Neuf Cegetel adds Private content

March 28, 2008 – Private Media Group has announced that French triple-play operator Neuf Cegetel has launched Private content on the video on demand element of its IPTV service.

India’s TRAI looking to raise pay TV industry’s FDI cap to 74%

March 28, 2008 – The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has revealed that it is considering raising the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap for all pay TV platforms in the country, except cable, to 74%.

Asian market “set to increase phenomenally over the coming years”

Interview with Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo Broadband

Accedo Broadband is an aggregator and distributor of interactive applications and content, and offers a content portfolio compatible with most IP set-top boxes and broadband enabled consumer electronics devices on the market. Accedo supplies services via leading operators and service providers globally, either via the operator’s brand or via an Accedo-owned brand.  The company was founded in 2004 by entrepreneurs Michael Lantz and Fredrik Andersson, and has offices in Stockholm, London and San Francisco.

Smart Telecom plans to soft-launch IPTV service next month

March 27, 2008 – Irish telco Smart Telecom has revealed that it plans to carry out a soft-launch of its new IPTV service next month in locations close to the 37 unbundled exchanges where it currently offers broadband.

PCCW adds Accedo games to now TV

March 27, 2008 – Accedo Broadband has revealed that Hong Kong-based telco PCCW is integrating Accedo Broadband’s Funspot casual games into its “now TV” IPTV service.

Telpol launches “Joy TV” IPTV service

March 27, 2008 – Polish triple-play operator Telpol has announced that “Joy TV”, a new interactive IPTV service, was made available to its subscribers today, following the service’s launch on March 10.

Transvideo introduces new STB model

March 27, 2008 – Chinese firm Transvideo has introduced a new IPTV set-top box, the i-Box/2000-C, with multi-codec support and wireless compatibility.

Delivering secure IP video

As video and streaming video make greater inroads into network computing environments, a clear and present danger has begun to emerge: security vulnerabilities. While no wide-spread exploitation of these IP video vulnerabilities has yet been reported, the breaches are serious and wide-spread enough to warrant extra vigilance. This paper outlines the chief areas of weak security in the majority of IP video platforms and the steps that Video Furnace has taken to ensure its products deliver secure IP video.  Courtesy of Video Furnace

 Whitepaper

iPanel and ICTV agreement to expand availability of ActiveVideo in APAC region

March 26, 2008 – iPanel Technologies and ICTV have formed an agreement to integrate ICTV’s ActiveVideo solution with iPanel’s middleware and browser, with the purpose of expanding the availability of ActiveVideo in China and the larger Asia-Pacific market.

Envivio encoders used in trial of AVS video encoding for DTT broadcasting in China

March 26, 2008 – Envivio has revealed that its 4Caster C4 encoders are being used in “extensive” broadcast trials in Shanghai that combine AVS video encoding with China’s standard for digital terrestrial television broadcasting.

IP video’s time has come

Affordable and far less complex to implement than in the past, video over IP is becoming a must-have for organisations, schools, financial institutions, government, and more. Leading businesses and institutions are finding that IP video and its myriad uses can vastly enhance company performance, greatly improve employee productivity and significantly cut operating costs. Companies leveraging IP video not only enjoy a competitive advantage today but are poised to benefit from new applications far ahead of their competition.  Courtesy of Video Furnace

 Whitepaper

IPTV World Forum 2008 receives record attendance and 85% of exhibitors re-book on-site for IPTV WF09

March 25, 2008 - This month's IPTV World Forum 2008 was an unprecedented success, with the show attracting over 5,500 attendees across six conference streams and a joint exhibition.

Harnessing the Internet to improve broadcast TV services

Amidst the headline themes for last week's IPTV World Forum 2008 there was an interesting undercurrent surrounding the convergence of Internet sourced video and applications and classic Pay TV walled garden environments (reports John Moulding).

IPTV World Forum 2008: technologies to help consumers find content

We already have hundreds of channels of digital TV and the private network long-tail is growing (reports John Moulding). The integration of online video services into the Pay TV walled garden environment could increase content choice further but there is a danger that consumers will be overwhelmed by the volumes of content and avoid on-demand libraries altogether, or at least keep using their current favourites - in which case a great opportunity to enhance their experience has been lost.

Thomson committed to joined-up services across multiple networks

March 25, 2008 - Thomson highlighted its unified approach to content management and delivery across multiple platforms at IPTV World Forum 2008, outlining plans to converge its SmartVision service delivery platform for IPTV with the SmartVision platform for mobile TV.