Industry Announcements Home page ›› January 2008 Monthly Archive

January 30, 2008

Vanguard Public Affairs Network Selects Wowza Pro for Reliable 24/7 Live

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Rock-Solid On-Demand Performance, Attractive Economics and Technical
Support Are Other Key Factors in TVW’s Decision

San Jose, CA, January 30, 2008—Wowza Media Systems, emerging leader in
media streaming server software, announced today that TVW, a
Washington state public affairs broadcaster with an audience of more than
3.8 million, has selected Wowza Media Server™ Pro as its official Flash
streaming server software platform.

According to Scott Freeman, Director of IT, TVW, the selection of Wowza
Pro over competing Flash server software solutions came down to three
criteria: performance, reliability and cost, with reliable live streaming
performance as the clear priority.

"Wowza Pro worked right out of the box. What was more impressive, Wowza
Pro streamed live feeds uninterrupted in our 15-day pilot. Not a single
hiccup,” said Freeman. “This is the kind of 'set and forget' reliability
we need to deliver live legislative public affairs coverage at all times
of the day, 365 days a year."

Wowza Pro platform also serves TVW’s popular on-demand content and is the
base for its vast library of 60,000+ hours of programming now being
converted to Flash.

Benefits of TVW Deployment:
  • Wowza Pro provides TVW with the reliable live streaming performance it needs to deliver 24/7 legislative public affairs coverage over the Internet
  • Wowza Pro empowers TVW to expand its online reach with low-friction Flash streaming at 75% lower total cost of ownership than competing solutions
  • Wowza Pro’s extensibility and interactive capabilities enable TVW to integrate it with voice indexing and vital features of TVW operations
  • Wowza Pro’s integral scalability features provide a solid platform for future expansion as TVW converts its programming archives to Flash
  • Wowza Pro protects the integrity of TVW’s live and archived content through its anti-ripping SecureToken technology
  • TVW’s selection of Wowza Pro is a powerful endorsement from a streaming media pioneer. One of the first public affairs broadcasters to stream online in 1995, TVW was a founder and remains a leading light of The National Association of Public Affairs Networks (NAPAN), which has been conceived to help establish and expand in all 50 states noncommercial television and online networks devoted to providing citizens with fair, balanced, and unfiltered access to their state governments.

    Boasting over 4,600 global licensees, Wowza Media Systems’ award-winning
    Flash media server offers full interactivity, unlimited connections and
    unlimited bandwidth at a low $995 price. For more information, including
    product documentation and price details, or to download a free trial
    version, visit: www.wowzamedia.com/store.html


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    January 29, 2008

    BitBand content distribution technology provides On Telecoms with infinite storage capacity providing triple play services

    NETANYA, ISRAEL (January 29--, 2008) – BitBand, a leading provider of video content delivery solutions for broadband IP networks, today announced that the company has implemented its Auto-CDN™ technology at ON Telecoms, enabling increased storage space and reduced traffic load in ON's network.

    On Telecoms, a new generation telecommunications company successfully completed installation of a metropolitan fiber optic network totaling 220 km of fiber in the Attica region of Greece. The company offers voice telephony, high speed broadband and television to residential and business customers accessing till now 1.350.000 million households and 300.000 companies in wider Attica area.

    BitBand Auto-CDN is a dynamic, real time mechanism for content positioning in the network according to actual usage of assets, maximizing streaming throughput, optimizing storage capacity and minimizing network load. Utilizing BitBand's Auto-CDN, On Telecoms can leverage network resources and further expand its offering to Greek customers.
    "Implementing BitBand's automatic content distribution algorithms allows us to significantly save on storage space cost while improving our viewers' quality of experience and access to content according to their preferences," explained Fabrizio Bosi, title, ON Telecoms. "
    "As the IPTV market shifts focus to regard content and subscribers as the service providers' main asset, BitBand focuses on technology that would allow service providers to manage and deliver the content to their subscribers in the most cost effective and reliable manner," said Yuval Sovinsky, executive vice president strategy and marketing, BitBand. "Auto-CDN is that kind of feature and On Telecoms embraced this innovative technology as it is aligned with its mission to meet consumers' needs in tomorrow's world of entertainment."
    At TVoDSL 2008 in Paris, a case study will be presented on the remarkable achievements achieved through this deployment titled, "From Cement to Service in Three Months". The presentation will be held on Wednesday, January 30th in Hotel Marriott Rive Gauche, Paris. For more information see http://www.upperside.fr/tps2008/tvodsl2008/tvodsl2008intro.htm.

    About BitBand
    BitBand's advanced content delivery solutions over IP broadband networks help Next Generation Service Providers and Telcos realize the Triple Play offering, enabling quick entry into new markets, faster ROI and a safe track to profitable large-scale service. The company's solutions are targeted at large-scale deployments of TV-centric residential subscribers and feature high-scale streaming and robust performance optimized for hybrid and distributed network architectures. BitBand's On Demand IPTV solutions form the most scalable and cost-effective solution existing today for the IPTV environment, including the BitBand ISIS™ automated Video Delivery Network, BitBand Maestro™ Content Distribution and Video Network Management Suite and BitBand Vision™ appliance servers.

    About ON Telcoms
    ON Telecoms is a new Generation Telecommunication company, which started its commercial operation in January 2007 in Greece. It is an owner of the general telecommunication license and is developing its own fiber network in the greater Attica area in the initial phase. ON Telecoms is fully owned by ON Network Holdings N.V., a holding company based in Holland. Main share holders of the company are the ARGO Capital Partners Fund Ltd and its management team.


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    First Mobile Content Search and Discovery Engine for TVs and Browsers

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    Zodigo Debuts at the Famous DEMO 08 Conference for Emerging Technology, January 28-30 in Palm Desert, Calif.

    PALM DESERT, Calif. (DEMO 08) - January 28, 2008 - Zodiac Interactive, a multiple Emmy-nominated and Emmy award-winning developer of software for interactive television, today launched a new mobile content search engine, Zodigo[TM]. Much like a Movies-On-Demand service from cable operators, Zodigo is navigated either by remote control or by keyboard and mouse and includes revolutionary features that make it easy for consumers to discover and download mobile content instantly to their mobile phones. Zodigo is also the first and only software platform built for release on digital TV systems (cable, satellite, & telco), Blu-ray & HD-DVD players, all next-gen gaming consoles (Wii , Xbox 360 , and the Playstation® 3), as well as at Zodigo.com and many other Web distribution partners. Perhaps most importantly, Zodigo is an intelligent system that quickly and automatically learns about users' preferences, as well as their exact mobile phone type, and recommends only content that works for that phone.

    Matt Johnston, Zodiac's SVP of strategy and the CEO of the new Zodigo operating company, comments, "Consumers are beginning to experience an explosion in the breadth and diversity of content and applications available for the mobile phone, and, until today, have not had an adequate content discovery solution. Part of the problem is that content directories, for the most part, have only been available either on the mobile phone through existing mobile operators, through cluttered teen-targeted Web sites or directly from individual, fragmented publishers. Zodigo was developed with a better shopping experience in mind and the result is an easy-to-use search experience that helps create a truly long-tail of mobile content discovery."

    Zodigo allows consumers to channel and Web surf to discover great content for their mobile phones. Whether it's games, applications, ringtones, movies, podcasts, coupons, mobile manga, tickets, alerts, or full songs, Zodigo helps consumers easily find and download interesting stuff recommended by like-minded people.


    About DEMO
    Produced by Network World Events and Executive Forums, the semi-annual DEMO conferences focus on emerging technologies and new products, which are hand-selected from across the spectrum of the technology marketplace. The DEMO conferences have earned their reputation for consistently identifying tomorrow's cutting-edge technologies, and have served as launch pad events for companies such as Palm, E*Trade, Handspring, and U.S. Robotics, helping them to secure venture funding, establish critical business relationships, and influence early adopters. Each DEMO conference features approximately 70 new companies, products and technologies. For more information, visit www.demo.com.

    About Zodiac Interactive
    Zodiac Interactive, the Interactive TV 2.0 Company™, is a multiple Emmy-nominated and Emmy award-winning developer of software for interactive television. The company also runs one of the world's premier studios for interactive television games. For more information, visit www.zodiac.tv.


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    January 23, 2008

    Amino becomes the 1st British company to join the Open IPTV Forum

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    World leading IPTV platform supplier to help set specifications for IPTV

    Cambridge, UK – Jan 23rd 2008 – Amino, the world leading IPTV platform supplier, has been accepted as a member of the Open IPTV Forum.

    Forum Steering Group Chairman, Mr. Yun Chao Hu, announced Amino’s membership along with new members from nine different countries. All new members will share in the Open IPTV Forum’s objective to develop a new and complete set of specifications for IPTV.

    Commenting on Amino joining the Open IPTV Forum, Yun Chao Hu said, “We welcome Amino as a member of our organization, reinforcing the view that the market requires a forum that drives the next generation of IPTV services beyond the currently deployed Live Broadcast TV and Video on Demand services.”


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    Amino is a specialist in products and technology for IPTV, Internet TV and in-home multimedia distribution. It supplies the award-winning AmiNET™ series of high performance IPTV Set-Top Boxes for deployment in leading telecommunications, broadcast and hospitality markets worldwide.

    The Open IPTV Forum was established with the intention of creating a specification for IPTV. It intends to publish and promote its IPTV specifications as an open standard that may be used by vendors of communications systems to secure interoperability between the services and devices. The list of new members includes prestigious organisations such as Alcatel-Lucent, Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica.

    “It is key to have the major players on board while critical decisions are taken,” added Helmut Schink, Steering Group Vice-Chair.

    Dominique Le Foll, VP of Engineering at Amino concluded, “Amino’s membership of the Open IPTV Forum is of great importance to us. It enhances our reputation as a leading developer of IPTV technologies and enables Amino to interact with other major manufacturers within our industry. Standardisation of IPTV is a complex issue, so we applaud the Open IPTV Forum’s objectives to derive open standards for IPTV that would enable far greater interoperability amongst technology vendors. We are very proud to be the first British company to help assist the Forum in its aims and look forward to being a very proactive member. ”

    About the Open IPTV Forum
    The Open IPTV Forum is a pan-industry initiative with the purpose of producing end to end specifications for IPTV in order to take the next generation of IPTV into a mass market service. The forum, which is fully open to participation across the communications and entertainment industries, will focus on development of open standards that could help to streamline and accelerate deployments of IPTV technologies, and help to maximize the benefits of IPTV for consumers, network operators, content providers, service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers and home and network infrastructure providers.

    Open IPTV Forum

    January 22, 2008

    NEW STUDY SHOWS THAT CONSUMER DEMAND FOR INTERACTIVE TV IS HIGH

    70 percent of TV viewers would consider signing up for another cable or satellite provider if they offered advanced interactivity at no extra charge


    PORTLAND, Ore. — Jan. 22, 2008 — Ensequence, the interactive television company, today announced the results of a survey* that shows consumers are ready to change the way they interact with their televisions in 2008. According to the survey, 72 percent of viewers indicated they are currently using their remote controls for simple tasks such as finding favorite programs using the on-screen TV guide, scheduling or selecting DVR recordings and for viewing content on-demand. Now consumers are ready to take their television viewing experience a leap further and they want more from their cable and satellite providers in 2008.


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    Viewers want advanced interactive television functionality across every genre of programming and advertising:

    · 72 percent of those who watch reality TV shows want to interact with those shows

    · 65 percent of those who watch sporting events on TV want to interact with those events

    · 66 percent of viewers want to interact with commercial advertising

    “The TV is becoming the focal point of every home. Consumers are spending big money to upgrade their TVs and they want to be able to do more with the programming and advertising that they watch,” said Dalen Harrison, CEO, Ensequence. “This study confirms that consumers have higher expectations and want to vote for contestants, get additional product information during commercials, purchase tickets for live events or get scores and statistics during sporting events – all using their remote controls.”

    Just last year, Ensequence developed an application for Bravo’s popular series, “Top Chef 3 Miami,” which allowed DISH Network viewers to use their remote control to vote for their favorite contestants or download recipes among other interactive features. For the Spike TV Video Game Awards in December, more than 20 million satellite viewers were able to use their remote controls to access exclusive content and unlock cheat codes for their favorite video games. Viewers stayed interactive during the Spike TV Video Game Awards for up to 36 minutes on average.

    Interactive television has been anticipated for a long time, and Ensequence is making it a reality today. Last year, Ensequence launched a Reebok interactive television advertising campaign that allowed consumers to make purchases directly through their remote controls, which was a first for the United States market. As DVR penetration increases, advertisers are actively searching for new ways to engage consumers. Nike’s advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy, worked with Ensequence to create a fully immersive branded experience for the launch of the Nike Zoom shoe. They used the DVR to deliver 22 minutes of interactive television content to consumers and enabled consumers to watch exclusive video, get customized retail locations and access in-depth product information.


    *Methodology

    This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Ensequence between November 29 to December 3, 2007 among 2,949 adults (aged 18 and over), of whom 2,877 watch TV. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online

    All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

    Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

    January 18, 2008

    Revision3 Site Upgrade

    Today Revision3 launched a redesign of our website.
    http://www.revision3.com

    some of the new features are:
    - Brand new look and feel
    - Dedicated show sub-pages with better branding for individual shows
    - Easier ways to find and subscribe to shows
    - Beginnings of integrating our community with our shows and site content by integrating forum discussions on the episode and show pages.
    - Bigger video player for episodes


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    Exclusive LIVE BlogTalkRadio Interview with Robert Scoble re: FastCompany.TV

    Technology blogger Robert Scoble will join BlogTalkRadio CEO Alan Levy Friday, January 18, 2008, at 3pm Eastern / 12pm Pacific on The Alan Levy Show to discuss Scoble’s new role as Managing Director of the new video network FastCompany.TV from Mansueto Digital.

    Join the conversation on The Alan Levy Show and get the inside scoop on ScobleTV, Scobleizer.com and FastCompany.TV.

    The Alan Levy Show is a live, interactive Internet broadcast hosted on BlogTalkRadio. A text chat room and other information can be found on the host page. Archives of the show are made available after the show at the host page or via RSS subscription at the host page or iTunes.

    Links:
    Host Page: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/alanlevy
    Live Stream & archive: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/AlanLevy/2008/01/18/Robert-Scoble-sits-down-with-Alan-Levy
    Call-in Number: (347) 677-0649
    Archive RSS Feed: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/alanlevy/feed
    BlogTalkRadio: http://www.blogtalkradio.com


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    January 16, 2008

    Fox International’s Baby TV Partners with Narrowstep to Launch New Internet TV Channel

    New York / London, January 16, 2008 – Narrowstep Inc. (Nasdaq: NRWS), the TV on the Internet company, today announced that it has entered into a partnership with Fox International’s BabyTV, to provide their original programming over the Internet using Narrowstep’s platform.


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    BabyTV, www.babytvchannel.com, is the world’s first TV channel dedicated to infants and toddlers. Their innovative programming is created by a team of award-winning content and child development experts designed to promote learning, activity, interaction and fun.

    “BabyTV is dedicated to creating a multi-platform experience for its viewers by continuing to innovate and extend its brand into various new media, products, and other formats,” said Liran Talit, Managing Director and Founder of BabyTV. “Narrowstep’s Internet TV platform will play an integral role in helping us launch our second generation website and compliment many of the new features we have created. In addition to our over 50 new games and activities which will be launched in 2008, by offering our original content over the Internet we will be able to extend our reach into new markets and allow our audience to view our programming wherever they want, however they want in TV-like quality.”

    BabyTV which launched internationally in 2005, is already viewed by parents and babies worldwide on over 100 platforms in 65 different countries and in 12 different languages. The channel is also available through VOD, mobile, broadband, home videos, inflight services, and now on www.babytvchannel.com.

    Narrowstep will provide BabyTV with their telvOS Internet TV platform, which is the most complete end-to-end solution for broadcasters to deliver video over the Internet. telvOS provides broadcasters with a suite of products and tools which includes a robust content management system, superior DRM tools and a host of monetization tools. These tools allow broadcasters to effectively integrate a customized Internet TV strategy into their existing workflow without the need to deal with multiple vendors.

    Narrowstep also designed and built the feature-rich video player. The BabyTV player is a complementary experience to viewing the channel which allows parents to choose their child’s favorite programs by themes or by character, and allows parents and babies to engage in activities such as Baby Karaoke, sing along and more. The player also offers parents the option of tailoring their child’s experience by viewing the programming in a number of different languages.

    Narrowstep recently announced the release of its Player 2.7 technology designed to provide global broadcasters and telcos with the tools they need to monetize video over the internet. Fox’s BabyTV is the latest addition to Narrowstep’s world-class list of clients including ITV Local, Virgin, Telefonica, Sci Fi Channel, KPN, the Outdoor Channel, the Travel Channel and more.

    “The fact that we were chosen by an industry leading company like Fox International, only reaffirms that we have developed the right strategy of focusing on our technology and on targeting world-class broadcasters,” said David C. McCourt, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer. “The BabyTV brand and original content offering, along with Narrowstep’s expertise in building tools for monetizing content are a powerful combination, and we are excited to play a long term role in BabyTV’s success.”

    About Baby TV

    BabyTV is the world’s first 24 hour, commercial-free channel for infants and toddlers and their parents. Created by a team of award-winning content experts and leading childhood experts, BabyTV is a unique offering of dedicated programs designed to promote early learning, activity, interaction and fun. Since its first launch, BabyTV has seen rapid growth and is currently aired on over 100 platforms in more than 65 countries worldwide. For more information please visit our website www.babytvchannel.com.

    Symmetricom Announces V-FACTOR® Video QoE Platform for Cable

    Perceptual Video Quality Monitoring Solution Delivers Detailed, Real-Time Understanding of Video Service Quality

    Monitors Video Quality at the Content Source, Headend, Transport Network, and the Set-Top Box

    SAN JOSE, Calif. - January 14, 2008 - Symmetricom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYMM), today announced the availability of its V-FACTOR® Quality of Experience (QoE) Platform that delivers a perceptual video quality solution for cable operators. Building upon 50 years of experience in the communications industry by Symmetricom, V-FACTOR enables the monitoring of key sources of potential video and audio impairments by providing a scalable solution that accurately assesses consumer's video quality experience.

    According to Jim Chiddix, a cable industry veteran and Symmetricom board member, the rapid expansion of high definition (HD) and switched and on-demand video service offerings is bringing the issue of video quality to the forefront for cable operators. "Degraded video quality and other performance issues are real-world obstacles that can quickly increase cable operators' technical support costs, create customer churn, and dramatically impact revenue streams. A comprehensive solution is needed to accurately measure video quality from content origination through the network all the way to the set-top box," Chiddix said.

    As an element of the V-FACTOR QoE platform for cable operators, Symmetricom is also announcing its Q-1000 video headend analyzer. By digging deep into the actual video content, the Q-1000 examines, in real time, the quality and integrity of source video and detects any transcoding or other encoding impairments. V-FACTOR combines the Q-1000 video headend analyzer with network probes, software agents, and NOC software into a comprehensive end-to-end solution. The Q-1000 delivers specialized functionality for the headend, while Symmetricom's network probes and software agents monitor other network nodes to ensure accurate identification of video quality issues throughout the video delivery chain. Together, V-FACTOR analyzes source video, headend, network, set-top box, etc. for a complete QoE solution.

    Stefan Winkler, a principal technologist in Symmetricom's QoE Assurance Division, commented, "Impairments come from various sources including source content, encoders, transcoders, video transmission/distribution, and set-top boxes. Based on the Moving Pictures Quality Metric (MPQM) model adapted specifically for end-to-end video quality scoring, our solution analyzes the actual video content, and combines content impairments with network performance data in order to precisely identify subscriber quality issues. By filtering the results though a sophisticated human vision system (HVS) model, we enable cable operators to understand what quality issues matter to consumers by providing a simple, yet highly accurate video quality score."

    Symmetricom is unveiling V-FACTOR for cable at the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)'s Conference on Emerging Technologies (ET)® taking place Jan. 14-16 in Los Angeles. At the conference, Dr. Winkler is addressing the importance of QoE as a critical measure of success for IP-based video services on a panel along with industry executives from Cable Labs, Time Warner Cable, and other companies that will tackle some of the important challenges the industry faces today. The panel, entitled "Rapid Application Delivery and Service Quality Management," is Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles.


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    January 14, 2008

    OpenTV Participate™ Solution to power first-ever Internet and TV network devoted to the auction industry in the US

    San Francisco, Calif., January 14, 2008 - OpenTV Corp. (NASDAQ GM: OPTV), a leading provider of solutions for the delivery of advanced television and cross-platform interactive services, announced today that Auction Network, the first-ever US television network devoted to the auction industry, has chosen the OpenTV Participate solution to power its live Internet auction business and upcoming television launch.

    Auction Network, whose programming will feature televised and live auctions ranging from thoroughbred horse sales in Kentucky to Ozzy Osbourne’s celebrity auction to wine auctions from around the world, will use OpenTV Participate to handle all auction transactions, allowing viewers to interact in real-time with television programming via Web, IVR voice telephony, portable devices and, in the future, set-top boxes. Auction Network delivers the thrill and excitement of live auction programming with the interactivity to make it easy to view items, place bids and become the high bidder, even if the auction is on the other side of the world.

    “Auction Network has a unique and exciting vision that fully embraces many of the new concepts OpenTV has been developing in our enterprise product strategy for broadcasters,” said Ben Bennett, OpenTV’s Chief Operating Officer. “One of the most important concepts, in our view, is the absolute pre-requisite for broadcasters to have a direct two-way relationship with their viewers - Auction Network is a wonderful example of that capability. “

    “With Auction Network launching as a 24/7 streaming Internet Network rapidly migrating to live TV, the biggest challenge we faced was seamless integration of traditional and new media broadcast technologies with customer interaction and data aggregation,” said Pam McKissick, Auction Network’s Chief Executive Officer. “OpenTV Participate allows us to do that without over-complicating our daily operations. We have found that OpenTV Participate is a visionary, second-generation system that dramatically alleviates issues our cutting edge broadcast network might face.”

    OpenTV Participate’s powerful servers enable unlimited concurrent auctions to be set up using simple wizard-based auction logic that supports more than 17 types of auction events. OpenTV Participate’s fully integrated scheduling and studio console applications will give auction clerks, production staff and auctioneers live auction data providing dynamic TV programming, originated in studios and on location, with real-time viewer participation and instant business analysis.

    OpenTV Participate’s modular solution also enables Auction Network to manage viewer registration, billing, fulfillment, accounts, customer care, loyalty schemes, and marketing using a single back-office application. With its state of the art CRM and marketing modules, and cross-platform data aggregation, OpenTV Participate will provide Auction Network with flexible business reporting, deep insight into customer behavior, global business analysis and instant communication with consumers at the touch of a button. In addition, the product can provide added-value content such as trivia, sponsor messages and interactive and targeted advertising.


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    Narrowstep Reports 49% Increase in Narrowcasting Revenue in Q3 Fiscal Year 2008

    New York / London, January 14, 2008 – Narrowstep™ Inc. (OTC BB: NRWS), the TV on the Internet company, announced its results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2008, ended November 30, 2007.

    Operating Highlights for the third quarter:
    • Narrowcasting revenue increased 49% over the same quarter of the previous year
    • Operating costs decreased by 19% quarter over quarter
    • Completed upgrade to content distribution network
    • Roll out of upgraded platform with Player 2.7
    • Completed phase I of Microsoft Silverlight integration
    • Formed strategic relationship with TSS Cross Media Group
    • Strategic focus changed to larger enterprise customers

    Narrowcasting and other revenues for the three months ended November 30, 2007 increased by $571,571, or 49%, to $1,735,539 as compared to $1,163,968 for the three months ended November 30, 2006. Narrowcasting revenues for the nine months ended November 30, 2007 increased by $1,252,193, or 41%, to $4,294,654 as compared to $3,042,461 for the nine months ended November 30, 2006. The increase in quarter-to-date and year-to-date revenue resulted primarily from the addition of new customers while focusing on retaining its larger and more profitable customers.

    Operating costs for the three months ended November 30, 2007 decreased by 19% to $4,555,711, compared to $5,594,024 for the previous quarter. This reduction in operating costs resulted from headcount and other cost reductions due to the Company’s previously announced change in strategic focus. While these reductions contributed to an increase in severance expense during the quarter, the Company has recently made various additional cuts in its operating expenses as a result of streamlining the sales support process. These additional reductions will be reflected gradually over the next two quarters. Total operating expenses for the nine months ended November 30, 2007 were $14,819,900, compared to $8,399,571 for the nine months ended November 30, 2006 reflecting the Company’s investment in its video delivery platform and content distribution network over the last nine months.

    As of November 30, 2007, the Company had $6,558,875 in cash.

    The Company reported a net loss of $2,791,190 or $0.02 loss per share for the three months ended November 30, 2007, compared to a loss of $1,477,404 or $0.03 loss per share for the three months ended November 30, 2006. The Company reported a loss of $10,973,591 or $0.14 loss per share for the nine months ended November 30, 2007, compared to a loss of $3,932,796 or $0.09 loss per share for the nine months ended November 30, 2006.



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    Imagine Launches Initial Product for Digital TV Market

    ICE™ Broadcast System Gives Cable Operators a Powerful Strategic Weapon in the Escalating Battle for Premium Subscribers


    SCTE Conference on Emerging Technologies (LOS ANGELES) - January 14, 2008 - Imagine Communications, the leading innovator in advanced digital video processing and edge multiplexing solutions, today announced its first available product, the ICETM Broadcast System. Based on the powerful ICE™ Video Platform, the ICE Broadcast System gives cable operators the ability to carry up to 50 percent more high definition (HDTV) and standard definition (SDTV) digital broadcast signals within their digital broadcast spectrum, without sacrificing video quality.

    Leveraging its breakthrough video processing and multiplexing technology, Imagine's ICE Video Platform delivers the highest video quality at any given bit rate, solving the fundamental and elusive paradox of how to cost-effectively increase bandwidth efficiency without sacrificing video quality. The ICE Video Platform comprises a suite of solutions and products for digital broadcast, Switched Digital Video (SDV) and VOD. In each case, Imagine's core technologies of Interchangeable Compressed Elements (ICE) and video quality measurement (ICE-Q™) address the video quality and bandwidth efficiency needs of cable operators.

    The ICE Broadcast System, available now, is the solution cable operators have been seeking to expand their HD and SD services while maintaining the highest video quality. It is now ready for widespread deployment, having undergone extensive refinement, enhancement and stabilization with major cable operators over the last several months.

    Imagine's VP Product Strategy & Management, Lorenzo Bombelli, stated "With competitors announcing plans for over 100 HD channels, and video quality expectations simultaneously rising, due primarily to the mass consumer adoption of large screen HDTV displays and the growing popularity of Blu-ray and HD-DVD, all service providers are now racing to create additional bandwidth to carry dozens of new HDTV services at excellent video quality. It became an urgent cable industry issue to quickly adapt our technology for the digital broadcast market, for both HD and SD applications."

    Ron Gutman, Imagine's CTO and co-founder, added, "Our core breakthrough technology has broad applicability to any digital video application. While we've mostly associated ourselves to date with SDV and VOD VBR/StatMux (Variable Bit Rate/Statistical Multiplexing), for enabling the best video quality at any given bit rate, the same benefits apply to digital broadcast, and we're excited to be offering a product that solves such a critical and timely issue for cable operators."

    Benefits of the ICE Broadcast System
    " Superior Video Quality - With Imagine's ICE-Q™ video quality engine, operators are able to provide the best 3:1 HD (and 15:1 SD) broadcast quality relative to MPEG-2 re-encoders and traditional statmux devices.
    " Unprecedented Bandwidth Efficiency - Empowers cable operators with the most efficient multiplexing of HDTV and SDTV broadcast channels, allowing them to compete more effectively against DBS and TelcoTV service providers.
    " Video Layer Quality of Service ("Video Layer QoS") - Starts laying the foundation for the industry's first end-to-end Video Layer QoS solution, allowing content providers and cable operators to pre-calibrate and establish video quality levels which are sustained, at the video layer, from content origination all the way to the set-top box.
    " Cost Effectiveness - Relative to other bandwidth expansion options, such as node splits, Switched Digital Video (SDV), or MPEG-4 upgrades, Imagine's solution is by far the most cost effective and least disruptive solution.
    " High Reliability - Imagine's solution has standard IP/GbE inputs and outputs, enabling seamless interoperability with cable's evolving IP infrastructure. Moreover, the ICE Video Platform (including the ICE Broadcast System), leverages standards-based hardware and highly reliable software components, as well as robust redundancy schemes.

    The ICE Broadcast System consists of ICE Broadcast Processors, which accept and re-process compressed MPEG-2 digital signals using Imagine's ICE-Q video quality algorithms. Then, using the ICE Multiplexer, these signals are statistically multiplexed for Multiple Program Transport Stream (MPTS) digital broadcast over cable. In this fashion, for the first time, cable operators are able to broadcast three digital HDTV or 15 digital SDTV signals in a 256 QAM channel while maintaining excellent video quality.

    About Imagine Communications
    Imagine Communications has launched the industry's most powerful and scalable digital video platform, enabling system operators to cost-effectively increase bandwidth efficiency and video quality of HDTV, Switched Digital, VOD, and other advanced digital video services. The Imagine ICE™ Video Platform delivers the best video quality at any given bit rate, and also provides Video Layer Quality of Service, offering system operators unprecedented control over video quality. Imagine is based in San Diego with R&D and engineering in Israel. Imagine's strong management team includes industry leaders with decades of experience delivering innovations in video communications. Founded in 2005, Imagine Communications is privately held and funded by Carmel Ventures, Columbia Capital and Court Square Ventures. For more information, www.imaginecommunications.com


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    January 11, 2008

    Access to Zattoo via SwissVPN to be shut down in February

    Zurich, 10 January, 2008.- Access to Zattoo's channel lineup over SwissVPN will be shut down as of February 1, 2008. Legal access to Zattoo is currently restricted to Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, and the UK, as Zattoo has acquired the rights to distribute channels in these countries. Some foreign users have bypassed this geopolitical restriction by accessing Zattoo over a SwissVPN account. As foreign access infringes upon the rights of Zattoo's broadcasting partners, Zattoo has decided to bar access to Zattoo over SwissVPN account.

    Zattoo regrets this step and hopes to be able to offer users cross-national access to channels in the future.


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    January 7, 2008

    SQUA.RE launches Beta test today

    January 7th, 2008: Square Media Ltd, a new London based media company, today announces the Beta launch of SQUA.RE, a community-generated TV, by invitation only, targeted at the 18-35 year olds interested in Luxury.

    The site features four main Internet TV channels focusing on Nightlife, Style, High Living and Luxury Travel, SQUA.RE also its gives members the ability to create their own personal TV channel, showcase their own videos and slideshows with music, for broadcast either privately to their friends, or publicly to the whole community.

    In a smart, elegant and exclusive environment, SQUA.RE will also encourage its members to express their own thoughts on living a life of luxury, a phenomenon described by the founders as "Luxurealism". SQUA.RE members will be able to showcase a wide range of topics ranging from luxury products and fashion to parties and traveling,

    The first exclusive test users are being invited to join some of the London based groups already using SQUA.RE. The SQUA.RE beta version is online now at http://squa.re

    SQUA.RE founders, 25 year olds Olivier Bassil and Jeremy Genin, believe their friends from all over the world will make SQUA.RE their online meeting point for sharing tips for a better lifestyle and for meeting new, gorgeous and entertaining friends, with the same desires and ideas about life and luxury.

    Olivier Bassil, Co-Founder of SQUA.RE comments: "We, at SQUA.RE, do not believe the world needs another YouTube or another aSmallWorld since YouTube and aSmallWorld are the best at what they do."

    He continues: "We do believe there is a need for a private online space where our generation can express and share the fun of exceptional lifestyles. This is why we have created SQUA.RE."

    Jeremy Genin comments: "Luxury is a way of living and we want everybody to be able to enjoy it. SQUA.RE is a place that will gather the largest amount of interaction and discussion around Luxury and lifestyle on the web. We believe brands will have a desire to engage conversations with our age group. And SQUA.RE will just be the perfect place for that."

    Using a mix of user-generated content (UGC) from individual users combined with professionally produced content (PPC) from selected companies, SQUA.RE also invites members to comment on lifestyle trends, allows them to share their love of Luxury brands, and gathers recommendations on the best products and services to buy, as well as the best events to attend.


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    January 5, 2008

    LG Electronics and Netflix Announce Plan to Stream Movies From the Internet to the TV

    LOS GATOS, Calif. and ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), the world's largest online movie rental service, and LG Electronics, a global consumer electronics leader, today announced they are joining forces to develop a set-top box for consumers to stream movies and other programming from the Internet to HDTVs -- bypassing the need to use a personal computer.

    The collaboration is expected to deliver a compelling new online home entertainment service via technology embedded in an LG networked player planned for the second half of 2008. Today's announcement sets the stage for next week's 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES®), which will emphasize digital content as well as hardware solutions.

    "Consumers crave compelling and immediate content, and the Netflix online streaming movie feature can provide instant gratification. This alliance underscores LG's goal of developing smart technologies that deliver flexibility, convenience and control to consumers," said KI Kwon, President of the Consumer Electronics Division of LG Electronics USA, Inc.

    The technology collaboration supports the Netflix core strategy of offering a multi-dimensional, or "hybrid," service that gives its more than 7 million members a variety of ways to receive movies and TV series for one, low monthly fee.

    With the availability of the networked LG product planned for later this year, Netflix subscribers can watch movies streamed from the Netflix Web site on their large-screen home theater HDTVs, in addition to the current capability to watch movies instantly on their PCs.

    On top of its rich catalog of more than 90,000 titles on DVD delivered fast through the mail, a growing selection of more than 6,000 familiar movies and TV episodes delivered instantly over the Internet to Netflix members' personal computers or TVs will even more strongly position Netflix in online movie rentals, which it pioneered in 1997.

    "Internet to the TV is a huge opportunity," said Netflix Founder, Chairman and CEO Reed Hastings. "Netflix explored also offering its own Netflix-branded set-top boxes but we concluded that familiar consumer electronics devices from industry leaders like LG Electronics are a better consumer solution for getting the Internet to the TV."

    In all, today's announcement enhances LG Electronics' position as a top-tier player in the U.S. digital television marketplace and advances the Netflix goal of making electronic delivery -- including future high definition content -- a meaningful addition to its existing DVD delivery platform and a valued enhancement to the Netflix subscriber experience. Netflix took its first step in that direction in 2007 when it enabled members to instantly watch movies and TV series on their personal computers.


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