-top boxes from Scientific-Atlanta (Cisco), Pioneer and Pace, and are integrated with S-A/Pegasus, SARA, Aptiv's Passport, Time Warner's MDN resident apps, tru2way (OCAP), ETV/EBIF and the TVWorks OnRamp platform. The company claims that, regardless of whether a cable system uses Motorola, S-A, Pioneer or Pace set-tops, its Hypercast Network can connect local, disparate systems together and provide the unified backoffice capabilities necessary to deploy advanced advertising and ITV content.

2) The company has issued a press release trumpeting its "breakthrough 2007" that saw it launch its Admira advertising service and that it says also saw it "more than double" the number of targeted TV advertising spots it powered, compared to the previous year. During 2007, Navic claims, its targeted advertising solutions recorded over 1.4 billion TV impressions across 32 markets, including New York and Los Angeles--a one-year total that was more than the three previous years' totals combined, the company says. Other 2007 "milestones" touted by the company include its development of a single-screen interactive TV app for the Bravo TV show, "Project Runway," that was available in a number of Cox, Comcast, Charter and Time Warner Cable markets; the launch of a service that allows viewers to order a coupon or other promotional material be sent to their mobile phones via SMS; and a move to a larger corporate facility in Waltham, Mass.

BIAP Launches End-to-End EBIF Solution for the Cable Industry

Plano, Texas-based interactive TV company, BIAP Systems (note: in 2006, the company, whose name is an acronym for "Broadband Interactive Applications," signed a long-term affiliation agreement with Time Warner Cable, which has deployed its applications in a number of markets; it was also recently tapped by satellite provider, DISH, to build an interactive TV portal for the 2008 national, state and local elections--see [itvt] Issue 7.45), recently announced an end-to-end EBIF solution for the cable industry. (Note: EBIF is a subset of OCAP that was developed by CableLabs to run on low-end set-top boxes with limited memory and processing power. It can be used for both bound and unbound applications.) "BIAP is proud to be the first and only company to offer a comprehensive set of solutions to the various entities in the ETV ecosystem," BIAP CEO, Tim Peters, said in a prepared statement. "Whether you are looking to deploy our Emmy-nominated applications, looking for a way to quickly develop your own ETV applications, or wanting to capitalize on EBIF to standardize your third-party application platform, BIAP has the product for your needs."

According to the company, the solution includes a suite of market- ready EBIF applications, an integrated development studio, and an EBIF platform for cable operators looking to deploy the standard quickly:

• The application suite includes EBIF-compatible versions of a number of BIAP's best-known apps, such as Yellow Pages on TV, My Football Tracker, My Baseball Tracker, eBay on TV, PiTV (stands for "Personalized Information TV"), and Election Central 2008. The apps support such advanced advertising features as VOD links, ETV banners, targeting of specific messages to individual homes, and also provide usage and measurement reports.
• The solution's integrated development studio, dubbed EBIF Studio, is billed by BIAP as an easy-to-use authoring environment that enables rapid creation of new ETV applications by operators, programmers and third-party developers.
• The solution's EBIF user agent is targeted at cable operators that do not have a deployable in-house EBIF solution. According to the company, it is based on BIAP's compact application framework, which the company says has already been deployed to millions of set-top boxes. At launch, the platform is only available for Scientific-Atlanta (Cisco) set-top boxes; however, BIAP says that support for additional platforms, including Motorola and OpenTV, will be available soon.

Rentrak in Multiple Deals for OnDemand Essentials

Portland, Oregon-based business intelligence company, Rentrak, continues to sign up new content-provider customers and operator partners for its OnDemand Essentials service (note: the latter is a Web- based ASP service which measures and reports anonymous, aggregate VOD usage data, such as viewership volumes and trends, and which is intended to provide cable operators, content providers and advertisers with customizable reports designed to help them better understand viewers' VOD content preferences). Companies that have recently signed agreements with Rentrak include:

• Canada's largest cable operator, Rogers Cable. According to Rentrak, in addition to providing its content-provider customers with data on how their on-demand offerings are faring in Canada, the deal will "open the door to Canadian content provider prospects that do not have distribution in the United States." According to Rogers Cable's VP of video product management, David Purdy, "data analytics are critical to making advertising-supported VOD a reality in Canada" and the operator's partnership with Rentrak will "help enable Canadian broadcasters to build out their business models in order to offer ad-supported primetime, main-network, and episodic programming on VOD to our customers."
• TBS, which has signed a multi-year deal with the company, covering all eight of its VOD brands: Adult Swim, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, CNN, TBS, TCM, TNT and TruTV. "Given Turner's size and activity in the on-demand platform, signing a multi-year deal with this cable industry giant is a major win for Rentrak," Carol Hinnant, VP of business development for Rentrak's OnDemand Essentials operations, said in a prepared statement. Added Jack Wakshlag, TBS's chief research officer: "VOD represents a growth opportunity for Turner brands and we are pleased to be able to share metrics on the power of our VOD content, as offered via our MSO partners, to our advertisers."
• Time Warner Cable, which has signed a multi-year services contract with the company to provide VOD measurement and analytical services. The deal means that Rentrak has now secured agreements with all but one of the US's major cable operators (the holdout being Cox): its other operator partners include Bresnan, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Insight, Suddenlink, Verizon and WOW.
• 10 smaller content providers--AMC, Gospel Music Channel, IFC, Kabillion, Martha Stewart, New Frontier Media, RHI Entertainment, Sundance Channel, The Weather Channel and WE tv--which have signed multi-year deals with the company.
• Two existing partners--NBC Universal and MTV Networks--which have added additional channels to their multi-year deals with the company. NBC Universal has added its Sci Fi and USA channels, and MTV has added its MTV2, MTV Tr3s, VH1 Classics and Nick Espanol channels.
• Eight smaller operators: Bendbroadband, Blue Ridge Cable, Buckeye Cablevision, EATEL, Entouch Communications, GVTC, Massillion Cable TV and Metrocast. (Note: for more on Rentrak, see [itvt]'s interview with Cathy Hetzel, president of the company's Advanced Media Information division, and her colleague, Dustin Encelewski, the company’s director of technological business development, in Issue 7.73.)

Open IPTV Forum Publishes End-to-End Architecture Specification
--Available at Open IPTV Forum
AT&T to Launch Mobile TV Service Next Month
GridNetworks Launches New Version of its GridCasting Platform
--Raises $9.5 Million in Series A Funding Round that Included Cisco
NCTA: Over 4 Million CableCARDs Now Deployed
Roo Rebranded as KIT Digital
--Is Focusing on Turnkey Broadband TV Solutions for Enterprise Clients
Thomson's SmartVision Now Supports Push-VOD, VOD for Hybrid Networks
Japan's NEC Announces Launch of Full-Scale IPTV Business
A-VSB Demo's End-to-End, ATSC-Compatible Mobile Broadcast TV Platform
--Platform Supports Interactive Applications



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