Telenor second quarter 2006: revenue growth of 37 per cent
July 21, 2006 - In the second quarter of 2006, Telenor's revenues increased by 37 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2005, reaching NOK 22.6 billion.
Broadcast: The number of direct-to-home (DTH) TV subscribers increased by 3,000 in the second quarter of 2006, reaching 921,000. The number of cable TV subscribers increased by 3,000, reaching 687,000 subscribers. In June, Norsk Televisjon AS (NTV), which is jointly owned by Telenor and the broadcasting companies the TV2 Group and NRK, was awarded the licence for operation and maintenance of the digital terrestrial network (DTT) in Norway.

Microsoft music player to take on Apple's iPod
July 21, 2006 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. said on Friday it plans to release a new music and entertainment player and accompanying software under the "Zune" brand this year, in a belated attempt to challenge the dominance of Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod player.

Digital TV: Austrian subscriptions to soar
July 21, 2006 (Computer Business Review) - Digital TV penetration is set to grow rapidly in Austria over the next few years, with the percentage of households with digital TV set to rise from 22% in 2005 to 78% in 2010.

HDMI Annual Fee Reduced
July 21, 2006 — HDMI Licensing, LLC, the agent responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface™ (HDMI™) specification, today announced it has reduced the annual administration fee for HDMI adopters from $15,000 to $10,000.
The fee reduction was made possible by HDMI’s growing success in the marketplace. More than 400 makers of consumer electronics and PC products worldwide have adopted HDMI. The fee reduction will apply to HDMI annual fee payments that come due after November 1, 2006.

Silicon Image Expands HDMI™ and Simplay HD™ Testing in China
July 21, 2006 - Silicon Image, Inc., a leader in semiconductors for the secure storage, distribution and presentation of high-definition content, today announced the official opening of China’s second High-Definition Multimedia Interface™ (HDMI™) Authorized Testing Center (ATC) in Shanghai, and announced plans to open China’s third HDMI ATC at a location to be determined. These centers will complement existing test centers in Sunnyvale, California and in Shenzen, China. In addition, Silicon Image plans to open additional testing centers in Europe and Taiwan.
Both new HDMI ATCs will be co-located with Simplay HD™ Testing Centers. The Simplay HD™ Testing Program consists of branding, compatibility testing, and education for consumers to provide them with a consistent "plug and play" user experience and to maximize their access to premium high-definition content.

China Video Industry Association Agrees to Promote and Support HDMI™, Will Develop HDMI Technology With Silicon Image
July 21, 2006 - Silicon Image, Inc., a leader in semiconductors for the secure storage, distribution and presentation of high-definition content, today announced a landmark agreement with the China Video Industry Association (CVIA) under which CVIA will promote and support the use of High-Definition Multimedia Interface™ (HDMI™) by the consumer electronics industry in China. The agreement with CVIA positions China to play a major role developing next-generation digital consumer electronics technology.
As part of the agreement, Silicon Image and CVIA have agreed to work together to promote HDMI adoption among domestic Chinese electronics manufacturers, co-develop new technology applicable to HDMI, and collaborate on establishing testing and interoperability certification labs that complement the capabilities of the HDMI Authorized Testing Centers established by Silicon Image.

Fresco Microchip Secures US$14.7 Million in Funding
July 20, 2005 - Fresco Microchip, a developer of leading edge silicon tuner and demodulator products for television and consumer electronics applications, announced today the completion of the first of three tranches in a US$14,700,000 round of financing. The venture capital financing was led by Celtic House Venture Partners and Ventures West, two of the largest early-stage technology investors in Canada. The proceeds will be used to develop initial products based on Fresco’s proprietary, radio frequency integrated circuit technology.

Russia's digital revolution
July 20, 2006 - TV in central and eastern Europe is making a major investment in digital upgrades, according to new research published today. The tenth edition of Informa Telecoms & Media's Eastern European TV report has found that 32 million of the region's homes will receive digital signals by end-2011 - more than five times the 2005 figure.
Digital TV households (000):

                   2005      2011 
Czech Republic      117       938
Hungary             171     1,351
Poland            1,539     6,035
Romania             190     1,979
Russia            1,399    10,571
Rest of Region    2,689    11,101
Total             6,105    31,975

CEVA and ASTRI Form Partnership to Develop New-Generation Multimedia Solutions for Hong Kong and Greater China
July 20, 2006 - CEVA, Inc., the leading licensor of digital signal processor (DSP) cores, multimedia and storage platforms to the semiconductor industry, and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI) jointly announced today the CEVA-TeakLite™ DSP and associated multimedia software chosen by ASTRI's IC Designs Group, which will be developed into a fully integrated, low power audio SoC platform solution. This is one of the projects driven by ASTRI IC Design Group's Multimedia Platform (MMP) initiative. The mission of MMP is to enable a platform-based solution with comprehensive video/audio codec Intellectual Properties (IP) for semiconductor companies in Hong Kong and Greater China. This solution is for developing a cost-effective SoC for a wide range of multimedia applications, such as portable multimedia players, IPTV, etc.

Parallel processor firm enhances core for HD video
July 20, 2006 (EETimes) - PACT XPP Technologies AG, a developer of a reconfigurable highly parallel processor, has redesigned its technology to produce the XPP-III version of its architecture and claimed that performance, for the first time, allows high definition video decoding without additional hardware accelerators.

3 Italia hails growth of its mobile TV service
July 20, 2006 (International Herald Tribune) - The Italian cellphone company 3 Italia said Thursday that its mobile television service attracted 111,000 clients in the first six weeks after it was introduced June 5 to coincide with the World Cup soccer tournament in Germany.

WideVine Tops New ABI Research Telco TV DRM Vendor Matrix Rankings
July 20, 2006 - WideVine has been ranked at the top of the latest Telco TV DRM Vendor Matrix released by ABI Research. NDS and Irdeto Access claimed the second and third spots in the company's most recent evaluation of worldwide vendors.
The Vendor Matrix is an analytical tool developed by ABI Research to provide a clear understanding of vendors' positions in specific markets. Vendors are assessed by ABI Research on the important parameters of "innovation" and "implementation" across several criteria, unique to each vendor matrix, such as customer wins, contract awards, global reach, market share, patents, R&D spending, time to market, and first movers, among others.
To view a list of the "top nine" firms in this Vendor Matrix, please visit Telco TV DRM Vendor Matrix. Registration on the ABI Research website (free) is required. Access to the rankings of all companies surveyed is available to clients of ABI Research.

MoCA and HomePlug Silicon Markets Growing to a Combined $464 Million by 2011
July 20, 2006 - The need for high-speed multimedia networking links in the home is driving growth for both MoCA and HomePlug silicon, according to ABI Research. Increased demand for both no-new-wires media networking technologies across both service provider and consumer-installable home networks will result in the combined value of MoCA and HomePlug IC shipments reaching $100 million in 2006 and growing to $464 million by 2011.
While ABI Research expects Wi-Fi to continue as the dominant home networking physical layer technology, it is not currently generating much interest from service providers for in-home pay-TV distribution, particularly in North America. Vendors such as Ruckus Wireless have had some success in Europe, but overall, service providers are waiting for the completion of the 802.11n standard as well as more extensive field testing to prove whether the technology is "combat ready" for the high-reliability networks needed for video distribution.

First Meeting of Blu-ray Disc™ Patent Holders Held
July 20, 2006 - MPEG LA announced today that the first meeting of essential Blu-ray Disc™ patent owners, consisting of 17 companies, was held in Los Angeles on July 6-7 for the purpose of creating a joint license providing fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory access to essential patents, as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses. Participating companies included CyberLink Corporation; Dell Inc.; Hewlett-Packard Company; Hitachi Ltd.; Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.; LG Electronics Inc.; Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic); Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Pioneer Corporation; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.; Sharp Corporation; Sony Corporation; TDK Corporation; Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.; and Warner Home Video Inc.
MPEG LA, on behalf of essential patent owners, welcomes the input and views of interested parties, including potential licensees, in all related industry sectors. The objective is for the license to reflect both relevant conditions in the marketplace and the value of the licensed technology in order to strike a balance between patent users’ interest in reasonable access to this opportunity-enabling technology and patent holders’ interest in a reasonable return on their research and development investment that enables a joint license to be offered for the convenience of the marketplace as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses.

Rogers Cable Celebrates its One Millionth Digital Customer
July 20, 2006 - Rogers Cable Communications today announced that June 2006 marked an important milestone for the company, during which it signed up its one millionth Digital Cable customer. The dramatic growth in digital penetration is evidenced by the 187% increase from December 2003 until the company reached its millionth customer in June 2006.
This past June, Don Iannetta of Toronto, became the one millionth Canadian to subscribe to Rogers Digital Cable. As the one millionth customer, Mr. Iannetta will receive a Sony Entertainment system valued at $10,000 and a one year free subscription to Rogers Digital Cable.

Eutelsat Communications Announces Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2005-2006 Revenues
July 20, 2006 - Revenue growth was driven by the increase over the year of channels broadcast by Eutelsat, from 1,712 channels as of June 30, 2005 to 2,121 channels as of June 30, 2006. Growth was driven by the following:
• Consolidation of premium orbital positions
• Development of major new video positions
• Analogue to digital switchover
• Roll-out of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT)
• Launch of High Definition Television (HDTV)

Czech Republic - Analogue Switch-over date to be decided in September
July 20, 2006 (DigiTAG) - The Czech Telecommunications Office (CTU) will make a final decision on the date for analogue switch-off in September.

Belgium - Telenet has sold 178,000 digital cable decoders
July 20, 2006 - Duco Sickinghe, chief executive officer of Telenet, today announced that Telenet expects to exceed the milestone of 200,000 digital decoders at the latest in early September. At the end of June the Mechelen-based company has sold 178,000 digital decoders
Duco Sickinghe did express his disappointment that the negotiations with Interkabel concerning the launch of interactive digital television in the Interkabel area have thus far remained without result. He once again affirmed his belief that a uniform interactive digital cable television service for all of Flanders is in the interest of both the consumers and the media.

S3 Announces 90nm CMOS IP Licensing Agreement for Mobile TV Applications
July 19, 2006 – Silicon & Software Systems Ltd. (S3), a leading supplier of licensable mixed signal solutions, today announced that Abilis Systems, a Kudelski Group company, has licensed S3's low power ADC IP in 90nm CMOS process. Abilis will incorporate S3's analog-digital converter IP into its first generation single-chip mobile TV applications.
Abilis Systems is the first fabless semiconductor company to propose a single-chip mobile TV solution, integrating both the RF tuner and the demodulator on a 90nm RF CMOS process. Such a device ideally meets the requirements of the cellular phone, portable media player and laptop PC markets.

Via Licensing releases "Final MHP License Fees"
July 19, 2006 - Via Licensing has released a set of what it terms "Final MHP License Fees", a document setting out the fees that will be payable by device manufacturers, service providers and broadcasters that wish to use MHP to deliver interactive digital television services. Among other measures, the DVB has provided, since the time of the first announcement of MHP terms, a forum within its IPR Module for an exchange of views on these terms among rights holders and implementers.

NEC Electronics Introduces MP201 Single-Chip Application Processor
July 19, 2006 - NEC Electronics Corp., a leading semiconductor solutions provider, and its subsidiaries in the United States and Europe, NEC Electronics America, Inc. and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH, today introduced a single-chip application processor that integrates the core functions needed for the development of portable multimedia devices. Replacing as many as three discrete chips, the MP201 processor can be used in open platform development and features on-chip video and audio data processors, integrated memory and peripheral interfaces. Using the device, system developers can achieve fast time to market for rich multimedia applications.

Telefonica O2 Czech Republic launches pilot operation of IPTV
July 19, 2006 - Telefonica O2 Czech Republic has launched a pilot operation for Internet protocol television (IPTV), offering the firm’s employees around 30 programs, including the opportunity to download films on demand, during the first phase. The offer includes Czech and Slovak channels, along with news, documentary and children’s channels. There are about 250 films available for download. At the same time, the pilot operation will test the sales channels of these services. The company wants to expand coverage progressively in the same manner as it has been doing for broadband Internet, which has gradually become available to 90% of all fixed telephone lines over two years.

Motorola Announces Record Second-Quarter Sales and Earnings
July 19, 2006 - Connected Home Solutions Segment sales were $803 million, up 8 percent compared with the year-ago quarter and up 10 percent compared with the first quarter of 2006. Operating earnings increased to $56 million, compared with operating earnings of $33 million in the year-ago quarter and an operating loss of $11 million in the first quarter of 2006. Motorola continued to maintain and grow its market leadership with strong shipments of video, voice and data infrastructure and consumer devices. During the quarter, the segment:
• Shipped a record 2.4 million digital entertainment set-top devices, including approximately 680,000 with digital video recorders (DVR).
• Shipped a record 900,000 voice-enabled modems.
• Announced that Sentivision of Japan will deploy Motorola’s IP video set-top platform.
• Announced the world’s first commercial implementation of PacketCable MultiMedia™ (PCMM), through deployment of an end-to-end solution with StarHub of Singapore.
• Introduced the Motorola Follow Me TV solution, which enables the seamless movement of multimedia content within the home and to the mobile device.
• Announced that Cox Communications will begin field trials of Motorola’s Open Cable Applications Platform (OCAP) software.

AT&T Selects Ohio as First State to Receive Homezone's Integrated Television and Broadband Services
July 19, 2006 - Say goodbye to the entertainment divide between the TV and PC — and hello to the digital living room. AT&T Inc. announced today the launch of AT&T Homezone, a groundbreaking new service that integrates AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet, AT&T | DISH Network satellite television and AT&T Home Networking services via a single device.
The new AT&T Homezone service provides Internet-based video with satellite TV programming in a seamless in-home experience, giving consumers a powerful new way to extend the best of the Internet beyond the desktop to bring entertainment content to their TV screens and stereos. It features digital video recording, movies on demand, photo- and music-sharing, storage for both, and whets the anytime/anywhere generation's appetite with remote, Web-based access to the system.

Shipments Up, Revenues Decline, in Some MPEG IC Markets
July 19, 2006 - Markets for MPEG video ICs continue to grow in unit terms according to In-Stat. The consumer market for MPEG encoders and codecs in DVD recorders and PC-TV tuners, in particular, are driving increases in unit shipments, the high-tech market research firm says. However, in the case of MPEG decoders for DVD players and online network receivers, declining Average Selling Prices (ASPs) are bringing down revenue.
A recent report by In-Stat found the following:
• H.264 decoder ICs are being used in both mobile applications and line-powered devices.
• STMicroelectronics is again the largest supplier of MPEG decoder ICs in the Online Networks segment.
• In the DVD recorder market, IC solutions are integrating more functions, which helps keep prices stable. Revenue in this segment will grow to US$778 million in 2010.

Hyundai IT Adopts Tvia's TrueView LCD-TV Design Solutions
July 19, 2006 - Tvia, Inc., a leading provider of digital display processors for advanced flat-panel TVs, broadcast digital DVRs, consumer displays, and monitor products, today announced that Hyundai IT has adopted Tvia's TrueView turnkey LCD-TV design for a new line of competitively-priced LCD-TV display products.
Tvia's TrueView digital display processors are used by the world's leading broadcast and consumer electronics companies. Hyundai IT, Ltd., a publicly-listed company within the Hyundai group, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of a full line of state-of-the-art digital display products, including PC monitors, PDP-TVs and LCD-TVs.

Ikanos Introduces IPTV-Optimized, Multi-Mode VDSL2 Solutions
July 19, 2006 - Ikanos Communications, Inc., a leading developer and provider of Fiber Fast™ broadband solutions, today introduced the industry’s first IPTV-optimized, multi-mode VDSL2 chipsets for Central Office (CO), Remote Terminal (RT) and Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). These fifth generation chipsets are designed to provide the highest throughput and density, with the lowest power consumption per port. All chipsets offer integrated QoS capabilities as well as enhanced impulse noise protection schemes for optimal IPTV delivery.

TIA Engineering Committee TR-47 Gives Nod to FLO Forum’s Air Interface Spec
July 18, 2006 - The widespread delivery of live multimedia content to mobile handsets reached a significant milestone this week on news that the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)'s TR-47.1 Subcommittee has officially approved publication of the FLO™ Air Interface Specification (AIS) as TIA-1099. The AIS was the first technical specification produced and approved by the FLO Forum, an association of wireless industry leaders committed to advancing the global standardization of FLO™ technology. The TIA's TR-47 Engineering Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of Terrestrial Mobile Multimedia Multicast (TM3) standards while TR-47.1 is a subcommittee focused on FLO technology standardization.

Anyka Selects ARM Architecture For Advanced Multimedia Processor Development
July 18, 2006 - Anyka Cayman Corporation, a pioneer in mobile multimedia application processors, and ARM, today announced that Anyka has licensed the ARM926EJ-STM processor through the ARM® Foundry Program. Anyka has adopted the DSP and ARM Jazelle® technology-enabled ARM926EJ-S processor to support advanced multimedia features for consumer applications. The new ARM Powered® product by Anyka is expected to be available in Q1 2007.
As connectivity and data transfer speeds are significantly improved in mobile phones and consumer electronics, users are also expecting high-quality multimedia infotainment on their portable devices. At the same time, mobile operators and content providers are demanding end-devices that incorporate enhanced multimedia functionalities, so that they can offer new services and content for future revenue growth. The ARM926EJ-S processor features a 16-bit fixed point DSP instruction set and supports ARM Jazelle technology, which enables developers to build in the capability to run high-performance multimedia applications much faster, with minimal power consumption at lower price points.

Sogecable Consolidated Results at June 30th 2006 - First Half of 2006
July 18, 2006 - The headlines of DIGITAL+, Sogecable's pay-TV activity, were as follows:
• New net growth in its subscriber base this quarter. DIGITAL+ added 4,200 net new customers to its services during the quarter.
• This quarter the new commercial offer launched in January 2006 continued to be successful, and the number of new recruitments increased significantly with respect to the same period in the previous year.
• Despite the seasonality in the second quarter, the cancellation rate stabilized at 12% as of June 30th 2006.
• Average revenue per customer reached 42.4 euros in the quarter, affected by the early completion of the domestic football league championship in pay-per-view services.
As of June 30th 2006, Sogecable already had 1,990,000 DIGITAL+ subscribers following a net increase of 4,200 customers during the quarter. At the end of the first half of 2005, DIGITAL+ had 1,776,000 customers.

Sony Unveils First Blu-ray Disc Drive Burner
July 18, 2006 - Sony Electronics today unveiled its first internal Blu-ray Disc™ (BD) rewritable drive for the computer aftermarket.
The new drive (model BWU-100A) supports up to 50 GB of data on BD-R (write once) or BD-RE (rewritable) discs or up to four hours of high-definition video using HDV 1080i on a BD-RE 50GB disc. The new drive is capable of burning a full 25GB disc in about 50 minutes.
For personal content captured on a HDV camcorder, the BD drive is optimized for keeping the video in the native HDV 1080i for playback on home players compatible with BD-AV format and PCs with BD drives installed.
Sony’s BD drive also supports recording of standard single layer 4.7GB DVD+R/+RW/RAM discs, 8.5GB DVD+R Double/Dual Layer Discs, and CDs, making it a multi-format burner.

IntAct and TI Collaborate on IPTV Reference Design
July 18, 2006 - IntAct, an Amino Technologies plc company, today announced that it will produce a full reference design based on the award-winning AmiNET124 IPTV set-top box (STB). The design will incorporate Texas Instruments Incorporated's (TI) TMS320DM642 720 MHz DSP-based digital media processor - one of the fastest processors currently available - and will offer original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) a reliable and proven technical blueprint. The move to create a reference design from this successful STB potentially opens the IPTV market to new OEM entrants, supporting the IPTV industry's growth and increasing the availability of consumer premises equipment from different vendors.
The reference design, with TI's processor, represents the collaboration of two of the primary experts in their industry sectors. IntAct has more than one hundred truly commercial deployments and is one of the most mature software solutions available for IPTV. TI's leadership is long-standing and the company has an exemplary track record of developing the most advanced and reliable semiconductor products for streaming media applications.

Video on Mobile: Actimagine Raises 3M Euro From GRP Partners
July 18, 2006 - Actimagine, which provides the most advanced video compression technologies, announces today that the Company has raised €3 million in equity financing from US venture capital firm GRP Partners. This first round of institutional fund raising will enable Actimagine to accelerate its business development in the USA and Japan.
Actimagine licenses Mobiclip™, its patented power-efficient software video codec, which delivers better video quality while reducing power consumption. Mobiclip is a completely new technology, and is therefore not subject to MPEG, MP3 or any other codec licenses. Mobiclip has already been endorsed by major content studios such as Sony Pictures Digital to deliver full-length, full–screen, 30 frames per second movies on 128MB memory cards. Leading handset manufacturers like Nokia and Sony Ericsson have launched marketing campaigns for new smart phones by bundling them with memory cards, powered by Mobiclip, containing full-length blockbuster movies. With Mobiclip, a Nokia phone with full standard batteries runs more than 7 hours of video playback without recharging.

Asia/Pacific Leading the Way in IPTV
July 18, 2006 - The Asia/Pacific region is leading the global revolution of IPTV in infrastructure deployments, applications development, and subscriber adoption, reports In-Stat. The region’s broadband penetration and regulatory support help to foster the fastest-growing IPTV market in the world, the high-tech market research firm says.
A recent report by In-Stat found the following:
• By 2011, the Asia/Pacific market is expected to reach 39 million IPTV subscribers.
• Total IPTV revenue in the region will reach US$8.1 billion by 2011.
• Providers will need to find a unique approach to packaging and bundling in order to attract customers and maintain a competitive edge. As a result, most IPTV service providers have strategically integrated services in their triple-play bundled offerings.

Over 100 countries now committed to DVB-T for Digital Terrestrial Television
July 18, 2006 - The DVB Project welcomes the successful completion of the ITU’s Regional Radiocommunication Conference (RRC-06). The participating countries from Europe, Africa and the Middle East have agreed a new frequency plan for Bands III, IV and V replacing the Stockholm ’61 agreements. Digital terrestrial television in these regions will thus be based solely on DVB-T.
RRC-06 involved some 100 countries including all European, African and Middle Eastern nations. The conference aimed to create a frequency plan and associated coordination agreements for an all digital environment based exclusively on DVB-T. This now brings to at least 114 the number of countries that have launched or will in future launch DVB-T services.

Free Broadband for BSkyB Customers
July 18, 2006 – Sky today launched its new broadband internet access service, Sky Broadband, promising outstanding value, wireless access for all, full McAfee security, hassle-free installation and a flexible range of high quality products for Sky TV customers.
With three different broadband products, Sky Broadband Base, Mid and Max, the launch sets a new industry standard with no compromise on quality or value. The products range from a free service offering download speeds of up to 2Mb to an awesome connection of up to 16Mb for just £10 a month.

CNES, Orange France and Alcatel join forces to test new mobile broadcasting concept
July 18, 2006 - Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Orange France, and Alcatel announced today the selection of Toulouse and the Midi-Pyrenees Region for the first trial out side the laboratories of the main technical characteristics of the new mobile broadcasting solution over a hybrid satellite and terrestrial transmission system using S-band. This system is central to Alcatel's "Unlimited Mobile TV" solution. The technical trial in Toulouse, focused on the space aspects of this project, is preliminary to the research and development efforts for the terrestrial aspects of the project, made possible with support from the French Industrial Innovation Agency.
The CNES financed and oversaw the design and deployment of the demonstrator, set the trial schedule, and is leading the trial; Orange, the leader in mobile broadcasting, is providing terrestrial repeater sites and contributing its expertise for analyzing results; Alcatel is conducting all trial measurements and preparing the result analysis; in addition, Eutelsat and SES Astra are supplying the satellite resources needed for feeding terrestrial repeaters.
The trial was initially scheduled to continue through September 2006. Based on initial results, it has been decided to extend the technical trial through the end of 2006. As part of this extended trial period, Eutelsat will partner with CNES, Orange France, and Alcatel in order to pursue the validation of the technical choices of the hybrid satellite and terrestrial broadcasting system to provide S-band services.

SageTV Brings Placeshifting & Wireless Media Extender to Linux with New Version 5.0 of PVR/Media Center Software; Eliminates Monthly PVR Fees, Provides One-Stop Music/Photo/Video Access

Actions Semiconductor Expands Product Portfolio with Portable Media Player SoC Family
July 17, 2006 - Actions Semiconductor Co., Ltd., one of China's leading fabless semiconductor companies that provides comprehensive mixed-signal system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for portable consumer electronics, today announced the launch of its new Series 7500 products and the introduction of its Series 13 product family.

US - As Digital Cable Penetration Surges, so do DVRs
July 17, 2006 - Cable continues to be a driving force in the video arena, according to recent research conducted by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM). In the July/August Pulse report, CTAM examined changes in home entertainment preferences.
Among total households overall, penetration of digital cable has risen to 26% from 20% last year; surpassing satellite at 24%. Digital cable has seen tremendous growth in cable households (46% in 2006 vs. 31% in 2005) as they upgrade from analog basic cable. As the number of digital cable households increased, so has the penetration of premium channels among cable households, from 42% in 2005 to 53% today.
Cable households with a DVR have more than doubled rising to 17% in 2006 compared to 7% in 2005. Thirty percent of digital cable households have a DVR compared to 22% of satellite households. Three-quarters (74%) of these digital cable households receive their DVR from their cable provider.

China Digital Media Corporation Completes the Digital TV Migration for 200,000 Households in Nanhai
July 17, 2006 - China Digital Media Corporation, a leading provider of cable and digital television services and content in China, announced today that it has reached a record level of households that have installed digital set-top-boxes. As of June 30, 2006, approximately 200,000 subscribers had installed over 220,000 digital STBs, with over 15% subscribing for additional digital STBs. The Company receives a portion of the subscription fees from each customer.

Leading Open-Source, Open-Standard DRM Project OpenIPMP Announces New Version, Boasting Cross-Platform OMA, ISMAcryp, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 Support
July 17, 2006 – Open-source project OpenIPMP today announced the release of OpenIPMP v2, a major upgrade to the leading open-source and open-standards based DRM (Digital Rights Management) system originally released in 2002.
The OpenIPMP project aims to provide the development community with interoperable DRM software that can be easily ported to any platform (including Windows, Mac, Linux and embedded platforms).
Unlike the proprietary DRM solutions, OpenIPMP's interoperable DRM design adheres to a variety of open standards, including OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) v2 DRM specifications, ISMA encryption / DRM signaling specifications for MPEG-4 streaming and local playback (ISMAcryp), and MPEG’s IPMP specifications for MPEG-2 and MPEG-4.
The project, which can be downloaded from SourceForge, includes a J2EE server for managing rights and issuing licenses, as well as client SDKs intended for integration with MPEG encoders and decoders (i.e. players).

Sun Valley Rumour: Murdoch is about to get EchoStar
July 17, 2006 (LA Times) – Some top money managers here were convinced Murdoch was close to making a deal to buy EchoStar Communications Corp., the nation's second-ranked satellite TV provider and the sole rival to Murdoch's DirecTV Group.

More U.S. Rural Telcos Push the IPTV Envelope With Ruckus Wireless
July 17, 2006 – Ruckus Wireless, an innovator in next-generation smart Wi-Fi technology, today announced that its new in-home “smart Wi-Fi” system is being adopted by more leading rural U.S. broadband providers, including:
• ETEX Telephone Cooperative (TX) • Daviess-Martin Rural Telephone Corporation (IN) • LaValle Telephone (WI) • Richland Grant Telephone Cooperative (IN) • Canby Telcom (OR) • Hutchinson Telephone Company (MN) • Glandorf Telephone Company (OH) • Green Hills Telephone Company (MO) • Ligonier Telephone Company (IN) • Matanuska Telephone Association (AK) • Union Telephone Company (WI) • Viola Home Telephone Company (IL) • McDonough Telephone Cooperative (IL) • New Windsor Telephone (IL) • Nex-Tech, Inc. (KS) • Wabash Mutual Telephone (OH).
These new deals are in addition to agreements already in place with Ayersville Telephone (OH), Monroe Telephone (OR), Pioneer Telephone (OK), Wilkes Telecommunications (NC), Panhandle Telephone Cooperative (OK), and CC Communications (NV), which are also using Ruckus Wireless’ MediaFlex system to support in-home distribution of digital multimedia content and services such as IPTV.
Rural-based broadband providers are aggressively moving to deliver digital voice, video and data, or “triple play,” services to local subscribers. To solve the problem of multimedia distribution in the home, these telephone companies and cooperatives are working to use next-generation smart Wi-Fi to transport streaming IPTV and other triple play services over broadband connections coming into subscriber homes.

Eagle Broadband Reports Third Quarter 2006 Results
Jul 17, 2006 - Officials with Eagle Broadband, Inc. (AMEX: EAG), a national provider of broadband, Internet Protocol (IP) and digital communications technology and services, today announced financial results for its fiscal 2006 third quarter ending May 31.
Some operational highlights:
• Conducted a successful IPTVComplete field test in Miami
• Signed new IPTV content providers
• Received a purchase order of $700,000 in high-definition set-top boxes from KoolConnect Technologies
• Introduced new IP3000HD set-top box in June

China - Rumour: DMB-T To Become Terrestrial Standard
July 17, 2006 (Pacific Epoch) - State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) subsidiary Digital New Media said on its official website on July 13 that China's terrestrial digital TV transmission standard will be the Tsinghua DTV standard "DMB-T," but the announcement has not been officially confirmed.

Philippines - PLDT, Echostar of US tie up for DTH satellite TV venture
July 17, 2006 (The Philippine Star) - An ambitious direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television venture via a three-way partnership among telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), US DTH leader Echostar Communications, and local DTH licensee GV Broadcasting may finally see light before the end of the year.

Backspace Shores Up IPTV Walled Garden; IPTV Pioneer Poised for Full Scale Commercial Launch
July 17, 2006 - Backspace Communications, LLC, a pioneer in the emerging industry of IP Based Television delivery, IPTV, has announced today that they have completed their final round of content acquisition for their Expanded Basic Lineup. With a carefully crafted package, Backspace is now positioned for a major Walled Garden Launch.

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