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Orca Partners with muvee on Movie-Making App for IPTV Subscribers

--Previews Content-Discovery and User-Generated Content Apps at IBC
--Launches Combined IPTV/Internet TV Solution
--Secures First US Customer

Israeli IPTV middleware and applications provider, Orca Interactive, has generated a fair amount of news over the past few weeks:

• The company has teamed with Stockholm-based Operax to offer what the partners are billing as a comprehensive solution that will enable end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) for IPTV services. Operax provides IPTV operators with pre-IMS and IMS-compliant dynamic resource and admission control solutions, which are designed to enable them to guarantee end-to-end QoS for any IP session. The companies' new solution combines Operax's technologies with Orca's RiGHTv IPTV middleware--which, the companies say, will enable operators to quickly deploy new applications and services without reconfiguring their network infrastructure. In addition, the companies say, the joint-solution will "help provide leverage in the face of growing competition from incumbent cable and satellite pay-TV operators, as well as broadcasters and service providers offering Internet video streaming over operators' existing infrastructures." The solution is operable in both pre-IMS and IMS environments, and is targeted both at single-service IPTV deployments and at multi-service deployments (e.g. deployments that include IPTV, VoIP, broadband data and games).
• The company has partnered with muvee, a Singapore-based provider of online video-editing software and services, to develop and market what it claims will be the "first-ever application for automatic movie-making over IPTV platforms." Dubbed LivePhotos, the new app will combine Orca's user-generated content capabilities (see below) with muvee's automatic video-editing and photo-movie software, the companies say. Orca plans to offer the app, which was demo'd at the recent IBC show in Amsterdam, with its RiGHTv IPTV middleware, by the end of 2007 (note: the company says the app will be part of a "comprehensive on-demand UGC platform"); in addition, Orca and muvee say that they are weighing the possibility of jointly marketing the new application as a standalone solution that will be compatible with third-party IPTV platforms. According to the companies, LivePhotos will enable subscribers to create personalized video albums from their photos and videoclips, accompanied by their "preferred style of music." Orca claims that its IPTV platform's user interface will ensure that the app is easy to use. "muvee's technology lets people instantly create more emotionally engaging productions that stylishly mash-up their video and pictures in sync to music with added special effects," muvee founder and CEO, Terence Swee, said in a prepared statement. "The result is a much more compelling alternative to scrolling through hundreds of digital stills or having to watch unedited video footage. Together with Orca Interactive, we will deliver more fun and value to subscribers by letting them easily create more personalized, meaningful content that they can enjoy and, more importantly, instantly share with those closest to them on their TV screen." Added Orca's VP of sales and marketing, Sefy Ariely: "User-generated content is increasingly attracting 'eyeballs' away from professionally produced content, and operators realize that they can entice subscribers by helping them use the IPTV platform to see more of themselves and their friends. In joining forces with automatic video-editing pioneer, muvee, to create LivePhotos, we are able to leverage our position at the cutting edge of IPTV technology and once again deliver an industry first--personalized home videos at the click of a button."
• Orca also used the IBC tradeshow to offer what it described as a "preview demonstration" of its next-generation IPTV services. The preview focused on technologies for content-discovery and user-generated content. The company's new content-discovery infrastructure, which is enabled through its subscriber user interface (SUI), is billed as allowing subscribers to easily and quickly discover content through personalized recommendations and effective searches, and as helping service providers drive revenues by "increasing consumption of the limitless amount of non-premium content that can be made available to subscribers through IPTV." The company claims that its SUI is "uniquely designed" to enhance content selection through what it describes as a "relatively small, transparent dashboard that does not interfere with the viewing experience." The company's new UGC technology, meanwhile, is billed as enabling subscribers to view personal images stored on the Web on their TV, and to create and share video clips from their personal photos (see above). It also allows Web-originated UGC content to be presented as VOD offerings, and uses Orca's content-discovery infrastructure to deliver UGC viewing recommendations to subscribers' television sets, the company says. "Subscribers today are faced with a massive amount of viewing content, and a novel approach is needed for creating user interfaces that enable them to easily find content that suits their interest," Orca CEO, Haggai Barel, said in a prepared statement. "Rather than endlessly building on existing solutions such as electronic program guides and lengthy VOD listings, which are becoming increasingly ineffective and obsolete, Orca aims to transform the way television content is consumed with dynamic solutions that turn the future of IPTV from fiction to fact."
• The company has developed a "combined IPTV and WebTV solution," and delivered the WebTV component of the solution to Blockbuster Israel (note: the latter is a franchise of Blockbuster, Inc.). According to the company, the new combined IPTV and WebTV solution is base on its RiGHTv middleware platform and, by supporting both managed and unmanaged IP environments "eliminat[es] boundaries to help service providers expand their customer base and market reach." Among other things, the company says, it enables service providers to "broaden offerings to existing subscribers with anytime, anywhere TV services for on-the-go digital content over mobile PC's" and to offer their customers "diverse multimedia, niche content and user-generated content." Orca bills its new WebTV offering as including progressive download and push-VOD over PC's and set-top boxes, and as supporting such services as PVR, home media and HDTV (based on VOD push). It bills the combined IPTV and WebTV solution as supporting these WebTV capabilities alongside IPTV services such as VOD and live television, and says that the solution provides connectivity to OSS/BSS systems. Orca says that Blockbuster Israel plans to use its new WebTV technology to launch an Internet service for progressive download of up-to-date digital content over PC's by the end of the year. Then, in early 2008, Orca says, Blockbuster Israel plans to provide an IPTV-ready set-top box to enable TV connectivity from the PC, and advanced services such as push-VOD and HDTV (this will, in turn, be followed by a "complete digital TV offering" from Blockbuster Israel, Orca says). "WebTV can help IPTV players today protect their market share and maintain a competitive edge," Orca CEO, Barel, said in a prepared statement. "As the first to market with this unique combined IPTV and WebTV solution, Orca is yet again pioneering the future of IPTV--this time leading the market towards total convergence of managed and unmanaged services for top-notch home entertainment."
• The company has secured its first US customer: WT Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of West Texas Rural Telephone Cooperative. WT Services is using the RiGHTv platform to support an IPTV service with such features as VOD, TV-based caller-ID, and an Emergency Alert System. Orca secured the WT Services win through Optibase, which served as integrator on the roll-out, in partnership with telecommunications consulting company, CHR Solutions. Other companies involved in the deployment include BitBand (video servers), Widevine (content protection), Trilithic (EAS), Quintrex (billing and CRM), Metaswitch (softswitches), and Tribune Media Services (EPG data). According to Orca, its user interface SDK and service delivery platform architecture enabled WT Services to customize its new service's interface, and to easily port the interface to its set-top boxes. Orca says that it plans to support its efforts to penetrate the US market by opening a new office on the West Coast.

Accedo Broadband in Deals with Amino, DivX

--Launches Multiplayer Gaming Engine, Opens US Office

Accedo Broadband, an aggregator and distributor of interactive TV applications and content for IPTV and broadband-connected consumer electronics devices (note: the company, which was founded by telecom and media entrepreneurs, Michael Lantz and Fredrik Andersson, offers a range of applications, including game, quiz, puzzle, video art, karaoke, weather, communications and user-generated content apps; earlier this year, it signed a deal to provide its "Funspot" games package to UK incumbent telco BT's recently launched IPTV service, BT Vision), says that it has integrated a range of games, karaoke apps, video art and other interactive applications and content from its Accedo Application Portfolio with Amino Communications' HD-enabled AmiNET130 IPTV set-top box. "We believe that high-definition services will be an important driver for the future IPTV market," Accedo's Andersson, who currently serves as the company's VP of business development, said in a prepared statement. "We are pleased to be working with Amino to create a set of interactive entertainment services that can help telecom operators in their quest for service differentiation and incremental revenue. The integration process with AmiNET130 has been very smooth and we will continue to add additional services to our HD line-up for Amino." Added Amino VP and general manager, Roy Kirsopp: "Amino is keen to promote the broad IP capabilities of its products, and our relationship with Accedo is an ideal vehicle for this. The Accedo Application Portfolio, based on standard Web technology and including the first IPTV games to use HD graphics, provides a perfect example of the extended service and revenue possibilities created by IPTV."

In other Accedo Broadband news:

• At the IBC show in Amsterdam last month, the company launched the Accedo Multiplayer Gaming Engine for IPTV. According to the company, the engine allows users to interact with one another both within a network and between multiple networks in one or more countries. "Multiplayer gaming is something that was previously predominantly available with PC and console gaming, but thanks to IP technology, will now be available for a TV audience," Accedo's Lantz, who serves as the company's CEO, said in a prepared statement. "Casual gaming on the TV has already proved to be very popular, and with the addition of the Accedo Multiplayer Gaming Engine, it is our firm belief that usage will grow considerably faster." Accedo's IBC demo of the new gaming engine saw it delivering IPTV games in high-definition.
• The company has signed a deal to offer its games on UK-based Inuk's Freewire IPTV service (see article in this issue).
• The company has signed a deal with DivX to integrate its Funspot games and gaming services into the latter's DivX Connected platform. DivX Connected is billed as an easy-to-use open platform that allows consumers to access PC- and Internet-based media and services through a range of consumer electronics devices. The first DivX Connected devices from consumer electronics manufacturers are slated for availability in retail during the current quarter. "Funspot from Accedo is a very powerful proposition for interactive games in front of the TV," Accedo's Lantz said in a prepared statement. "By integrating our offering with DivX Connected we are expanding the audience for such broadband-enabled services that successfully use remote control interaction and a user interface suited for '10-foot viewing.' The openness and sophistication of the user experience delivered by the DivX Connected platform makes for a seamless integration of the offerings from Accedo. We are sure Connected owners are going to love to play our Funspot games"
• The company has opened up a US office in the San Francisco Bay Area in order to support what it says is its "rapidly growing" North American business (note: its other offices are in Sweden and the UK). The office is headed up by Tim Beloney, who holds the title, VP of sales and business development for North America. "We believe that the US market will go through a period of tremendous growth both within telco-driven IPTV and new Internet TV initiatives gradually moving towards a 10-foot TV experience," Accedo's Lantz said in a prepared statement. "With existing clients located worldwide, it was a natural step to expand our operations to better service their needs, as well as those of potential customers. Accedo also has a number of business partners in the US which we will work more closely with for new opportunities in North America."

CloverLeaf Extends Walled-Garden Interactive TV Deal with Consolidated

CloverLeaf Digital, a Brooklyn-based interactive TV applications developer that specializes in building and managing localized "walled-garden" services, says that its customer, Consolidated Communications, which claims to be the 14th-largest indie telco in the US, has signed a three-year extension of its contract to offer Cloverleaf's flagship DotDaily localized walled-garden service (note: Consolidated, which has been a CloverLeaf customer for around two years now, was that company's first IPTV customer; CloverLeaf's other customers include MSO, Time Warner Cable; and regional cable operators, Grande Communications, PrairieWave Communications, and Lexcom Communications). The service features news and sports coverage from the Associated Press, local weather from AccuWeather, horoscopes, local entertainment guides, community events calendars, school lunch menus and community slide shows. The service's localized content is published to its applications by community organizations using CloverLeaf's DashDaily publishing tools.

According to CloverLeaf, Consolidated Communications, which distributes the DotDaily service to its IPTV subscribers in central Illinois and southeast Texas, has found interactive TV walled-garden services to be an important differentiator: "We have found that our walled garden changes user behaviors," Robert Koester, Consolidated's senior manager of IP product development, said in a prepared statement. "Customers use our service to quickly access information that otherwise is inconvenient to find. This results in a higher degree of customer satisfaction, greater retention rates, and a TV product that avoids the me-too syndrome. We are pleased to continue with CloverLeaf, and look forward to expanding our relationship further."

Microsoft TV Launches Mediaroom Interoperability and Qualification Lab

--SingTel Commercially Launches Mediaroom-Based IPTV Service

At the IBC show in Amsterdam last month, Microsoft TV announced that it has set up an "Interoperability and Qualification Lab" ("IQ Lab") for vendors looking to have their encoders approved for use with its Mediaroom IPTV platform (formerly known as IPTV Edition). The company says that IQ Lab-compliant encoding vendors will become "recommended Microsoft Mediaroom ecosystem partners."

According to Microsoft, the new lab, which is based in its Silicon Valley facility in Mountain View, Calif., allows vendors the opportunity to test their encoding products in a controlled IPTV production environment, in tandem with set-top boxes from several vendors. Services offered by the lab include support and training (consisting of access to Microsoft IPTV training sessions, and to a dedicated team of Microsoft engineers and program managers who can evaluate whether encoding specifications are met); testing and qualification lab access (i.e. dedicated testing time in the lab with access to test reporting and analysis resources); and test tools and consulting services (i.e. access to test kits and Mediaroom software and AV consulting expertise, in order to enable encoding solutions to support, among other things, future versions of the software).

According to Microsoft, several of its encoding partners--including Envivio, Harmonic, Motorola, Tandberg and Thomson, have already signed up for the IQ Lab, and have completed the qualification of one or more encoders, which are now in use by several Mediaroom customers. "As worldwide deployments of Microsoft Mediaroom accelerate, we plan to offer our service provider customers the strongest set of encoding solutions to choose from, while enabling our encoding partners to succeed," Joe Seidel, director of global partner development at Microsoft TV, said in a prepared statement. "The investment and commitment on our part and by our encoding partners is an indication of the strength of our global IPTV ecosystem."

In related news: Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) has launched the first commercial deployment of the Microsoft Mediaroom platform in Asia: the platform is powering the telco's mio TV service, which offers, among other things, an EPG and DVR and VOD capabilities. "We needed a carrier-grade, end-to-end TV platform that is easy to integrate into our Generation mio service strategy," SingTel CEO, Allen Lew, said in a prepared statement. "We also wanted innovative capabilities that will breathe new life into the next-generation television. We chose Microsoft Mediaroom as it drives new connected entertainment, which allows us to use the television as an access point for multiple customer experiences."

US Telcos Deploy Minerva's iTVManager 3.0

--Company Opens New Facilities in Europe, Hires New VP of Services

Silicon Valley-based IPTV middleware and applications provider, Minerva Networks, says that a number of US telcos, including Connexion Technologies and Paul Bunyan Telephone, have recently selected the new version 3.0 of its flagship iTVManager middleware platform to power new IPTV services. According to the company, iTVManager 3.0 offers a number of new and enhanced subscriber features, including user-selectable interfaces, HD PVR, multistream recording, and integrated Web and broadcast channels; as well as new backoffice enhancements, including multi-region and multiple channel line-up support, expanded API's for OSS/BSS integration, high-availability configurations, advanced provisioning options, and bandwidth-management features. "After extensive research, we determined that the unique combination of Minerva's IPTV deployment experience and iTVManager 3.0's rich feature set gave us the best business case for our major IPTV initiatives," Tolga Erkmen, VP of product planning, at Connexion Technologies, said in a prepared statement. "Minerva was the first to offer HD and PVR support, and they have added bandwidth-management capabilities, which are crucial to help us manage the increasing complexities of our growing network."

In other Minerva news:

• The company, which claims to be experiencing "significant interest" in its solutions from European operators, is attempting to expand its presence in the European market by opening a new development center in Bulgaria, and a new sales and support office in Italy. According to the company, the new Minerva European Development Center, which is located in Sofia, will focus on development and testing; while the new Minerva Sales & Support Office, which is located in Milan, will support customers located in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In a prepared statement, Minerva COO, Jean-Georges Fritsch, explained why the company decided to open an office in Bulgaria: "Hiring talented professionals is a major challenge for fast-growing companies like Minerva," the statement read. "Bulgaria has a large pool of highly qualified engineers that are knowledgeable about video and multimedia technology. The European Development Center will enable us to speed up our product development and better address local market requirements. We expect to scale our engineering team by over 30% by year-end."
• The company has appointed Paul Tocatlian as VP of services and support, putting him in charge of all its consulting, training and support services. Tocatlian joins Minerva from Navio Systems, where he was VP of digital media and mobile commerce solutions. According to the company, he has over 20 years of experience in services management and software engineering with BEA Systems, Novell and AT&T Bell Labs. He holds a master's degree in computer science form the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in computer science from the American University in Paris.

Inuk Launches PC-Based Virtual Set-Top Box, "igloo"

--Signs Deals with Accedo Broadband, Cable & Wireless

UK-based IPTV provider, Inuk Networks (note: the company is best known for its Freewire platform, which offers video, voice and data services and which is initially targeted at the student market; it is delivered in collaboration with JANET, the backbone network for UK universities), has launched a virtual set-top box software product, dubbed igloo, which it says allows IPTV operators to deliver a "true television set-top box experience" (including both linear TV and VOD) to a desktop or laptop PC or Mac, using standards-based, technology-agnostic software.

According to the company, igloo is designed to emulate the operation and user interface of a standard set-top box: all on-screen information and controls are displayed as a graphical overlay on top of the video image. It supports both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 encoded viewing in both windowed and full-screen modes, the company says, and has built-in infrared USB remote control capability. Other features include an EPG; the ability to customize and brand its interface with a particular operator's look-and-feel; and PVR functionality that makes use of the PC or Mac hard drive. According to Inuk, igloo supports a number of commonly used middleware, content encryption and DRM systems, including Widevine's Cypher Virtual SmartCard and Industria's Zignal Entertainment Delivery Platform. "To date, the middleware for delivering IPTV services to the PC platform has been severely restricted, having to rely on multiple client software products, embedding a video player into Web pages or delivering proprietary solutions," Inuk CEO, Marcus Liassides, said in a prepared statement. "igloo enables IPTV platform operators to provide compelling services on multiple devices, handing the choice of how and where to watch TV over to their subscribers."

In other Inuk Networks news:

• The company has signed a deal with Accedo Broadband, an aggregator and distributor of interactive TV applications and content for IPTV and broadband-connected consumer electronics devices (note: the company, which was founded by telecom and media entrepreneurs, Michael Lant and Fredrik Andersson, offers a range of applications, including game, quiz, puzzle, video art, karaoke, weather, communications and user-generated content apps; earlier this year, it signed a deal to provide its "Funspot" games package to UK incumbent telco BT's IPTV service, BT Vision), that will see a new, branded games service added to Inuk's Freewire IPTV service. The service, which will be based on Accedo's Funspot games platform, will initially offer a selection of games free of charge, and will begin offering premium games over the next few months. Offerings will include puzzles, quizzes, card games, board games and more. Accedo will retain responsibility for managing the games, while Inuk will be responsible for customer billing and for the integration of the games into the Freewire platform. "As IPTV begins to take full advantage of the scope it offers in terms of interactivity, the addition of casual gaming on our Freewire platform acts as a core differentiator," Inuk marketing director, Nick Ruczaj, said in a prepared statement. "Understanding the need to create a compelling IPTV product on several levels, we saw the value in the Accedo application portfolio of delivering not only great content, but a gaming experience which is specifically designed around our viewers' needs."
• The company has signed a five-year, £70 million deal with Cable & Wireless, under which the latter will provide it with access to its UK-wide multicast network for the delivery of television, telephony and broadband data services. Inuk, which until now has focused on the student market, will use its new partnership with Cable & Wireless to extend its Freewire service beyond its current base of 40 universities, and target consumers across the UK, starting in March, 2008. The deal will also see Cable & Wireless offering Inuk's IPTV platform as a customizable, white-label solution to wholesale DSL customers that want to provide their customers with a digital television offering. "Cable & Wireless has the unique capability to offer an all-national wholesale multicast platform, so for us, the deal was a no-brainer," Inuk CEO, Liassides, said in a prepared statement. "It's great news for our customers as it means we can deliver triple-play services into the home and it's great news for us as we can expand the choice of services that we're able to offer in the future."

Irdeto Launches End-to-End Solution for Interactive Digital TV

--Teams with Amino, Anevia on IPTV Solution

At the IBC show in Amsterdam last month, content security specialist, Irdeto, and two of its subsidiaries unveiled what they are billing as a complete, end-to-end solution that will allow cable, satellite or terrestrial operators of all sizes to launch new, interactive digital TV services quickly and easily. Dubbed Irdeto Digital TV SmartStart, the solution is comprised of Irdeto's conditional access technology, together with a modular customer care and billing system and set-top box middleware from Irdeto Group companies, IBS Interprit and IDway respectively. According to the companies, the SmartStart solution, in addition to being pre-integrated, offers centralized post-integration support, providing a single point of contact for all tech support and service solutions. It is scalable from thousands to many millions of customers, the companies claim, and can be expanded to support a wide range of business models. Operators also have the option of adding modules from Irdeto partners, Brand-ID and TeleIDEA, that support such functionality as pre-paid vouchers and a customizable EPG. "The recent acquisition of IDway and the transfer of the IBS Interprit business to Irdeto allow us to offer an attractive integrated pay TV solution to the market," Irdeto CEO, Graham Kill, said in a prepared statement. "SmartStart allows operators to establish a digital TV platform quickly and easily, with security, billing and interactive capabilities that will serve them long into the future."

According to the companies, the IDway-J middleware employed by the solution is easily integrated into a wide variety of set-top boxes and provides flexible and easy-to-use tools for customizing the viewer experience, and generating interactive applications. Irdeto says that it will take overall responsibility for ensuring that its conditional access technology, IDway's middleware, and IBS Interprit's subscriber-management solutions interoperate seamlessly on customers' choice of set-top boxes.

In other Irdeto news: the company has teamed with IP set-top box vendor, Amino, and IP/VOD server vendor, Anevia, on a joint IPTV solution that the companies claim will enable telcos to provide existing DVB services to their customer via their IP networks. The companies say that the solution can also be used by cable and MMDS operators with DVB-C technology and by satellite-TV operators with DVB-S technology to convert their full channel package from DVB to an IP Multicast (SPTS) service, thus increasing the penetration of their existing pay-TV services. The first customers for the solution are Russian cable operator, Kosmos TV, and Russian satellite-TV operator, Stargate TV.

SeaChange Launches Developer Program for TV Platform

--Powers Wholesale VOD for KDDI, Integrates with RGB's DBM

At the IBC show in Amsterdam last month, VOD and interactive TV technology provider, SeaChange International, unveiled a new developer program for its TV Platform offering. TV Platform is an IPTV solution consisting of SeaChange's IMS-compliant modular client-set-top software, TV Navigator, network software and backoffice software. SeaChange bills it as allowing operators to easily brand, launch and bill a wide range of video content and services from the company or third-party developers. According to the company, it is based on an open, industry standards-based architecture that allows it to plug into "best-of-breed options written in HTML, JavaScript, Java, MHP, OCAP or MHEG. Applications currently available for TV Platform, SeaChange says, include VOD, nPVR, DVD-on-Demand and games apps, advanced interactive TV apps, such as walled garden, red button, weather, voting and tcommerce apps, and convergence apps, such as SMS/MMS, caller ID on TV, home media management and video conferencing.

Companies that have agreed to participate in the new TV Platform Developer Program--which SeaChange says is designed to encourage development of applications that leverage the "modularity" of its TV Navigator IPTV middleware--include Freethinking, Integra5, Snap TV, Two Way TV and Verimatrix. Participating companies will receive product support, resources and tools to assist in porting and developing products and services for TV Platform. "We're inviting the industry's proven performers to participate in the commitment SeaChange has for its customers and access market opportunities being created by our TV Platform deployments," Sherry Warburton, VP of engineering and unit manager for SeaChange's TV Navigator operations, said in a prepared statement.

In other SeaChange news:

• The company says that its technologies are powering a new wholesale VOD business from Japanese telecommunications giant, KDDI. The latter--which also offers VoIP, backbone Internet and other IT services to around 60 cable operators across Japan--is now offering operators what it bills as a fully managed, end-to-end platform that will allow them to launch their own VOD services. SeaChange is providing its technologies to KDDI in partnership with Panasonic. "SeaChange has collaborated with Panasonic to combine their core competencies in digital video to help us create an on-demand offering for cable television operators in Japan who might not be able to deploy highly desirable on-demand services fast enough, or at all," a KDDI spokesperson said in a prepared statement. "Our goal is to get operators into the business quickly and let them focus on their own core expertise in programming and marketing to local subscribers, without engaging in the technical complexities." According to SeaChange, KDDI's on-demand services will initially be centrally managed at KDDI network operations centers, though each cable operator who subscribes to the service will be able to expand and enhance its VOD service according to its regional coverage. KDDI will provide movie and TV content for the service (it will launch with 3,000 titles, and plans to grow to around 10,000 titles, including Hollywood and Japanese movies, and local TV programs), and cable operators will be able to add their own local content, which will also be managed through the KDDI central site. SeaChange is providing the service with its MediaCluster VOD servers, its Axiom Core management software, and its TV Backend System software (provides end-to-end management of promotions and business rules). Its integration partner on the project is ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corp. Panasonic meanwhile, is providing the frontend interface for the various cable set-top boxes deployed in Japan.
• The company says that video-processing specialist, RGB Networks, has integrated its recently launched Dynamic Bandwidth Manager (DBM) with the SeaChange VOD system. According to the companies, the integration builds on extensive testing that RGB has already conducted with third-party set-top boxes, session resource managers, and other components in the VOD delivery chain. RGB claims that its DBM improves bandwidth-efficiency by up to 50% in VOD applications, allowing cable operators to deliver significantly more programming, while maintaining picture quality and ensuring that end-users perceive no differences when using trickplay features. The DBM uses RGB's real-time transrating technology to convert SD and HD VOD programs from constant bitrates to variable bitrates in which the bandwidth allocated to each program varies constantly, thus freeing bandwidth to carry additional programs. RGB claims that the DBM is easy to deploy as it processes VOD programs in real time, thus eliminating the need for complex pre-processing and complex integration with VOD servers: operators can simply plug it into existing VOD deployments, RGB claims, as it is compatible with all the major components of an end-to-end VOD system. The DBM will also encrypt VOD programs as they are processed, making it easy for operators to continually add new programming to their VOD line-ups, RGB says. The solution can additionally be used in switched digital video architectures.

Espial News:

--Enhances Evo DVR Software
--Signs Deals with Coventive, RealPage, Sumitomo

Canadian IPTV middleware and applications provider, Espial, has generated a fair amount of news over the past few weeks:

• At the IBC show in Amsterdam, the company announced that it has enhanced its Evo DVR software with new features such as the ability to record multiple programs simultaneously and an advanced conflict resolution engine. The company also used the show to launch a new HD interface and mobile convergence capabilities.
• The company says that Japanese set-top box manufacturer/systems integrator, Coventive KK, has signed an agreement to license its Evo Client software, which is part of its flagship Evo IPTV Service Platform (note: Espial claims to have shipped over a million Evo subscriber licenses worldwide). According to Espial, Coventive selected Evo Client (which the company claims features a small footprint and open architecture) to power its multimedia set-top boxes, which are based on a system-on-a-chip design. The company claims that the combo makes for low power consumption and board minimization. The first Coventive boxes to feature Evo Client are being used by an undisclosed Japanese company that operates a broadband VOD service in hotels and hospitals. The latter company will customize the user interface of its service using Espial's SkinTones development kit. "Coventive is an important partner for Espial in the high-growth Japanese television market," Shoji Nishimura, Espial's country manager for Japan, said in a prepared statement. "This licensing agreement will help to expand Espial's market presence with subscribers and service providers alike."
• The company says that RealPage, a provider of software and services to the multi-dwelling-unit industry (note: the company claims to serve over 20,000 apartment communities across the US), which has yet to announce any specific plans to begin offering IPTV, has licensed its Evo IPTV Service Platform (includes the company's Evo Server, its Evo Client middleware, its Evo Future-Proof Framework, and various apps such as Evo EPG and Evo VOD). "We were very impressed with the Evo IPTV Service Platform and selected Espial after evaluating several other middleware choices," RealPage CEO, Steve Winn, said in a prepared statement. "While we are not ready to announce any specific plans in the IPTV arena, we expect Espial to be a strategic partner moving forward." According to Espial, RealPage chose its IPTV solution because it facilitates the creation of new applications and the customization of user interfaces, and because it allows multiple domains and channel line-ups to be managed from a single service node.
• The company says that Sumitomo Electric Networks, a Japanese supplier of broadband access equipment and an existing Espial customer (it has shipped over 250,000 Espial-equipped set-tops to Japanese service providers, including the NTT Group), has licensed an additional application of its Evo IPTV Service Platform for use with its IPTV set-tops. According to Espial the application--which it says it cannot talk about in specifics "due to customer confidentiality reasons"--builds on Espial modules previously licensed by Sumitomo (including Evo Browser and Adobe Flash Plug-In), and "enables Japanese service providers to deploy next-generation digital TV functionality, meeting a critical requirement for continued wide-scale adoption of IPTV in Japan."

NRTC, NTCA Offering Solutions for Small Telcos Looking to Launch IPTV

Two organizations representing smaller, rural telcos, the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) and the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), announced last month that they are now offering two solutions to small telcos that are looking to roll out IPTV services: 1) an end-to-end, turnkey IPTV service based on SES Americom's IP-PRIME offering (note: the latter is a centralized, satellite-delivered solution that includes content, transport, headends and set-top boxes; it features around 275 standard- and around 20 high-definition channels, and is slated to offer VOD in the near future); and 2) a programming-only service targeted at telcos that already have headend facilities or other transport arrangements. The first telco to sign a non-beta contract to distribute IPTV using IP-PRIME is North Central Telephone, which serves around 22,000 customers. The telco currently offers digital cable service, but plans to use IP-PRIME to supplement that offering by delivering TV services over its DSL network.

NRTC conducted a test of IP-PRIME which ran from April, 2006 through August, 2007. Participants in that trial included West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative (19,000 customers) and BEK Communications (6,000) customers, which are now offering IPTV services on a customer-trial basis. The other beta testers--Planters Rural Telephone Cooperative and Valley Telephone Cooperative--are slated to move into the customer trial phase later this year. IP-PRIME originates from SES Americom's IPTV Broadcast Center in Vernon Valley, New Jersey, where video and audio are received and processed for distribution via satellite to IP-PRIME equipped telco video hubs around the US. The service, which is based on the MPEG-4 video standard, is expected to eventually offer a significant line-up of interactive TV services: "We invested tens of millions of dollars and over two years developing IP-PRIME, and put the solution through extensive testing so we can be sure we're offering our customers the most complete, easiest-to-deploy and most cost-effective path for them to offer their subscribers state-of the-art, MPEG-4 television service," IP-PRIME president, Bill Squadron, said in a prepared statement (note: for an in-depth interview with Squadron, see [itvt] Issue 7.35). "It will be the most flexible, robust platform for consumers to experience conventional TV, HDTV, and interactivity over the coming years." The NRTC and the NTCA are offering incentives to telcos that sign up for the IP-PRIME service before the end of the year, including programming discounts and marketing and training support.

UTStarcom in IPTV Deal with India's Bharti Airtel

--Expands IPTV Deployments in China

Alameda, Calif.-based IPTV technology provider, UTStarcom, has secured a contract to supply its RollingStream end-to-end IPTV solution to Indian telco, Bharti Airtel (claims to have over 46 million customers). Bharti Airtel plans to use the solution to offer an IPTV service that will provide live, broadcast TV, time-shifted TV and VOD, and that will be bundled with its existing broadband and voice services (customers will receive a single monthly bill). The service bundle is scheduled to launch in Gurgaon (where Bharti Airtel has been conducting trials) and the National Capital Region by the end of the year, and will then be rolled out in a phased manner across eight additional regions, Bharti Airtel says. Earlier this year, UTStarcom secured a three-year contract (via its local reseller, Aksh Optifibre) to deploy RollingStream with India's Mahanagar Telephone Nigam. Its other customers include China Netcom and China Telecom, and Japan's Softbank. "Today's announcement represents our second commercial deployment of RollingStream in India this year," Vijay Yadav, UTStarcom's managing director for South Asia, said in a prepared statement. "We believe our RollingStream solution can revolutionize the way television is viewed in India by making services more interactive and personalized to the end-user."

In other UTStarcom news: the company says that China Telecom and China Netcom have now implemented 19 commercial deployments of its RollingStream platform, which collectively have over 310,500 live subscribers and have a total system capacity of nearly 625,000 subscribers. "More than 60% of all commercial IPTV subscribers currently in China today are using UTStarcom's RollingStream end-to-end IPTV solution," Brian Caskey, UTStarcom's VP of worldwide marketing, said in a prepared statement. "Operators prefer RollingStream because of its highly distributed, streaming-based architecture; its proven ability to reliably scale to support multimillion subscriber deployments; and its flexibility to enable service providers to offer additional value-added services including video telephony, SMS/MMS and other potential revenue-generating services beyond IPTV applications that help speed their return on investment."

Motorola Ships its Two Millionth IPTV Set-Top Box

At the IBC show in Amsterdam last month, Motorola announced that it has shipped its two millionth IPTV set-top box, just five months after it announced that it had shipped its millionth such box. Motorola entered the IPTV set-top space via its acquisition last year of Sweden's Kreatel. The two millionth box, a VIP1510, was shipped as part of the provision of 150,000 units to Swedish telecommunications company, TeliaSonera (note: the latter, which was originally a Kreatel customer, has grown its subscriber base by 50,000--or 50%--since May). "The television market is fundamentally changing as consumers demand more choice, more control and more interactivity in the way they access TV," Doug Means, corporate VP of Motorola's Home & Network Mobility unit, said in a prepared statement. "Motorola has a 50-year heritage in the video business and we're committed to leading the market, helping it grow and ensuring that our customers are armed with the best technology to serve the most demanding of viewers." Motorola has made a number of acquisitions in the video space over the past year or so, including Broadbus, Tut Systems, Terayon Systems and Modulus Video.

In other Motorola news: the company says it has joined Microsoft's recently announced Mediaroom Interoperability and Qualification Lab, which approves encoding devices for deployment with Microsoft's IPTV platform (see article in this issue). As a result of its participation in the lab, Motorola's SE-5100 HD MPEG-4 AVC encoder is now approved for Mediaroom deployments.

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