Executives at GTA TeleGuam are gathering around a crisp video picture gleaming off of a new, high definition television set. After months of planning and hard work, the team's wait for the first-ever HD signal on the island of Guam delivered in all-digital, IP format is now over. HD has made it to Guam.

GTA reached out to CSI Digital in 2007 as a way to deliver all-digital IPTV services to its subscribers. All-digital IPTV would allow GTA to deliver superior quality television services and be fully competitive with the incumbent cable company. CSI Digital has extensive experience in IPTV delivery, having already initiated IPTV services in seven locations nationwide. CSI Digital's partner in the deployment is Avail Media. Avail Media is an innovator in IPTV linear and VOD content aggregation and has worked extensively with CSI Digital to ensure high-quality television service delivery to operators over multiple broadband network types and configurations.

Tilgin announces an initial order from one of its global partners to assist them in their end-to-end IPTV delivery to a leading tier one operator in Southern Europe. Tilgin will provide one of the leading global telecom companies and the tier one Southern European operator with Tilgin’s Mood 400 HDTV set-top box solution for IPTV. This initial order for 1700 units is intended for the operator’s IPTV service soft launch in September this year. With this order Tilgin is an important partner in several significant operators’ ongoing IPTV launches in Europe.

This order is a result of the earlier announced global cooperation agreement with the leading systems integrator for inclusion of the Tilgin offering within the systems integrator’s IPTV end-to-end solutions.

“IPTV/VoD: The Open 4th Platform is an anthology of 20+ articles written between 2005-2008 by one of the media industry’s most irreverent and respected leaders, Alexander Cameron. Widely published all over the world and written in his trademarked easily-read cynical style, his insight into the future of television has been cited by hundreds of CEOs and business leaders as a seminal reference for anyone wanting to understand the opportunities and problems of the brave new world. His insight has earned him the title of “one of the greatest minds of his generation” in the UK press.

But more that, IPTV/VoD: The Open 4th Platform is Cameron’s unique vision of how the Internet could eventually connect all electronic devices across the globe and be the hyper-intelligent television network of the 21st century, along with his damning critique of how all the industry has only managed to clone cable TV systems so far, despite it being so much more. But it has to retain the characteristics of the Internet to work: open, free, neutral and globally accessible to everyone.”

Kasenna announces that Telefonia Bonairiano has selected Kasenna LivingRoom middleware and MediaBase video servers. The new video service, called "mitv" is the first IPTV service in the Caribbean island of Bonaire, and is considered to be the showcase model for Telbo partner telecom companies that serve an additional 24 countries.

Telbo's "mitv" service is an integral part of its triple play video, voice and data offering. The carrier is using Kasenna's LivingRoom middleware and MediaBase video servers to deliver an array of video services, including 40 basic and premium video channels (including HBO, Discovery and Fox), Dutch Public Channels (Nederland 1, 2 and 3), as well as international, sports, action, and premium movie-oriented packages. Movies and other content will be delivered via VOD as well as PPV.

Tommy Hilfiger continues to bring music and fashion together with the global launch of TommyTV, an online evolution of the Hilfiger Sessions music series, staged in creative collaboration with Sony BMG Europe, that brings the excitement of live music to audiences around the globe.

TommyTV, which goes live today, builds on the existing success of The Hilfiger Sessions, a series of established and successful music events. The Hilfiger Sessions feature high profile artists playing with new and upcoming talent in intimate gigs in cities around the world, with recent Sessions taking place in Madrid, Berlin and Amsterdam hosted by artists such as Wyclef Jean and Kelly Rowland.

The live recordings of The Hilfiger Sessions form the centrepiece of TommyTV, allowing music fans to enjoy exclusive content and experience the thrill of live musical performances via unprecented online video presentation. TommyTV features:

• Exclusive content from the global Hilfiger Sessions concerts.
• Exclusive artist interviews and backstage footage.
• The chance to discover new music talent or for new artists to be discovered through the Hilfiger Auditions.

comScore released its February 2008 data from the comScore Video Metrix service, indicating that U.S. Internet users viewed more than 10 billion online videos during the month, representing a 3-percent gain versus January (despite February being two days shorter) and a 66-percent gain versus February 2007.

Google Sites Extends Lead in Online Video Market Share

In February, Google Sites once again ranked as the top U.S. video property with nearly 3.6 billion videos viewed (35.4 percent share of all videos), gaining 1.1 share points versus the previous month. YouTube.com accounted for 96 percent of all videos viewed at Google Sites. Fox Interactive Media ranked second with 586 million videos (5.8 percent), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 293 million (2.9 percent) and Microsoft Sites with 293 million (2.9 percent).

HomePNA has certified an additional nine products and the first 320 Mbps chipset reference design as HomePNA 3.1 compliant, increasing the number of certified products to 26. The new certifications include ADSL and VDSL residential gateways, set-top boxes, Ethernet to HomePNA 3.1 bridges, and an iNID outdoor residential gateway/indoor Wi-Fi access point.

HomePNA plugfests are only open to HomePNA members. Newly certified products and designs include:

• 2Wire iNID VDSL2 outdoor residential gateway and indoor Wi-Fi access point units
• D-Link ADSL2+ residential gateway
• SMC VDSL2 residential Gateway and Ethernet to HomePNA 3.1 coax bridge

Find out the rest after the jump.

TinselVision.com changed its online content distribution arrangements with Star India and other licensors which extend viewing rights to internet users in India while expanding audience engagement globally. The revised licensing terms address customer access and convenience in two major steps. TinselVision will now deliver television programming entirely free to its rapidly growing audience in a deal which also marks its first foray within the Indian domestic market.

Millinet has chosen Intellon’s INT5500 and INT6300 ICs to enable in-home distribution of KT’s MegaTV-branded IPTV services over phone lines in homes throughout South Korea. Intellon’s ICs are used in Millinet’s Mega Bridge MMB-100/200 adapters, supplied when customers subscribe to KT MegaTV services. These adapters supply the IPTV content over existing phone lines in the home, allowing customers to view content over TVs plugged into any convenient phone jack.

According to Millinet, homes in South Korea have a phone jack in nearly every room, making content delivery over existing phone lines especially convenient for customers. Millinet selected both the Intellon HomePlug 1.0 with Turbo (85 Mbps PHY-rate) and the Intellon HomePlug AV (200 Mbps PHY-rate) ICs for their solutions. Both solutions are easy to install, easy to use and robust. They deliver reliable, “entertainment-grade” standard and high definition television services to subscribing viewers.

NEXT.TV announces the addition of FUEL TV as a NEXT.TV channel partner bringing programming attuned to the lifestyle and culture of skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, freestyle motocross, and wakeboarding. Currently available on cable and satellite, FUEL TV delivers top-level action sports events and competitions, featuring the best slams, the top tricks, and voices of the action sports industry and elite athletes to more than 24 million homes.

Launching multiple channels on NEXT.TV, FUEL TV shows will parallel the content currently airing on traditional television, featuring breaking news, original series, licensed films and more, all of which will focus on action sports lifestyle, athletes, celebrities and emerging musicians. The NEXT.TV service is now available via a web update on HP consumer notebooks shipping with Microsoft Windows Vista since January 2007. HP notebook users can access NEXT.TV through HP QuickPlay, allowing them to access hundreds of television and video programs with on-demand Internet television channels. As many HP consumer notebooks can be connected to TVs through an S-Video or HDMI connection, these users can bring the NEXT.TV experience into the living room. With the provided remote control, NEXT.TV content can be enjoyed from up to 10 feet away, adding a new dimension to the internet viewing experience.

Rugby Canada and MediaZone are pleased to announce a new membership benefit for Rugby Canada players, coaches, administrators, and fans. Starting this Wednesday April 16th and every Wednesday thereafter throughout 2008, Rugby Canada’s membership will be provisioned with a weekly promotional code that will entitle the user to watch the entire inventory of rugby matches available on MediaZone Rugby for FREE.

The new promotion, dubbed Rugby Rewind, will run from midnight Tuesday to midnight Wednesday PT each week. During that 24-hour span, users who input the promotional code will get FREE access to MediaZone Rugby, to stream and/or download as many games from the Super 14, June Tests, Tri Nations Series, Currie Cup, Air New Zealand Cup, Celtic Tests and the Heineken Cup as they want. On top of that, Rugby Canada Network content, including the NA4, U-17, U-20, Super League Final and other Canadian events will also be available for Rugby Canada’s membership to enjoy FREE.

The new Blackmagic Video Recorder, a compact USB video capture product that captures files direct to H.264 files for iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, YouTube, IPTV, Web or full resolution archiving.

The H.264 file format used with Video Recorder will allow direct capture to files compatible with mobile devices such as iPods, so users don’t need to do time consuming rendering. Long tapes can be captured, and then dropped into iTunes for syncing with iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV devices.

There are two models of Blackmagic Video Recorder, an analog one for consumers, and an SDI one for professionals.

Mogulus’ Internet video platform gives producers everything they need to launch their own LIVE 24/7 television station. Mogulus’ free, ad-supported service, launched in November 2007, has already helped more than 50,000 producers launch their own Internet television stations, streaming more than 100 million unique viewer minutes every months.

Most of the world’s television content is by far consumed through linear and live TV broadcast. However, on the Internet, video platform solution providers have been so far solely focused on helping their customers launch video on-demand on their websites.

Mogulus believes that live as well as scheduled linear TV are also very important for the Internet medium – providing a complementary live and social viewing experience.

Before Mogulus, companies who wanted to launch linear TV channels on the Internet had to build their own solution using traditional and expensive production hardware to playout linear TV and mix live video on the web.

The MPEG Industry Forum honored Amino for its successful completion of the Premium Conformance Tier of the MPEGIF Logo Qualification Program. Amino’s AmiNET130 and AmiNET530 STBs became the world’s first HD H.264 IPTV and HD H.264 DVR STBs to meet the requirements. Through its participation, Amino has contributed to driving MPEG-4 industry standards in the IPTV industry.

MPEGIF is the world's largest advocacy group for MPEG technologies, and plays a significant role in facilitating the widespread adoption and deployment of MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 as the industry's standard video compression technology powering next generation television and most mainstream content delivery and consumption applications including packaged media.

Video Ezy announces the selection of Digisoft’s IPTV delivery platform and set top box middleware to enable the delivery of the Video Ezy Electronic Video Rental service which will be rolled out in Video Ezy and Blockbuster stores in Australia and New Zealand. Video Ezy has over 1,000 stores and serves over 8 million customers.

The main components of the Video Ezy Electronic Rental include an In-Store Kiosk with Movie library, Branded USB or iPOD type storage system and In-Home Java Set top Box. The Consumer simply plugs the USB or iPOD into the kiosk to select movies to rent for later playback on the Java Set top box. The set top box software developed by Digisoft enables new revenue streams, and removes the dependency on traditional middleware, creating a lower cost of ownership and faster return on investment for Service Providers.