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Sky Italia on Pace

Sky Italia has chosen Pace as its launch partner for high definition personal video recorders (HD PVRs) for the launch of its HD PVR service. The Pace HD PVR (model TDS850NS) comes with dual DVB-S2 tuners, H.264 compression and a 250GB hard drive to store up to 60 hours of HD programming. It comes integrated […]

July 17, 2008

DirecTV: 1m+ remote recordings scheduled

DirecTV customers nationwide are embracing a new way to remotely record their favourite shows to their DVRs with the DirecTV DVR Scheduler, which has reached a milestone with more than one million recordings scheduled remotely through the service. "The positive response we have received for the DirecTV DVR Scheduler has truly surpassed our expectations," said […]

July 14, 2008

Operators take more STB risks

Faced with stiff competition in the cable market and from telcos vying for TV viewers, traditionally risk-averse cable operators are becoming increasingly ‘bipolar’, supporting a Meanwhile, STB vendors are offering a variety of new features to entice operators. When it comes to STBs, operators have traditionally tread carefully, and have largely been unwilling to ‘shop […]

July 14, 2008

Operators take more STB risks

Faced with stiff competition in the cable market and from telcos vying for TV viewers, traditionally risk-averse cable operators are becoming increasingly ‘bipolar’, supporting a roadmap that may require the deployment of new STBs with more advanced features and functions, while also apparently aiming to drive the ubiquitous STB to extinction.Meanwhile, STB vendors are offering […]

July 14, 2008

Pace makes progress

Set-top box manufacturer Pace has maintained progress across all of its global markets in the first half of 2008. Due to a beneficial US Dollar/Euro exchange rate, the Pace France business, which was initially expected to be loss making for 2008, is now profitable and the board expects that the group’s out-turn for the year […]

July 11, 2008

TV set-top makers to challenge EC ruling

STB makers and pay-TV platforms are considering legal action against the European Commission after a tax ruling left many of them facing millions of pounds in unexpected costs. Basic set-top boxes, which are classified as communications devices, are exempt from tax when imported into the European Union. But a change to the rules last month […]

June 24, 2008

TiVo critic pick

Soon a subset of TiVo users will be able to automatically record a critic's picks of The Chicago Tribune. TiVo announced a partnership with The Tribune that will deliver the recommendations of Maureen Ryan, the TV critic for The Tribune, straight to the TVs of users who sign up for the service. The recommendation service […]

May 29, 2008

57% of UK viewers time-shift TV content

Redback Networks, an Ericsson company that makes video-centric routers, has released results of a nationwide survey in the UK, measuring the popularity of on-demand TV and Internet video. In a survey of 2168 online adults, the Redback sponsored research showed that more than half of UK residents (57 per cent) watch up to 10 hours […]

May 22, 2008

New Sky Player

Sky has overhauled its online VOD service by adding streaming capabilities and rebranding it “Sky Player”. Sky said: “The online service will take on the Sky Player brand in recognition of the public's growing awareness of additional online video 'player' services.” In addition, Sky non-subscribers can now access the same Sky Player interface – Sky […]

May 19, 2008

Cable STB market sees record growth

In 2007, the cable set top box (STB) market experienced record-setting growth, as both worldwide unit shipments and revenues reached new highs, reports In-Stat. Strong demand for basic digital cable STBs, especially in the Chinese market, coupled with sustained demand for advanced digital cable STBs in the North American market, is fuelling the market growth, […]

May 2, 2008