Zenverge Showcases Industry's First Whole-home, Multi-screen DVR Implementation with RemoteGUIDE at Connections 2010

Zenverge, a leading developer of advanced media ICs, announced it will demonstrate the industry's first multi-room, multi-screen DVR implementation with a remote user interface at the Connections 2010 conference. Now shipping to qualified customers worldwide, Zenverge's current generation ICs use advanced, patent-pending algorithms and a highly optimized pipeline to deliver unprecedented media processing capabilities in a highly compact, power-efficient, and cost-effective footprint. The demos at Connections 2010 will showcase the industry's highest performance and highest density transcoding capabilities, as well as Zenverge's RemoteGUIDE capability to transport user interface and metadata to multiple displays. RemoteGUIDE uniquely allows operators to construct and distribute a rich user interface for multiple displays from a single server or gateway device without putting any additional burden on the home network while supporting the installed base of networked displays, thus significantly reducing the overall cost of deploying whole-home DVR.

In addition to demonstrating at the conference, Zenverge's CEO Amir Mobini will also be participating in a panel entitled "Future of the Set top box". For more information about this panel, click here.

Founded in 2005, Zenverge is a fabless semiconductor company devoted to accelerating consumer access to next generation digital content and services. The company is a leading developer of Advanced Media ICs built around the patented ZEN architecture, a core technology for next generation digital media devices. The company is based in Cupertino, California. For more information please click here.

HGI Expands Portfolio with New Ecodesign and Multi Session Support Documents

The Home Gateway Initiative (HGI) announced the ratification of two key documents focusing on ecodesign in home networking and home gateway traffic management.

The first document helps to further enhance HGI’s energy efficiency portfolio of work and is a big step towards bringing ecodesign to home networking by facilitating energy efficient, reusable power supplies.

The document is part of the HGI’s Release 3 specification family and has been produced by the HGI’s Energy Efficiency Task Force. The document has already been liaised to ETSI where it will form the basis of a new European series of standards. HGI’s work is also expected to directly influence work in this area at the ITU-T and IEC.

The second document sets technical requirements that will increase the reliability of the home gateway when handling some types of data traffic.

Founded in 2004, HGI is the world’s leading member-led organization devoted to translating broadband service providers’ service plans into published technology requirements for home enablers.

For more information, click here.

Entertainment in a Connected World

Mitch Singer, CTO, Sony Pictures Entertainment and President, DECE is Thursday’s opening keynote at the CONNECTIONS Conference.

In this keynote, Mitch Singer, CTO of Sony and president of DECE, will provide an overview of the state of the entertainment industry including trends that will help spur the marketplace as well as evolving distribution and industry opportunities.

CONNECTIONS focuses on New Media & Digital Content, Entertainment Platforms & Services, Home Controls & Energy Management, and CE

CONNECTIONS™ will feature two pre-show research workshops, “Monetizing the Digital Lifestyle” and “Residential Energy Management: Home Area Networks and the Consumer,” on June 8, prior to the conference. Parks Associates’ research teams will provide insight, analysis, and forecasts, including consumer and industry data, in these interactive workshops.

CONNECTIONS™ keynote sessions will feature executives from Intel, Verizon, Samsung LCD Business, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

CONNECTIONS™ Conference Sessions:

-- Expanding Consumers’ Digital Media Choices
-- Digital Lifestyles: Outlook – A Parks Associates Analyst Roundtable
-- Opening Session - Monetizing Connected CE
-- TV and Online Video Advertising Metrics: Managing the Data
-- Design Elements for Connected CE
-- Mobile Internet and Cloud Services
-- Energy Management as a Key Application for Home Controls
-- Digital Home Technical Support Services
-- DRM, Conditional Access, and Payment Models
-- 3DTV
-- Home Area Network: Architectures and Implications
-- Service Provider Innovation
-- Residential Energy Management
-- Getting Consumers to Care about Home Controls
-- Business Models for Energy Management
-- The Future of the Set-top Box
-- TV Everywhere and Online Video
-- Innovations & Investments: Venture Capitalist Insights

For more information on CONNECTIONS™, visit www.connectionsus.com .

The Latest OTT Opportunity: Connected TV

Of all the new Internet TV delivery options, the connected TV is especially interesting to service operators: It’s already front and center in the living room, there is perhaps no expensive STB required, it features an already integrated remote control and has the potential for high-quality presentation without distortion or noise from connecting cables.

On the other hand, today’s connected TVs are fundamentally constrained by proprietary interfaces, wholly proprietary aggregation portals and simplistic navigational schemes. Limited or no storage means streaming-only presentation of content.

Our current feeling is that the Internet-connected TVs are primarily an aspect of a features game in a highly competitive consumer electronics market and is one of the options least likely to be exploited for premium video delivery services. The more likely scenario will be facilitated via connected devices such as Blu-ray players game consoles and last but not least via STBs, although these may take on a new identities such as whole home DVRs, media gateways, etc.

It is possible that connectivity may be used to blend the TV and Web experiences together. Operators can choose to make this happen on a TV using overlay or screen sharing applications, such as calling up an actor’s Twitter feed while watching his performance.

But given that living room viewing is a shared experience, it may be more realistic to see TV supplemented by other more personal phone or pad devices with better user input capabilities to provide such interactivity. I can attest with my own family’s habits, that it has become more normal for viewers to watch TV while working on their connected laptop!

I presented last week at the TV 3.0 – Future of TV conference (co-located with @DisplayWeek) . I was surprised to hear that nearly 20% of TVs shipped in 2010 will be network‐enabled, which is projected to reach about 60% in 2013!

And we are experiencing some interest from CE manufacturers to embed software-based security technology directly into these next-generation TVs.

Nonetheless, I came back with the opinion that STBs are not going away anytime soon. The issue (and cost) of customer support needs to rest with the operator who ultimately owns the quality of experience.

Submitted from Steve Oetegenn, Verimatrix.