Amino launched an integration of the AmiNET130 STB with the first G-cluster HD games on demand application at this year’s IPTV World Forum. Allowing users to play streaming HD games via a wireless USB gamepad, the offering will enable telco providers to offer interactive gaming with popular titles from the traditional games console market.

Visitors to the Amino stand used the device to play on HD interactive games such as Resident Evil 4 and Sensible Soccer. The product will allow telco providers to drive revenue by building on the STB as the technology point of convergence in the home.

The combined IPTV and switched digital video market is forecast to grow in healthy double-digits annually to reach $9.8 billion worldwide, according to Infonetics Research's latest quarterly "IPTV and Switched Digital Video Equipment, Services, and Subscribers" report.

"With each quarter, the battle for video subscribers gets more heated," said Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for IPTV at Infonetics Research. "Buoyed by the success of rollouts by Orange, Free, Neuf, Fastweb, PCCW, Telefonica, and China Telecom, IPTV service providers continue to build out headends and spend on IP set-top boxes to aggressively court video subscribers. Meanwhile, North American cable MSOs, such as Comcast and Cablevision, are leading the charge in switched digital video, to free up bandwidth and offer more HD content to their subscribers."

Screen Digest’s latest report published today entitled On-demand media: Re-inventing the retail business model, examines the market for on-demand media (ODM, sometimes referred to as ‘manufacturing-on-demand’). The research assesses the potential of this emerging market to revolutionise both how people buy video and how retailers and rights owners distribute it. The report is the first detailed study of ODM and forecasts its likely impact in Europe and the US to 2012.

ODM; the solution to a saturated market? The video business is approaching saturation point in many markets. High street and even online retailers are struggling to accommodate an ever-expanding DVD catalogue while rights owners find that only the most popular titles can secure shelf space. ODM provides a way of tackling these problems by enabling retailers to offer a huge range of titles without the constraints associated with the traditional video supply chain. Rights holders will have the opportunity to exploit ‘long tail’ content – including video titles currently not considered viable for commercial DVD release - as well as the chance to explore alternative retail channels. Consumers will not only enjoy the benefits of a wider range of content and a greater choice of distribution outlets, but will also be able to pick and mix from a library of episodic content to create their own compilation DVDs.

Sun Direct TV has deployed Harmonic’s market-leading digital video solutions for India’s first MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) direct-to-home broadcast service. Harmonic has enabled Sun Direct TV to quickly offer its new DTH service to 40 million homes in southern India by providing a rapidly deployable, end-to-end solution encompassing the latest generation DiviCom Electra encoders, DiviTrackIP statistical multiplexing, the ProStream 8000 digital mosaic solution and NMX Digital Service Manager. Sun Direct TV’s new service was launched in early 2008 with 120 SD channels, and the operator plans to add HD video in the near future.

IPTV is a new age technology in which digital television service is delivered using the Internet Protocol over network infrastructure. The global IPTV industry is rapidly expanding with the rising penetration of broadband in households all over the world, says “Global IPTV: Market Analysis and Forecast to 2011”, a comprehensive market research report by RNCOS, a leading market research company.

The report has found that the global IPTV market is currently dominated by Europe but it is expected that Asia will emerge as a stronger competitor to Europe in coming years. The number of broadband subscribers will take long jump in the Asia-Pacific region and it is expected to grow at Compound Annual Growth Rate of 91% during 2006-2011. RNCOS report has thoroughly studied the reasons that are promoting the IPTV market in the Asia-Pacific region with special focus on the implications of regulations, penetration of personal computers and quality of broadband service.

Motorola announces that Swisscom has signed a distribution agreement to deploy mT2a PowerBroadband system in partner hotels across Europe and North America. The mT2a system has been already field-proven by Swisscom in more than 18,000 guestrooms across 10 countries. The mT2a product line was chosen for its ability to maximize the communications experience of hotel guests while minimizing considerably the operation costs.

The mT2a PowerBroadband system is distinguished by the m2 Wallplate which directly snaps on over existing telephone jacks in hotel guestrooms. No additional wiring or rewiring is required. All power and broadband modules are contained within the small Wallplate eliminating the requirement for separate broadband modems and power supplies. Hotels especially like the reduced clutter and clean appearance of the "no box" solution.

The IMS Research study IPTV: A Global Market Analysis - 2008 Edition reveals that as a whole, an estimated 13.2 million households received IPTV service in 2007 with nearly 8.4 million IP-enabled set-top boxes shipping worldwide. IPTV households are forecast to grow 52.2% annually though 2012. This new study examines the worldwide IPTV market from infrastructure to operators, providing analysis on the delivery of linear and on-demand content via IP-based networks by telcos, as well as by cable and satellite pay-TV operators.

Veodia announces that businesses, organizations and individuals can for the first time start viewing their own h.264 content in native format via an embeddable channel player widget using Adobe Flash Player 9.

Veodia is a browser-based video service leveraging the new capabilities of Adobe Flash Player 9, allowing its users to create and stream their own crystal clear videos to millions of Adobe Flash players. With just a video camera, Internet connection and a Veodia account, users can easily broadcast live and record MPEG-4 / h.264 video from their browser. Veodia eliminates the need for expensive investments in encoding, streaming and distribution technology. All content created with or imported to the Veodia broadcasting service can be played back in native h.264 format with the latest version of Adobe Flash Player 9.

EyeWonder launches its LiveWonder feature, designed to deliver live streaming video via any of its online advertising formats. Stinson Partners was the first agency to leverage this innovative, interactive feature to promote and deliver GE’s retail investor presentation last week.

With the LiveWonder feature, advertisers and agencies will have yet another innovative way to increase brand awareness and communicate with their audiences through online video campaigns and, at the same time, provide the best possible return on investment when it comes to promoting live events or major product launches. GE worked with Stinson Partners to develop its campaign, which ran live on several top sites including MSN, Yahoo! Finance and CNN Money.

TANDBERG Television is launching a new professional integrated receiver decoder range which will be on display in its booth #SU4210 at the NAB Show (Las Vegas, April 14-17, 2008). Optimized for specific high volume video distribution applications, the new RX8300 series will simplify content acquisition for cable, satellite and telco operators in the all-digital future of TV broadcasting.

Both the RX8310 Distribution Receiver and the RX8320 ATSC Broadcast Receiver include a mixture of standard features to meet the majority of needs in their target applications, with the flexibility to add advanced features should the operator require them. Each variant provides an RF demodulator combined with industry standard ASI transport stream input, for network delivery flexibility. Transport stream output is provided as a standard feature for content turnaround into digital cable, satellite and telco broadcast networks. The RX8300 range has the capability to provide single or multi-service descrambling, as well as multi-format MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC 4:2:0 video decoding. Additionally, HD services are down-converted and output as SD video; providing a simple and cost-effective route to video distribution into analog broadcast systems or for service monitoring.

Dailymotion added of several new selections to the site’s growing list of popular channels. The new channels, Latino, Gay & Lesbian, Life & Style and College, will provide additional user-friendly destinations for Dailymotion’s growing audience to locate the most relevant and entertaining content.

Dailymotion is one of the first major video entertainment sites to launch a channel specifically catering to the gay and lesbian community, who, along with the Latino community, comprise some of the site’s most active users. The Gay & Lesbian and Latino channels will explore these unique cultures through programming including music videos, lifestyle vlogs, sketch comedy and stand-up videos, film trailers, travel videos, web originals and Hollywood TV programs.

ROO has entered into a Content Distribution Agreement with Kamera Content AB, providing for a collateralized and callable advance payment by ROO of US $300,000. The CDA provides ROO with an exclusive time period during which to fully negotiate the acquisition of Kamera. The binding CDA was signed between the companies on March 12, 2008, at the same time as the execution of a non-binding Letter of Intent for the purchase of 100% of the capital stock of Kamera by ROO.

TV Worldwide to webcast Pulvermedia's Spring VON.x, via VON TV, a Pulvermedia/TV Worldwide Internet TV channel which is attracting national attention after a recent Net Neutrality live webcast that included FCC participation. TV Worldwide will showcase Spring VON.x event during VON TV webcast coverage, March 18-19, live from San Jose. VON TV will host live and taped content, archived event footage and other IP industry video programming. An exciting state-of-the-art component of the webcast will be TV Worldwide's deployment of live flash streaming with the new Kulabyte encoder, backed by the Limelight Networks content delivery network. Other VON TV partners for Spring VON.x include IP industry leaders NextPoint, BroadSoft, Jabber, and Telcordia.

Avail Media announced a collaboration with Motorola to deliver MWAVE ("MPEG-4 Wide Area Video Entertainment"), a combination of equipment and services that will enable IPTV service providers to rapidly launch new entertainment services over their high speed data networks.

MWAVE is capable of transporting Avail Media's more than 200 SD channels and more than 20 channels of HD content for access by operators who want to quickly launch a suite of television services without the capital expense and time constraints of building a complete video headend.

AT&T U-verse IPTV customers won't have to travel half way around the world to connect to the excitement of the 2008 Olympics. In anticipation of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, AT&T announces AT&T Team USA On Demand, a new category of free Video On Demand content exclusive to AT&T U-verse IPTV.

AT&T Team USA On Demand features exclusive episodes and behind-the-scenes footage of U.S. Olympic Team hopefuls as they train for and compete in various sports, including gymnastics, beach volleyball, track and field, BMX, tae kwon do, swimming and diving.

As part of AT&T Team USA On Demand, U-verse IPTV customers can now enjoy the AT&T Tips and Training program, an original production that provides fans access to sport-specific training tips from several elite U.S. Olympic Team hopefuls. AT&T Tips and Training program content is also available via the AT&T blue room.