Software (Media Players, Middleware, Browsers, Stacks, …) News

Half of US Cable Subscribers Will Have "tru2way" by 2013
Jul 1, 2008 – Operators are finally starting to deploy tru2way STBs and in 2013 about half of all US cable subscribers will have a tru2way STB. But according to ABI Research, many obstacles and interoperability challenges must be overcome along the way.
News categories: ABI Research, Cable TV, Digital TV, Market Research, Middleware, Set Top Box, USA

OKI Develops Audience Rating Information System for IPTV
Jun 30, 2008 – Oki Electric (TSE: 6703) has announced it has developed an IPTV 'Audience Rating Information System' which will be offered to the Japanese market. The system collects viewership data to enable broadcasting companies to improve their services.
News categories: Oki Electric, Content Distribution, Digital TV, IPTV, Japan, Middleware, Set Top Box, Smart TV

Cable TV specification could revive living room PC
Jun 30, 2008 – A new specification that defines a two-way digital cable TV link is being developed by CableLabs. The standard is essentially a PC version of CableLabs' Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP) specification.
News categories: CableLabs, Cable TV, Digital TV, Middleware, Peripherals / Accessories, Streaming, USA

byd:sign Introduces First DivX Certified® HDTV to Hit Japan
Jun 30, 2008 – DivX (NASDAQ:DIVX) has announced the DivX Certification of byd:sign Corporation's new LCD HDTV - the first LCD HDTV with DivX Certification for the Japan market.
News categories: DivX, byd:sign, Digital TV, Japan, Media Player, Smart TV, Streaming

Espial Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Kasenna
Jun 30, 2008 – Espial® Group (TSX: ESP) has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Espial will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Kasenna in exchange for an aggregate of 4,722,224 Espial common shares.
News categories: Espial, Kasenna, Content Distribution, Digital TV, IPTV, MandA, Middleware

From the Google Desktop to your TV
Jun 26, 2008 – In the old days, we used to watch a simple device called a television. Nowadays, all the stuff worth watching and listening to tends to be stored on or accessed through a computer. To help remedy this, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has released the Google Media Server.
News categories: Google Desktop, Digital TV, Home Server, Smart Home, Software, Streaming

BBC sets sights on Apple over web video
Jun 26, 2008 – The BBC is developing plans to bring web video such as its iPlayer catch-up service on to television screens, in a move that would take its online ambitions to a new level and pit the corporation against technology groups such as Apple.
News categories: BBC iPlayer, Digital TV, Media Player, Set Top Box, Streaming, UK

Spain - AETIC to test interactive services for DTT platform
Jun 25, 2008 – The Asociación de Empresas de Electrónica, Tecnologías de la Información y Telecomunicaciones de España (AETIC) has presented its plans to provide testing of DVB-MHP interactive services on the DTT platform.
News categories: AETIC, Digital TV, DVB-MHP, Spain, Terrestrial

OpenTV and FOXTEL launch quad tuner high definition PVR
Jun 25, 2008 – OpenTV (NASDAQ: OPTV) has announced the launch of the new FOXTEL iQ2 High Definition PVR, a quad tuner set-top box that has almost double the recordable capacity of the current FOXTEL iQ and provides an HD platform to FOXTEL subscribers.
News categories: OpenTV, FOXTEL, Australia, Cable TV, Digital TV, DVR, Middleware, Satellite, Set Top Box