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Lauren Orsi
Events Manager
SYS-CON Media

Spirent announced the ability to conduct IP video quality testing on its Tech-X Plus. With this new feature, Spirent enables field technicians to verify IPTV subscribers’ Quality of Experience by measuring both the transport network and video content. This provides a more thorough service quality measurement and an accurate indication of the subscribers’ viewing experience.

UNE-EPM Telecommunications has selected Orca’s advanced RiGHTv middleware to enable the first IPTV service rollout in Colombia. The IPTV deployment will be carried out by Union Electrica S.A., Orca’s partner and system integrator in the project, providing a seamless, end-to-end solution. UNE-EPM Telecommunications’s IPTV service is expected to be available in major cities across Colombia in the first quarter of 2008.

Limelight introduces LimelightHD, a service for the delivery of high-definition media and digital content over the Internet. LimelightHD allows media and entertainment companies, global consumer brands, game publishers, and social media sites to deliver HD-quality movies, TV shows, video clips and games directly to their users' Internet-connected televisions, game consoles, and PCs. Leading Internet TV service Brightcove, and key media entities, including Fox Interactive Media, MSN Video and Rajshri.com, India's leading broadband video portal, are among those who announced they will offer HD content via the LimelightHD service. Media technology leaders supporting the LimelightHD initiative include Adobe Systems, Incorporated, Microsoft Corporation, Move Networks and Veoh Networks. LimelightHD will be available immediately on over 700 broadband access networks worldwide.

Harmonic is developing a video-on-demand solution for SES AMERICOM’s IP-PRIME IPTV service using Harmonic’s StreamLiner 2000 video servers, CLEARcut storage encoding solution and Ingest Gateway workflow software. The Harmonic solution will enable telephone company operators and broadband service providers of every size throughout the United States using the IP-PRIME service to offer a high quality, cost-effective VOD service to consumers.

JDSU introduces new IPTV and quad-play enhancements to NetComplete, as well as new features to the PVA-1000, a software component of its service assurance solutions portfolio specializing in VoIP analysis using remote software capture agents. The new additions address the growing network operator demand for in-depth, accurate measurements and end-to-end performance monitoring to ensure quality IPTV, VoIP and other quad-play service delivery.

Pioneer Telephone launches CloverLeaf's DotDaily localized interactive television service providing localized news and information to IPTV subscribers in 72 exchanges in Oklahoma. CloverLeaf's interactive localized news & information TV service (often known as a walled garden), provided to Pioneer Telephone and other telephone and cable companies, includes news and sports coverage from Associated Press, local weather from AccuWeather, local cinema guides and horoscopes; as well as local content including community events calendars, school lunch menus and community slide shows, published by community organizations using CloverLeaf's DashDaily community content publishing tools.

In a surprising anti-consumer decision, the Connecticut Department of Public Utility rejected AT&T’s application to expand its U-verse IPTV service further across Connecticut. This is surprising because AT&T was granted a statewide video franchise, but the CDPU shockingly classified IPTV as a cable offering. By forcing IPTV to conform to 1970’s era regulatory standards designed for cable monopolies, the CDPU and state attorney general have sided against competition and the free market.

Connecticut is the only state to consider IPTV a cable system, and therefore it is not covered under video franchise law. Unfortunately for Connecticut’s consumers, this decision will prompt AT&T to stop investing in Connecticut’s telecom sector, terminating 1300 jobs and ending service to over 7000 consumers rather than attempt to comply with recalcitrant bureaucratic regulators.

Rim Semiconductor has entered into an agreement to evaluate the next generation Cupria IPSL solution in the service network of Monroe Telephone of Monroe, Oregon. Rim Semi’s Cupria IPSL solution allows service providers to effectively increase the bandwidth and extend existing copper plant beyond current technologies. Cupria adheres to the framework established by the IPSL SIG, is optimized for today’s Internet Protocol-based networks and is ideal for high bandwidth, high quality-driven applications such as Internet protocol television over existing copper networks.

Spirent Communications has signed a formal partnership agreement with Alcatel-Lucent to provide Triple Play testing solutions that enhance operations of Alcatel-Lucent's global IP Transformation Center. The IPTC is the industry's only state-of-the-art operation dedicated to the advancement of triple play, IPTV, IMS and FMC deployment projects across the globe.

Alcatel-Lucent's IPTC develops, integrates, tests and conforms end-to-end IP networking solutions towards sustained KPI's and KQI's. This helps operators and enterprises, faced with a highly competitive environment, to transform their networks to a full IP-based architecture. Through this partnership, Alcatel-Lucent and Spirent help advance the interoperability of collaborative IP networking solutions up to end to end service delivery.

One of the leading European media law firms CMS and the strategic consultancy thebrainbehind are pleased to announce the Media Convergence Summit on November 26th & 27th at the Literaturhaus in Munich, Germany.

On day 1, CMS Hasche Sigle will invite distinguished speakers to discuss "Interactive Content and Convergence: Implications for the Information Society" and to present main findings of a related study which was conducted by CMS and other contributors for the European Commission (published in 2007).This event is by invitation only and will feature speakers from the European Commission, European Media Authorities as well as various private companies.

On day 2, thebrainbehind will welcome international delegates from all along the broadband entertainment value chain to join the 7th edition of their well established TV Outlook series. This year's event, "Digital TV Outlook 2008: ARPU – Learning from Best Practice", will also be hosted at the Literaturhaus in Munich. This paid event (one day ticket 590 EUR) is open to everyone how is interested in this exiting market. Overall goal of the panels guests will be to critically appraise how successful Digital TV and Broadband Video Entertainment have been so far and give recommendations on how companies can brighten their business prospect. Speakers from all around the globe will join the panels.

For more information on this summit and workshop sessions taking place at the same time, please visit www.tvoutlook.com or www.cmslegal.com.

We took a look at SanDisk's Fanfare today to evaluate their new product that offers a mobile media center experience. First step is to download the Fanfare software, which is a 7 meg file. After downloading and starting the install, the software does a quick check of your system specs and will require the following system requirements:

• Windows XP/SP2+ or Vista
• Internet Explorer 6.0+
• Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0+
• Adobe Flash Player 9.0.47.0+

Unfortunately we weren't up-to-date on our Flash player but they provided us a link to update it. Once that was done, we clicked Retry to validate our system was up to par and passed with flying colors.

Once installed, we launched the application for the first time from our desktop. The application resides on your computer and runs a Flash graphical user interface. We would have liked to see the interface expand to our viewing resolution seeing as how we run in a 1920x1200 resolution and Fanfare only took up a little over half of that in width. Needless to say, most people will find it fits nicely.

Multichannel News is reporting that AT&T's U-verse TV experienced nationwide outages from Sunday morning to 7:30 p.m. CST.

U-verse TV customers spilled over to forums on Sunday to voice their frustration at both the outage and customer service. According to user accounts, the outage affected certain households to varying degrees where some saw only limited channels unavailable and others experienced a complete outage.

Sources at AT&T said the company is still investigating the cause of the outage.

SanDisk launched the public beta version of Fanfare, a Web-based service that enables consumers to download television shows, movies and other video content to portable devices. The beta of the Fanfare content delivery service platform coincides with the U.S. online retail availability of the new Sansa TakeTV PC-to-TV video player (formerly “USBTV”). The combination of Fanfare with Sansa TakeTV creates an end-to-end entertainment system enabling viewers to time-shift and place-shift their favorite shows by downloading them from their PC to watch them on nearly any TV, at any time.

The first U.S-based content partners on the Fanfare beta platform include: CBS, Jaman.com Inc., Showtime Networks, Smithsonian Networks, The Weather Channel and TV Guide Broadband. Among the programs available immediately are CSI, Survivor China, Dexter and Sleeper Cell.

MySpace rolled out an original scripted web series, Roommates, in collaboration with Iron Sink Media and sponsored by the 2008 Ford Focus. The first of 45 episodes goes live today on MySpaceTV with new episodes debuting each weekday at 1:00 pm PT/ 4:00 pm ET through December 21. Roommates is the company’s first co-development project and the first original web series created specifically for MySpaceTV.

Roommates is an original scripted web series that follows a group of eight former college roommates after graduation. The four main characters – Peyton, Violet, Heather, and Sigourney – move to Los Angeles where they are invited to participate in a “reality show” by living in a house wired with cameras and computers to document their every move. The series is a combination of raw and voyeuristic segments, confessionals, and college flashback footage, and allows old friends and romances of the main characters to address viewers interactively via video blogs.