Although no official announcement is made until this morning, the BBC Trust is giving a provisional go-ahead for Project Canvas. Set-top boxes using Canvas software are expected to be available late next year for about £200 (E220), allowing people to access the BBC's iPlayer and other web services via the TV. Partners are the BBC, […]

Along with nine major Chinese TV brands, the China Video Industry Association (CVIA) under The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MII) has filed applications for two industry standards for Web-enabled TV sets The standards are drafted mainly by CVIA, China Digital Home Industry Association (CDHIA), and Chinese TV makers such as TCL, Skyworth, and […]

The UK government’s controversial broadband tax has been detailed in the pre-Budget report. The £6 (E6.6) a year levy will be imposed on all households with a fixed line phone. The government would provide super-fast broadband to 90% of the UK by the end of 2017. The money is earmarked for the 30% of homes […]

The UK government has launched a consultation into plans to return live coverage of the Ashes and home nations’ Football World Cup qualifiers to free-to-air TV. Currently, there is a list of sports which are reserved for broadcast live only on free-to-air TV, such as the football World Cup tournament, and, a second list that […]

The FCC has released another request for information for its national broadband plan, this one focused on how set-top boxes could help spur the viewing of video over the Internet. The commission pointed out that while only 76% of households have personal computers, 99% have TV sets. “The convergence of the television and content delivered […]

Rovi Corporation has condemned last week’s UK High Court ruling that three of its Gemstar EPG patents are invalid. The company promised to appeal the decision that said Virgin Media had not impinged patents with its own EPG. Samir Armaly, Rovi’s SVP of worldwide patent licensing said: "We..intend to continue to pursue Virgin and other […]

Virgin Media has emerged successful in the patent dispute lodged against it by Gemstar TV Guide. The London High Court rulings call into question the ability for intellectual property rights holder Rovi to enforce its patents both in the UK and with operators around the world. Gemstar, now part of Rovi, had claimed Virgin's EPG […]

Three people have been arrested in the north-eastern Athens suburb of Aghia Paraskevi on suspicion of breaking the encryption codes used by the Greek digital satellite pay-TV platform Nova and offering free viewing to tens of thousands of people around Greece. The three men are alleged to have sold to their clients, for a one-off […]

The European Commission would oppose the Spanish government if it cuts the Internet access of users that download copyrighted material, the European Commission’s top telecommunications policy-maker, Viviane Reding, has said. “If Spain cuts off Internet access without a procedure in front of a judge, it would certainly run into conflict with the European Commission,” Reding […]

The chief executive of Fox Filmed Entertainment has said the US should join France in cutting off the Internet connection of users who repeatedly download copyright-protected films. CEO Jim Gianopulos said Internet piracy is the single biggest threat to the film industry worldwide, and independent films are the hardest hit. He said Internet service providers […]