ActiveVideo Enhances Product Engineering and Development Leadership to Support Increased Demand, Accelerated Deployment Worldwide

ActiveVideo Networks, a leading global provider of cloud-based interactive services that are redefining television (iTV 2.0), announced enhancements to the leadership of its product engineering and development team to drive accelerated deployment of ActiveVideo products and solutions.

In order to address growing market demand worldwide, ActiveVideo announced that Greg Brown has been promoted to the position of Vice President, Product Development, and that Mark Dawson, Vice President, Product Management, and Dr. Lena Pavlovskaia, Vice President, Advanced Development, have assumed expanded roles. All three executives report to John Callahan, CTO of ActiveVideo Networks.

Earlier this year ActiveVideo Networks strengthened its position in the fast-growing market for delivery of interactive services from the network "cloud" through the acquisition of Avinity Systems BV, a Netherlands company that now serves as ActiveVideo's European headquarters. ActiveVideo Networks anticipates that its cloud-based interactive TV solutions will be available to more than 5 million homes worldwide by the end of 2009.

For the full release, click here.

ActiveVideo Networks Acquires Avinity Systems, Creates Powerful InteractivePlatform to Redefine iTV on Global Scale

ActiveVideo Networks announced at the end of May that it has reached an agreement to acquire Avinity Systems BV, bringing together the two leading providers of cloud-based interactive TV platforms and applications, and expanding the reach and availability of the Web-based user experiences that are redefining interactive television (iTV 2.0).

The transaction strengthens ActiveVideo Networks' technology and application offerings and creates a global leader in the fast-growing market for delivery of cloud-based services to televisions around the world. The acquisition combines two companies that will have deployed interactive services to more than five million homes worldwide by the end of 2009. Post-acquisition, ActiveVideo Networks will have publicly-disclosed deployments with a wide variety of service providers, including Oceanic Time Warner Cable and Grande Communications in the United States; Tele2 and Reggefiber in Europe; and PCCW in Hong Kong.

ActiveVideo Networks and Avinity have consistently advocated that the future of content delivery -- including VoD navigation, Web-based video, interactive advertising and other services -- will be driven by server-based technologies. Both platforms use an ultra-thin client in the set-top box to pass user keystrokes to servers in the network. The servers create compressed videostreams in response to user interaction and unicast them over IP or cable back to the home to be decoded and displayed by the set-top box. When combined,the ActiveVideo and Avinity RenderCast platforms will be capable of delivering Web-like personalization and interactivity to a worldwidetelevision audience through both legacy and next generation digital set-topboxes and broadband-connected devices.

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