Dune HD announces a new partnership with Qarva designed to enhance the IPTV experience. The integration of Qarva’s FastSwitch technology into Dune HD’s digital media players and set-top boxes will give IPTV subscribers improved interaction and higher quality through faster channel changing and the elimination of packet loss. The joint solution will be demonstrated by Dune HD on stand 17 at TV Connect MENA 2012.

An enhanced, high quality experience is proven to increase subscriber loyalty and is central to operators reducing churn and growing revenues. FastSwitch improves the viewing experience by dramatically reducing the lag associated with controlling IPTV services, bringing response times down from 5 seconds to less than half a second - in line with the speeds achieved through traditional TV broadcast channels. Through its integral Packet Loss Recovery technology, FastSwitch also eliminates IPTV issues such as picture freezing and blocking, delivering an improved viewing performance.

Operators looking to deploy IPTV and Video on Demand will benefit from faster, lower-risk implementations that enable them to offer more services to users through a major partnership between Dune HD and Beenius announced today at TelcoTV2012. This will be demonstrated on the Beenius booth (number 105) at TelcoTV.

As part of the partnership, Dune HD’s advanced set-top boxes have been certified by Beenius and are now integrated with Beenius’ Beesmart open, flexible, and feature-rich interactive TV middleware platform. Together this provides an adaptable, integrated and best of breed solution to operators and system integrators, backed by the engineering expertise of both partners.

IPTV operators will now benefit from industry-leading revenue security solutions when using Dune HD media players, thanks to a new partnership between Dune HD and Verimatrix. Verimatrix is the specialist in securing and enhancing revenue for multi-screen digital TV services around the globe, and its Video Content Authority System for IPTV solution and embedded ViewRight security client are now available across Dune HD’s award-winning range of digital media players, enabling operators to better protect content from piracy while enhancing service revenues.

Verimatrix VCAS software-based security solutions are the most widely deployed content protection systems amongst tier-one operators globally, with a growing base of over 600 deployments. These operators and other Verimatrix partners will now be able to install Dune HD’s extensive range of digital media players and set-top boxes, which combine high performance, engineering excellence and customisable features, backed up by the highest levels of content security.

OTT and IPTV operators can now increase subscriptions and bring down costs through the Dune HD Connect, the world’s smallest Full HD set top box. The latest innovation from Dune HD, the compact stick format device simply plugs into a subscriber’s TV HDMI socket and streams content through its built-in Wi-Fi via a home internet connection.

Turning standard ‘dumb’ screens into smart TVs, the Dune HD Connect dramatically increases the market for operators looking to deploy streaming services – and through its small size it can be connected unobtrusively, operating invisibly to the subscriber.

The Dune HD Connect is easy to install for subscribers and cost-effective for operators to deploy and support. Due to its small size it fits through normal letterboxes and into standard mailboxes, removing the need for expensive courier services. Installation takes minutes, with subscribers simply plugging the device into the HDMI port on their TV and adding it to their existing Wi-Fi network. They can then immediately access operator OTT and IPTV streaming services without needing specialist technical support.

Motorola Mobility extends its leadership in IP and cable set-tops, with the launch of ten new models designed to give service providers in EMEA smarter, more energy-efficient options for delivering new entertainment experiences – including entertainment everywhere (multi-screen support), over the top, time-shift TV, gaming and more.

IPTV set-tops

New IPTV set-tops build on the global success of the KreaTV application platform, an open system that ensures flexibility in deployment as well as smooth systems integration. Each supports high-quality IPTV services such as HD broadcast, time shift, on-demand, OTT, and interactive applications.

Rovi and Broadcom announce that Broadcom's latest IPTV platforms will support DivX Plus Streaming. Lightweight and easy to deploy, DivX Plus Streaming brings features historically associated with Blu-ray Discs to the over-the-top entertainment experience. The joint solution will help media player manufacturers streamline the development and release of products that offer an advanced streaming experience. Rovi will be demonstrating DivX Plus Streaming, running on Broadcom's flagship BCM7241 IP set-top box platform, at IBC 2012, September 6 to 11, Hall 5, Stand A31.

The adaptive streaming solution, DivX Plus Streaming, not only dynamically adjusts streams to help deliver maximum visual quality based on available bandwidth, but also offers an advanced feature set with support for 1080p, subtitles, multiple language tracks, and trick-play functions such as smooth fast forward and rewind. DivX Plus Streaming expands the value of the already popular DivX Plus(R) HD Certification program, which brings these same advanced multimedia features to 'download to own' video content.

Entropic announces the deployment of its STB system-on-a-chip and demodulator technology in three EchoStar models, which are currently being deployed at Bell Canada, Dish Mexico and Telus.

With the use of Entropic's STB SoC and demodulator technology, EchoStar offers fully-functional HD satellite STBs, which are personal video recorder-ready via external hard drives. The devices also support over-the-top and interactive applications via an Internet connection.

Entropic's SoC uses an integrated ARM application CPU to power advanced application processing, with a multi-stream transport processor to support PVR functionality. It also leverages flexible, multi-format video and audio decoders and a memory controller to provide ample memory capacity for both HD picture decoding and advanced system performance. The EchoStar STBs also use Entropic's advanced, low-power turbo-coding demodulator, which provides increased satellite system throughput by up to 35 percent utilizing existing bandwidth.

Amino announces that Amino’s A140/A540 set-top boxes will now be complemented by a Wi-Fi USB solution using Celeno’s video-grade Wi-Fi technology.

The Amino Wi-Fi USB dongle enables service providers to offer a video-grade Wi-Fi solution that accelerates the adoption of IP-based video services by enabling after-market IP STBs to wirelessly receive HD content. Powered by Celeno’s field-proven OptimizAIR technology, the device maximizes range, throughput, and signal consistency and ensures low packet drop, jitter, and latency, while achieving superior Quality of Service for perfect, lossless video streaming.

Amino has partnered with IPTV and Digital Content delivery solution provider Intracom Telecom, to secure a substantial contract to provide HD IPTV set-top boxes for one of the fastest growing IPTV deployments in South Eastern Europe.

The network operator provides a range of broadband, mobile, telephony and IPTV services, across several countries, offering a mix of live TV, premier sports channels, video-on-demand and a rich set of infotainment services to end users’ TV sets.

Amino will supply MPEG-2/MPEG-4 IPTV/OTT set-top boxes for the continued rollout of HD services across networks in two countries. The device combines Amino’s high performance capability with http live streaming capability to deliver entertainment experiences across both managed and unmanaged networks, all seamlessly and securely managed under Intracom Telecom’s digital content delivery platform.

Dune HD announces its new IPTV-ready TV-301 universal media player and set-top box, now in production and shipping globally to key resellers and system operators. In support of operators seeking a low cost set-top box, Dune is offering for evaluation purposes, and a limited time, its TV-101 for $49. The Dune HD TV-101 debuted last year and won the coveted Connected TV of the Year Award from ConnectedWorld.TV in September 2011.

The first hotel interactive IPTV system based on the NetUP IPTV Combine 4x Hotel with Android IP set-top boxes has been successfully deployed in Hotel Dubrovnik situated in the centre of the Croatian capital Zagreb.

NetUP IPTV Combine 4x installed in hotel allows guests to access TV and Video on Demand content using user-friendly and feature-rich GUI of Android-based IP set-top boxes. The IPTV solution is connected with MICROS Opera hotel property management system which enables the following features:

• welcome message on guest check-in
• hotel info page
• auto posting IPTV services to the PMS
• hotel bill view- messages from reception
• room status change via TV (dirty/clean) for the housekeeping service

Locatel has launched a new Set-Top Box at IP&TV World Forum. STB10 is a revolutionary new IPTV set-top box specifically designed by Locatel for the hospitality market. This very high performance device, powered by the Intel® Atom™ Processor CE 4150 SoC, embeds outstanding features and functionalities.

The power and capacity delivered by this new STB10 with an Intel chipset enables Locatel to offer a new generation of services in hotel rooms. The hospitality sector faces growing expectations from clients in terms of the quality of services and choice that they expect from their in-room entertainment system.

aioTV announces the availability of its OTT video platform optimized for Amino’sAmino’s Aminet A140 IPTV/OTT set-top box.

The Amino A140 is a cost effective device that brings together traditional multi-channel functionality with next-generation over-the-top services. aioTV enables operators worldwide to curate multiple sources of OTT video content into a TV-like experience for customers to enjoy on multiple devices -including the iPad, Android tablets, PC, Mac, GoogleTV, iPhone, Android phones and now the Amino Aminet A140.

Espial announces KDDI’s launch of a new generation on-demand TV user experience powered by the Espial TV Browser and its HTML5 capabilities. KDDI will use the Mitsubishi Electric ST1100R and Espial TV Browser to provide its subscribers with a world-leading user experience for a wide range of video-on-demand and IPTV services. KDDI is one of the largest operators in Japan.

Speculation about the fate of hard disk drives in the wake of late-2011 floods in Thailand and recent data from major set-top box vendors are resulting in new predictions about digital video recorder demand in 2012. Last Friday, Technicolor, one of the world’s largest STB manufacturers, indicated in its financial reporting that reduced DVR shipments cut deeply into the company’s 2011 revenues. Pace PLC, the world’s largest set-top box manufacturer, has reshuffled top management and issued profit warnings in response to HDD supply contractions. Recent forecasts from IMS Research’s Online Set-top Box Database anticipate a 2012 DVR volume drop of more than 20 percent as operators rely on existing inventories and delay new DVR orders.