Microsoft and Broadcom Team Up to Offer Internet TV Services

With a view to develop technologies that will enable their users to hook their televisions on the internet while at the same time tapping new packages and services, Microsoft and Broadcom (Broadband Communications Group) have concluded plan to join forces.

With this agreement, the two companies have decided to compliment each other in order to bring out the best. As a result, Microsoft will adapt its Mediaroom Internet television client software for use on set-top boxes powered by Broadcom's system-on-a-chip technology.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft revealed its innovative initiative whose aim is to create new, interactive television offerings piped into consumers' homes using the IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) standard.

To this effect, Richard Nelson, the VP marketing for Broadcom said "We see increased synergy between the breadth of Broadcom product offerings and what Microsoft wants to enable within the whole home DVR environment,"

The two companies are hopeful that their collaboration will result in a number of advanced digital television offerings, including easier digital video recording, interactive TV and photo and music sharing services. Broadcom has captured a healthy share of the set-top box market with its next-generation system-on-a-chip technology. Its 65-nanometer BCM7405 chip includes built in support for the digital rights management technologies included in Microsoft's Windows Media format -- including DRM 10.

It also supports new video compression standards like VC-1 and H.264.

But the biggest challenges for Microsoft and Broadcom in terms of marketing their offerings may be commercial, not technological. Most U.S. cable network operators have to date been hesitant to offer anything beyond the most rudimentary interactive services due to concerns that the bandwidth required for those services detracts from the bandwidth available to deliver programming.

The companies may have more success in Europe where interactive TV is better established. Indeed, Microsoft on Sunday said British Telecom will tap the Microsoft, Broadcom alliance for technology for BT's Vision digital television service.

 

Microsoft Anticipates Over One Million Users for its IPTV Software

Microsoft has revealed its expectation of more than one million users of its new Mediaroom IPTV software within the next few weeks of the New Year, going by the current trend of demand of the service in the market. It is the company's believe that its over one decade of investing in interactive TV would finally start paving way for successful returns.

While drawing the attention of users to the distinction between IPTV and cable and satellite TV, Peter Barrett who is the current Microsoft's CTO said that the former is equipped to handle lots of demand for on-demand content, while the latter will struggle as content moves to HD. He considers that the popularity of file-sharing services shows that consumers want to get their content anywhere and everywhere. "People are voting for the utility of watching TV on their PC by doing it the hard way," he said. "Setting aside that BitTorrent is largely illegal, it's a chore to use."

He further said that the popularity of file-sharing services shows that consumers want to get their content anywhere and everywhere. "People are voting for the utility of watching TV on their PC by doing it the hard way," he said. "Setting aside that BitTorrent is largely illegal, it's a chore to use."

"These things are not part of the imminent service release, but are inevitable," Barrett said. "It's the sort of thing that's really, really hard to do if you have a broadcast infrastructure."

Microsoft also expects the merging of its IPTV and Media Center PC efforts to ultimately mean that developers can write interactive applications that can run on either set-top boxes or PCs.

Microsoft envisages the kind of bonus interactive features included on high-definition DVDs to eventually be available on video sent to Media Center PCs or Mediaroom set-top boxes. Already, a number of developers are writing programs that can sit on top of Microsoft's interface.

There is a strong market, he believes, for combining the wide selection and quality available via file-sharing, with the ease of use of traditional TV.

Eventually, content could not only be sent throughout the home, but also available remotely on a PC or mobile device.

Vonaq Announces QuickTest 100 ADSL+ Tester

Vonaq has announced that it is ready to launch its new product that will mark its entrance into the IPTV market. Realizing the popularity and the business prospect created by this technology, the company has decided to release its own version of this high-tech and it is branded QuickTest 100 ADSL+ 100 Tester.

With the launch of this new product, Vonaq believes that it will empower engineers and installers to locate and resolve problems with IPTV technology quickly, and at the same time has the tendency of being cost effective if well applied.

During the design so many factors that would make the application work effectively were considered and this include the ability to help engineers identify faults that has to do with maintenances and repairs that include; incorrect MDF junpering, no live voltage, incorrectly configured DSLAM ports, poor line rate poor noise margin and excessive line attenuation to mention but few.

Vonaq also categorically stated that testing directly on the ADSL or Ethernet interface allows problems such as excessive network jitter, packet loss and poor quality of service, to be quickly identified.

The standards supported include ADSL2+, Ethernet, MPEG2, MPEG4, TR 101 290, IGMP Version 2, and being a low-cost, robust, easy-to-use handheld tester, it hoped that it will perform quite well.

North Pittsburgh Acquired by Consolidated Communications

Arrangement has been finalized over North Pittsurgh Systems, Inc. acquisition by Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. and the later company has full right on the former based upon the closing price of Consolidated's common stock three days after Christmas with about $363 million.
Under the agreement, the North Pittsurgh will operate in Pennsylvania under the Consolidated Communications brand name. The merger agreement provided that North Pittsburgh shareholders could elect to receive either $25.00 in cash, without interest, or 1.1061947 shares of Consolidated common stock for each share of North Pittsburgh common stock, subject to proration so that 80 percent of the North Pittsburgh shares are exchanged for cash and 20 percent are exchanged for stock.
Commenting on this new development, the President and Chief Executive Officer, Bob Currey said that they are excited to complete the transaction with the hope that the agreement will pave way for opportunities that lie ahead. He said "We have said from the start that North Pittsburgh has a strong network that, when coupled with
Consolidated's back office platforms and technical experience, can be leveraged to roll out enhanced broadband services. We plan to launch our IPTV product in the North Pittsburgh area in the first quarter of 2008 and expect to pass approximately 12,000 homes at that time. By the end of 2008, we anticipate passing a total of approximately 34,000 homes."
The transaction involved the exchange of 80 % of North Pittsburgh shares with cash and the remaining 20% for stock.

IPTV Subscriptions in China Fell below Expectation

Experts have revealed that, the IPTV subscriptions in China have fallen below the expectation in the just concluded year. Contrary to the prediction by Chinese operators that they were expecting about 1.3 million main land subscribers by the end of 2007, only about 846,000 people subscribed to the service.
This was made known by a research and consulting company, iSuppli through its spokesman, Loren Zhao, the industry analyst, China Research for iSuppli, he said that "The main reason for the IPTV deployment slowdown is the industry as a whole failed to develop a successful business model -- one capable of being replicated in
geographically dispersed urban centers"
He observed that uncertainty resulting from slower-than-expected rates of adoption could discourage investments needed for expansion. Not until recently, Chinese telecom carriers provide access, service platforms, and broadband network for IPTV, while broadcast operators have licenses and supply television and video content. The industry watched for signs of success or failure when Shanghai Media Group (SMG), China Telecom, and China Netcom took IPTV to Shanghai and Harbin in 2006.
Although, SMG planned to expand in 10 cities and the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television approved the plans. Local operators did not effectively promote IPTV, so two provinces drew 130,000 subscribers, while other locations fared worse.
In the mean time, iSuppli advised that telecommunications and broadcast companies should form a mutual alliance with one another with the hope that it can lead to an effective business model which by the year 2011 could draw 17 million IPTV subscribers.

Aventura Set to Offer IPTV Services

Aventura, a video surveillance products provider, is set to join the list of companies offering IPTV services on the internet and this came as a result of its recent acquisition of the technology and marketing rights for IPTV solution for broadcasters and content providers from US-based IPWebTV.
IPWebTV is an industry leading designer, developer and manufacturer of streaming media, fixed and mobile solutions for the broadcast, satellite and internet protocol (IP) marketplace and by acquiring such rights Aventura believes that that it stands to attract more benefits from the internet market.
The report of Infonetics Research probably is what prompted Aventura to take such bold step. According to the report, worldwide subscribers are predicted to increase to 53 million by 2009 with service providers investing rapidly on IPTV content and transport equipment. The report also projects $26 billion in capex expenditures for IPTV infrastructure in 2009.
Craig Waltzer, chief executive at Aventura said that "The IPTV broadcast technology acquired by Aventura from IPWebTV is the first strategic purchase towards the company's future direction. Aventura plans to capitalize on its new property by marketing custom infrastructure solutions to internet service providers and content
service providers. Aventura will operate the business under a newly formed wholly-owned subsidiary IPWebTV, a Florida Corporation."

A Bill to Adopt IPTV Service Has Been Passed in Korea

Realizing the extent of which IPTV services would benefit the entire country, the Korean National Assembly has passed a bill on to adopt Internet Protocol Television and will pave way for the launch of the new media service in the country. Only a few companies have been providing the video-on-demand services in the country without any
relevant laws and they are, KT, Hanaro Telecom and LG TV services with their respective programs Mega TV, Hana TV, and My LG TV services.
The passage of this bill means that programs from terrestrial broadcasters can be made available on the Internet at the same time they are broadcast. At the moment, these companies offer TV programs several hours or days after terrestrial broadcasters have first relayed them.
Being a recent innovation on the internet, IPTV is a next-generation broadcasting technology that uses Internet protocol instead of radio waves to deliver programs. The service is interactive, so viewers can use it to search for information for items they see on TV and even buyth em without interrupting the program they are catching. However, there are concerns that the service may be crippled by government bureaucracy because both the Ministry of Information and Communication and the Korean Broadcasting Commission are in charge of it.

BitBand Predicts Increase in IPTV Service

BitBand, a company that delivers content over IP broadband networks,
has predicted that IPTV will attract more users going by the emerging
markets and user-generated content, and with the current rate of
advertisement, IPTV has started on a good note in this New Year.
Bob Larribeau, principal analyst and co-founder of analyst firm
TelecomView, in a statement said that "BitBand has hit on a number of
important themes in IPTV. It is clear that new markets, such as
Eastern Europe, along with new forms of content and advertising will
define the IPTV opportunities going forward."
He also observed that home networking and home servers will deliver
contents to a variety of personal electronic devices via wired and
wireless networks. He said "Service providers will be expected to
handle massive amounts of content and consumers' experiences should
not vary according to device.
"As new companies offer alternative services, traditional
communications companies will have to differentiate themselves through
new value-added services or competitively priced entertainment
packages. User-generated content will continue to grow in popularity
and users will want it incorporated into their traditional television
experiences.
Bob further offered that "The drive to turn the TV into an
Internet-capable device is likely to continue, despite failed attempts
so far, and targeted advertising holds potential for revenue and
subscriber growth for IPTV, On-demand television will grow thanks to
new methods for time shifting and increased bandwidth availability in
next-generation networks".
It is expected that Olympic Games tagged Beijing 2008 will drive
adoption of IPTV in China, the government wants the event to draw
worldwide attention, while service providers in other countries will
want to deliver the events to subscribers in all forms and across all
devices, BitBand said. Those factors will drive service innovation and
technology development, while encouraging flexibility of regulations.