ANT plc, a leading provider of embedded browser, content control and user interface software for IPTV and consumer electronics, announced today that Askey Computer Corporation and Alpha Networks, both of Taiwan, have licensed ANT's Fresco ® browser and PurePlay ^TM digital media manager technology for integration into IPTV set-top boxes (STBs) targeted to operators in the United States, Europe, China, Japan and Taiwan.

Amino Communications, a leading IPTV (telco triple-play applications) equipment supplier and ReadyLinks Incorporated, a Minneapolis-based broadband solutions company, announced that they have developed a new HPNA V3 adapter called the ReadyLinks SmartFoot ^TM Adapter. The adapter is directly compatible with Amino set-top box products, and uses existing coax or telephone wiring within the home to transport IPTV data - eliminating the need for rewiring costs, and enabling the easy installation of multiple set-top boxes. The adapter is manufactured by Readylinks and will be jointly marketed by Amino and Readylinks under Amino’s SmartFoot ^TM trademark.

Tcom&dtvro Co., Ltd. announced the introduction of the TD530, one of the industry's first H.264 IP set-top boxes (STB) for IPTV applications in Korea.

Powered by TI's TMS320DM642 digital media processor, the TD530 enables advanced interactive multimedia applications such as voice over IP and TV over IP for carriers, targeting the corporate, hospitality and retail markets. As a result of the DM642's high performance, the TD530 also supports Microsoft's Windows Media Video 9 Series and performs on screen display (OSD), anti- flicker filter and video decoding in tandem, TI's programmability also affords TCOM&DTVro ease of design to support a variety of set top box models and new codec profiles in software.

Gaming- on-Demand (GoD) technology vendor G-cluster, service provider Club iT, and Texas Instruments announced that IP-based set-top box manufacturers can now easily turn their products into genuine gaming consoles, using the G-cluster Gaming-on-Demand client to provide end users with access to hundreds of games over IPTV.

The set-top box will connect to G-cluster's grid of computer servers via a broadband connection, receiving game graphics and sound to display on a television screen in real time. USB-based gamepads or remote controls can be used by subscribers to play a wide variety of games.

Oregan Networks, a supplier of convergent media browser software for digital home entertainment devices, and SecureMedia, a leading provider of software-based Conditional Access (CA) and Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems, have jointly announced availability of a pre-integrated embedded solution for the distribution of protected video and music services over broadband networks and subsequent secure consumption across home networks.

Media Excel, Inc., a leading provider of software and hardware compression and streaming technologies, announced a new product line targeted at the IPTV and digital home markets; all new products will be showcased at NAB in Las Vegas April 16th - 21st, booth #SL 5826. Visitors will experience live demos of end to end IPTV Solutions for Live Broadcast, Video-on-Demand (VoD), IP-Set-top boxes and mobile devices powered by Media Excel's SoftStream(R) products based on advanced compression standards such as H.264.

FOCUS Enhancements today announced Tcom&dtvro has selected the FS-454 video processor to deliver TV-out for its TD 530 TV-over-IP (IPTV) Set-top Box (STB).

The FS-454-driven TD 530 offers a feature rich, interoperable IPTV STB solution. It provides advanced interactive multimedia applications such as Voice-over-IP (VoIP), IPTV for telecommunication carriers, corporate infrastructure, and hospitality markets. The TD 530 also features H.264 enabling major telecommunication providers (telcos) and Internet service providers (ISPs) to deliver streaming video and audio over at rates as low as 1.5 Megabits per second (Mbps), significantly reducing bandwidth from the 4 - 5 Mbps typically required by MPEG-2.