Interactive TV

Microsoft pushes into TV ads with Navic buy

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:31:48 -0400

Meeting primarily with a telco audience at NXTcomm last week, Microsoft focused its efforts on demonstrating the capabilities of its Mediaroom TV platform and discussing its latest ecosystem partnerships. However, it should not go unmentioned that Microsoft also acquired interactive TV advertising technology firm Navic Networks last week. The Navic buy could have immediate implications for cable TV companies that use the digital set-top boxes on which Navic runs, and for Microsoft as the software giant goes toe-to-toe with Google.

For more:
- read this story at The Seattle Times

Related articles:
Microsoft announced new Mediaroom partners at NXTcomm Microsoft report
Microsoft launched a beta of the Mediaroom Presentation Framework last month Microsoft report

Comcast says tru2way is the only way

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:59:10 -0500

Comcast boss Ralph Roberts used his historic keynote at CES2008 to relaunch the industry's new open development platform, tru2way. Formerly known as the OpenCable platform, it is designed to enable two way interactivity in all cable enabled devices.

"Now, a software developer can write an application once--a gaming application, an entertainment application, even a service like TiVo and it will work on a tru2way-enabled device, regardless of manufacturer, and across virtually every cable system," Roberts told CES attendees. He did not mention it will also save the industry a lot of development expense.

The vigorously independent CE industry lobby has opposed the platform, in particular the signing of what it says are onerous licensing agreements and have been pushing their own protocol called DCR+. Pointedly, Roberts also showed off several set top boxes from Motorola, Panasonic, LG and Samsung which are using the tru2way platform, suggesting the CE industry may be divided. The whole issue has gone off to the Federal Communications Commission where chairman, Kevin Martin is being asked to adjudicate. Which should be more than interesting given the brawl over Comcast's dominance last year.

For more:
- Comcast launches tru2way Article
- Two way battle reaches FCC Article
- FCC opens net neutrality inquiry Article

Related Article:
- FCC to step into two way spat Article

Verizon and U-verse bump up content

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:59:50 -0500

The battle for eyeballs is heating up with Verizon and U-verse bumping up their content on their high speed services, offering multi-angle camera shots of the NFL, customized traffic, sport and weather results and extra international programs.

Verizon is providing its eight game NFL Network package online for no additional cost to customers who subscribe to both its FiOS broadband and TV services. Verizon will be the only provider to offer NFL on broadband. NFL Network Game Extra will get a "virtual control booth" to let users select one of four camera angles, or if they want all four angles simultaneously in a split-screen.

At the same time AT&T has upgraded its interactive U-verse TV features, including customized weather and traffic data, yellow pages information and TV games. The service was first rolled out to Dallas-Fort Worth area and is now being offered in the San Francisco Bay area.

AT&T is also bulking up its TV service with international programs. In a deal with satellite operator SES Americom, AT&T will get international programming and some other channels. The programming will come from the IP-Prime distribution service SES Americom built to service tier 3 telcos seeking to get entry to the IPTV market.

More Reports:
- Verizon offers live streams Report

Related articles:
- Verizon puts the heat on Cable Report
- AT&T's U-verse licensing deals: MTV, BET, TV One Report

OpenTV revenues rise but net loss increases

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 06:59:10 -0400

Losses widened at OpenTV, the San Francisco company specializing in interactive TV middleware. OpenTV closed its second quarter June 30 with a net loss of $4.9 million on revenues of $24.3 million, compared to a loss of $2.5 million on revenues of $23.7 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Middleware and integrated technologies revenue increased by 9 percent to $20 million over the same quarter last year, while applications revenue fell 11 percent to $4.2 million. Revenues from the gambling software division, Bettingcorp, also fell, from $700,000 to $100,000. Royalties and license revenues fell 4 percent to $14.1 million, compared; services and other revenues increased 13 percent to $10.2 million.

The company finished the quarter with $74.1 million in cash and $32.8 million in deferred revenues.

For more:
- OpenTV's results are here

TV listings data provider Zap2it to get bulletproofed

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 06:59:40 -0400

There's a small uprising among enthusiasts of software PVRs built around the free TV listing data provided by Zap2it Labs, a project of Tribune Media Services. Tribune recently posted a notification on the Zap2it Labs site that the data would no longer be available as of Sept. 1. "Originally, we intended it to support the open source community to keep them from scraping the site," said Andy Heinz, executive director of Tribune Media Services. Heinz said the data was strictly for personal use; for hobbyists making online personal video recording setups such as Isaac Richards' MythTV.

"We found companies producing devices to compete with TiVo and selling them," Heinz said, declining to name specific violators. "We found companies that had deployed commercial products, and the license was very specific about not doing that." The notification on the website said a warning about misuse was first posted in October, 2004. "Unfortunately this misuse has continued and grown," it states.

The commercial version of Zap2it, an online guide to TV, movies, and eventually, IPTV content, will continue to be available. That site gets around 3 million unique views a month. The Labs site provides access to the type of data the commercial site is built upon. Heinz said Tribune planned to "reinvest in bulletproofing" the Labs site. "We'll continue to work with the open source folks," he said. "it's the offenders we wanted to bring to the table." Heinz said "some sort of arrangement with the open source community" would be announced within two or three weeks.

An email query to MythTV Chairman Isaac Richards about the impact of losing Zap2it data received no response at press time. However, the folks at MythTV have since announced their intention to provide a TV listings data source. The software is evidently only part of the project. "We are in need of a good lawyer who is familiar with business contracts and federal nonprofit law--preferably someone willing to work pro bono, at least initially," a statement at the site reads. "We are also looking for a good accountant/CPA… to help with any eventual financial/tax paperwork.

For more:
- the MythTV listings data project Web site is here
- Brad Linder provides a brief review of PVR software here

Microsoft gets its Joost on

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:59:50 -0400

Blogs lit up like Christmas trees in the last few days over Microsoft's latest foray into the IPTV space. LiveStation, a project under development with British firm Skinkers, promises to deliver live, interactive TV over the Internet. LiveStation is being billed by some as a "Joost killer," (giganticide being the adjectival phrase du jour for new IP video ventures the way every rock band was the new Beatles a very long time ago).

However, the service appears to be more along the lines of Slingbox's shrinkable player rather than Joost, which pretty much just takes over the PC once it's activated. Joost also uses more of an on-demand model rather than live streaming, but both Joost and LiveStation are based on peer-to-peer architectures.

Matteo Berlucchi, CEO of Skinkers, has agreed to visit with FierceIPTV about how LiveStation differs from Joost and Slingbox.

In the meantime:
- Wired's Terrence Russell offers this summary of LiveStation

Rumor Mill: Apple TV to link up to U-Verse

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 06:59:40 -0400

While this report is still firmly rooted in the "rumor" category, its implications are worth noting: Engadget has it from a "well-connected source" that AT&T has inked a deal with Apple to sync Apple TV up with its U-Verse IPTV service. The circumstantial evidence surrounding this rumor is compelling: Apple and AT&T already have a close relationship thanks to the upcoming launch of the iPhone, which will be exclusive to AT&T subscribers for five years. Apple TV is also taking a beating in the blogosphere for not living up to the hype it once generated, which means the company would benefit from a strong service provider partner. Apple also just recently announced that Apple TV will make YouTube content available, which shows the company is inking similar deals with the heavy hitters of online video.

For more on Apple TV:
- see this article from Engadget

Major League Baseball takes on SlingMedia

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 06:59:30 -0400

Major League Baseball (MLB) says watching out-of-market baseball games is potentially illegal, and that could mean trouble for SlingMedia. The company's SlingPlayer allows users to place-shift their set-top box-powered television services from their home to their PC or smartphone via the Internet. MLB's content licensing deals with most service providers include the broadcasting of local teams' games, and in order to watch an out-of-market game a subscriber usually has to upgrade to an expensive "sports package." MLB also has its own Internet TV service, MLB.TV, which allows subscribers to watch any out-of-market game live from their PCs--just like a SlingBox. MLB.TV, however, costs $14.95 per month or $59.95 per year. No wonder MLB is taking on Sling now.

SlingMedia said allowing anyone besides the owner of a given SlingBox to access the device is against the product's user agreement, and if anything, the ability to watch a home team play when out of town or in the office simply "creates a much tighter bond" between the fan and his or her team.

The Consumer Electronics Association president Gary Shapiro came to SlingMedia's defense too: "This is a classic instance of copyright owners trying to suppress innovation purely because it empowers consumers."

For more on Sling's MLB predicament:
- read this article from CNET
- see MLB's Internet TV service here

Verizon FiOS TV users get new program guide

Tue, 29 May 2007 06:59:50 -0400

Verizon FiOS TV subscribers in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a market Verizon just launched the service in, are the first users to experience the company's new programming guide. The interface, which Verizon calls its Interactive Media Guide, will launch to all FiOS TV subs by the end of the summer.

According to the Verizon website, the IMG's display and navigation is greatly improved:

An enhanced interface with 32-bit graphics, 16 million colors and 8-bit transparency.
It features a "hierarchical, tabbed menu system" with "animated layering displays" and "fixed-focus magnifying viewer" that presents information at the center of the screen.
The IMG also boasts low latency of less than one-fifth of a second response time to user input.

The IMG's search function also brings enhancements:

Network powered search with global queries of TV and movie channels, On Demand titles and DVR contents.
Onscreen text entry options include: multitap, virtual keyboard and scroll wheel.
Predictive results come up after the first character is entered and refined as additional ones are entered.

The IMG also features a number of "widgets" that currently include basics like weather, traffic and community info updates. More widgets are on the way, according to Verizon.

For more on the new FiOS TV guide:
- see this fact sheet on the IMG (.pdf)
- and view this demo of the interface (video)

Scientific Atlanta licenses PVR tech from Command

Tue, 01 May 2007 06:59:10 -0400

Command Audio announced that Scientific Atlanta has licensed its patented PVR (personal video recorder, also known as digital video recorder, or DVR) technology. The worldwide agreement lets Scientific Atlanta use Command Audio's technology in all of its PVR set-top box products. It also runs for the life of Command Audio's patents. No financial terms were disclosed. Command previously announced licenses to Motorola, ReplayTV, Sony, XM and HD Radio.

For more on Command's PVR tech:
- see this article from TVover.net