Advanced Television

Broadband

Cablevision keeps remote DVRs

Despite threats from programmers that network DVRs violate their copyrights, Cablevision plans to begin offering its Remote Storage-DVR this summer. According to programmers the technology essentially turns their content into VOD offerings, diminishing the value of linear programming and the advertising that goes with it. What’s more, the simplicity of the network DVR will just […]

May 27, 2009

IPTV Test & Measurement Key

To retain customers, service providers must provide a satisfactory quality of digital video QoE for users, says Light Reading. As demand for rich media and TV content continues to grow among consumers, the delivery of digital video at an acceptable quality of experience (QoE) for the user becomes ever more important to service providers, content […]

May 22, 2009

Record Number participate in Tru2way event

A record turnout of more than 20 suppliers representing content and hardware sectors participated in a successful CableLabs-hosted tru2way interoperability event. Application developers and hardware manufacturers joined together for a week of laboratory sessions where numerous tru2way and Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF) applications ran across multiple headends, user agents and set-top boxes. The […]

May 22, 2009

ONO profits up, revenues and subs fall

From David Del Valle in Madrid The largest Spanish cable operator, ONO, ended the first quarter with a net profit of E12.06 million, 61.4 per cent up than the same period the previous year, in spite of the fact that its revenues fell by 3.2 per cent to E338 million and its subs dropped by […]

May 22, 2009

UK report recommends spectrum caps

Lord Carter’s adviser Kip Meek has proposed a radical shakeup of the UK’s airwaves he believes will bring mobile broadband to everyone at twice the speed the communications minister originally envisaged within five years. Meek wants part of the spectrum that will be freed up by the switch-off of analogue television by 2012 – the […]

May 15, 2009

BitTorrent still dominant in P2P

BitTorrent has extended its dominance as the most popular file sharing application for unauthorised content, and while infringements in the US have dropped, Spain, Italy and France have surged, according to an annual report on digital piracy issued by BayTSP. The report is based on cumulative data from all of BayTSP's clients, which include movie […]

May 15, 2009

France approves 3-strikes bill

France's National Assembly has approved a bill which requires ISPs to disconnect users who have been caught three times illegally downloading copyright files. The "Creation and Internet" bill was passed by a vote of 296 to 233 by the lower house and will now go before the Senate for final approval. The bill, backed by […]

May 13, 2009

Canvas responds to Sky criticism

The BBC Trust and the companies behind Project Canvas, the proposed video-on-demand joint venture between the BBC, BT and ITV, have replied to BSkyB’s criticisms of the venture (ATV 13/5/09). Project Canvas said: “The enormous consumer benefits that internet-powered TV can bring should not be restricted to paying customers. An open, standards-based platform that enables […]

May 13, 2009

blinkx STB deal

Video search engine blinkx has struck a deal with interactive TV company Miniweb that will see its services become available on digital set-top boxes in the UK. The deal will significantly widen the audience for blinkx’s search offering, which indexes a range of online video content, including content from YouTube and the various web TV […]

May 12, 2009

Three in frame for VMtv

Channel 4, Time Warner and BSkyB have been shortlisted as potential buyers of Virgin Media’s wholly owned VMtv channels Virgin 1, Bravo and Living. Virgin Media intends to sell the channels separately from its joint venture with BBC Worldwide, UKTV, which will be sold at a later stage. The BBC has denied interest in purchasing […]

May 12, 2009