IPTV middleware breakdown

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 06:59:30 -0400

According to a London research firm, nearly one-third of IPTV subscribers are getting their video on proprietary middleware. The conclusion is that IPTV providers are skeptical of off-the-shelf versions.

Worldwide, the number of IPTV subscribers was estimated to be 7.5 million as of June. By comparison, iLocus said that out of 55.4 million consumer VoIP lines worldwide, about 18 percent were on proprietary hosting platforms.

iLocus indicated Thomson was the lead supplier of off-the-shelf middleware, primarily due to France Telecom deployment. Next was Cascade, followed by USTarcom, Alcatel-Lucent, Siemens, Microsoft, Orca, Vcom, Hawei, Minerva and ZTE.

"IPTV equipment has all the ingredients of a market in its infancy," iLocus states. Touche.

For More:
- The iLocus summary is here

Verimatrix disputes Widevine patent suit

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 06:59:30 -0400

Verimatrix, a San Diego content security developer, rejected the patent infringement charges brought about by one if its competitors last week. Widevine, based in Seattle, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Tyler Texas Aug. 1, seeking unspecified damages. Widevine said it sued only after trying to "openly license its intellectual property to Verimatrix."

The plaintiff said the Verimatrix Content Authority System infringed on Widevine patent no. 7,165,175, issued last January for a selective encryption technology. In court papers obtained by FierceIPTV, Widevine said it notified Verimatrix in March of the infringement. "Verimatrix's infringement of the '175 patent has been and continues to be willful," the court filing states. Verimatrix said it would respond "very aggressively" to the lawsuit.

Widevine investors include Cisco, Charter Communications and Telus, while Verimatrix has received support from Siemens and Crescendo Ventures in Palo Alto, Calif.

For more:
- Verimatrix's statement is here
- Widevine's is here