IWEDIA Middleware to showcase a 'PVR Ready' edition of its Comedia middleware at CCBN '08

‘Content Everywhere’ is a key feature

RENNES, France — IWEDIA Middleware, the international provider of embedded DVB-based software solutions for digital television devices, today announced it will be showcasing a ‘PVR Ready’ edition of its Comedia middleware at CCBN ’08 in Beijing from March 21st through 23rd.

This market solution is a dedicated edition of Comedia middleware which uses a hard disk drive (HDD) connected to the set-top box via the USB port to deliver personal video recorder (PVR) features.

Recording features provided include time shifting (pause & resume a live stream), watch & record, playback & dual recording, instant recording, scheduled recording (manual, via EPG), and more.

Users can manage multiple audio tracks and subtitles as well as access event information during playback – just as for live events. They can also use trick modes such as pause & resume, slow motion, fast forward and fast rewind (speeds from 2x-64x), 30-second skip, etc. Bookmarks can also be used to navigate through content.

Record and replay functions are provided in conformity with the Freeview Playback functional specification issued by the Digital TV Group in the UK.

A multimedia centre enables browsing of multimedia content available on the HDD. Any given content can be selected and rendered in the appropriate format – video (MPEG2), audio (MP3) or image (JPEG).

Removable drives also make a ‘Content Everywhere’ feature possible: this enables video content that has been recorded on the set-top box to be played on a PC and vice versa. This feature fits in perfectly with new lifestyles, enabling different family members to store their personal multimedia contents – each on their own USB HDD – to consume them as they wish; on a PC or on a TV set, alone or with friends or other family members.

Patrick Desproges, CEO, IWEDIA, says: “As PVRs are just starting to be taken up on the retail market, configurations with external drives are likely to be market drivers, since they allow convenient exchange of video content between PC and TV environments. With our `PVR Ready’ market solution, we are ideally positioned to enable consumer electronics manufacturers to take a significant share on that market.”