Video chipmaker Zoran Corp has come out with a new SupraTV 260 family of integrated processors for pay cable and satellite set-top boxes. The chips are now sampling and are used in a new family of China Cable set tops from DVN which it will be demonstrated at IBC in Amsterdam. The device is optimized for MPEG-2 cable set-top boxes.
Sony Ericsson has launched its first digital photo frame, the 7 inch long IDP-100 so that mobile photos are no longer confined to the phone and is pitching it as an ideal accessory to the Sony Ericsson Cyber-Shot phones like the new 8.1 megapixel C905. Photos can be transferred using Bluetooth, and most makes of flash memory cards. Success will all depend on price, which was not given.
Tandberg Television has provided its OpenStream and Edge QAM system for a Cable VOD upgrade at Get in Norway which offers 100 TV channels. Tandberg is prime integrator on the project. Tandberg Television also says that its MPEG-4 AVC compression and IP multiplexing systems are being used by Telenor Satellite Broadcasting to provide IP video contribution and direct-to-consumer IPTV services in Scandinavia.
OK it’s content, but Sony is close to a deal to bring Spiderman actor Tobey Maguire back for two more “Spider-Man” sequels. This constantly reminds us of the safety first nature of Hollywood and its ability to milk dry perfectly good ideas while ignoring new ones. Look at the Batman franchise ‘ different actors, different directors and more and more realistic story lines and more success each time. Once this is done Spiderman will be a dirty word in Cinemas and poor Maguire may never work again.
Motorola has apparently taken legal action over Research In Motion chasing whole chunks of its employees, around 40 in total, charging RIM with improperly recruiting staff and looking to gain access to trade secrets.
UK set top builder Pace, says it will be demonstrating the first set-top box capable of receiving and displaying DVB-T2 HD content at IBC next week. It is a prototype which has the NXP chip in it which NXP said last week would be on show at IBC, with French company Enensys providing the DVB-T2 modulator.
Swedish Flash memory based VoD server builder Edgeware said this week that its servers were used by TeliaSonera to offer time shifted Olympic games coverage to its IPTV customers. Edgeware first showed off those servers at IBC last year, and will be showing improved versions there.
Inuk Networks this week said that Ireland’s Magnet Networks, has selected its igloo virtual set top to extend Magnet IPTV services to PCs and Macs. Inuk developed the virtual set top to supply IPTV to students on academic multicast networks and is used by over 50,000 subscribers to Inuk Network’s own Freewire IPTV deployment in university halls of residence in the UK, Ireland and Canada.
Osmosys says that its MHP middleware system has been used by Vestel to power its integrated digital TV sets. Vestel will roll out devices to the Italian DTT market, with future plans for expansion into other European countries. Vestel says its the largest TV builder in Europe with 25% of the market and makes TVs for JVC, Hitachi, Sharp, Sanyo and Toshiba.
National Cable Networks, Russia’s largest cable operator with over 4.5 million subscribers, has selected Harmonic real time and on-demand encoders to provide 700,000 customers in Moscow with a new service package.
Nokia said this week that it will deliver 43 separate devices with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, amounting to all Nokia S60 3rd Edition devices. Nokia said that Mail for Exchange will be available out-of-the-box in future releases of Nokia Eseries and Nokia Nseries devices. In total that’s about 80 million mobile phones shipped globally to date, which can now get email that comes from Microsoft servers.