Zodiac Interactive and Alticast Team on Tru2way™ Technology

Bundling Zodiac PowerUp™ With Alticast Firmware™ Will Enable MSOs to Rapidly Deliver Advanced Subscriber Services and Applications Including Interactive User Interfaces, Guides, Messaging, and EBIF™

VALLEY STREAM, NY and SEOUL, KOREA — Zodiac Interactive, a multiple Emmy-nominated and award-winning developer of software for interactive television, and Alticast, the most deployed MHP/tru2way™ embedded software worldwide, announced today they will bundle Zodiac PowerUp™ for tru2way technology with Alticast AltiCaptor™.

The combined solution will enable MSOs to deliver interactive services and applications including next-generation interactive user interfaces, guides, messaging, and EBIF™ (Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format) and advanced VOD. MSOs will also be able to more easily offer subscribers advanced services such as TV widgets (also known as Zidgets) including local restaurant searching, click-to-call, multi-player games, photo-sharing, weather, traffic, sports scores, local news, and more.

The two companies also announced their first joint effort will be to deliver a combined solution to power Cisco Systems/Scientific-Atlanta tru2way set-top boxes.

PowerUp is Zodiac’s tru2way framework that allows for a broad range of services across multiple devices. AltiCaptor is the embedded software that provides cable TV service operators with the enabling technologies to implement value-added, OpenCable™ interactive services.

“Alticast has a proven, worldwide best-of-class embedded solution for tru2way technology. Together we are bringing a complete and advanced interactive television solution to the market, backed by our PowerUp framework for the tru2way platform, which lets operators build once and easily deploy tru2way applications and services across multiple platforms,” said Michael Rivkin, Zodiac’s CEO.

Tru2way technology, which has been supported by the NCTA and the top six cable companies, is also heavily supported by Panasonic, Sony and Samsung. The specification is also now supported by TV set-makers LG Electronics, and Funai Electric; set-top vendors Motorola, Cisco, Pace, Digeo, ADB, Thomson and EchoStar; and chip giant Intel, as well as ST Micro and Broadcom.

PowerUp Framework on tru2way technology allows cable programmers to deliver interactive TV applications today, and in the future help cable operators develop interactive advertising. The PowerUp Framework also contains support for VOD, EBIF, EPG and advanced user interface design.

As a leading OCAP/tru2way platform/MHP solution provider, Alticast completed the world’s first OCAP/tru2way platform-based commercial deployment with CJ CableNet, a major Korean MSO. Alticast is acting as prime integrator and solutions provider for similar large-scale OCAP/tru2way platform projects with other major cable operators.

“Alticast’s experience with major chip designs is unmatched in the industry. By delivering reduced cost and time-to-market, Alticast enables CEs to more readily leverage new SoC designs that ultimately drive consumer adoption. For MSOs this means they can more easily realize reduced cost for deploying new interactive services and increase quality of service. They can further differentiate themselves to drive subscriber retention and revenue through innovative services and products enabled by Zodiac’s PowerUp Framework,” said Jeff Bonin, Alticast GM and Vice President.

Last month, Zodiac Interactive released an ETV/EBIF player for PowerTV and tru2way. With EBIF emerging as a standard for interactive TV and advanced advertising, this player will help advance the deployment of standards-based interactive television. Zodiac’s relationship with Alticast will help this advancement as well.