Advanced Television

In Home

TiVo narrows losses, new partnerships

Digital video recorder maker TiVo has reported a narrower quarterly loss than a year ago as cost cuts helped offset a 20 per cent decline in revenue. Although subscriber growth slowed, the company cut subscriber acquisition costs. TiVo said it is focused on having plenty of cash to weather the challenging economy. TiVo’s net loss […]

March 3, 2009

TiVo, EchoStar return to court

TiVo and US satellite TV provider EchoStar return to a Texas court this week in the latest round of a longstanding fight over a TV recording technology patent. The legal dispute dates back to 2004, when TiVo charged that satellite TV provider EchoStar Communications Corp’s Dish network system violated TiVo’s patent for 'Time Warp' software, […]

February 19, 2009

Cisco preps whole-home DVR

Cisco Systems expects several cable providers in the second quarter to initiate field trials of its next-generation set-top, the Explorer 8600, the company’s first to provide HD multiroom DVR features. Multiroom DVR allows subscribers to access recordings on a master DVR from any other set-top in the home. The Explorer 8600 series, available with up […]

February 2, 2009

NEC unveils STB reference design

NEC Electronics Europe has confirmed the availability of a complete cost and power consumption optimised manufacturer's kit based on NEC Electronics' EMMA3SL/LP MPEG-4 digital TV processor which drastically reduces the time to market of MPEG-4 standard definition set-top box. The design is based on NEC Electronics' 3rd generation MPEG-4 decoder IC, EMMMA3SL/LP and enables both […]

February 2, 2009

Advanced STBs create security challenges

The increased content portability in Home Networks has opened the potential for piracy on a wider range of digital devices. Such developments, where content is pushed beyond the TV to a wide range of connected digital devices, has significantly increased the complexity of security requirements, according to asset protection specialist Cloakware. Cloakware suggests that set-top […]

January 30, 2009

STBs defy economy

  Despite the economic downturn, set-top box shipments will see almost 10 per cent growth over the previous year according to IMS Research. Stephen Froehlich, an analyst for the research group, commented "Television remains one of the most economic forms of entertainment available and is traditionally one of the last expenses to be cut in […]

January 27, 2009

STB shipments set to surge

While many electronic products are experiencing slowing growth or even declines, worldwide Set-Top Box (STB) shipments are set to nearly double from 2007 to 2012, providing an attractive opportunity for contract manufacturers, according to iSuppli. Global STB shipments are set to surge to 215.5 million units in 2012, rising at a Compound Annual Growth Rate […]

January 23, 2009

TV browsing demand to rise

A consumer study into HD TV purchase drivers carried out by Oregan Networks, an Internet TV software company and Micronas supplier of TV application-specific IC system solutions, has revealed that the ability to access the Internet from the the living room in parallel or in addition to watching regular TV is making its way into […]

January 13, 2009

Samsung – Yahoo web TV

Samsung and Yahoo have become the latest pairing to announce plans to launch a new web-based service for Samsung-branded TVs in the spring of 2009. Based on Yahoo’s Widget Engine, the service will be available on select 2009 Samsung HDTVs and allow users to interact with a set of “TV Widgets” to complement and enhance […]

January 7, 2009

Broadcast technology confidence falls

Confidence amongst senior executives in the supply side of the broadcast and media technology sector has declined markedly according to an IABM Industry Trends Survey. The survey, undertaken in conjunction with Ernst & Young polled the views of some 80 senior executives in IABM member companies around the world. According to IABM Chief Executive Officer […]

December 15, 2008