Hardware (DVD, TV, PMP, Set-top Box, …) News

Tata Sky Renews Its Trust in Technicolor
Apr 11, 2012 – Technicolor (Paris: TCH) has announced that it has reached the milestone of 5 million set-top boxes delivered to Tata Sky. Tata Sky has also awarded Technicolor a contract for HD set-top boxes, whose shipment will start later this year.
News categories: Technicolor, Tata Sky, Digital TV, India, Market Research, Satellite, Set Top Box

Online games titan Miniclip moves into Smart TV with PlayJam
Apr 11, 2012 – PlayJam has partnered with Miniclip to bring content to Smart TV. Miniclip will utilize PlayJam's platform to capitalize on the growth of Smart TV gaming. Miniclip's titles will thus be monetized and distributed via all major Smart TV manufacturers.
News categories: PlayJam, Miniclip, Apps, Smart TV

BTC Broadband Taps Entone's FusionTV
Apr 10, 2012 – Entone has announced that it is teaming with BTC Broadband in Bixby, Oklahoma. With Entone's FusionTV™, BTC Broadband can offer live Over the Air (OTA) television with DVR capabilities, and additional cloud-based media services.
News categories: Entone, BTC Broadband, Content Distribution, Digital TV, DVR, IPTV, Middleware, Semiconductor, Set Top Box, USA

FRANSAT, Samsung and NEOTION break new ground for satellite TV reception in France
Apr 10, 2012 – FRANSAT, Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and NEOTION have announced that they have integrated a satellite receiver and a DTT module for FRANSAT into Samsung TVs from its 2012 range. The pack comprises a NEOTION decryption module and an access card for reception of FRANSAT.
News categories: NEOTION, FRANSAT, Samsung, CAM, Digital TV, France, Satellite, Smart TV

38% of U.S. Households Now Have a TV Connected to the Internet
Apr 9, 2012 – New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group (LRG) finds that 38% of all households have at least one television set connected to the Internet -- up from 30% last year, and 24% two years ago.
News categories: Leichtman Research, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Gaming, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

NorDig replaces DVB-MHP with HbbTV for interactive IRDs
Apr 4, 2012 – NorDig has specified a common API for interactive services for advanced IRDs, now referred to as hybrid IRDs. From now on hybrid IRDs will be based on the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) standard, replacing DVB MHP as NorDig's chosen API.
News categories: NorDig, Denmark, Digital TV, Finland, HbbTV, Iceland, Middleware, Norway, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Sweden, Terrestrial

Ocean Blue Talking TV Software Benefits Thousands In Australia As Part Of Government Help-Box Scheme
Apr 4, 2012 – Ocean Blue has partnered with Hills Antenna & TV System to release the first of its kind 'Talking' set-top box in Australia. The Talking Set Top Box, Hills HD94003G, was developed with the assistance of the Australian Government and Vision Australia.
News categories: Ocean Blue, Hills Antenna, Australia, MHEG-5, Middleware, Set Top Box

Version 1.5 of HbbTV Specification Released
Apr 4, 2012 – The HbbTV consortium has announced the publication of version 1.5 of its hybrid TV specification. Version 1.5 of the HbbTV specification notably introduces support for HTTP adaptive streaming based on the recently published MPEG-DASH specification.
News categories: HbbTV Consortium, Cable TV, Digital TV, HbbTV, Middleware, Satellite, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, Terrestrial

Multiscreen devices active on pay-TV networks to rise to 300 million in 2015
Apr 3, 2012 – Recent news of acquisitions and divestments in the US cable market underscore the industry's shift in focus away from set-top box hardware and toward software and services designed to accommodate the booming opportunity for pay-TV multiscreen devices.
News categories: Screen Digest, Cable TV, Digital TV, Gaming, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Smartphone, Tablet, USA