ANT Limited Browser and Orca Interactive Middleware Combine with TI DSPs To Ensure Interoperability for IP Set-Top-Box Technology

**Available Soon on the Code-Compatible DaVinci Media Platform**

Uniting three of the top-tier technologies in the streaming media industry, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) has joined with software providers ANT and Orca Interactive to facilitate interoperability for manufacturers looking for low-risk solutions that will hasten the design cycle of IP Set-Top-Box products and services. By bringing the core software together on TI silicon - soon including the new DaVinciT technology, an integrated offering of processors, software, and tools - the three companies deliver an end-to-end solution that saves valuable time and dollars making it simple to offer a full range of IPTV and Video on Demand (VoD) capabilities today. For more information on DaVinci technology, please see: http://www.thedavincieffect.com.

i3 micro technology, a leading provider of IP Television (IPTV) and voice over IP (VoIP) products and solutions, and Minerva Networks, provider of open-platform IPTV delivery solutions, announced support with i3’s Mood 300 IP Set-top Box (STB) and Minerva Network’s iTVManager middleware application. The advanced MPEG-4 AVC feature of the Mood 300 and the robust capabilities of iTV Manager, which also supports High Definition, Video on Demand, Personal Video Recording and other competitive features, the combined solution will appeal to IPTV service providers interested in delivering the best possible IPTV viewing experience while minimizing the bandwidth load on the network.

i3 and Espial have integrated the Espial Evo client middleware (EPG, VOD, Portal, etc) in i3 IP set-top boxes. Together they can now provide a fully integrated and interoperable middleware set-top solution for low-cost IPTV-applications. The solution is ready-to-deploy and designed to highly reduce operators’ time-to-market. i3 and Espial cooperation has been formalized in a signed strategic partnership agreement.

Sentivision KK and SecureMedia, Inc. announced that SecureMedia's Encryptonite System^TM CA/DRM client is fully integrated on the Sentivision SV-500 set-top box. With the integration, Sentivision offers IPTV operators a fully secured consumer premise device for receiving and displaying protected video content.

Espial announced that Philips has integrated Espial Escape to add valuable browser features in its STB810 semiconductor reference design. This new IPTV set-top box (STB) will offer a compelling environment for deploying Walled Garden applications and a dynamic Internet on TV experience to help operators Own their IPTV Subscriber.

Espial Escape features the latest television and W3C standards by offering HTML 4, JavaScript 1.5, DOM1, DOM2-Events, CSS2.1, CSS-TV, and DVB- HTML to offer a rich and dynamic environment for content creation.

Espial, a leading provider of client IPTV applications and middleware announced that Kreatel, a market leader in set-top box solutions, has licensed Espial Escape.

"Espial Escape provides service providers with an advanced standards- based platform for developing content services to increase customer loyalty," said Lars Bengtsson, Kreatel President and CEO. "What was important in our decision making process was Espial Escape's pre-integration with popular IPTV middleware. This advantage ensured we could build the entire solution according to our tight schedule."

Pixelworks, Inc., a leading provider of system-on-chip ICs for the advanced display market, announced the first demonstration of the AMD co-designed Sailfish II platform, which will be shown at the upcoming IFA 2005 consumer electronics show in Berlin beginning September 5, 2005. The reference design based on the Pixelworks PWBSP-16 Broadband Signal Processor IC and the AMD Alchemy Au1550 processor enables 'triple-play' set-top boxes (STBs) integrating broadband video, voice and data access into a single device.

To complement theircollaboration on advanced encoders to support Internet Protocol television (IPTV), Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. and Microsoft Corp. announced that they are working together on IP set-tops for initiatives to support the growing worldwide demand for IPTV technology, including SBC's Project Lightspeed.

Kreatel Communications announced the continued collaboration with Norwegian broadband provider Lyse Tele AS. Under the terms of the agreement, Kreatel remains the provider of IP set-top boxes for Lyse's solution and will deliver an additional 45,000 units over the coming two years.

Amino announced that its advanced software stack for IPTV set-top boxes will be combined with Philips Nexperia^TM home entertainment engine PNX8550 to be ported to the STB810 semiconductors reference and development platform for set top boxes. The integration of Amino's software will create a ready to use set-top box blueprint for manufacturers, ideal for the rapidly growing IPTV market. The combined platform will allow set-top box manufacturers to bypass much of the software research and development and enable them to launch reliable, high-performance products in a minimum period of time.

New STB Software to Enable IPTV and IP Device Networking over Coaxial Cable

Coaxsys, Inc., makers of multimedia-over-coax solutions, today announced that it has reached an agreement with ConFocus Technologies, Inc., to provide set-top box reference designs with integrated TVnet. TVnet, the standard for Ethernet-over-Coax, is already deployed by more than fifty Telcos, cable operators, and service providers to deliver IPTV and in-home multimedia networking. TVnet has, to date, been available in adapter form; this announcement marks the first publicly announced set-top box (STB) client integrations.

China Digital Media Corporation ("Digimedia") announced the launch of a trial for a new IP based Set-Top-Box in Nanhai, a city in Guangdong province with 400,000 Cable TV subscribers. The Company is one of the first digital TV operators in China to deploy the trial of IP based STB with its high-end users. The new STB in trial is equipped with an Ethernet port which could facilitate various Internet based services to end users; such as video-on-demand, online shopping channels, online games and interactive education services. The new STB is developed in coordination with Shenzhen Coship Electronics Co. Ltd. that could transform a television set into an interactive and a multimedia platform.

SBC Communications Inc. announced that contracts have been awarded to both Scientific-Atlanta and Motorola to deliver next-generation Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) set-top boxes that will enable customers to access TV programming, video-on-demand, interactive applications and other advanced features that are part of the U-verse family of services.

ANT plc, a leading provider of embedded browser, content control and user interface software for IPTV and consumer electronics markets, announced the availability of its next generation browser-based user interface software, ANT Galio, on IPTV set-top boxes from six leading developers - Pace Micro Technology, Amino Communications, Homecast, Humax, InfoEQ and Kaon Media.

Oregan Networks Ltd, a leading supplier of embedded software building blocks for IPTV and multi-room entertainment platforms, and ZyXEL Communications Corp., the world's largest DSL router provider (Gartner, July 2004), today announced that the two companies have concluded a partnership agreement, aiming to cater for the fast-developing Tripleplay-to-TV market.