Opera Software announces its cooperation with Hisense, the fifth largest LED TV provider in the world. Opera will deliver its Opera Device Software Development Kit for Linux-based devices to the company’s TV model 55XT770/50K360/K300 series, and Hisense will use Opera’s leading HTML5 engine to bring an enhanced TV-viewing experience to their customers.

With a promise of improving the quality of life for people, Hisense is taking full advantage of Opera’s powerful SDK including each and every feature to bring high performance and innovation to their TV products. This will enable Hisense to develop new services and content across the company's offerings.

Opera Device SDK provides the ideal foundation for developing connected, interactive TV solutions by combining pre-approved support for popular HTML 5 and CE-HTML TV applications from global brands. It is a robust, open platform for creating web-standards-based internet solutions.

AT&T U-verse is making it easier for U-verse TV customers, including those with disabilities such as vision and hearing loss, to control their TV with the new U-verse Easy Remote App. Available in the iTunes store, the innovative U-verse Easy Remote App lets customers easily use their iPhone or iPad as a U-verse remote control. Watch here to see the app in action.

AT&T U-verse is the first major TV provider to allow customers to use voice remote control capabilities. The app was built with a commitment to universal design and is optimized to give all users access to features to control your TV, including:

• Multiple screen color, button and font size choices which let you customize your iPhone or iPad screen for a better viewing experience.
• A voice initiated remote control to perform a variety of commands, including Channel Up, Channel Down, Fast Forward, Rewind, Replay, Pause, Play, Record and Go to channel (name or number).
• A voice command feature that lets you choose a show you want to watch by simply saying the show title or channel number into your device.
• iPhone’s VoiceOver screen reader, enabling you to hear TV show and channel information as you scroll through your programming guide.
• Gesture commands, which allows you to control shows you’re viewing with different gesture movements.
• One-touch access to closed captioning.

NetRange and Octoshape have partnered to facilitate the next generation in broadband television -- transitioning from "Broadcast TV" to "Broadband TV.” The Octoshape Infinite HD-M multicast technology will be integrated into NetRange SmartTV portals and will enable TV quality, TV scale and TV economics over unmanaged IP networks.

The concept, also called “Triple OTT,” will allow consumers to watch linear TV via the DVB-Platform as they do today, but also add the ability to view unlimited amount of linear channels in broadcast quality via the public Internet, including access to SmartTV applications and services. Broadcasters and media companies will benefit from a range of new business models and gain an unlimited, global reach for HD quality video delivery on Smart TVs. Network operators and ISPs will benefit, as the life cycle of already existing broadband infrastructure such as ADSL2+ will be extended, since the technology makes existing networks much more efficient to deliver large volumes of content.

Espial announces that the Espial TV Browser has been selected to power Mitsubishi Electric's latest STBs deployed by NTT Plala to deliver a more compelling IPTV service to its customers. Leveraging a sophisticated range of features and technologies, the Espial TV Browser enables NTT Plala to distribute customized, interactive IP video-on-demand and e-shopping services and applications, such as review and rating functions, through an intuitive user interface.

The Espial TV Browser features a comprehensive software development kit that can be integrated seamlessly with Mitsubishi's proprietary middleware media player and digital rights management platform for smooth playback of encrypted content. The browser's open, modular-based architecture also enables easy integration with video plug-ins and JavaScript extensions, and is portable across a wide range of chipsets and devices, further simplifying interactive TV content and Web navigation on connected TVs.

Videoconferencing, telepresence and video chat have come of age, and the next big challenge for the video industry is interconnecting the disparate systems and solutions. Sessions at Video World Conference and Expo will delve deeply into this topic – and dozens more – as the event kicks off October 3-5 in Austin, Texas, TMC announced. Video World Conference and Expo is collocated with ITEXPO, one of the world’s largest and best-attended communications and technology trade shows.

In the “Connecting the Pixels – Visual Communication Comes of Age” panel, to be held Wednesday, October 3, at 11 a.m. CST, AVer Information Inc., Blue Jeans Network and Vidtel will collaborate on helping attendees understand their options and find the interconnection path that best matches their company’s needs.

Verimatrix has selected Arxan's content protection products to help secure its popular ViewRight Web security client technology. The announcement comes as security concerns are growing amidst rapid growth in the adoption of OTT technology. In an April 2012 report by Forrester Research, Inc. entitled "The Tablet-TV Connection", author Sarah Rotman Epps, senior analyst, forecasts that in the US alone 112.5 million US consumers will own a tablet by 2016, and tablets are disrupting several multibillion-dollar industries related to TV, including cable, broadcasting, advertising, and consumer electronics manufacturing and retailing.

Additionally, growth in global desktop platforms augment the increasing challenges of offering a secure video delivery system for premium content services across multiple platforms, and requires a range of specialist technologies. Verimatrix, with its Video Content Authority System solutions, is a recognized leader in deployments of secure multi-screen video systems, with its ViewRight Web client technologies supporting a growing range of devices with enhanced HLS security.

The Open IPTV Forum and the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV Consortium today announced their collaboration on the testing of technologies common to IPTV and enhanced broadcast environments. These include testing the Declarative Application Environment (colloquially referred to as the “OIPF browser”) and the Media Formats specifications that are currently being implemented in retail connected TVs and STBs in those regions where hybrid services based on the HbbTV specification are deployed.

This initiative enhances the cooperation that began a year ago and has now delivered common procedures for the development, review and acceptance of test material by engineers from both OIPF and HbbTV. Test material can be used by any test tool implementing the defined interface specifications which permits its use via IP or broadcast techniques. These procedures and specifications define a tes

Motorola Mobility extends its leadership in IP and cable set-tops, with the launch of ten new models designed to give service providers in EMEA smarter, more energy-efficient options for delivering new entertainment experiences – including entertainment everywhere (multi-screen support), over the top, time-shift TV, gaming and more.

IPTV set-tops

New IPTV set-tops build on the global success of the KreaTV application platform, an open system that ensures flexibility in deployment as well as smooth systems integration. Each supports high-quality IPTV services such as HD broadcast, time shift, on-demand, OTT, and interactive applications.

Rovi and Broadcom announce that Broadcom's latest IPTV platforms will support DivX Plus Streaming. Lightweight and easy to deploy, DivX Plus Streaming brings features historically associated with Blu-ray Discs to the over-the-top entertainment experience. The joint solution will help media player manufacturers streamline the development and release of products that offer an advanced streaming experience. Rovi will be demonstrating DivX Plus Streaming, running on Broadcom's flagship BCM7241 IP set-top box platform, at IBC 2012, September 6 to 11, Hall 5, Stand A31.

The adaptive streaming solution, DivX Plus Streaming, not only dynamically adjusts streams to help deliver maximum visual quality based on available bandwidth, but also offers an advanced feature set with support for 1080p, subtitles, multiple language tracks, and trick-play functions such as smooth fast forward and rewind. DivX Plus Streaming expands the value of the already popular DivX Plus(R) HD Certification program, which brings these same advanced multimedia features to 'download to own' video content.

Entropic announces the deployment of its STB system-on-a-chip and demodulator technology in three EchoStar models, which are currently being deployed at Bell Canada, Dish Mexico and Telus.

With the use of Entropic's STB SoC and demodulator technology, EchoStar offers fully-functional HD satellite STBs, which are personal video recorder-ready via external hard drives. The devices also support over-the-top and interactive applications via an Internet connection.

Entropic's SoC uses an integrated ARM application CPU to power advanced application processing, with a multi-stream transport processor to support PVR functionality. It also leverages flexible, multi-format video and audio decoders and a memory controller to provide ample memory capacity for both HD picture decoding and advanced system performance. The EchoStar STBs also use Entropic's advanced, low-power turbo-coding demodulator, which provides increased satellite system throughput by up to 35 percent utilizing existing bandwidth.

Envivio announces that A1 Telekom Austria AG recently turned to Envivio to expand its A1 TV IPTV service. Envivio Muse multi-screen encoding and processing software running on the Envivio 4Caster 1RU appliances power the full lineup of A1 Telekom Austria’s broadcast and on-demand HD, SD and 3GPP mobile services.

Envivio partnered with local Austrian market specialists TV-Connect Broadcast Systems, based in Vienna, for sales and installation support services for the A1 Telekom Austria deployment.

First launched in 2006, A1 TV is Austria’s fastest-growing TV service, available to eight out of 10 Austrian households and counting more than 200,000 households as subscribers. More than 150 TV channels are available in the basic package, with an additional 30 premium TV channels, over 2,000 films and series in the integrated video library and HD content available on-demand.

Smart TV is booming today, and premium web content has become a must-have for connected devices. Opera Software and Vestel announce their partnership to deliver Opera’s TV products on Vestel Smart TVs and set-top boxes. Vestel devices powered by Opera’s ultimate web experience will ship globally later this year.

Vestel is the largest TV producer in Europe, shipping over 10 million TVs yearly, and is one of the continent’s leading set-top box producers.

Starting this year, Vestel will deploy its TVs and set-top boxes with the Opera Devices SDK and Opera’s HbbTV technology, which already powers millions of devices shipped by over 50 manufacturers worldwide. By integrating Opera’s TV products on Vestel TVs, Opera’s technology will now work on advanced MStar chipsets. Next year, Vestel devices will also ship with the Opera TV Browser, giving users a seamless browsing experience based on Opera’s powerful engine.

ANT announces the latest features to be added to its multiscreen app, ANT Galio Move. Having been first launched at IBC 2011, ANT Galio Move now enables viewers to both watch TV and interact with social media on the same screen. And, by analysing programme metadata it can provide links to additional associated online content.

ANT Galio Move allows consumers to stream live and recorded TV to tablets and smartphones anywhere in the home. Viewers can watch the same programme or another live or recorded programme on their connected devices without interrupting the main TV. The application connects to the TV device using Wi-Fi enabling consumers to manage recordings, access additional programme information and quickly navigate through the touch screen EPG.

Innovative Systems has been chosen as the IPTV Middleware vendor for Integra Telecom, the telecommunications provider serving customers in Prior Lake, Savage, Webster,Elko and New Market communities.

"Integra is committed to providing first-class solutions to our customers, and we continue to look forproducts such as Innovative Systems' IPTV Middleware that meet growing customer demands," said Mary Korthour, vice president and general manager of Integra Telecom, Prior Lake, "Integra needed a Middleware product with features such as whole-home DVR, on-screen Caller ID and remote DVR programming access that would keep Integra competitive now and in the future."

Amino announces that Amino’s A140/A540 set-top boxes will now be complemented by a Wi-Fi USB solution using Celeno’s video-grade Wi-Fi technology.

The Amino Wi-Fi USB dongle enables service providers to offer a video-grade Wi-Fi solution that accelerates the adoption of IP-based video services by enabling after-market IP STBs to wirelessly receive HD content. Powered by Celeno’s field-proven OptimizAIR technology, the device maximizes range, throughput, and signal consistency and ensures low packet drop, jitter, and latency, while achieving superior Quality of Service for perfect, lossless video streaming.