Concurrent released new software for the MediaHawk 4500 video-on-demand server. The upgraded release increases output for the MH4500 to 2,300 streams (standard definition content @ 3.75 Mbps), a 40% increase in output from the server’s initial release in January 2007, while supporting additional NGOD (next generation on-demand) requirements.

The new software release supports many additional NGOD specifications, broadening the NGOD support already available in earlier releases. The MediaHawk 4500 is also ISA and RTSP compliant, and has been commercially deployed in both NGOD and ISA based VOD configurations supporting advanced on-demand applications such as the time-shifted TV service “Start Over.”

Symmetricom is sponsoring the ATIS IPTV architecture webinar on Thursday, March 27 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT/10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PDT. This informative one-hour webinar will focus on the importance of video quality monitoring in IPTV, specifically Quality of Experience monitoring.

Featured speakers for the webinar are AT&T’s Network Architecture and Planning Principal Member of the Technical Staff Robert Streijl; Triveni Digital’s Chief Technical Officer Dr. Richard Chernock; and Symmetricom’s Quality of Experience Assurance Division Principal Technologist Dr. Stefan Winkler.

comScore released its January 2008 data from the comScore Video Metrix service, revealing that YouTube.com accounted for one-third of the 9.8 billion videos viewed online in the U.S. during the month. The total number of videos viewed in January was down slightly from the more than 10.1 billion viewed during a record-breaking December 2007.

Google Sites Extends Lead in Online Video Market Share

Google Sites once again ranked as the top U.S. video property in January with nearly 3.4 billion videos viewed (34.3 percent share of videos), gaining 1.7 share points versus the previous month. YouTube.com accounted for more than 96 percent of all videos viewed at the property. Fox Interactive Media ranked second with 584 million (6 percent), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 315 million (3.2 percent) and Microsoft Sites with 199 million (2 percent).

According to industry sources, Telecom Italia has left Microsoft's IPTV platform collecting dust on the shelf. Suspected reasons for this are that Telecom Italia needed to launch its triple-play IPTV service quicker than Microsoft could provide. Telecom Italia decided to move away from the Microsoft platform because of indecision's, repeated delays, and their Telefónica investor.

Tilgin launches its new Mood 400-020 Advanced IP Set-Top Box. Sporting a compact and sleek design, the new product offers a cost-effective entry level solution that operators can grow with to expand and enhance their IPTV service. The product offers an excellent extension to the existing Tilgin Mood 400 family, with its range of advanced PVR-enabled IP STBs. Designed for easy upgrade of new functionality over time, the Mood 400 products help operators to deliver more personalized and interactive multimedia services to the home without needing to replace the STB with each addition of new services or applications.

Industria announces Zignal 2.0 a groundbreaking and unprecedented IPTV middleware platform designed to bridge the gap between the TV user’s expectations and the solutions currently available in the IPTV market space.

Built using device agnostic technology, the Zignal 2.0 user interface can be rendered in the fastest available technology on each device. Already deployed on each of the three screens, set-top-boxes, PCs and mobile phones, Zignal makes the best use of its small memory-footprint while maintaining a user interface that stays in tune with user’s expectations.

AT&T announces that Oklahoma City customers can now enjoy a suite of new U-verse IPTV features that further differentiate the service from cable.

The new interactive features — available to customers at no extra charge — include:

• AT&T U-bar, which brings customizable weather, stock, sports and traffic information to the U-verse TV screen, without interrupting the current program. Customers who also subscribe to AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet can personalize the U-bar from their AT&T Yahoo! home page to display weather at specific locations, their personal stock portfolio and scores for their favorite sports teams.
• YELLOWPAGES.COM TV, which lets U-verse IPTV customers easily search for local businesses and other information via their TV screen.
• AT&T Yahoo! Games, so U-verse IPTV customers can now play their favorite online games — including Sudoku, Solitaire, JT's Blocks, Mah-jongg Tiles and Chess — on the TV screen.

At the annual meeting of the DSL Forum, four of Europe's leading telecommunications network operators were elected to the DSL Forum Board of Directors.

The new members include Kevin Foster, of BT; Christophe Alter, from France Telecom; Mauro Tilocca of Telecom Italia; and Marcin Drzymala from Telekomunikacja Polska. Frank Van der Putten of Alcatel-Lucent, Les Brown of Infineon and Phil Skeba of Intel also were re-elected to the board. These strong industry players will help drive the standards work and direction of the Forum, whose activities now involve a much wider scope than its original DSL mandate - including increasing activity around IPTV, fibre deployments and management of the digital home.

IP Multimedia Subsystem is expected to provide mobile telephone operators with a forecasted $300 billion in extra revenue over the next five years, according to a new study from ABI Research. Major operators such as Sprint, Verizon and British Telecom will increasingly deploy IMS across their networks in a quickening tempo starting this year.

Some firms – notably Verizon and BT – are facilitating this process by offering an open IMS interface allowing third-party developers easy access, as a way of ensuring a flow of new applications. This means faster testing and deployment of services, which will be critical to their success

TM Forum is hosting a pre-show device-management Summit on June 24 in conjunction with CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase. CONNECTIONS is the largest executive conference and showcase focused on the market developments and growth factors for advanced digital lifestyle solutions. The 12th annual conference will be held June 24-26 at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

The TM Forum Device Management Summit on “Low-Cost Device Deployment and User Support” addresses the growing management requirements generated by intelligent interconnected devices in the home, including mobile handsets, set-top boxes, and gateways. With one trillion devices expected in the next 15-20 years, service providers must solve device-based management issues, leading to reduced support costs, improved customer experience, and potentially add additional service revenues.

Ruckus Wireless has been selected by Telenor to supply Smart Wi-Fi 802.11g systems for the wireless distribution of its popular IPTV service, offered to subscriber homes throughout Sweden through the wholly owned subsidiary Bredbandsbolaget.

Under the agreement, Ruckus Wireless is supplying Telenor with its award-winning MediaFlex 802.11g Smart Wi-Fi systems. The Ruckus MediaFlex systems are being made available to consumers in Sweden through Telenor retail outlets, and can be easily self-installed by subscribers.

Ruckus-patented Smart Wi-Fi technology was selected by Telenor to reduce installation costs, speed subscriber acquisition and give customers greater freedom and flexibility over the installation and distribution of its IPTV service within the home.

JDSU has been selected by Deutsche Telekom to support delivery of its IPTV service. JDSU's NetComplete service assurance system and associated IP test probes will be deployed in Deutsche Telekom's network. The NetComplete solution also includes software that enables monitoring of service quality from central network operations centers, increasing efficiency and reducing the need to deploy technicians to the field. It ensures early recognition of changes in the quality of the streaming video signals, including any decrease in signal strength, prioritizes issues based on alarm levels, identifies the cause of service quality problems and provides reporting tools.

Worldwide IPTV service revenues are forecast to cross US$42.6 billion by 2014, reflecting a CAGR of 60.2% over the analysis period 2004-2014. Currently, United States and Europe are generating substantial service revenues, when compared to Asia-Pacific because of higher ARPU (average revenue per user) in these regions. The number of IPTV subscribers in worldwide market is projected to exceed 248 million by the end of 2014.

Currently, IPTV is regarded as an application that enables the triple-play combination of services. Telcos have grabbed the opportunity to move beyond the traditional markets of communication industry. Telcos and media companies together evolved what is known as the ICE market, a mix of information, communication, and entertainment. However, IPTV is yet to take off. There is also inadequate knowledge about the prevailing consumer experience with iPTV. Therefore IPTV, which is expected to be huge success across the world, is experiencing hurdles in its commercialization. IPTV services do not solely depend on the bandwidth availability, but, rather operators need to integrate end-to-end solutions for offering high-class video services through streaming technology.

Harmonic announced that PCCW has deployed Harmonic’s market-leading DiviCom Electra 7000 HD MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) encoders to power its HD channel service in Hong Kong. PCCW is a telecommunications service provider offering a full complement of video, voice, data and mobile services to its customers across Hong Kong, and operates now TV, Hong Kong’s largest IPTV service with over 882,000 subscribers. PCCW also utilizes Harmonic’s SD encoders to deliver its full lineup of more than 150 broadcast channels, as well as Harmonic’s VOD servers and software.

With service providers supplying over 70 million households worldwide with residential gateways by 2012, CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase, June 24-26 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, will focus on the new business models in broadband sharing, remote management, and other advanced services afforded by these technological advances.

CONNECTIONS, produced by Parks Associates in partnership with CEA, is the largest executive conference and showcase focused on the market developments and growth factors for advanced digital lifestyle solutions. Conference sessions provide high-level research, knowledge, and analysis to over 1,000 executives from the converging industries developing consumer products and services.