A senior Cisco executive has predicted that set-top boxes as we know them today could almost disappear as cable migrates to IP video, and services are increasingly driven by new, cloud-based infrastructures that support new screens such as Apple ‘s iPad. “Set-tops are clearly moving to the point where they are either a piece of […]
EchoStar and sister company Dish Network on April 20 lost the latest round of its long-running litigation with DVR-technology company TiVo. The US Court of Appeals said that EchoStar continued to infringe TiVo’s patents, and found the company in contempt. TiVo’s stock price rocketed by more than 32 per cent, and most analysts agree that […]
Despite unit shipments remaining relatively flat over the last year, worldwide set top box revenues were actually up in Q4 2010 over Q4 2009. Total revenues for the quarter were $5.7 billion as compared to $5.3 billion in the same period the previous year, according to In-Stat. “Even though overall growth in the market was […]
Verizon has unveiled the next generation of its all-fibre-optic FiOS TV The company used customer feedback gained from its product development labs, field trials and social media forums to create many of the more than 25 upgrades to FiOS TV’s advanced Interactive Media Guide. The enhancements include 3D content software, which automatically detects when a […]
The European Court of Justice has agreed with British Sky Broadcasting and overturned the UK tax authority’s classification of a PVR and, thereby, exempted it from import duty. The Inland Revenue had classified PVRs as recording devices subject to 13.9 per cent import duty (virtually all PVRs are made in China). However, the ECJ in […]
Lyfe Communications, a technology expert in the development of next generation media services, has completed software development of a virtual Set Top Box (vSTB), and are creating a program to deploy that technology in trials with partner operators. Greg Smith, CEO of Lyfe Communications commented: “We have blended industry accepted conditional access security with standard […]
Virgin Media has confirmed that a new TiVo box is on its way – with a lower cost 500GB STB arriving to accompany the service in May. The current TiVo offering is a 1TB box, available only to customers on the XL TV package, but the 500GB box will be available to all Virgin Media […]
All BT Vision subscribers will be able to access the BBC iPlayer service via their TVs by June says iPlayer product manager Gideon Summerfield. Recently the BBC has released a version of the player for Freeview HD boxes that conform to the D-Book 6.2.1 specification powered by MHEG-5 middleware. The BBC has also certified the […]
Motorola Mobility has unveiled the Motorola VAP2400 video bridge solution, a wireless access device capable of transmitting reliable and high-quality video content over WiFi spectrum throughout the home. The VAP2400’s design enables wireless home networks to deliver a full range of video services and applications without having to run wires through the home. As compared […]
Market researcher Infonetics Research has released its fourth quarter 2010 ‘Cable, Satellite, IPTV, and OTT STBss and Subscribers’ market share and forecast report. “In the fourth quarter of 2010, we witnessed the dramatic growth of over-the-top services, as service providers and equipment vendors hit the ‘sweet spot’ for pricing. However, these services continue to complement […]