Accedo selected as Preferred Developer Consultant for Facebook Platform

Accedo Broadband, the leading provider of app stores and applications for IPTV and Connected TV, recently announced that it has been selected as a Preferred Developer Consultant for Facebook applications.

Facebook launched Facebook Platform in May 2007 to enable developers and entrepreneurs to access the core features of Facebook through a set of powerful APIs. Facebook Platform enables companies and developers to build apps or integrations that can potentially reach an audience of more than 500 million people.

Accedo is working with TV operators, CE manufacturers, TV platforms and media companies to create advanced TV applications, which integrate with Facebook. Applications are both stand-alone apps and integrated apps with contextual functionality and are compliant with all major IPTV middlewares and Connected TV solutions.

Accedo Broadband Selected by LG Electronics to keep Facebook and Twitter users connected

Accedo Broadband, the leading provider of Connected TV applications, has announced that LG Electronics selected Accedo to develop Facebook and Twitter applications for LG Smart TVs.

Facebook and Twitter for LG Smart TV are now available in over 100 countries and 30 languages on 2010 and 2011 LG Smart TVs. Facebook users can see the latest updates, photos and videos from their friends. Twitter followers can see the latest tweets and send their own updates via the onscreen keyboard.

Accedo Broadband working with Telstra to develop Live TV Apps for Connected TV

Accedo Broadband, the leading provider of app stores and applications for IPTV and Connected TV is working with Telstra to develop BigPond TV applications for multiple TV and blu-ray platforms.

The applications launched in January and are delivering seven Telstra BigPond TV channels to LG and Samsung Connected TV sets and blu-ray players across Australia.

The channels include several designed for sporting fans including football, rugby league, racing, supercars, and a sports news channel. It also includes a news channel and a music channel.

The channels are being streamed using Google’s Widevine adaptive streaming technology, meaning a seamless and truly immersive experience for consumers.

Accedo and Telstra are working on a number of application projects and has previously developed an innovative Game Analyser for TV devices, which is a first of its kind on demand sporting experience. It combines full match replays with intricate game statistics of all NRL rugby matches.

Analysts open '11 CES by addressing content and security issues facing manufacturers and developers in Internet-connectable CE

Parks Associates wrapped up the fifth-annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES, the first day of 2011 International CES, by addressing the key issues facing CE manufacturers and solutions developers in 2011. The first session, "Analyst Roundtable: The Connected Home Is Here," which broke all previous attendee records, examined key trends and areas of concern, including how Internet-connectable TV devices can avoid the same underwhelming reception that plagued 3DTV after its big splash at CES 2010.

Parks Associates’ recent research finds that – the apps vs. open-browser debate notwithstanding – connected TV manufacturers will find market success with specific content application offerings, particularly premium video-on-demand (movies and TV shows), photo-viewing, social network feeds, streaming music service, customizable widgets, and gaming applications.

With sales of Microsoft Kinects exceeding the company's expectations, and multiple gesture-recognition products debuting at CES, how consumers interact with the television will also be radically changing starting in 2011.

Although online video and applications are major drivers for the rise of connected devices, other areas of focus for CE and service providers in 2011 will be backup, content protection and redundancy, and a greater emphasis on device security. This sets the stage for appliance- and cloud-based storage as well as device security and related features:

• According to Parks Associates, about one-third of U.S. broadband households (32%) are backing up content on at least a monthly basis.

• The firm's recent survey Consumer Demand for Technical Support Services found 20% of consumers are “highly concerned” about losing documents and other digital content because of technical issues, theft, or other catastrophic issues.

• Security concerns are moving into the mobile realm, where U.S. consumers are showing increasing demand for remote protection services for mobile and portable devices. This finding indicates 2011 will be a good year for companies such as Lookout, which provides location and lockdown services for smartphones.

Manufacturers of "smart TVs" will make their pitches at CES

After 3-D TV failed to excite consumers last year, manufacturers are betting that following the app-laden path of smartphones and tablet computers will fatten up what have been ultraslim profit margins.

For more than a decade, consumer-electronics manufacturers have been trying to marry the Internet and TV. In recent years, they've added connectors that let TV sets hook up to the Internet and, in some cases, added software that provides shortcuts to Web-based services from companies like movie-rental service Netflix Inc.

But this year, starting with product announcements at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, manufacturers are making a full-on push with "smart TVs"— models that have built-in computer-style processors and operating software so the sets can be modified with applications just as computers and smartphones are.

With no precise definition of a smart TV, manufacturers will be trying to stake out their ideas at the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas. Most companies are likely to tout connections that allow a TV to connect to a home Wi-Fi network without requiring an Ethernet cable. Many sets also will have a technical interface, known as DLNA, that allows them to screen videos and apps run from computers, smartphones and other gadgets.

For the complete article, please click here.

Connected TV Owners Primarily Access Netflix, Not YouTube

In the slowly growing market of Internet-connected television, 57% of owners are primarily using the functionality to access Netflix streaming.

The percentage is significant considering it surpasses by 10 percentage points (47%) the number of connected TV owners accessing YouTube, the perennial leader in online video consumption. While more users access Netflix than YouTube, YouTube was still the second most-popular service used on connected TVs. Another 54% utilize connectivity to access music and photos.

Netflix in November launched a streaming-only service domestically after announcing that a majority of its subscribers stream content versus renting physical discs.

Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis, said that until CE manufacturers and media companies increase and simplify access to entertainment content to the TV from the Internet, early adopters will navigate toward marquee brands such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube.

"Manufacturers are underselling the Internet features of connected TVs,” Rubin said. “Broadband features unlock worlds of on-demand content; manufacturers should provide the key by integrating Wi-Fi.”

For the complete article, please click here.

Comcast Testing Internet TV Service

Comcast Corp. is testing a new service that knits together television and the Internet, as the U.S. cable giant goes after rivals that threaten to undermine its business.

Users can watch and search a smattering of Web video through their televisions and search across live, on-demand and recorded programming.

The service, known to participants as "Spectrum" and internally as "Xcalibur," doesn't let participants freely browse the Web, though they do have some basic connections to social networks to comment on television shows, the people familiar with the matter said.

While the test is small, it marks a significant step in the efforts of the largest TV distributor in the U.S. to adapt to the rise of Internet programming and the cohort of devices—such as Roku boxes and Apple TV—that make it easier and more convenient to watch.

Those efforts, including forays from giants like Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Apple Inc., haven't displaced traditional TV so far. Cable companies are quick to point out that the new players may struggle to manage the costs of delivering massive amounts of content without the infrastructure cable operators have. But they are emerging as stronger competitors as they procure more content and strike partnerships with video brands like Netflix Inc.

For the complete article, please click here.

CONNECTIONS Summit at CES to address video strategies as U.S. online video viewers to reach 215 million by 2014

The final session of CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES, "Video Everywhere: Key Strategies," will examine market implications of TV Everywhere, VOD, and connected TVs, along with the risks of cord cutting, featuring speakers from Rovi, Korea Telecom, DivX, ActiveVideo Networks, and Sigma Designs.

The penetration of connected TVs and Blu-ray players has tripled in the past year, and over one-third of U.S. broadband household report increased time spent watching long-form videos on a PC. Consumer expectations for the video experience are expanding, and service providers and CE manufacturers must meet these demands or risk losing customers to competitors and over-the-top sources.

"Video Everywhere" session speakers:

• Sean Besser, VP, Business Development, Rovi Corp.

• Woo Seung Lee, Team Manager, Media Business Planning Department, Korea Telecom

• Matt Milne, EVP and GM, DivX

• Edgar Villalpando, SVP, Marketing, ActiveVideo Networks

• Michael Weismann, VP Corporate Marketing, Sigma Designs

CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES provides consumer data and analysis of business and marketing strategies for operators, CE manufacturers, utilities, and communications companies delivering connected devices and advanced services and applications to consumers.

For information about CONNECTIONS™ Conferences, visit www.connectionsconference.com.

Accedo Broadband and Popbox announce application partnership

Accedo Broadband, the leading provider of interactive applications for IPTV and Connected TV, and Syabas, the maker of the innovative Popbox over-the-top device today announced a partnership for applications on the Popbox devices.

The first set of applications from Accedo to be launched on Popbox is a range of games from its popular Funspot casual game portfolio.

The innovative Popbox platform enables consumers to enjoy a wide assortment of content including blockbuster movies, Internet radio, home videos, photos, music, games and more directly on their TV.

Visitors attending CES can view demos of the initial apps deployed by Accedo on the Popbox platform by appointment only at the Hilton. Contact Steve Young for appointment.

For the complete article, please click here.

What Smart TVs Need to Succeed: Three Pillars of Smart TV's

The Internet and TV are finally converging, in a way consumers seem to be responding to.
Intel is trying to brand smart TVs as something different from Internet-connected TVs - poised to be a hot item this holiday season - that have web-based features but fall short of being smart.

In Intel's world,says Wilfred Martis, a smart TV must meet the following three pillars:

Unlimited Content Access: "To do that, you need a browser." This means a smart TV shouldn't be restricted by the apps available to run on it. It should be able to grab any content that lives on the web. The only product that really does that, at the moment, sort of, is Google TV (available on some Sony products and the Logitech Revue).

Extensive Use of Apps: Martis emphasized that the architecture should be easy for app developers to use so apps would be plentiful. Again, this plays into Intel's strengths since its basic architecture is widely used and would allow easy portability of apps from one platform to a smart TV platform. "Creative developers will enhance the way users experience television," he says.

Immersive Experience: OK, this one's kind of obvious, but also one that's difficult to get right. Having used Google TV for a couple of weeks, I'm a little split on how immersive it is. But it is pretty good and the best method I've seen to integrate the web beyond the gated community of apps you will find on devices like a PS3, Roku or most Internet-connected TVs.

For the complete article, please click here.

Panasonic Blu-ray Players Add Vudu Service

Panasonic announced it has added Vudu's HD movie streaming service to its line of Viera Cast-enabled Blu-ray Disc players, beginning on Nov. 24.

Vudu is a video-on-demand service offering instant streaming (no download time) of movies and TV programs through IPTV-enabled HDTVs and Blu-ray Disc players with no computer or cable/satellite TV service required, and no subscription or monthly membership fees.

Vudu's service offers an extensive library of HD movies available for streaming to connected equipment, many of which are available at a $2 rate for a two-night rental. Additionally, many new releases are available on the service on the same day as they are released as DVDs.

For the complete article, please click here.

Content disputes mar Google TV’s launch, keep things even with Apple TV

Just as the first Google TV devices became available last week, Hulu said that it would block access to its site from Google TV-enabled devices. Now, major TV networks ABC, NBC and CBS are saying they will block access, too, at least to most of their content.

Networks don’t see enough of a payoff and don’t feel that Google is guaranteeing enough content protection. Could these blocks actually level the playing field between Google TV and Apple TV, which has been roundly criticized for its lack of content partnerships?

Apple has the most to gain in this scenario because they can at least say that it has content from ABC and Fox. Some observers of the initial Apple TV revamp announcement found the platform to be limited by a lack of content partnerships, but Google may be even more limited—at least in terms of the traditional TV content it can offer—if it doesn’t resolve these disputes.

For the full article, click here.

Connected TVs in the managed video realm - announcements from Widevine and ADB today

There were a couple of announcements today that point to an expanded role for connected TVs beyond "over-the-top" video. Instead, the connected TV can also serve as a gateway for managed video services. Companies such as Verimatrix, Clearleap, thePlatform, Cisco, Motorola, ActiveVideo Networks, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens, and Ericsson have all made recent announcements in this area.

Now, ADB has joined the fray, offering a solution called the Virtual Gateway. This sofware solution distributes multimedia capabilities throughout the home. Some use cases that ADB highlights are a user's ability to enjoy pay-TV, music and videos from wherever they are in the home: subscribers can use their gaming consoles to tune to a pay-TV channel or watch recorded programs, or access music tracks and videos stored on their DVR and play them on their smart phones.

Also, Widevine continues to make announcements regarding its adaptive streaming solution. The company announced that it has signed a global agreement with LG Electronics (LG) to distribute Widevine’s live and on-demand adaptive streaming, virtual DVD controls and digital rights management (DRM) on LG connected products. Widevine’s DRM and adaptive streaming software are already included in 2009 models of LG Blu-ray players and home theaters shipped in the United States. This agreement enables LG to expand distribution to more devices, on a worldwide basis.

Widevine’s video optimization and DRM platform will now be included on a wide variety of additional LG products, including connected TVs. Widevine’s video optimization technology ensures that consumers using LG products receive an excellent quality of viewing experience for both live and on-demand content. Widevine’s DRM keeps premium content secure, regardless of the LG device to which it is delivered .

RoxioNow Platform to Power Instant Access to Hollywood Movies on New Range of Connected HDTVs and Blu-ray Disc Players

Sonic Solutions announced that Haier, one of the world's largest home appliances and consumer electronics manufacturers, has chosen the RoxioNow platform to provide its customers convenient, trouble-free access to a broad library of Hollywood entertainment. As part of the agreement, entertainment services powered by the RoxioNow platform will deliver movies and TV shows over the web to a new line of Haier-branded Blu-ray Disc players and HDTVs.

The RoxioNow platform serves a broad range of premium content, including new movies and next-day TV programs, to a growing, multi-manufacturer ecosystem of home and mobile electronics including PCs, connected TVs, set-top DVRs, Blu-ray Disc players, smartphones, and mobile media devices. The platform enables retailers and consumer electronics companies to participate in the entertainment supply chain, add value to product offerings and form ongoing relationships with customers.

RoxioNow powers digital entertainment delivery for a range of companies including Best Buy, Blockbuster, Dell, HP, Kmart, Lionsgate, and Sears, and is available on a broad variety of consumer electronics devices.

Can Traditional TV Operators Embrace OTT Video as a Service?

There is an assumption by many market pundits today that the service operators in the world of Internet TV services and that of traditional pay-TV are totally disjointed. We think this is rather too simplistic.

Just like the world of e-commerce in the early generations of Internet, the shift of consumption did not totally upend the value of existing brands and consumer loyalties. A few new players emerged for sure, but by and large, the brick and mortar brands have become just as prominent on the Internet as they are on Main Street – the power of branding transcends the medium.

When you apply this logic to video, the service operators that make the leap to multi-screen delivery can indeed be the same names that dominate the pay-TV market in cable, satellite and IPTV today. They have the content, the subscriber relationships and the scale to make service delivery compelling whatever the physical distribution network, and in many cases they also provide Internet connectivity.

The challenge for existing operators is that this requires a fundamental shift in the way they think. Progressive digital TV operators may have to embrace novel technologies that have been designed to effectively scale and solve IP video issues and apply them over their delivery networks. By integrating OTT and adaptive rate streaming technology with pay-TV services, operators can enhance ARPU, subscriber loyalty and lure incremental advertising dollars.

This convergence of technologies also must encompass a proactive revenue protection and enhancement approach that enables digital TV operators to cast a much wider net with their service offerings. This shifts the central value proposition for the digital video enterprise beyond that of content protection alone, towards the broader perspective of revenue security.

Download Verimatrix's white paper, Pay-TV at an Inflection Point, and let us know if you agree.

Submitted from Verimatrix.

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.

Samsung’s VP of LCD Business addresses consumer buying decisions for TV’s

Scott Birnbaum, Vice President, Samsung LCD Business will present the keynote, “TV Technology in the New Age of Consumer Buying” on Wednesday, June 9 at 10:00 at CONNECTIONS.

Mr. Birnbaum will address how the buying decision for today’s TVs has become more complex and more important in the list of home priorities. Consumers are no longer simply satisfied with a good picture and a decent warranty. Consumers are looking at TVs as exceptionally thin wall hangings; energy-efficient Energy-Star rated appliances; and providers of crystal clear, movie-like viewing experiences. The presentation will compare thinness of panels, edge-lighting and energy efficiency, as well as contrast ratios, aspect ratios and the importance of faster refresh rates. As stereoscopic 3D also enters the TV picture in 2010, Mr. Birnbaum will cover how 3D can best be married with 2D to usher in a new dimension in post-HD customer satisfaction.

Sonic Announces 'Total 3D' Initiative

Sonic Solutions announced a broad program to support the "next big thing" in home video — the arrival of 3D in the home — with new professional and consumer solutions for the creation, publishing, and playback of 3D digital video content. Sonic is unique in its focus on "Hollywood-to-Home" solutions that enable the growth of new video formats, and Sonic's new 3D offerings will help to fuel the availability and consumer adoption of 3D video. Sonic has developed tools that allow Hollywood studios to encode video, author interactivity, and format titles for release over the internet and in the new Blu-ray 3D format.

The RoxioNow entertainment platform serves a broad range of premium content, including new movies and next-day TV programs, to a growing, multi-manufacturer ecosystem of home and mobile electronics including PCs, connected TVs, set-top DVRs, Blu-ray Disc players, smartphones, and mobile media devices. RoxioNow already powers digital storefronts on 3D-enabled HDTVs and Blu-ray Disc players and is primed to deliver 3D content once titles become available for online distribution.

Accedo Broadband sponsors CONNECTIONS Europe 2010

Parks Associates welcome Accedo Broadband as a 2010 Advisory Sponsor for CONNECTIONS Europe.

Accedo Broadband is the leading provider of applications for IPTV and Connected TV. Accedo Broadband provides the largest available application portfolio and an app store engine for IPTV and Connected TV containing, for example, IPTV games, VoD, Catch-up TV, music, video art, comics, karaoke, lifestyle, niche sports, weather, social media and communication services. Accedo’s Funspot gaming service is the most widely deployed IPTV gaming service in the world.

Accedo is a privately held company founded by telecom and media entrepreneurs Michael Lantz and Fredrik Andersson primarily backed by Swedish VC Industrifonden. Accedo Broadband is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden with branch offices in London, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Sydney.

For more information, visit www.accedobroadband.com .

Samsung keynote at CONNECTIONS™ explores future of LCD technology and 3D TV

Parks Associates announced Scott Birnbaum, Vice President, Samsung LCD Group, will deliver the morning keynote, “TV Technology in the New Age of Consumer Buying,” at CONNECTIONS™ on June 9, 2010.

CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase, in its 14th year, will take place June 8-10, 2010, at the Santa Clara Convention Center. CONNECTIONS™ is the premier event for research and analysis of connected home technologies and digital living solutions, with over 600 executives attending each year.

Mr. Birnbaum will speak at 10:00 a.m., June 9, on the future of LCD technology, the accelerated movement toward a 16:9 aspect ratio, and the prognosis for 3D in the home. He will explore the implications for TV design and manufacturing as consumers demand thin, energy-efficient form factors that provide crystal-clear, movie-like experiences.

He will also discuss the need for easy-to-understand data so consumers can understand and make informed choices about thinness, backlighting, energy consumption, contrast and aspect ratios, and refresh rates.

CONNECTIONS™ features multiple sessions on next-generation video services and the growing demand for interactive entertainment, including 3D and connected TV, personalization of applications, Internet video, and mobile applications. Sessions include industry-leading consumer research and executive analysis to highlight the next opportunities and future business strategies for video technologies and platforms, multiscreen experiences, and value-added services.