Alticast Partners with S&T For Next Generation MHEG5/MHP/Blu-Ray Hybrid Solution

IBC Stand 1.211, IBC, Amsterdam — Alticast and S&T have today announced a strategic software partnership for next generation HDTV integrated digital TV and set-top box software. The partnership will target IPTV, MHEG-5, MHP and Bluray markets.

Working together on open standards is paramount to an effective convergence market strategy, offering simplification in a hybrid middleware world which naturally leads to better economies of scale for CPE/STB and iDTVs at retail and operator level.

As the industry moves into IPTV and HD it is only natural that the middleware carried in consumer devices must follow the transmission and graphics quality that HD presents.

Combination – or hybrid – products are becoming standard offers in the business-tobusiness and retail markets. This naturally leads to the problem of duplicity or multiplicity of middleware stacks. A Gem (Globally Executable MHP – www.mhp.org)-based approach and combination of GEM-IPTV/MHEG5/Blu-ray/MHP/OCAP is a natural path in today’s converging hardware market.

“Alticast has always followed the professionalism and market awareness of S&T especially in the MHEG-5 field. This is the partnership of two very strong software houses that supply a large percentage of open standard middleware, tools and services in today’s real business of interactive television. The union will provide new levels of efficiency for customers”, stated Anthony Smith-Chaigneau, MD of Alticast EMEA.

“S&T recognise that many manufacturers want a single digital television software solution covering a multitude of markets. Working with Alticast as one of the leading suppliers of MHP/OCAP/DMB/IPTV/BD-J solutions will create an attractive offering as well as opportunities to create new markets and products,” said Paul Daly, General Manager – Client Systems at S&T.