Eyecon Demonstrates User-Experience Application Platform at CES

Eyecon, a sponsor of Parks Associates Connections events, will be demonstrating its user-experience application platform for networked media players at CES.

As internet enabled televisions, broadband set-tops, networked audio systems and digital picture frames proliferate in the connected home, consumers require a common and portable interface to manage their media and player options. Discovery and navigation of multiple content sources including over-the-top content, music libraries, user-generated and premium video sites also poses a significant challenge not only for consumers but CE manufacturers, service providers, and content publishers as well.

EyeconTroller for the iPhone meets these challenges by providing a personalized, mobile interface enabling users to search, preview and queue content from multiple sources and control its play-out to multiple entertainment devices.

EyeconTroller works with EyeconManager, a free software download for the consumers networked PC or Mac. EyeconManager creates a virtual library of all the users authorized content – video, music and photographs, no matter where it resides, locally or on the web. It also discovers both DLNA and other popular connected players in the home.

You can see Eyecon’s user-experience application in several locations at CES including Intel’s invitation only Residential Gateway and Media Phone suites, Western Digital’s TV Live HD Media Player demo, Syabas’s Popcorn Hour suite, Marvells SheevaPlug Partner Pavilion, and CopperGates Home Connectivity Solution suite.

You can also contact molly@eyecontechnologies.com to schedule a demo at Eyecon’s demonstration suite in the Venetian.

Eyecon Demonstrates User-Experience Application Platform at CES

Eyecon, a sponsor of Parks Associates Connections events, will be demonstrating its user-experience application platform for networked media players at CES.

As internet enabled televisions, broadband set-tops, networked audio systems and digital picture frames proliferate in the connected home, consumers require a common and portable interface to manage their media and player options. Discovery and navigation of multiple content sources including over-the-top content, music libraries, user-generated and premium video sites also poses a significant challenge not only for consumers but CE manufacturers, service providers, and content publishers as well.

EyeconTroller for the iPhone meets these challenges by providing a personalized, mobile interface enabling users to search, preview and queue content from multiple sources and control its play-out to multiple entertainment devices.

EyeconTroller works with EyeconManager, a free software download for the consumers networked PC or Mac. EyeconManager creates a virtual library of all the users authorized content – video, music and photographs, no matter where it resides, locally or on the web. It also discovers both DLNA and other popular connected players in the home.

You can see Eyecon’s user-experience application in several locations at CES including Intel’s invitation only Residential Gateway and Media Phone suites, Western Digital’s TV Live HD Media Player demo, Syabas’s Popcorn Hour suite, Marvells SheevaPlug Partner Pavilion, and CopperGates Home Connectivity Solution suite.

You can also contact, molly@eyecontechnologies.com to schedule a demo at Eyecon’s demonstration suite in the Venetian.

Parks Associates at CES: Connected devices, 3D content, storage, and support services will provide new opportunities for industry growth in 2010

Parks Associates market analysts will present new research and provide insight and commentary about new business strategies, new technologies, and consumer demand for connected CE and services at multiple speaking events during the 2010 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show).

Parks Associates will host the fourth-annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit: Monetizing Connectivity in the Home on January 7, the first day of CES. The analysts will also participate at Digital Media Insider, Digital Health Summit, and Digital Hollywood on January 8 and 9.

CONNECTIONS™ Summit will kick off CES on Thursday, January 7. The Summit will feature interactive panels with over 20 leading technology companies including IBM, Yahoo!, and Sony. Executives will discuss business strategies for service providers, status of energy management deployment and adoption, and the changing CE purchase patterns for consumers.

Parks Associates will also participate in the following CES events:

- Kurt Scherf, VP & Principal Analyst, will speak at an Analyst and Press Roundtable “What’s the Scoop at CES?” at Digital Media Insider @ CES on Friday, January 8, 3:15-3:55 P.M. at The Venetian, Las Vegas, Ballrooms 3204-05/3304-05.

- Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research, will participate on the panel “Consumers Driving Healthcare: Capitalizing on the Opportunities” at Digital Health Summit at CES on Saturday, January 9, 9:00-9:45 A.M. in LVCC, North Hall, Ballroom N253.

- Heather Way, Research Analyst, will moderate the panel “Internet Video, Advertising & Marketing: The Next Generation of Consumer Reach” at Digital Hollywood @ CES on Saturday, January 9, 10:30-11:30 A.M. in the LVCC, North Hall N261.

RedMere Sponsors CONNECTIONS

Parks Associates welcome RedMere as a premier CONNECTIONS Sponsor.


RedMere is the leading provider of chip and cable technology solutions for the next generation of compact, lightweight cables for Synchronization, Camera, Home Theater, Game and Enterprise applications.

Whether on the move, at home or at work these new cable systems deliver the ultimate in compact digital connectivity over HDMI, DisplayPort and USB for Video and Still Cameras, Smartphones, HDTV, Blu-Ray DVD, PS3 and Xbox, as well as enterprise solutions using Infiniband and PCI Express. RedMere provides cable-embedded semiconductors and advanced cable reference designs to cable industry leaders and manufacturing partners. RedMere is a private company with lead investors Celtic House Venture Partners and EdgeStone Capital Partners.

For more information, visit http://www.redmere.com/

Henry Choy Joins ActiveVideo Networks to Drive Web-Connected TV Initiative

Henry Choy, a highly regarded thought leader in the consumer electronics industry for more than 20 years, has joined ActiveVideo Networks™ as Vice President, Business Development, the company announced today.

Choy, who will be responsible for driving ActiveVideo’s Web-Connected TV initiative, has most recently served as vice president, consumer electronics business development for AnySource Media. They are an enabler of next-generation content on traditional CE devices. AnySource Media was acquired by DivX, Inc. earlier this year.

With ActiveVideo Networks, Choy will be responsible for driving partnerships between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and ActiveVideo’s CloudTV platform. It will significantly expand the reach and availability of rich, Web-based user experiences that are redefining connected TV and Blu-ray players.

Currently in 5 million homes, ActiveVideo® anticipates growth to more than 20 million cable, IPTV and Web-connected homes by year end, 2010.

Parks Associates hosts the CONNECTIONS™ SUMMIT

Parks Associates hosts the CONNECTIONS™ SUMMIT on January 7, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV.

CONNECTIONS™ SUMMIT features multiple sessions, held January 7, 2010, the first day of CES. Moderated by Parks Associates analysts, these sessions provide an interactive environment for networking and discussion.

http://www.parksassociates.com/events/connections/summit/2010/agenda/agenda.html

Speakers include:

Bruce Anderson, General Manager, IBM
Arlo Rose, Senior Director, Product Design, Connected TV, Yahoo!
Joly Benoit, Director, Connected Home Applications, Thomson
Lauren Thorpe, Senior Director, Developer Relations, Qualcomm
Scott Rosenberg, VP of Advanced Advertising, Rovi Advertising
Susan Cashen, Vice President, Control4 Energy Systems, a division of Control4
Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
Hope Fulgham, CEO/CMO, Piazza Advertising
Peter Lude, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Sony

SmartLabs' CEO Joe Dada to Speak at Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer

Irvine, CA - December 9, 2009 - SmartLabs, Inc. CEO Joe Dada will be a panel speaker at the inaugural Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, January 26, 2010 in Austin, TX. Dada will be speaking on a panel regarding issues critical to "connected" home appliances and systems. SmartLabs' award-winning home area network technology, INSTEON, has also been named as an event sponsor.

read more...

Boxee to Offer a Device to Put Web Video on TV

Boxee is trying to bring the boundless selection of Web video to the living-room TV. Boxee compiles music and videos from the Internet (Netflix, MLB.TV, Comedy Central, Pandora, etc.) and transposes it to a user friendly format that reflects a TV directory. Although Boxee has forged its own relationships with Web video sites, any company can make its videos available through the service. They are also facing an increasingly crowded market with more Blu-ray players, video game consoles and HDTVs having Internet capabilities.

Boxee has tried to bring network television shows into its service offering; however, TV networks prefer people are not able to watch their shows via Web videos because of missed advertising value. As a result, Hulu has largely blocked Boxee from adding its videos. Boxee says it is currently working on a Web browser, based on open-source technology from Firefox's Mozilla, so its users can manually go to any site and watch the video there.

To read more on Brad Stone's NY Times article, click here.

Research firm Parks Associates announces Call For Papers for CONNECTIONS™ 2010

Parks Associates today announced the Call For Papers for the upcoming CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase. The 2010 conference will take place June 8-10 at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

The main topic areas for the event are Entertainment Platforms & Value-Added Services, New Media and Digital Content, Consumer Electronics, and Home Systems & Controls.

CONNECTIONS™ will address the opportunities and challenges in connected CE, 3D TV, smart grid and energy management solutions, consumer and technical support, smartphones and mobile services, social media, and content management.

For fourteen years, CONNECTIONS™ has been the premier event for research and analysis of connected home technologies and digital living solutions. The executive conference features consumer research and presentations from international research firm Parks Associates and a comprehensive agenda with over 80 speakers. Past conferences featured keynotes from AT&T, Verizon, Sony, Intel, and Microsoft.

CONNECTIONS™ attracts companies with market-leading digital living initiatives and senior executives from industries associated with the digital home, new media and content distribution, and mobile applications and services.

Early sponsors include Premier Sponsors ActiveVideo Networks, PacketVideo, and RedMere.

Submission Deadline is January 30, 2010.

For the full press release, click here.

Smartphones, Mobile Services, 3D TV, and Smart Grid are key topics at CONNECTIONS™ SUMMIT at CES

Parks Associates announced the speakers for the CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES in Las Vegas, January 7, on the first day of the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Over thirty speakers will participate in sessions moderated by Parks Associates analysts and featuring consumer and industry research on smartphones, mobile services, 3D TV, and smart grid technologies. Session topics also include business strategies for service providers, status of energy management deployment and adoption, and the changing CE purchase patterns for consumers, featuring research from Parks Associates’ Consumer Decision Process (CDP) service.

CONNECTIONS™ Summit will feature the current CDP findings, which support the latest Black Friday numbers - purchase intentions are up slightly from last year, although consumers are still cautious. Certain product categories will have a better 2010 than others. Intentions to purchase a game console have plunged since 2008, while mobile phones and digital camcorders have surged, benefiting from new models like smartphones and the Flip Video camcorder.

Summit Sessions:

- Consumer Electronics Purchases: Are Consumers Back in the Buying Mood?
- The Connected TV – Displays and Beyond
- Service Provider Strategies for the Connected Home
- The Mobile Aspect of Unified Infotainment: Opportunities and Challenges
- Advances in Television Advertising
- Bringing the Smart Grid to the Smart Home
- 3D: Adding New Dimensions to Entertainment

Speakers:
- Timo Bauer, SVP & GM Americas, NewBay Software
- Jean-Pierre Bienaimé, Chairman, UMTS Forum, Orange
- Tom Carroux, Director, Sales and Market Development, Irdeto
- Susan Cashen, VP, Control4 Energy Systems
- Steve Cashman, CSO, Exceptional Innovation
- Brian Chamberlin, Manager, Interactive Projects, NDS
- Chris Deutschen, Senior Mgr, Innovation & Sales, Direct Energy
- Jaime Fink, CTO, 2Wire
- Hope Fulgham, CEO/CMO, Piazza Advertising
- Benoit Joly , Director, Connected Home Applications, Thomson
- Ted May, VP, Strategy & Business Affairs, Synacor
- Arlo Rose, Senior Dir., Product Design, Connected TV, Yahoo!
- Scott Rosenberg, VP, Advanced Advertising, Rovi Advertising
- David Sandford, VP, Marketing & Product Management, TiVo
- Rick Schwartz, Senior Product Manager, PacketVideo
- Simon Tidnam, VP, Sales & Marketing, HDlogix
- Paul Woidke, SVP and GM, Advanced Advertising, OpenTV

Parks Associates Moderators:
- Bill Ablondi, Director, Home Systems Research
- Jayant Dasari, Analyst
- Tricia Parks, CEO
- Kurt Scherf, VP, Principal Analyst
- Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates
- Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research
- Heather Way, Analyst

Parks Associates will host a Networking Reception following the Summit. Event sponsors include Irdeto, Eyecon Technologies, and Premier Sponsors ActiveVideo Networks, PacketVideo, and RedMere. For information, visit www.connectionssummit.com or register at www.cesweb.org.

ShopSavvy Finally Comes To The iPhone

ShopSavvy, one of the popular Android applications, is finally available for the iPhone.

Developed by Dallas based Big In Japan, ShopSavvy is an app that allows you to use your device as a portable barcode scanner. A shopper can point his/her phone’s camera at any barcode and it will read it, do a product look up, and give product information, as well as, online or at nearby stores including pricing.

Do retailers hate this? Not at all. Retailers have actually been working with ShopSavvy to come up with ways to allow shoppers to make buying in their stores even easier. All of this information is on the Internet, now ShopSavvy just gives you easy access to it.

With the iPhone 3GS's auto-focus camera, the iPhone now had the ability to scan barcodes. ShopSavvy is available for free in the App Store.

For the full story, click here.

RedEye (Universal Remote System for iPhone & iPod touch): Now Most Popular Remote Control Fan Page on Facebook

ThinkFlood, maker of the RedEye personal remote control for iPhone and iPod touch, announced that two months after launching its Facebook fan page, RedEye is already the most popular remote control page on Facebook.

With over 2,000 fans and counting, RedEye's popularity towers over all other remote control-related Facebook fan pages including Bobby, Unify4Life, Control4, Crestron, Logitech Harmony One, Marantz, OneForAll Xsight, Philips Pronto, and Universal Remote Control.

RedEye fans receive product updates like this recent video demo of RedEye accelerometer gestures http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=506PyY-iK1I, and the latest remote control and home automation news from the MoreControl Blog (http://morecontrol.com/).

For more information, click here.

Telefónica Joins HomeGrid Forum Board of Directors

HomeGrid Forum, a global, non-profit trade group promoting the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union's G.hn standardization efforts, announced that one of the largest telecommunications service providers in Europe and Latin America -- Telefónica -- has been appointed to the organization's board of directors. This announcement confirms the growing importance and broadening adoption of G.hn as the next-generation global standard for wired home networking.

The G.hn standard is designed to deliver a unified technology for the wired home network that addresses key issues of service providers, electronics manufacturers, and consumers alike. Through one worldwide standard, G.hn will unify the networking of content and devices over any wire -- coax cable, phone, and power lines. G.hn enables service providers to deploy new offerings, including IPTV, more cost effectively; allows electronics manufacturers to provide powerful devices for connecting all types of entertainment, home automation, and security products throughout the house; and greatly simplifies consumer purchasing and installation processes.

The addition of Telefónica to the HomeGrid board is evidence of the increasing support from telecommunications carriers around the world. Telefónica's global reach throughout Europe and Latin America, along with their endorsement of the standard, increases the momentum for the adoption of G.hn on a global scale.

Telefónica joins a growing list of industry-leading organizations that are part of HomeGrid Forum. Global leaders in the service provider, computing, and consumer electronics industries also support the adoption of G.hn through their participation in the ITU-T.

For a complete list of HomeGrid Forum members, visit www.homegridforum.org.

International research firm addresses key market issues for the digital home at CONNECTIONS™ events, Smart Energy Summit, monthly Webcasts

Parks Associates announced the Premier Sponsorship Program and the 2010 event schedule, which includes CONNECTIONS™, the inaugural Smart Energy Summit, CONNECTIONS™ Summits in Europe and at CES, and monthly research Webcasts. The Premier Sponsorship Program offers opportunities for companies to participate at multiple events and receive customized benefits and additional recognition throughout the year.

Our conferences focus on core areas of growth and opportunity in energy management, entertainment platforms and services, home controls, mobile services, and advertising. Our events feature networking with key executives and the latest findings from our consumer and industry research. We developed the Premier Program so our sponsors have multiple opportunities to connect with our audiences and achieve maximum exposure as leaders in the digital living space.

Companies join the Premier Sponsorship Program by sponsoring different events throughout the year:

CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase, June 8-10, Santa Clara, is the premier executive event focused on market developments and growth factors for advanced digital lifestyle solutions.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit, March 2010, Amsterdam, focuses on international and European consumer research, with sessions examining new digital platforms, consumer buying habits, and new business models and opportunities for TV operators, content developers, advertisers, and CE companies.

CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES, January 7, Las Vegas, is the perfect start for CES, with sessions on trends, emerging business models and technologies, and growth opportunities for companies developing products and services for the digital home.

Smart Energy Summit, January 25-27, Austin, Tex., offers a unique combination of market research and real-world expertise in examining residential energy management and smart grid technologies.

Parks Associates’ monthly research Webcasts, hosted by the company’s leading analysts, feature the last data and insight on key digital living categories, including set-tops and connected CE, smartphones and mobile convergence, 3D TV and advanced video services, and future advertising strategies.

Current Premier Sponsor includes RedMere.

For more information about the Premier Sponsorship Program, visit www.parkspremier.com.

CONNECTIONS SUMMIT Speakers Announced

The CONNECTIONS SUMMIT will be held January 7, 2010, in Room S225 in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The one-day event features commentary, insight, and debate on successful market strategies and deployment for “digital living” products and services.

Bill Ablondi, Dir., Home Systems Research, Parks Associates
Timo Bauer, SVP & GM Americas, NewBay Software
Joly Benoit, Dir., Connected Home Applications, Thomson
Tom Carroux, Director, Sales & Market Development, Irdeto
Susan Cashen, VP, Control4 Energy Systems
Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
Brian Chamberlin, Manager, Interactive Projects, NDS
Jayant Dasari, Research Analyst, Parks Associates
Chris Deutschen, Sr. Mgr, Innovation & Bus. Development, Direct Energy
Jaime Fink, CTO, 2Wire
Hope Fulgham, CEO/CMO, Piazza Advertising
Ted May, VP, Strategy & Business Affairs, Synacor
David Sandford, VP, Marketing & Product Management, TiVo
Kurt Scherf, VP, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates
Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates
Simon Tidnam, VP, Sales & Marketing, Hdlogix
Harry Wang, Dir., Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates
Heather Way, Research Analyst, Parks Associates
Paul Woidke, SVP and GM, Advanced Advertising, OpenTV

More info at:
http://www.parksassociates.com/events/connections/summit/2010/agenda/agenda.html

TV 2.0 – The Future of the Set-Top Box

Set-top boxes will grab the central role in media distribution within the home, and service providers’ digitalTV (DTV) strategies will drive the design of and demand for set-top boxes. Over the course of the next two years, competition in the TV service market will heat up substantially, ignited by the global digital transition and new video distribution channels like DTT, IPTV, and over-the-top video services. The battle in the DTV field will spread to the entire digital home services market, as incumbents and newcomers alike will market service packages to households, using video as the anchor for an expansive bundling strategy. Operators will increasingly leverage the set-top box as a platform to promote these multiplay strategies, and the device will also play a role as a home media server connecting multiple entertainment platforms.

http://www.parksassociates.com/events/connections/2010/about/research.html

Learn more about what happened at 2009 CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase.

HGI announces partnership agreement with Broadband Forum

The Home Gateway Initiative (HGI) announced that it has signed a liaison agreement with the Broadband Forum that will lead to close collaboration by both organizations on the development of standards and specifications for broadband networks worldwide.

The comprehensive agreement is designed to enhance the already active cooperation between HGI and the Broadband Forum. It allows each organization to provide input, and to release copyright on work-in-progress specifications to the partner organization as working documents are drafted. The result will be acceleration and strong alignment of key specification work within the industry that leads to improvements in the capabilities of customers’ broadband networks.

The areas of cooperation by these two groups will be centered on architectural and functional requirements for customer located broadband equipment. HGI’s mission to solve the service, feature and technology challenges in the digital home complements the Broadband Forum’s core competencies in end-to-end architecture and management. The groups agreed to cooperate in addressing quality of service (QoS), software modularity, IPv6, energy efficiency and testing.

Both groups will meet regularly to discuss projects and priorities for industry standards in these and other areas. Both organizations bring a unique focus on a set of related problems, and are stronger by working together.

By jointly identifying goals, sharing work in progress, and avoiding duplication of efforts, our member companies receive better value for their investments of resources in our respective efforts. The industry has important issues to solve, and this agreement helps significantly.”

Together, the two groups represent over 200 companies, and over 30 service providers, including Arcor, AT&T, Belgacom, Bell, BT, Cable & Wireless, China Telecom, China Unicom, Chunghwa Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, Embarq, Fastweb, France Telecom, KDDI, KPN, KT, Magyar Telecom, NTT, OTE, Portugal Telecom, Qwest, SingTel, Swisscom, Telecom Italia, Tata Teleservices Ltd, TDC, Telecom Slovenije, Telecom New Zealand, Telefonica, Telekomunikacja Polska, Telekom Austria, Telekom Malaysia, Telenor, TeliaSonera, Telkom SA, Telstra, Telus and Verizon.

Orange VP delivers Keynote at CONNECTIONS Europe Nov '09

Pierre François Dubois, Vice President, Very High Broadband and Digital Home Products, Technocentre, Orange presented the keynote presentation at the CONNECTIONS Europe Summit held November 4, 2009 in Amsterdam.

They not only provide the customers with broadband and other services, they have offers for the connected home. They have invested massively in LivePlug and Wi-Fi. In addition, they have invested in specific devices – Liveradio (access to more than 4,000 Web radio stations), digital photo frame, and partnership with La Cie on NAS device. Unik relies on UMA solution that enables handover from mobile and GSM. It was in 2005, a growth milestone, where the triple-play offer was the flagship offer. There is opportunity for Orange to increase its share of households budget in multimedia and IT, which is becoming more and more digital.

What are Orange customers willing to pay for in terms of additional services? Customers’ expectations have moved. The perceived value is moving from access to terminals. From demand for services to demand for fewer boxes, connection of all screens, share emotions and content with friends. Customers want to keep it simple and reliable and customer care is key.

The Digital Home is about how to give access to content and applications to individuals through available screens. Today, triple-play includes one room, one device, and one function. The Digital Home includes content and applications that can follow one at home and away and be instantiated on any available screen. The industry is moving to fulfill these expectations: connected devices opportunities from flat screen HDTV to Connected TV and application stores and user interfaces.

In conclusion, Orange believes that technology has to fade behind services, for the benefit of everyone. They are working to provide new packages for the digital home. Residential gateways operated by telcos are the cornerstone to provide customers with a seamless and full experience of the digital home.

AMIMON and Maxim Team Up on WHDI

AMIMON Inc., the market leader in wireless High Definition semiconductor solutions, and Maxim Integrated Products, the industry leader in innovative analog and mixed-signal silicon solutions, announced their collaboration to provide WHDI (Wireless Home Digital Interface) solutions. The companies will offer a joint reference design based on Maxim's WHDI RF chipset MAX2850/MAX2851 that interfaces directly to the AMIMON WHDI baseband chipset AMN 2120/2220.

The WHDI standard enables a new era for the digital home providing robust uncompressed 1080p/60 Hz HD content wirelessly and enabling true in-home multi-room connectivity.

The AMIMON-Maxim WHDI chipset solution can be embedded into CE devices such as LCD and plasma HDTVs, multimedia projectors, notebooks, A/V receivers, Blu-ray DVD players, set-top boxes (STBs), game consoles, DVRs, PCs and HD video accessories/dongles, allowing wireless streaming of uncompressed HD content.

Engineers and developers interested in additional information on the AMIMON-Maxim WHDI solution should contact AMIMON at info@amimon.com.

Companies interested in additional information on Maxim's MAX2850/MAX2851 chipset should contact Maxim Integrated Products at MAX2850@maxim-ic.com.

For the full press release, click here.

"Connected Europe: By the Numbers," follow up from CONN EU Amsterdam

Kurt Scherf, VP of Research and Principal Analyst of Parks Associates presented "Connected Europe: By the Numbers" at the CONNECTIONS Europe Summit held November 4th in Amsterdam.

Kurt discussed the scope of Parks Associates research in the digital home and particularly in Europe. The past 18 – 24 months have brought strong development of connected CE devices such as TVs and Blu-ray players – large percentage of these devices are now connected. The role of the service provider is critical with providing the links to content and serving as gateway to premium content (BBC iPlayer, Verizon’s OTT offerings).

Residential Gateways are becoming increasingly important, with the other 50% of installations featuring an RG. For consumers, advantages are monitoring and basic applications. The presence of an RG rates highly with customer satisfaction with service provider services. Important RG services include the following: support, security, warranty services, and online backup. There are large opportunities for service provides who offer total home network support.

Things to watch in the Connected CE space include: the role of service providers in driving home network architecture; cloud media and home content brought together; design of user interfaces; integration of web services; role of CE companies at offering services; and evolution of content protection.

Google buys Admob for $750 million

Google took one step closer to digital media domination by snapping up the mobile advertising Admobfirm for a cool $750 million.

Admob helps firms advertise on mobile web sites, as well as providing the technology for serving said adverts on mobiles. It also works with applications for in-applications advertising.

The deal represents a bit of a bargain for Google, but it is counting on the mobile advertising market to grow.

Last month, Google announced that its mobile searches increased 30 per cent quarter over quarter in the third quarter. In August Admob sent out its 100 billionth mobile ad.

The deal is Google's third largest acquisition behind its 2008 purchase of Doubleclick for $3.1 billion and its 2006 buyout of YouTube for $1.65 billion.

For the full article, click here.

MTS Allstream Selects Actiontec Electronics for High-Speed DSL Products

Actiontec Electronics announced that two of its DSL solutions have been selected to power MTS Allstream Inc.'s ("MTS Allstream") high-speed residential DSL service. A wholly owned subsidiary of Manitoba Telecom Services, MTS Allstream is one of Canada's leading national communication solutions providers.

Actiontec Electronics has shipped more than 17.5 million Internet access devices across the globe. Since launching its initial DSL modem to the market, Actiontec has continued to stay in the forefront of industry standards, DSL and home networking technologies. The company's experience in modem design and supply-chain process delivers great value and affordability to carriers and access providers.

MTS Allstream selected Actiontec's GT724WG 54 Mbps Wireless DSL Gateway and the GT701D USB/Ethernet DSL Modem. The GT724WG combines a full-rate ADSL2+ modem, a 4 port Ethernet switch and 802.11g wireless gateway in a sleek, easy-to-use package. Support for the ADSL2/2+ standard can triple the available bandwidth from 8 Mbps to 24 Mbps -- giving bandwidth-hungry consumers the speed needed to enjoy fast downloads, online entertainment, high quality video streams, and online gaming. The gateway also includes an Internet firewall with four user-configurable protection levels, as well as WEP security to protect the home network from outside threats.

With an ENERGY STAR adapter and small footprint, the green GT701D helps customers reduce their energy bills and protect the environment. The compact device combines a full-rate ADSL2/2+ modem with a router capable of networking two computers via wired ports, or more through a switch or hub.

Thomson WiFi 802.11n broadband gateways comply with newly ratified IEEE Standard

Thomson, a worldwide leader of services to content creators, has welcomed the formal ratification of the 802.11n wireless technology standard by IEEE. Its new generation of WiFi-enabled cable gateways are fully compatible with the ratified standard.

In 2009, the company launched a new range of 802.11n gateways, certified by the WiFi alliance as draft 2.0, allowing service providers to offer multiple services to the networked home including high quality video over wireless. This new ratification by the IEEE guarantees that future home networking equipment will be compliant with these devices.

Levering its expertise in the WiFi alliance for xDSL gateways, Thomson has developed a range of Wireless “n“ products in conjunction with DOCSIS 3.0 or EuroDOCSIS 3.0, resulting in a very fast and convenient solution for cable operators. The company’s product portfolio includes the TCW770 DOCSIS/EuroDOCSIS 3.0 wireless cable gateway and TWG870 wireless Voice gateway for the European market as well as the DCW775 DOCSIS 3.0 wireless cable gateway and DWG875 DOCSIS 3.0 wireless Voice gateway for the U.S. market.

For the full press release, click here.

CONNECTIONS SUMMIT Agenda Announced

The CONNECTIONS™ SUMMIT Sessions, January 7, 2010, in Room S225, South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, feature commentary, insight, and debate on successful market strategies and deployment for “digital living” products and services.

Sessions include:
• Consumer Electronics Purchases: Are Consumers Back in the Buying Mood?
• The Connected TV – Displays and Beyond
• Service Provider Strategies for the Connected Home
• The Mobile Aspect of Unified Infotainment: Opportunities and Challenges
• Advances in Television Advertising
• Bringing the Smart Grid to the Smart Home
• 3D: Adding New Dimensions to Entertainment

More info at: www.connectionssummit.com

Wrapping it Up – Predictions for the Next Five Years, CONN EU panel

Parks Associates wraps up CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit with a recap of key findings on the last panel, Wrapping it Up – Predictions for the Next Five Years . Parks Associates provides perspectives and predictions for five key digital lifestyles markets in Europe:

• Broadcast and entertainment services

• Communications and broadband services

• Home networking

• Home monitoring and green-living technologies

• Device management and support services

Speakers include:

Fabrizio Caffarelli, CEO, TVBLOB
Philippe Calvet, Head of Home & Broadband Networks Standards in Orange Strategy & Development group, Orange/France Telecom; Head of Business Group & Board Member, HGI
Bill Correll, VP, Marketing & Business Development, Eyecon Technologies
Trond Neergaard, Founder and Managing Partner, Cloudberry Associates; Member of CTAM Europe Board
Paolo Pastorino, Business Development and Marketing Manager, Loquendo
Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates
Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates

CONNECTIONS EU: Enabling Technologies - Connecting It All

Consumer electronics manufacturers have many choices when it comes to the design of network-connected products. This CONNECTIONS Europe panel, Enabling Technologies: Connecting It All, brings together companies developing connectivity solutions for both fixed and mobile platforms to discuss these challenges:

• Home networking architectures

• Device discovery software

• Media server solutions

• Conditional access and rights management

• User interfaces

• Software development and execution solutions

• Device and service management elements

Participants on this panel include the following:

Matthew Huntington, VP, Product Marketing, OpenTV
Wouter Leibbrandt, Manager, Advanced Systems Lab, NXP Semiconductors
Peter Smyth, CEO, RedMere
Jon Finegold, Co-Founder and COO, Thinking Screen Media
Ian Walsh, VP of Business Development, ProVision Communications

Moderator: Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates

Decreasing Piracy in the Modern Digital Environment

At the upcoming CONNECTIONS Europe event in Amsterdam, I will be taking part in the "Digital Furnace: Residential Gateways and Set-Top Boxes" paneldiscussion, which will explore the increasingly popular 'home hub' experience.This is an especially critical topic for the industry right now as it considers hardware developments, environmental factors, applications, and features as well as content delivery and protection.

Currently, consumer demand for media-rich home entertainment services is driving innovation and new revenue opportunities in the set-top box industry. Next generation set-top boxes will integrate video content from multiple signal sources such as broadcast television, premium video-on-demand and Internet-based services. They will also provide value-added capabilities like time-shifting and enabling content to be distributed to a variety of viewing devices including multi-room TV networks, personal computers, portable media players, and other mobile devices.

Yet this level of source variety and content portability is inherently more susceptible to piracy attacks, which dramatically increases the complexity of security requirements. Set-top boxes, their associated conditional access systems and digital rights management technologies are under constant threat from device tampering, software security breaches and hacker attacks that can significantly impact the reputation and bottom line for both set-top box manufacturers and operators.

How do manufacturers and operators alike achieve sustainable security in the set-top box ecosystem thus preparing their devices to safely deliver high-value premium content to global consumers?

If the manufacturers get it right, they can fight against attacks, while creating a profitable business model.

The “Digital Furnace: Residential Gateways and Set-Top Boxes” panel discussion will take place at CONNECTIONS Europe, Amsterdam on Wednesday 4th November, 2009 at 11.45 a.m. CET.

By Andrew Wajs, CTO, Irdeto

Business Models for On-Demand Lifestyles

The CONNECTIONS Europe Summit afternoon begins with the Business Models for On-Demand Lifestyles panel moderated by Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates.

Where is profitability in the connected lifestyle? What are the “rules of engagement” (business, regulatory, consumer) for implementing access to new content and applications? This panel examines the critical factors for monetizing the connected lifestyle:

• Monetizing online content

• The role of advertising and other revenue-generating programs

• Understanding the needs of content producers and owners

• Application stores, microtransactions, and the mobile provider

Speakers include:
Wim Bus, Senior Vice President of Product Management & Operations, Civolution
Keith Donovan, Sales & Marketing Director, Intamac Systems
Rob Lewis, CEO, Omnifone
Theodore May, VP Content & Value Added Services, Synacor
Neerav Shah, VP Business Development, Verimatrix

Evolution of the “Digital Furnace”: Residential Gateways and Set-top Boxes

New trends such as cloud computing, green living, mobile connectivity, and hybrid Internet-TV services are reshaping the role of the set-top box. Carriers, squeezed by low subscriber revenues and the demand for more features, need a home hub that offers more capability for less capital.

The Evolution of the “Digital Furnace”: Residential Gateways and Set-top Boxes session explores:

-- The evolution of features that home hubs will support
-- Support for features such as home monitoring, energy management, and health monitoring
-- Network and hardware requirements for “future-proofed” home hubs
-- The role of retail-purchased consumer electronics as compatible nodes

Participants on this panel include:
Art Lancaster, CTO, Affinegy
Christer Larsson, CEO and Co-founder, Makewave (formerly Gatespace Telematics AB); VP EMEA, OSGi Alliance
Bill Stanley, Executive Director, Operations Solutions, Telcordia
Frederic Van Durme, Head of Product Management, Thomson
Andrew Wajs, CTO, Irdeto Group, Irdeto/Cloakware

Moderator: Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates

CONNECTIONS EU: Defining the New Video Experience

The consumer video experience is incorporating more than just television and movie content. This CONNECTIONS Europe panel identifies the near- and long-term roadmap for the shape of television, video, and entertainment consumption from both CE and service perspectives: New services as supplements to the core video experience; Integrating mobile, online, and PC content into the three-screen ecosystem; The emergence of 3D video and gaming solutions; Cloud services to the set-top box; and Visual networking – bringing social networking to the TVisual networking – bringing social networking to the TV.

Panelists include:
Ronald Brockmann, Managing Director, ActiveVideo Europe
Richard Bullwinkle, Chief Evangelist, Rovi Corporation
Patrik Nilsson, Director, Adobe
Geof Todd, Director of Sales & New Business Initiatives, NDS

Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates will be moderating this interactive session.

CONNECTIONS Europe announces new speakers including Orange, TVBLOB, Adobe, Omnifone, and ProVision Communications

Parks Associates today announced new speakers for CONNECTIONS™ Europe, featuring executive expertise in IPTV, connected CE, and advanced video services.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe panelists will address key industry issues: the development roadmap for digital lifestyle technologies and applications; adoption and revenue forecasts of key connected device and service categories; an examination of the business models for video and entertainment content and applications, online services, and communications

Pierre François Dubois, VP Very High Broadband & Digital Home Products, Technocentre, Orange, will present the opening keynote. Other participating speakers include:

- Ronald Brockmann, Managing Director, ActiveVideo Europe
- Richard Bullwinkle, Chief Evangelist, Rovi Corporation
- Wim Bus, SVP, Product Management & Operations, Civolution
- Fabrizio Caffarelli, CEO, TVBLOB
- Bill Correll, VP, Mktg & Bus Development, Eyecon Technologies
- Keith Donovan, Sales & Mktg Dir., Intamac Systems
- Jon Finegold, Co-Founder & COO, Thinking Screen Media
- Matthew Huntington, VP, Product Mktg, OpenTV
- Art Lancaster, CTO, Affinegy
- Christer Larsson, CEO & Co-founder of Makewave; VP EMEA, OSGi Alliance
- Wouter Leibbrandt, Mgr Advanced Systems Lab, NXP Semiconductors
- Rob Lewis, CEO, Omnifone
- Theodore May, VP Content & Value Added Services, Synacor
- Trond Neergaard, Founder & Managing Partner, Cloudberry Associates; Member, CTAM Europe Board
- Patrik Nilsson, Director, Adobe
- Paolo Pastorino, Bus Development & Mktg Mgr, Loquendo
- Kurt Scherf, VP, Research, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates
- Neerav Shah, VP, Bus Development, Verimatrix
- Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates
- Peter Smyth, CEO, RedMere
- Bill Stanley, Executive Dir., Operations Solutions, Telcordia
- Geof Todd, Dir., Sales & New Business Initiatives, NDS
- Frederic Van Durme, Head, Product Management, Thomson
- Ian Walsh, VP, Bus Development, ProVision Communications/AXAR Media
- Andrew Wajs, CTO, Irdeto Group, Irdeto/Cloakware

CONNECTIONS™ Global Sponsors are HD-PLC Alliance, DSC, NXP, Radialpoint, Rovi Corporation, ActiveVideo Networks, Affinegy, Icron, Irdeto, ProVision Communications, Telcordia, and Zilog. CONNECTIONS™ Europe Advisory Sponsors are Eyecon Technologies, Intamac Systems, and CONNECTIONS™ Premier Sponsor RedMere.

For information or to register, visit http://www.connectionseurope.com.

Parks Associates supported Storage Visions 2010 announces speakers

Parks Associates supported Storage Visions Conference (SV2010) preliminary agenda and initial selected speakers are now posted on the conference web site, www.storagevisions.com.

Announced keynotes include Gordon Bell and Jim Gemmel from Microsoft Research as well as Dean Klein from Micron.

Here are a few of the confirmed speakers from the preliminary conference agenda:

Storage for Content Creation and Editing: Clyde Smith, Turner Broadcasting; Alex Grossman, Active Storage; Dr. Frederick Carlson or Manu Pillia, Nethra; and David Flynn, Fusion-io

Finding, Protecting and Using Content: Mike James, Toshiba; Scott Linfoot, Fiteris; William Qualls, Imation

The Technology of Storage: Melissa Perenson, PC World; Conrad Maxwell, Silicon Image; John Rydning, IDC; Justin Sykes, Micron Technology; Troy Winslow, Intel; Jeff Ravencraft, Intel

Storing More Stuff in CE Devices: Mike McKean, STMicroelectronics; Gary Palmer, Datalight; Rana Kabir, FlashBridge

Enabling Technologies for High Resolution Consumer Electronics: Jeff Janukowicz, IDC; Ethan Shur, TDVision; James Borden, Microsoft; Kyle Wiens, iFixit; Daniel Beneke, Imation

France Telecom Keynote at CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit to focus on service opportunities in connected devices

Executive Summit features the Roadmap for Connected CE

Parks Associates announced that Pierre François Dubois, Vice President, Very High Broadband and Digital Home Products, Technocentre, France Telecom Group, will present the keynote at CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit on November 4.

Mr. Dubois will discuss the key role of telcos in shaping the future of the Digital Home. He will focus on the new opportunities for Internet service providers developing as a result of the increasing number of connected devices at home.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit, titled The Roadmap for Connected Consumer Electronics and hosted by international research firm Parks Associates, will take place in Amsterdam at the Mövenpick Hotel.

Europe is a strong market for connected CE, and service providers continue to be active in enabling advanced services and deploying devices such as hybrid set-tops. The worldwide telco /IPTV subscriber base exceeded 20 million in 2008, and France had over 27% growth in IPTV subscribers. France Telecom has been aggressive in connecting and managing consumer services, and Mr. Dubois’s insight will be invaluable to CONNECTIONS™ Europe attendees.

Summit Speakers
ActiveVideo Europe
Affinegy
Civolution
Eyecon Technologies
Intamac Technologies
Irdeto
Loquendo
Makewave
NDS
NXP Semiconductors
Omnifone
OpenTV
OSGi Alliance
Parks Associates
RedMere
Rovi Corporation
Telcordia
Thinking Screen Media
Thomson
TVBLOB
Verimatrix

Register for CONNECTIONS™ Europe at www.connectionseurope.com.

Smart Energy Summit addresses emerging market for in-home energy management devices and services

Research firm Parks Associates to host Residential Energy Management event in Austin

International research firm Parks Associates announced plans to host the inaugural Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, in cooperation with Austin Energy, on January 25-27, 2010. The event will feature expert speakers and analysts discussing the latest developments in residential energy management (REM) and the successful strategies capable of engaging consumers in new programs for energy conservation and cost savings.

The event, taking place at the Hyatt Regency in Austin, Texas, will feature market research from Parks Associates’ landmark Residential Energy Management service and real-world expertise derived from Austin Energy's Smart Grid, the largest working Smart Grid in the U.S.

Government initiatives and stimulus funds have stoked demand for REM technologies with their emphasis on energy conservation and greater efficiency in the home. Already over six percent of all U.S. meters are smart meters, and many U.S. utilities are announcing new deployments and pilot programs, which will push the number of smart meters to almost 50 million by 2012. This event identifies the business opportunities for in-home energy monitoring and management systems, accelerated by deployment of energy smart grids.

The event agenda will focus on the roadmap for the emerging in-home energy management technology market, offering consumer and industry research and strategic insight.

For more information, or to submit to speak at the event, visit www.smartenergysummit2010.com.

Cisco Announces Agreement to Acquire Starent Networks

Cisco and Starent Networks announced a definitive agreement for Cisco to acquire Starent Networks. Starent Networks is a leading supplier of IP-based mobile infrastructure solutions targeting mobile and converged carriers. The Mobile Internet is at an inflection point as IP-enabled Smartphones and other connected mobile devices gain rapid acceptance. Service Providers have been actively investing in this market as global mobile data traffic is expected to more than double every year through 2013, according to the Cisco Visual Networking Index.

Starent Networks' mobile infrastructure solutions play an important role in enabling Service Providers to scale their mobile infrastructure and monetize their investments via differentiated experiences. The company provides the multimedia intelligence, core network functions and services to manage access from any 2.5G, 3G, and 4G radio network to a mobile operator's packet core network. Starent Networks' access-independent technology is deployed in CDMA2000 (1X, EV-DO), UMTS/HSPA and WiMax networks.

Prior to the close, Cisco and Starent Networks will continue to operate as separate companies. Upon completion of the transaction, Starent Networks will become the new Mobile Internet Technology Group.

CONNECTIONS Europe announces new keynote, France Telecom

Pierre François Dubois, Vice President, Very High Broadband and Digital Home Products, Technocentre, France Telecom Group will present the keynote presentation at the CONNECTIONS Europe Summit on November 4th in Amsterdam.

Pierre François Dubois started as an R&D engineer working on Intelligent Networks and Network Operations. He then held different management positions inside the Orange Group, mostly in sales and marketing. He was Marketing Director for Triple Play offers on ADSL for Orange France between 2006 and 2008. He is now responsible, for the France Telecom Group, of the strategy and development of products related to very high broadband and the digital home.

To view the CONNECTIONS Europe agenda, click here.

Cisco Helps Assure Internet's Future Amid Device Growth

Cisco announced significant enhancements to its Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture that are designed to secure the foundation of the Internet, which must accommodate the exponential increase of connected devices for highly secure, efficient video delivery and collaboration. With the new Cisco Carrier-Grade IP Version 6 (IPv6) solution, Cisco helps enable service providers to effectively deal with the bottleneck created by the imminent depletion of IPv4 addresses. This new solution complements Cisco's IPv6 portfolio, the widest and most extensive in the market.

Now spanning from the core of the network to the home, Cisco's IPv6 capabilities have been expanded and added to a wide range of the company's routers and switches. Cisco is introducing new carrier-grade IPv6 capabilities to the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System for the network core and to the Cisco Aggregation Services Routers for the network edge. These new additions provide a cost-effective and efficient means to bridge to a full IPv6 next-generation network while extending the life of existing IPv4 addresses to smoothly manage that migration.

Highlights / Key Facts:

•An IP address is required for each device that connects to the Internet, and IPv6 is designated as the successor to IPv4, the first implementation used in the Internet and still the most widely used today.
•Exhaustion of IPv4 addresses is predicted for sometime in 2011, according to various sources, including potaroo.net, a Web site that tracks IPv4 address allocation by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. IPv4 has a finite set of unique addresses, numbering approximately 4 billion, which is rapidly depleting due to the ever-growing number of Internet-connected devices and smart devices.
•The industry foresaw this and developed IPv6, which has 340 undecillion unique addresses (3.4 x 10(38)), or more than 50 billion billion billion for each person on earth, more than enough to continue to support the demand for IP addresses. However, the protocols of IPv4 and IPv6 are not directly compatible, so migrating a network from IPv4 to IPv6 requires technology solutions to preserve IPv4 while executing a carefully orchestrated, step-by-step implementation plan.
•New Cisco IPv6 offerings, which expand on the existing Cisco IPv6 portfolio, are designed to address the current gap that service providers face in their IPv6 network evolution.

For the full press release, click here.

support.com Offers Cure for Windows 7 Migration "Migraine"

Online Migration Service Most Convenient Way to Get to Windows 7

The launch of Windows 7 on October 22nd is fast approaching and with it are anticipated problems for many who migrate to the new operating system from either Windows XP or Vista. Even tech-savvy PC owners may find making the switch a challenge.

For them, as well as harried moms, tech-challenged seniors and those more interested in spending their weekend watching football instead of dealing with computer problems, support.com, a leading provider of online technology support services, is introducing its Windows 7 Online Migration Service, a more convenient and less stressful way to upgrade to Windows 7.

A customized remote service, the support.com Windows 7 Online Migration Service is a real-time, one-on-one experience for those who desire extra help when switching from Windows XP or Vista to Windows 7.

Details of the support.com Windows 7 Online Migration Service: 1). A real-time online service by experienced Solutions Engineers; 2). Migrates programs, files and settings from Windows XP and Windows; 3). Vista to Windows 7 on an existing computer -- in-place -- without requiring a second computer; 4). Utilizes LapLink technology, a trusted leader in PC migration; 5). Supports 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7; 6). Available on October 22; 7). Costs $49 if purchased with either a Personal, Family or Home Office; and 8). Plan subscription from support.com. If purchased without a subscription the Windows 7 Service costs $149.

For the full press release, click here.

D-Link Now Offers Terabyte of On-Board Storage With Network Storage Enclosure

D-Link, the end-to-end computer networking solutions provider for consumers and business, began selling its popular 4-Bay ShareCenter™ network attached storage (NAS) enclosure with two one-terabyte hard disk drives included.

Customers now have the option to purchase the D-Link® 4-Bay ShareCenter (DNS-343) by itself and supply their own hard drives, or with two 1TB SATA drives included as a bundle. D-Link also is now shipping the 2-Bay ShareCenter Network Storage (DNS-323) enclosure with a 1TB hard drive.

D-Link ShareCenter enclosures, with drives from major disk manufacturers pre-installed, allow users to expand storage capacity and enable securing and sharing of documents, files and digital media, such as music, photos and video across a home or office network. At the same time, the storage enclosures provide advanced technology to perform file backup and proper data recovery to prevent data loss.

Other key features include a fast Gigabit Ethernet connection, built-in FTP server for accessing files through the Internet, built-in UPnP audio visual (UPnP AV) media servers for streaming digital content to compatible media players, and RAID 1 technology for mirroring important files.

Both the DNS-323 and 343 have the ability to act as a print server by using the device's universal serial bus (USB) port. A USB printer can be added to the network without the need for a dedicated computer.

Key Themes from Broadband World Forum and IBC Conferences

Kurt Scherf recently attended two big shows in Europe - Broadband World Forum and IBC. In the latest issue of Parks Associates’ Europe Research Update Newsletter, he reviews of some of the biggest themes from that trip, many of which will be discussed in depth at CONNECTIONS™ Europe on Nov. 4 in Amsterdam, the Roadmap for Connected CE. Visit www.connectionseurope.com for more information and to register.

An overarching theme from Broadband World Forum was service and device management. Home networks and residential gateways have moved the demarcation point for broadband services further into the home, and service providers need to be able to look deeper into the home with greater granularity to see performance metrics and other data.

At IBC, Kurt focused on the blending of Web and TV services, user interfaces and EPGs, content protection and rights management, and the important elements of 3DTV.

To subscribe - http://www.parksassociates.com/europe/

Residential Gateways & Set-top Boxes at CONNECTIONS Europe, Amsterdam

New trends such as cloud computing, green living, mobile connectivity, and hybrid Internet-TV services are reshaping the role of the set-top box. Carriers, squeezed by low subscriber revenues and the demand for more features, need a home hub that offers more capability for less capital.

The Residential Gateways & Set-top Box session at CONNECTIONS Europe explores:

* The evolution of features that home hubs will support
* Support for features such as home monitoring, energy management, and health monitoring
* Network and hardware requirements for “future-proofed” home hubs
* The role of retail-purchased consumer electronics as compatible nodes

Speakers are represented from Affinegy, OSGi Alliance, Telcordia, and Irdeto/Cloakware.

Connected CE key focus at CONNECTIONS™ Europe

Executive Summit features Parks Associates analysts and industry leaders, November 4 in Amsterdam

Parks Associates announced the speakers for its upcoming CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit, which will detail the Roadmap for Connected CE.

The Summit, hosted by Parks Associates on November 4, 2009, at the Mövenpick Hotel in Amsterdam, will quantify consumer demand and analyze business strategies as Internet-capable devices are added to the network and create new opportunities in sharing content and expanding interactive services.

Connected CE changes the equation for the digital home, creating demand for more Web-based and on-demand content and applications on a variety of platforms. Revenues from online video and on-demand video content will exceed $16 billion in Western Europe by 2013, driven by connected devices and multiscreen content strategies. CONNECTIONS™ Europe explores the business opportunities created by connected products and services, including their impact on consumer expectations and the ripple effect to other devices and systems in the home.

Rob Timmer, Senior Director Net TV, BU TV, Philips Consumer Lifestyle, will deliver the Keynote Address for CONNECTIONS™ Europe.

Confirmed Speakers:
Richard Bullwinkle, Chief Evangelist, Rovi Corporation
Ronald Brockmann, Managing Director, ActiveVideo Europe
Bill Correll, VP, Marketing & Business Development, Eyecon Technologies
Brian Donnelly, VP, Sales & Marketing, Icron Technologies
Matthew Huntington, VP, Product Marketing, OpenTV
Art Lancaster, CTO, Affinegy
Christer Larsson, CEO and Co-founder, Makewave (formerly Gatespace Telematics AB); VP EMEA, OSGi Alliance
Wouter Leibbrandt, Manager, Advanced Systems Lab, NXP Semiconductors
Andy Nobbs, Chief Commercial Officer, Civolution
Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates
Neerav Shah, VP Business Development, Verimatrix
Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates
Peter Smyth, CEO, RedMere
Bill Stanley, Executive Director, Operations Solutions, Telcordia
Frederic Van Durme, Head of Product Management, Thomson
Andrew Wajs, CTO, Irdeto Group, Irdeto/Cloakware

Summit Sessions
Connected Europe: Trends and Numbers
Defining the New Video Experience
Evolution of the “Digital Furnace”: Residential Gateways and Set-top Boxes
Business Models for On-Demand Lifestyles
Enabling Technologies: Connecting It All
Wrapping It Up – Predictions for the Next Five Years

CONNECTIONS™ Global Sponsors are HD-PLC Alliance, DSC, NXP, Radialpoint, Rovi, ActiveVideo Networks, Affinegy, Icron, Irdeto, ProVision Communications, Telcordia, and Zilog. CONNECTIONS™ Europe Advisory Sponsors are Eyecon Technologies and CONNECTIONS™ Premier Sponsor RedMere.

Register at www.connectionseurope.com.

TANDBERG Solution at the Forefront of Seamless Video Integration Into Any Unified Communications Platform

Telepresence and video conferencing have been instrumental in helping businesses address the challenges of recent economic pressures, such as travel reductions and employee productivity. The ROI for both group and "personal" video will be further realized through seamless integration into a unified communications (UC) platform. The TANDBERG end-to-end solution delivers unrivaled H.323/Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) dual stack capabilities to bridge the world of existing telepresence and video conferencing solutions with VoIP and UC so businesses can make the most of their investments.

With the ability to support richer features such as presence, messaging, and advanced telephony features, SIP is the most widely used signaling standard to bring business tools together in a UC environment. However, with many video conferencing products using either H.323 or proprietary signaling protocols, integrating video with UC platforms and UC desktop video clients can be costly and challenging. TANDBERG has solved this issue with its Video Communication Server (VCS), which enables SIP and H.323 interworking without any investment in additional hardware or software. This allows seamless interoperation of all TANDBERG products with third-party vendors and tools such as Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and VoIP PBXes.

TANDBERG has long encouraged open standards supporting interoperability among all vendors' products and services. With this focus, the company has built the industry's broadest and easiest to use telepresence and video product solution set, which supports both H.323 and SIP protocols at the same time. This enables third-party, legacy, and future video products -- as well as other business critical tools -- to work together on a UC platform without a heavy investment in upgrade costs. With no hardware to replace for future upgrades, customers can be assured that the infrastructure they deploy today can remain in place to support future SIP deployments.

For more information, please visit www.TANDBERG.com.

RedMere's Technology Passes ESD Test

RedMere, the leader in high-speed chip and cable technology solutions, announces 15kV ESD results for active HDMI High Speed Cables with embedded RM1689 devices.

Testing up to 15kV was performed using the IEC/EN 61000-4-2 method which is a test method by immunity standards listed under the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive from the European Union. Testing active cables for ESD is important as kilovolts of static could cause damage to the cables.

RedMere is working with globally based customers to continually test active cables with other international standards.

Thomson takes a further leap forward with next generation interactive HD cable set-top boxes

Thomson, a worldwide leader of services to content creators, is demonstrating two new cable set-top boxes, based on its third generation technology and delivering high speed data as well as comprehensive digital cable services. The set-top boxes allow cable operators to offer broadband to the home at up to 100Mb/s with home networking and content sharing using the MoCA (Multimedia over Co-ax Alliance) standard.

The new DCI708 set-top box is ready for both standard and high definition television using MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 coding, including 1080 line progressive HD. It is based on a new system on a chip device, which incorporates full support for Docsis and EuroDocsis, including channel bonding to achieve internet access speeds of up to 100Mb/s. The DCI804 set-top box offers the same features and additionally includes an internal disk recorder, using fast and compact 2.5” disk drives for local recording, timeshifts and downloading data from the network operator.

The new boxes support multiple middleware and conditional access solutions. The integral high speed data connectivity gives the operator ready access for advanced interactive applications such as video on demand, and secure communications, as well as remote diagnostics and updates to minimise support costs. Where the home has existing co-ax cable connecting rooms, the implementation of MoCA allows a single set-top box to distribute content to multiple rooms within the home, allowing the users to take advantage of home networking.

For the full release, click here.

Telcordia Focuses on National Cyber Security Issues

As cyber threats and national security issues continue to capture the attention of the nation and the Obama administration looks to appoint the much heralded Cyber Czar, Telcordia Technologies, a leading architect of telecommunications software and services and a long standing contributor to advanced national communications systems, is amplifying its focus on critical issues surrounding the vulnerability and survivability of the nation's networks.

Telcordia, a chief architect of the telecommunications system in the U.S., has pioneered many of the telecommunications services used today. With more than 1800 patents issued, the company is renowned for developing groundbreaking communications technologies that have served as the connectivity tissue for most U.S. and foreign carrier networks.

National security issues and their impacts continue to intensify. The Department of Homeland Security reports the number of cyber attacks on government and private networks multiplied nearly 20-fold over the last four years. As fragmented systems thwart the secure exchange of information across government entities and companies, information blockage remains a national concern.

Following the divestiture of the Bell Telephone System, there was no longer one company responsible for architecturing, engineering and ensuring the integrity of the nation's communications network. At the same time, networks became markedly more complex with the onset of new competition, technologies and applications, further increasing the vulnerability and security risks of the network infrastructure. Previous administrations have attempted to reduce the vulnerabilities in the system, defend against the full spectrum of threats, and develop next-generation technologies to maintain a competitive edge but those efforts have fallen short.

For more information on Telcordia's security offerings visit www.telcordia.com/services/security/index.html.

Numericable and Nagravision launch a comprehensive widget TV solution and announce the introduction of multicast TV broadcasting technology

Numericable has chosen Nagravision's, a Kudelski Group company, widget platform for the launch of its "Widget TV" service on its network. Widgets will allow Numericable customers to interact with their TV and build a genuine social network as part of their TV experience.

The partnership between the Kudelski Group and Numericable will also translate into the introduction in 2010 of a new "SDV" technology enabling the use of an increasing number of channels thanks to the multicast broadcasting technology.

TV widgets symbolize TV 2.0. A widget is a small, easy-to-use software application that lets consumers interact with online information in a graphically appealing way. It creates a targeted and familiar environment with recommendation of relevant data for consumers making them more likely to return to a certain service of interest.

Numericable will in particular offer the "MyTV" widget that will make it possible to send program alerts to friends. Subsequently, Numericable subscribers will be able to choose widgets from a large gallery including live and on-demand recommendation widgets as well as widgets allowing them to share videos and track their updates from online social networks.

Nagravision's widget platform will allow Numericable to work together with content providers and software application developers in order to develop innovative services in relation with the content being viewed or addressing specific consumer needs. The widget platform will be open and will encourage external developments as does the Apple Store.

For the full press release, click here.

ActiveVideo and Videon Central Form Partnership: Joint Initiative to Pipe Interactive TV to Millions of Web-Connected CE Devices

ActiveVideo Networks, the global leader in cloud-based interactive television solutions, and Videon Central, Inc., a leading provider of digital video solutions and Blu-ray Disc (BD) middleware, announced a joint initiative that is intended to dramatically speed adoption of the next generation of CE video devices.

The two companies announced that they will work together to leverage the combined strengths of Videon Central (Videon) core middleware technologies and ActiveVideo processing in the network "cloud" to significantly expand the reach and availability of rich, Web-based user experiences that are redefining interactive television (iTV 2.0). ActiveVideo anticipates that a joint solution would be available on Web-connected televisions, BD and DVD players, and other devices in millions of homes by year end, 2010.

Anticipated to be available in more than 5 million homes by the end of 2009, ActiveVideo immerses viewers in an engaging experience that combines Web video, Web 2.0 functionality and traditional television. With ActiveVideo, viewers can navigate a completely interactive environment of both linear and broadband programming including rich interfaces and graphics optimized for TV and remote control navigation; social networking; personal media; niche content; and targeted, actionable advertising. ActiveVideo uses intelligent MPEG streaming to deliver the Web 2.0 experience to a worldwide television audience through both legacy and next generation digital set-top boxes and broadband-connected devices.

For the full press release, click here.