OpenTV Participate to Power New Gaming Channel, Pure Platinum TV

Liberty Media-owned interactive TV middleware and applications provider, OpenTV, has notched up a win for its multiplatform interactive TV solution, OpenTV Participate. (Note: OpenTV Participate enables viewers to participate in real-time or time-shifted broadcast-related competitions, votes, polls and games, via mobile phones, the Web, IVR and set-top boxes. For an in-depth overview of OpenTV Participate, see [itvt]'s interview with OpenTV's VP of global sales and marketing for participation TV, Amos Manasseh, who is the executive in charge of the platform, in Issue 6.61.) The company has signed a multi-year license agreement with a company called MC3 Global (the latter describes itself as "a partnership of industry-leading TV professionals specializing in convergent media and traditional TV with non-traditional revenue streams"), that will see OpenTV Participate being used as the core business management tool for MC3 Global's planned 24-hour gaming channel, Play Platinum TV, which is schedule to launch next quarter. The channel is slated to offer an array of fixed-odds games, including virtual horseracing, as well as Keno and other numbers games, over free-to-air satellite, broadband and other distribution platforms. Viewers will be able to participate in the games by telephone, the Internet and SMS. According to MC3 Global, the new channel will be launched in multiple territories, including Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and will be broadcast in several languages.

OpenTV Participate will process all the new channel's transactions, and will provide modules for customer registration, customer care, and bonus and loyalty schemes. It will also provide MC3 Global with multiple finance functions, including billing (via credit cards and premium-rate telephony), accounting, business and financial reporting, and risk management. OpenTV says that the platform will provide real-time processing of all participation, and will thus enable Play Platinum TV to broadcast live statistics to its viewers that will be synchronized with its programming. "As with most businesses, ours is designed to grow in stages with new formats being added as the business builds," MC3 Global's managing director, Jennifer Allsop, said in a prepared statement. "OpenTV Participate is the perfect platform for such a strategy: the system is extremely powerful and modular in design. In the main package, we get all the systems we need to run a participation-based interactive TV business, and can then add new modules quickly and with little additional effort. For example, new games engines or the very slick participation TV modules."

In other OpenTV news: the company says that French pay-TV company, TPS, has launched an HDTV service in France using OpenTV Core 2.0 middleware. Last year, TPS chose OpenTV as its technology partner for the deployment and development of an advanced set-top box platform, based on Thomson's ST7100 set-tops. It began commercial deployment of the HD-capable set-top boxes late last month, and now offers a range of HD channels--including TPS Star, TF1 and M6 (note: the soccer World Cup will be broadcast in HD on TF1 and M6)--over satellite, using MPEG-4 compression. "We're proud that OpenTV Core 2.0 middleware technology was chosen by TPS to help it deliver the ultimate HD viewing experience to its subscribers," Regis Saint Girons, OpenTV's SVP of sales and marketing for Europe, said in a prepared statement. "The solution also provides compatibility with existing interactive TV services. We look forward to further supporting TPS' goals by continuing to deliver compelling and revolutionary offerings quickly and cost-effectively."

Microsoft TV, Alcatel in IPTV/Triple-Play Partnerships with HP, IBM

Microsoft TV and communications equipment giant, Alcatel, said earlier this week that they have signed global strategic partnership agreements with HP and IBM, focused on the delivery of server solutions for IPTV/triple-play deployments (note: Microsoft TV and Alcatel signed an IPTV partnership agreement last year; for more on that agreement, see [itvt] Issue 5.88 Part 2; Alcatel also has existing OEM agreements in place with HP and IBM).

The companies say that the deals will see HP and IBM optimizing their server solutions to provide "superior" support for Microsoft TV's flagship IPTV Edition platform within Alcatel's Triple-Play Service Delivery Architecture. Among other things, the deals will see HP validating and recommending the appropriate HP ProLiant and HP BladeSystem servers to optimize the performance and scalability of IPTV Edition applications. In addition to collaborating with HP and IBM on optimized server solutions, Microsoft TV and Alcatel plan to establish joint global go-to-market efforts with the companies that will include sales and marketing activities: Alcatel says that it will include specified bundled server solutions built with HP ProLiant and pre-integrated HP OpenView IT element management software in its end-to-end triple-play offering (it has not said whether it will offer such solutions in partnership with IBM). The companies say that their collaboration will speed time-to-market for IPTV services, while improving system performance and architecture scalability for telcos. "The agreements with IBM and HP are a major endorsement for the joint Alcatel/Microsoft TV IPTV Edition ecosystem," a Microsoft TV spokesperson told [itvt] by email. "By working with two leading server platform providers, Microsoft and Alcatel will ensure that service provider customers and their subscribers will benefit from ongoing HP and IBM innovation."

PCCW in IPTV Partnership with News Corp.'s STAR

Hong Kong-based IPTV provider, PCCW (note: the company claims to have over 550,000 subscribers to its "now TV" service, which launched in August, 2003; that figure represents approximately 25% penetration of Hong Kong households, and means that now TV is the world's largest IPTV service), has formed a partnership with News Corp.-owned pay-TV provider, STAR, to explore IPTV opportunities in Asian markets. The companies say that their partnership will combine PCCW's expertise in building and operating an IPTV business with STAR's experience in content creation and distribution and in the pay TV business: they plan to target both platform operators and media companies. According to PCCW, its cooperation with STAR will "involve full pay-TV operations and will be in addition to worldwide technical and IT solutions provided by CASCADE," a wholly owned subsidiary of PCCW, which has built and installed end-to-end IPTV platforms in Thailand, Morocco and other countries. PCCW and STAR say that they are currently in discussions with a number of operators.

New [itvt] Column

Our new column, entitled "Legends of ITV" and written by interactive TV industry veteran, Patrick Donoghue, takes a wry look at some of the legendary creations that fueled the early years of the ITV industry.

Previous columns:
#1 http://www.itvt.com/wvsksoitvtissue6.60.html
#2 http://www.itvt.com/wvskgiitvtissue6.67.html

To contribute, please write donoghue@itvt.com with your ideas, stories, screenshots, and comments!

Brightcove in Strategic Partnership with Limelight Networks

--Signs Deal with About.com

Broadband video publishing company, Brightcove, and broadband content delivery network provider, Limelight Networks, have formed a strategic partnership. The deal will see Brightcove using Limelight's digital media content delivery network to distribute broadband TV content worldwide: Brightcove customers of any size will automatically have access to Limelight's content delivery infrastructure. Using Limelight's content delivery network (which it claims provides over 200 gigabits per second of Adobe Flash Media streaming delivery capacity), the companies say, Brightcove will support distribution of broadband video in a variety of formats (including Adobe Flash streaming video, Windows Media video, and MPEG-4) to a wide range of Internet-connected devices, including PC's, handhelds, and home-networked TV sets. The companies also say that they will collaborate on implementing broadband TV business models, including pay media sales and advertising. "Brightcove's vision for the future of TV--where consumers can watch and interact with millions of on-demand broadband channels delivered through the Internet and content creators can reach global audiences with a truly open distribution platform--is driving innovation across the media industry," Limelight CEO, Bill Rinehart, said in a prepared statement. "To make their vision a reality, we are working together to give media companies access to our content delivery platform, which provides the flexibility and scalability necessary to distribute massively large video and music files across multiple platforms to audiences of any size."

In other Brightcove news: the company has signed a deal with Web portal company, About.com, that sees the latter offering a Brightcove-developed streaming video player. According to About.com, the new player offers advertisers contextual advertising and bundled syndication packages targeting niche audiences. "Our partnership with Brightcove is an important aspect of our strategy to extend our deep text and pictures content into the broadband arena," About.com president and CEO, Scott Meyer, said in a prepared statement. "About.com's new player marks our latest move to scale our high-quality online video offering and to offer advertisers unique and compelling ways to reach our consumers." About.com, which plans to expand its broadband video offering (it debuted broadband video in 2004 via its Style channel, and now offers video in its Home & Garden, Gadgets and Health channels), is owned by The New York Times Company: in February, Brightcove signed a multi-year deal with the latter that allows for distribution of broadband video content across any of the Times Company's online properties, as well as the opportunity for syndication of content to other sites.

Vidiom Releases Version 1.0 of VISION Workbench

OCAP specialist, Vidiom Systems (note: the company--which, among other things, designed and developed an OCAP stack for OCAP Development, LLC, the joint venture between Comcast Cable and Time Warner Cable, and which is also licensed to distribute that software--was recently acquired by ADB Holdings, the parent company of set-top box manufacturer, ADB, and MHP specialist, Osmosys), has released version 1.0 of its VISION Workbench OCAP application development software. The software includes an OCAP set-top box simulator that was built with the OCAP technology that Vidiom developed for OCAP Development, LLC. Vidiom says that it designed the platform's OCAP set-top box simulator and its OCAP Project Wizard as plug-ins to the popular Eclipse platform, and integrated them with the Eclipse Java IDE and debugger, in order to create a "seamless" OCAP application development environment. It claims that VISION Workbench allows developers to code and test OCAP applications from their PC, without purchasing additional equipment or playing for application deployment royalties.

According to Vidiom, VISION Workbench 1.0 has passed the Sun Java Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK) for CDC and PBP 1.0. Features offered by the software include: a channel map and a headend simulator, bound and unbound application support, SI API support, 10 sample applications with source code, an application developer guide, an API reference manual, and online help. "Vidiom has a vast and rich history in the creation of tools for interactive product development and VISION Workbench is the culmination of that experience," Vidiom's VP of business development and content, David McElhatten, said in a prepared statement. "I believe that VISION Workbench provides the features and functionality developers want and need to develop compelling OCAP applications."

Ocean Blue's New EuroMHEG-Based Software Enables Freeview Return Path

Bristol, UK-based digital TV software developer, Ocean Blue Software, says that it has developed the first set-top box software to enable full interactive TV services on DVB-T broadcast platforms, including the UK's increasingly popular free-to-air digital terrestrial platform, Freeview. The company is the first to implement the BSI/ISO 13522-5 standard--generally known as "EuroMHEG"--which includes a return path that will enable interactive voting, tcommerce and VOD via a phone or broadband connection (note: the EuroMHEG standard requires set-top boxes and television sets to incorporate a modem that can be connected to a phone line or broadband connection; MHEG-5 is both an ISO and ETSI standard).

Ocean Blue says that the new software will be available to set-top box and TV manufacturers this year. "Availability of full seamless interactive services via a remote control on Freeview has been limited due to the lack of implementation of the return channel," Ocean Blue managing director, Ken Helps, said in a prepared statement. "The failure of the Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) to gain traction in the market and its high cost means the ISO version of the MHEG-5 software standard is now a viable solution for emerging digital terrestrial broadcasters. This has allowed us to start the development of the first fully interactive middleware for DVB-T, which could be adopted by any digital terrestrial broadcaster, such as the Freeview consortium. Owners of Freeview set-top boxes have been missing out on interactive services since its introduction. All too often viewers, who wished to vote, buy product or play with Freeview would use a mobile or landline phone as the return channel. That will change with the new EuroMHEG standard."

Premiere to Use NDS's MediaHighway for New Interactive TV Service

Premiere, a pay-TV provider that operates in Germany and Austria, has chosen News Corp.-subsidiary NDS's MediaHighway middleware for an interactive TV service that Premiere plans to launch this August. The deployment, which represents NDS's first large-scale customer win in Germany, will see MediaHighway running on hybrid set-top boxes that combine broadcast and IPTV technologies. The boxes' IP-based broadband backchannel will initially support such interactive applications as VOD and the ability to use a remote to make pay-per- view orders. According to NDS, Premiere plans to eventually roll out a range of open standards-based interactive applications. "NDS is the ideal partner for us for establishing our interactive platform," Premiere CEO, Dr. Georg Kofler, said in a prepared statement. "NDS MediaHighway middleware has proved itself around the world, and is already running on more than 38 million set-top boxes. It is extremely powerful and flexible and covers all the functions that we need, from interactive and add-on services to advanced PVR technology. We are thus gaining a fast and efficient entry into modern, interactive television."

Flextech Taps Mobrio for User-Generated Content Platform

Flextech, the content arm of UK cable operator, ntl/Telewest (it is the company behind such channels as LIVINGtv, UKTV, Trouble, Bravo UK, Ftn and Challenge), has tapped Mobrio, a company that specializes in online community services, to provide a interactive user-generated content platform, which will be integrated into Flextech's various channel Web sites and which will support shows broadcast on Flextech channels. According to Flextech, the platform can receive, format and present all user-generated content quickly and flexibly, regardless of the type and file format of that content--thus, the company says, it will allow viewers to use their mobile phones and PC's to upload audio and video clips, pictures and text.

Trouble is the first of Flextech's channels to incorporate the new platform, using it as the basis of a service called "Trouble Homegrown" (note: for more on the latter, see [itvt] Issue 6.62 Part 3): "Mobrio's platform allows us to extend the program experience beyond the normal broadcast remit," Trouble Homegrown producer, Gavin Newman, said in a prepared statement. "We will be able to generate advanced activity around new and old shows alike that traditionally have been hard to creatively enhance due to rights rarely being extended to platforms beyond television. We will also use the new platform to maintain continuity between shows and series by building a sense of participation with viewers and encouraging them to have interaction with each other and the program producers. As well as being an entertaining viral platform in its own right, Homegrown will have very specific incentives: for example, auditioning for the new series of 'Bump n Grind' or the 30-minute weekly 'Homegrown' show which follows later this year, whereby people submit their video clips and the viewers vote for those they wish to see featured on-air."

When viewers submit their content to the Trouble Homegrown site, Mobrio's platform automatically creates an appropriate thumbnail link for the file, and then converts the file into a format that allows it to be automatically streamed to visitors. The creative design for this first deployment of the Mobrio platform was carried out by Holler Digital.

Warner Bros. in Deal with BitTorrent

--Films to be Offered for Download Day-and-Date with DVD

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group has signed an agreement with BitTorrent, a San Francisco-based provider of peer-to-peer technology that has been widely used for illegal content downloads. The deal--which follows an agreement between BitTorrent and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), under which BitTorrent has undertaken to help prevent content piracy (note: as part of its efforts to ingratiate itself with content providers, BitTorrent last year launched a search engine on its Web site, which it says is designed to serve as a venue for publishers to showcase their content; the company is working with the MPAA to remove copyright-infringing content from the engine's search results, and says that it is working on developing "integrated monetization for paid and ad-supported content"; it also recently added DRM capabilities to its service)--will make Warner Bros. the first major studio to use BitTorrent's publishing platform to distribute video. Under the terms of its deal with Warner Bros, BitTorrent will offer access to a line-up of the latter's content--including DVD-quality movies--on its Web site: consumers will be able to download the content using BitTorrent's peer-assisted "file-swarming" technology (note: the technology is designed to enable speed and bandwidth efficiency in the transfer of massive files from a Web site to a PC). "The technology behind BitTorrent is elegantly designed for the delivery of large files like TV programs and films," Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, said in a prepared statement. "Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group was established to provide innovative, next-generation distribution models, and this relationship provides our company with a unique platform to reach a new set of movie fans. BitTorrent has made the leap in creating a legal partnership that respects the value of the intellectual property. This has provided us with a next-generation platform for the distribution of our films and TV programs."

BitTorrent claims that the deal will result in it providing the first peer- assisted technology platform to offer US consumers legal content on both a VOD and an electronic sell-through (EST) basis, day-and-date with that content's DVD release. The service enabled by its platform is scheduled to launch this summer, and will initially feature around 200 Warner Bros. new releases, library titles and TV series. Titles expected to be offered on the service include "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride," "Dukes of Hazzard," "North Country," "Rumor Has It," "The Matrix," "Dog Day Afternoon," "Natural Born Killers," "National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation," "Babylon 5," and "Dukes of Hazzard." "Warner Bros. is in the business of making its movies and TV shows available to as wide an audience as possible," Warner Bros. EVP of distribution technology and operations, Darcy Antonellis, said in a prepared statement. "The launch of a legal BitTorrent online video service allows us to extend our reach to places our content would not ordinarily be found legally and opens up new opportunities. Entering into agreements such as this to distribute our content is not only a better way to reach existing and new customers but a reflection of the critical role distribution technologies play in the future of the entertainment industry."

TiVo News:

--Unveils "TiVo Guru Guide" Programming Recommendations Service
--Signs Deal to Distribute Brightcove-Published Video to Series2 Boxes
--Signs "Multi-Million Dollar" Advertising Agreement with Interpublic
--Launches Interactive Ad for Lexus

DVR vendor/service provider, TiVo, has announced a number of new services and deals for its platform in the past two weeks:

• The company has announced plans to launch, in the next few weeks, a programming recommendations service called "TiVo Guru Guide." (Note: Guru Guide is the latest in a series of original services that TiVo has launched in recent months, in order to differentiate its platform from the generic DVR platforms offered by US cable and satellite operators; the other services include "TiVo KidZone" and "TiVo Mobile"--see [itvt] Issue 6.62 Part 3.) The service will provide TiVo customers with recommendations from editorial experts ("gurus") who write for such media outlets as Entertainment Weekly, Star, Sports Illustrated, Automobile, Billboard and CNET. Recommendations will organized into popular TV categories, such as sports, films, music, comedies and drama. According to TiVo, each Guru Guide recommendation will contain five to 10 TV programs per week (thus creating a "virtual television channel," TiVo says), and recommendations will be updated at least once a month. TiVo customers will be able to use the platform's online scheduling feature to automatically record all the programs in a Guru Guide recommendation, and, of course, will also be able to pick individual programs from a given recommendation based on their personal interests. In a prepared statement, Paul Fichtenbaum, managing editor of Sports Illustrated's Web site, SI.com, described the kind of programming that might be recommended by his publication's Guru Guide: "Sports Illustrated's Guru Guide will provide viewers with recommendations compiled by our editorial team which will feature an interesting mix of television programming--everything from the best match-ups of the week, to the history of rugby, to the impact of exercise on childhood obesity."
• The company has signed an agreement with broadband video distribution specialist, Brightcove, that will enable video published through Brightcove's service to be distributed directly to broadband-connected TiVo Series2 DVR's. TiVo subscribers will be able to access the content directly through the TiVo service's TiVo Central content management area. According to the companies, TiVo and Brightcove will phase in a number of content partners (while the companies have not specified the content partners, Brightcove has deals in place with, among others, Barrio 305, Discovery, MTV, The N, National Lampoon, Reuters and The New York Times) and new downloading capabilities going forward: they claim their partnership will make it possible for almost any individual or company publishing broadband video using Brightcove's service to distribute that video to TiVo subscribers. In addition, they say, the deal "opens the possibility" of monetizing that content through advertising, subscription or pay-per- view. At launch, however, all content will be offered free to TiVo subscribers, though it may carry advertising, the companies say. "The Brightcove partnership will further empower consumers by allowing TiVo subscribers to find broadband video content via their TiVo or PC and send that content directly to their TiVo box where they can view it whenever they choose," Brightcove founder and CEO, Jeremy Allaire, said in a prepared statement. "TiVo subscribers will gain access to the largest, most powerful content platform ever offered--the Internet. If it's on Brightcove, you'll be able to watch it on your TV using your TiVo box."
• The company has signed what it describes as a "multi-million dollar" upfront advertising agreement with Interpublic Media, the business unit that oversees the media services operations of the Interpublic Group of Companies (companies in the group include Initiative, MAGNA Global, Universal McCann, and various specialist media agencies). According to TiVo, the deal will see it providing preferred pricing for interactive and on-demand advertising on its platform to Interpublic Media clients, and will see Interpublic Media contributing to the development of new TiVo interactive advertising products. "TiVo is pleased to have Interpublic Media as the first major advertising holding company to sign an upfront deal," TiVo president and CEO, Tom Rogers, said in a prepared statement. "This agreement further validates our commitment to the advertising industry and presents an opportunity for all of Interpublic's clients to leverage TiVo's DVR advertising to reach an attractive demographic. TiVo offers an interactive advertising solution that enables the consumer to pause television and engage in a branded advertising experience, without missing even a second of the TV show a viewer is watching. We are excited to expand our long-standing relationship with Interpublic and look forward to capitalizing on their intellectual capital, experience and relationships in the future." The agreement was handled for Interpublic Media by its recently launched Emerging Media Lab, which is designed to provide Interpublic clients with a better understanding of new developments in emerging media. (Note: TiVo recently announced a new advertising service called "TiVo Product Watch." For more on the latter, see [itvt] Issue 6.72 Part 2.)
• The company has unveiled the first custom interactive application associated with a TiVo Showcase (note: TiVo Showcases are long-format, on-demand commercials that are stored on a special, dedicated area of the TiVo DVR's hard drive.) Dubbed the "Lexus Car Configuration Tool," the app allows TiVo subscribers with a broadband-connected TiVo Series2 DVR to customize an image of the 2007 Lexus ES 350, access information about the new model, view a photo slideshow, locate the Lexus dealer closest to their home, and schedule a test drive. "Delivering the first advertiser custom application on TiVo boxes allows us to further our lead in the industry in providing interactive and integrated advertising solutions through the television," Davina Kent, TiVo's VP of national advertising sales, said in a prepared statement. "TiVo is committed to developing products and partnering with innovative advertisers to deliver relevant, interactive advertising that enhances the overall entertainment experience for TiVo subscribers."

Time Warner Cable to Launch "Start Over" in Three New Markets

Time Warner Cable says that it will roll out its Start Over service in three new markets this summer: Greensboro, North Carolina; Rochester, New York; and San Antonio, Texas. The free service, which has been available in South Carolina since last November, allows the operator's digital customers to restart TV shows that are already in progress (note: it does not allow them to fast-forward through commercials): an icon alerts viewers that a show is Start Over-enabled. The service is powered in part by technologies that were developed under the auspices of the MSO's now-defunct headend-driven PVR project, MystroTV (note: the service also employs Concurrent's Real-Time Catcher and BigBand's Broadband Multimedia Router technologies, as well as digital video editing and processing technology from Canberra, Australia-based Mediaware).

According to Time Warner Cable, Start Over has become one of its most popular advanced services, where available: the company says that 70% of customers who are able to use the service are doing so around seven times per month, and that more than two thirds use it three times per week. "Customer satisfaction with Start Over is off the charts," Peter Stern, Time Warner Cable's EVP of product management, said in a prepared statement. "Customers are watching Start Over-enabled shows twice as long as the cable industry average for linear programming. Start Over allows customers to turn live TV into video-on-demand so they can easily catch the entirety of any program to which they tune in late. With the average customer missing the first 15 minutes of a program, Start Over has already generated more than 25 million additional viewing minutes that otherwise would have never been seen by consumers. The popularity of Start Over is of great value to us, to our customers and to those programmers and advertisers that have signed on to it."

In South Carolina, Start Over functionality is currently available on programming from 62 stations and channels, including local NBC affiliate, WIS; local WB affiliate, WBHQ; USA; CNBC; Bravo; Sci-Fi; MSNBC; CNBC World; Sleuth; MTV; Nickelodeon; Comedy Central; Spike TV; Sundance; Fox News; Fox Sports World; Fox Sports Net South; Fox College Sports Atlantic; Fox College Sports Central; Fox College Sports Pacific; Fox Sports World Espanol; Speed Channel; Fuel; FX; National Geographic; Fox Movie Channel; CNN; TBS; TNT; Turner South; TCM; Cartoon Network; Boomerang; Animal Planet; Travel Channel; Lifetime Real Women; Food Network; HGTV; Fine Living; DIY; OLN; Golf Channel; and G4.

The new phase of Start Over roll-outs will begin next month, when Time Warner Cable launches the service in San Antonio. It plans to launch it in Rochester this summer, and then in Greensboro. According to the company, the service will launch in these markets "neighborhood by neighborhood," until it is available to all the customers in each market. The company says that it hopes to launch Start Over in "another three to four" divisions later this year.

T-Online Hungary Taps Microsoft, Alcatel for IPTV Pilot

T-Online Hungary (note: the company, which is part of the Deutsche Telekom group, is Hungary's largest ISP) is using Microsoft TV's IPTV Edition software platform and Alcatel's services integration solutions for an IPTV pilot. (Note: Microsoft TV and Alcatel signed an IPTV partnership agreement last year.) The pilot consists of three stages: a technical lab trial, which was completed at the end of January; two field trials (the first field trial, which included 18 broadcast TV channels, VOD and PVR, was recently evaluated, the companies say, and, based on the results, a second, extended field trial, which features 500 participants, enhanced quality and more TV channels, has now begun); and a public market trial which is scheduled to begin this summer. "Alcatel's unparalleled experience deploying video solutions for operators around the world, together with the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition platform capabilities, will allow T-Online Hungary to evaluate these new services quickly," Andras Tudos, T-Online Hungary's chief information officer, said in a prepared statement. "This trial is an important first step toward offering our customer base dynamic new services like broadcast TV, VOD and interactive TV."

The T-Online Hungary deal means that there are now 15 major service providers around the world using the IPTV Edition platform. 10 of those service providers (AT&T, BT, Deutsche Telekom, Slovak Telekom, Swisscom/Bluewin, TDC, Telecom Italia, T-Online France, Verizon and Ya.com) have committed to commercial deployments of the platform, while the other five (T-Online Hungary, BellSouth, Bell Canada, Telkom South Africa and Reliance Infocomm) are using it in trials. Alcatel, meanwhile, claims to be involved in 35 IPTV deployments around the world.

Sumitomo Using ENCIRQ Technology in its New IP Set-Top Box

ENCIRQ, a Burlingame, Calif. provider of data-centric software for intelligent devices, says that its data-management solution, the ENCIRQ Data Foundation Framework, has been chosen by Sumitomo Electric Networks for use in its new IP set-top box, the StreamCruiser ST1300 Series. Sumitomo began shipping the box last month. "By using the ENCIRQ Framework, our new StreamCruiser series is able to more efficiently and securely handle on-demand video, live broadcast television, karaoke, and all broadcast content metadata to create a more responsive user experience despite limited hardware resources," Hiroaki Nishimoto, general manager of Sumitomo's CDN Development Group, said in a prepared statement. "The ENCIRQ Framework contributed greatly to our ability to deliver high-quality applications within a very short development schedule and we plan to continue close cooperation with ENCIRQ in building future IP set-top boxes and applications."

According to ENCIRQ Sumitomo is using its Framework product to solve a problem occasioned by the fact that EPG's are driven by large amounts of content metadata, much of which resides on an external server: because of the huge volume of data that has to be processed and transferred across the network, searching this data and screen switching can be slow. ENCIRQ says that its Framework product offered Sumitomo an innovative approach to data management that provided more efficient data processing within the set-top box. As a result, ENCIRQ claims, users of Sumitomo's new IP set-tops will get "faster on-screen displays and a richer, more responsive experience." According to ENCIRQ, Framework offers the benefits of a relational data model, together with a streams-based approach that is suited for the data management requirements of embedded applications. The company says that the product includes a data-centric method for building solutions, extensible application components, and automated code-generation tools, together with performance-tuned service libraries, to provide an efficient runtime environment for "virtually any" operating system and microprocessor.

Broadbus in Technology Partnership with Axiom Systems

VOD server company, Broadbus Technologies, has formed a partnership with Axiom Systems, a UK-based developer of service fulfillment software, which the companies say will result in a solution that enables operators to simplify the deployment of IPTV offerings, such as networked DVR, time-shifted television and television-on-demand. The solution combines Broadbus's solid-state B-1 Video Server with Axiom's AXIOSS operational support systems, which the company claims are designed for use with next-generation networks: according to the companies, the solution is designed to address the fact that the process of designing, creating, delivering and analyzing performance of new IPTV services, using existing operational support systems, is becoming increasingly complex. The companies claim that their joint solution, in addition to addressing these challenges, will enable service providers to rapidly deploy an end-to-end, "order to cash" environment. "Broadbus' partnership with Axiom Systems combines the most powerful platform for advanced video services with a leading OSS solution used by the world's largest communications service providers," Tom Kennedy, senior director of marketing at Broadbus, said in a prepared statement. "Operators that deploy the Broadbus and Axiom Systems solution will gain the benefits of a solution that addresses their on-demand needs today and in the future, as they deploy advanced services such as time-shifted television and nDVR." Benefits claimed by Broadbus and Axiom for their joint solution include: reduced time to design, create, test and launch new IPTV services; carrier-class reliability and availability; reduced total cost of ownership; scalable, reliable and high-performance VOD infrastructure; simplified activation/provisioning of complex, end-to-end IPTV services; and the ability to analyze service performance to ensure continual improvement of profitability.

CableLabs Issues Version 2.0 of its VOD Metadata Content Specification

US cable-industry research-and-development body, CableLabs, has issued Version 2.0 of its VOD Metadata Content Specification. According to CableLabs, the new version improves upon the widely used Version 1.1 by assisting cable operators as they add more content offerings to their VOD services and as customer usage of those services increases.

The specification is designed to lessen the load on cable operator backoffice functions by creating a video distribution spec for content providers and aggregators that reduces backend content transport and storage demands, increases the amount of standardized metadata available for use in searching, and simplifies the user interface--thus providing operators with additional flexibility in how they offer content to their customers. Through these specifications and applications developed around this standardized metadata, CableLabs says, cable operators can provide VOD customers with simple ways to 1) find the content they want, 2) easily search for their favorite scenes within that content, and 3) discover new content and promotions that target their interests. "As usage and the amount of VOD content continue to grow, the industry's adoption of CableLabs' VOD Metadata Content 2.0 spec will benefit cable operators and consumers alike by helping to improve the overall VOD experience," Mark Hess, SVP of business and product development for digital TV at Comcast, said in a prepared statement.

According to CableLabs, the VOD Metadata Content Specification 2.0 is the first application to use the Asset Distribution Interface 2.0 Platform Specifications as part of the next generation of cable VOD services. The new specification migrates the existing single-title VOD metadata 1.1 services onto the next-generation platform to provide operators with better management and scalability, to aid in the implementation of better user interfaces, and to improve on the 1.1 specification by defining additional search options and more flexible offer management, CableLabs says.

The specification offers content providers guidance on the distribution of content assets to cable operators in a single video title release for next-generation platforms. Other improvements over older VOD specifications, according to CableLabs, include allowing for reuse of video content in different combinations, enabling content to be shown as a single feature, or as part of a double feature, without requiring content to be re-encoded. The new specification also allows cable operators to support the swapping of current movie trailers without re-encoding. Cable operators can realize additional efficiencies, CableLabs says, because VOD component systems in the backend of the cable network benefit from improved automated validation mechanisms on received metadata and content files.

CableLabs developed the new specification in collaboration with a group of cable operators, content providers and hardware component developers, which operated under a royalty-free intellectual property rights (IPR) pool. Participants in the VOD metadata project and its IPR pool include Ascent Media, Broadbus Technologies, C-COR Solutions, Cablevision Systems Corporation, Cauldron Solutions, Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, Concurrent Computer, Cox Communications, DataTV Networks, ESPN Enterprises, EVR, Home Box Office, Imake, In Demand, Mag Rack, Midstream Technologies, New Frontier Media, Scientific-Atlanta, Scott Solutions, Scripps Networks, SeaChange International, Sencore, Showtime Networks, SRMedia, Starz Encore Group, thePlatform, Tandberg Television, Time Warner Cable, Turner Broadcasting System, TVN Entertainment, and Worldwide Premieres. The VOD metadata project has issued a number of specifications (and revisions to those specifications) to date. They include the CableLabs ADI 2.0 Structures Specification, the Cablelabs ADI 2.0 Asset Inventory Messages Specification, the CableLabs ADI Specification 1.1, the CableLabs VOD Content Specification 1.1, and the CableLabs VOD Content Encoding Profiles Specification.

TVN in Multi-Year VOD Deal with Puerto Rico's Onelink

VOD distribution services company, TVN Entertainment, has signed a multi-year agreement with Puerto Rico's largest cable operator, Onelink Communications, that will see the latter using TVN's full range of VOD services. Under the terms of the deal, whose financial aspects have not been disclosed, TVN will provide Onelink with Hollywood studio movies, adult and premium channel programming, cable and specialty network packages, and use of its ADONISS toolset and its TVNow Rapid Turnaround service (will allow Onelink to quickly transform linear programming into VOD assets). "Our agreement with Onelink is a great example of the blossoming file-based on-demand distribution model where the cable distributor also becomes a content provider," John Smith, TVN's SVP of affiliate sales, said in a prepared statement. "Our flexible platform allows us easily to tailor our services to benefit Onelink's unique market position, which gives rise to exciting new VOD content that we can distribute to our other VOD affiliates, creating a 'win-win-win' scenario."

Eagle Broadband in IP Set-Top Deal with KoolConnect

IPTV technology and services provider, Eagle Broadband, says that it has finalized an order to supply over $723,580 worth of set-top boxes to KoolConnect Technologies, a company that provides HDTV and VOD services to the hospitality industry. KoolConnect plans to use the Eagle Media Pro IP5000HD set-top boxes, which deliver HDTV signals over IP, in conjunction with its Intrigue HD VOD platform, and to install the combo in luxury hotels in New York, San Francisco, Southern California, Seattle and Hong Kong. The set-tops will be shipped in four installments between May and August, 2006. According to Eagle Broadband, KoolConnect has also "expressed interest" in its IP3000 set-tops, which are available in both standard- and high-definition versions.

Blinkx in Video Search Deal with Discovery Networks

Video search service, Blinkx, has signed an agreement with Discovery Networks that will allow users of the search tool on its Blinkx.tv Web site to find programming from the latter's channels, including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery Kids Channel, The Science Channel, Discovery Times Channel, the Military Channel, Discovery Home, FitTV, Discovery En Espanol and Discovery HD Theater. Blinkx's service uses voice recognition technology to generate searchable metadata for broadband video: under the terms of its agreement with Discovery, it will automatically index and transcribe Discovery's content. Blinkx has similar search agreements in place with ITN and CBS Television Stations Digital Media Group, among others. (Note: for an in-depth interview with Blinkx founder and CTO, Suranga Chandratillake, see [itvt] Issue 6.53.)

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