Microsoft is moving closer to dominating the IPTV content management sector, according to a new report by MRG. Although broadcast-focused vendors are leading in all areas of IPTV development, the Redmond giant could leverage its DRM (digital rights management), middleware, and VOD (Video on Demand) expertise to command the market.

"Microsoft is poised to dominate the North American IP TV market," states Bob Larribeau, MRG Analyst. "In part, this depends on service providers deploying Microsoft's VOD, content protection and DRM software, in addition to its middleware solutions."

Kasenna, the IPTV Company, will showcase its full range of IPTV and video-on-demand (VOD) solutions at the IBC show in Amsterdam on September 9-13, 2005.

Kasenna Solutions in Partner Booths

Highlighting the interoperability of its MediaBase XMP server software, MediaBase server hardware, vFusion network management software, and LivingRoom client application and middleware solutions, Kasenna will demonstrate its products at four locations throughout the show.

Gov. Rick Perry today signed into law Senate Bill 5, a landmark TV-franchising bill passed by the Texas Legislature during its second 30-day special session. The bill vastly streamlines the process of getting IPTV and cable franchises for telecommunications carriers, providing Texans with a choice for their cable television needs.

Verizon has built a significant amount of its totally fiber-optic network in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, where the company already offers its ultra-fast FiOS Internet Service and fiber-based phone service in about two-dozen communities. This same network can now be used to deliver to consumers a new choice for cable television service. Verizon expects to begin offering cable TV service in Texas this fall.

IBC2005 sees the official European launch of Packet Vision (stand 3.218): developers of a new delivery platform for highly targeted IPTV advertisements that combines a media server, splicer, playout router and management API in a single 'pizza box' style enclosure. The product enables many advertisements to be shown simultaneously in one slot – or avail – targeting demographic groups or even individual households.

At the show Packet Vision will be demonstrating proof of concept of the product: attendees can choose demographic groups for two 'audiences' and the product automatically and seamlessly inserts commercials appropriate to the groups chosen into the next ad break.

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.

ICTV^TM, creators of HeadendWare ®, the most powerful platform for the delivery and distribution of interactive television programming, and Packet Vision, developers of an addressable IPTV advertising delivery platform, have announced their collaboration on "personalized" TV advertising that is targeted, auditable and interactive.

UTStarcom, Inc., a global leader in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and services, announced that the company will host an online webinar on IPTV on Thursday, September 15, beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern.The webinar will last approximately one hour and will be led by UTStarcom CTO Bill Huang.

IMAKE, provider of solutions and services that enable the seamless delivery and management of interactive and On Demand broadband services, announced that it will be demonstrating its OpenVision ^TM open standards-based software solutions at Alticast Booth 1.341 at the IBC Exhibition in Amsterdam. IBC is an internationally renowned event that showcases the latest technology in the areas of content creation, management and delivery.

SkyStream is launching new technology products and a new European partnership at IBC 2005 this week that will help TV operators and service providers in cable, satellite, terrestrial and IPTV differentiate services as they battle each other for subscribers.

SkyStream will ease the transition to MPEG-4 AVC and its bandwidth-saving benefits, with the debut at IBC of its new MPEG-4 AVC Transcoder, which allows TV operators to repurpose widely available and low-cost MPEG-2 content for their new MPEG-4 networks. SkyStream is the first headend provider to integrate transcoding into its Mediaplex-20 and iPlex headends. The company will show a live demonstration of MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 AVC transcoding in Hall 1 Stand 1.249.

On2 Technologies, Inc. announced that it has teamed with Macromedia at IBC 2005 in their stand #7.118 to demonstrate its Flix line of Flash Player 8 encoders to the 40,000 European customers projected to attend Europe's largest exhibition for digital media design and delivery, content creation and broadcast production vendors. Executives from On2 will be available to demonstrate how users of any skill level -- from professional developers to beginners -- can quickly and easily edit, encode and publish Flash video for Flash Player 8 with stunning picture quality.

The Murrieta City Council Tuesday night (9/6) voted to provide residents with true choice for their cable television services, awarding a video franchise to Verizon for its Verizon FiOS TV product, to be delivered via the company's new fiber-to-the- premises (FTTP) network.

In awarding the franchise, this Inland Empire city of 80,000 residents becomes the second community in California to pave the way for improved competition in the cable television market. Verizon obtained its first video franchise in Beaumont, Calif., last year and has subsequently reached similar agreements with communities in Florida, Texas and Virginia.

In the latest step to help network operators offer internet-based television (IPTV) services, mPhase Technologies announced jointly with Latens Systems a cooperative development and marketing agreement to integrate Latens' conditional access solutions with the mPhase TV+ System.

Globecomm Systems Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement with SES AMERICOM to provide design and integration services in support of its new state-of-the-art MPEG-4 Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) based broadcast center. SES AMERICOM, the largest satellite services provider in the U.S., is today launching its IP PRIME service, a groundbreaking, centralized IPTV distribution solution enabling telephone companies to deliver high-end video, along with voice and broadband services over a single DSL line to the home.

Scientific-Atlanta will be working with SES AMERICOM for the launch of its new IP video service, IP PRIME. With the completion of the initial phases of the new network, SES AMERICOM will employ 140 Scientific-Atlanta MPEG-4 Part 10 encoders to deliver the multi-channel standard definition service.