BlackArrow News:

–Secures $20 Million in New Funding
–Launches New Tool Suite, BlackArrow AdMaps
–Teams with Arris, BIAP, Sigma Systems on “Personalized Advertising”
–Integrates with Adobe Media Player, Motorola VOD, IAB VAST, Akamai
–Signs VOD/Broadband Video Advertising Deal with
Kabillion

BlackArrow, a company that offers an ad-management system designed for video distributed over any on-demand platform, has generated a fair amount of news over the past few weeks:

• The company has secured $20 million in a funding round that saw the participation of its existing investors, Cisco, Comcast Interactive Capital, Intel Capital, Mayfield Fund and Polaris Venture Partners. The company, which says it has secured a total of $38 million in private financing to date, says it will use the new funds to further develop its products, expand distribution platform support, and increase worldwide sales and marketing efforts. “BlackArrow has achieved key milestones with our ad-management technology, and we’re well positioned for growth, as television and other professionally produced video content extends its reach over various viewer-controlled platforms,” BlackArrow president and CEO, Dean Denhart, said in a prepared statement. “This additional funding validates BlackArrow’s performance to date, and our strategy for delivering advanced, multiplatform video advertising systems that help customers maximize revenues. As audiences continue to embrace viewer-controlled video, BlackArrow is increasingly the partner of choice for reaching viewers wherever and whenever they are watching television-quality content.” According to BlackArrow, its system is designed to dynamically manage, decide and report on targeted advertising inserted against on-demand programming across multiple playout platforms. The company claims that the system works across any combination of ad types, ad-sales models, distribution or syndication strategies, and media playout environments.
• The company has announced suite of tools called BlackArrow AdMaps, which it says will allow content providers and distributors to easily define and manage ad avails in and around video content, and will extend its advertising system by providing tools to manage ad-placement opportunities for programming delivered over broadband and SCTE 130-5-compliant VOD environments. The tool suite allows the creation of “AdMaps,” which BlackArrow says will provide a time-saving workflow to create new advertising inventory, integrate ad formats easily, and update ad-sales models quickly–all without requiring changes to existing infrastructure or media player code. According to the company, the new suite consists of AdMap Builder for creating and managing AdMaps, AdMap Server for delivering the right AdMap to the viewer, and–for broadband deployments–an SDK for rendering AdMaps in common broadband players. “The lack of tools to easily define and manage rules for ad-placement opportunities in and around video is proving to be a major bottleneck for ad-supported business models,” Chris Hock, SVP of product management at BlackArrow, said in a prepared statement. “With ad strategies undergoing rapid-fire change, programmers and distributors are wanting to experiment safely–in a way that maximizes revenues, without jeopardizing innovation or user experience. BlackArrow’s AdMaps suite addresses this need head-on with practical conventions for creating new ad avails and managing ad-insertion opportunities for viewer-controlled video platforms.” According to BlackArrow, AdMap Builder is a rich Internet application that allows users to create an unlimited combination of permissible ad types, durations and other insertion rules. All user-defined ad-insertion points are displayed graphically, the company says, in order to help clients visualize and package ad inventory effectively across multiple video platforms. AdMap Server, meanwhile, selects from multiple AdMaps, BlackArrow says, in order to return the best fit, based on viewer data and on such targeting criteria as audience demographics, content genre and playout environment, before fulfilling each request with the most relevant ad, or series of ads, as defined by the AdMap. The company says that AdMap Server conforms to SCTE 130-5 standards for a placement opportunity information service (POIS) in VOD environments, enabling rapid deployment and product interoperability with other SCTE 130-compliant vendors. For broadband distribution, AdMaps are stored as standard SMIL files, which BlackArrow says can be easily read by widely used media players from Adobe, Move Networks and others, using the enhanced BlackArrow Player Framework. BlackArrow says that the AdMaps suite is designed to scale and to manage intricate affiliate relationships and complex ad-split arrangements within a centralized environment. In addition, the company says, AdMaps supply an important framework from which content providers and distributors will be able to manage and accurately forecast their video inventory.
• The company has teamed with Arris, BIAP and Sigma Systems on a solution called Personalized Advertising for Cable and IPTV that was demo’d as part of TM Forum’s Content Encounter 3 event, which took place at the Management World Orlando conference last month (note: the Content Encounter initiative encourages companies to collaborate on solutions that address the creation, delivery and monetization of digital media services). According to the partners, their demo illustrated that advanced advertising is “real and doable with today’s telecommunications and cable standards, and that service providers can use a common deployment architecture to deliver rich entertainment services, including content-specific ad-insertion and addressable ad-insertion.” The solution consists of: 1) Arris’s VOD server and ad decision manager; 2) BIAP’s EBIF/tru2way middleware and applications and its ad decision manager; 3) Sigma Systems’ service fulfillment, active mediation and subscriber information service solutions; and 4) BlackArrow’s SCTE 130-compliant campaign manager, ad decision server and placement opportunity information service (POIS).
• The company says that it has added the Adobe Media Player to the list of distribution systems compatible with its centralized system for defining ad avails and managing targeted campaigns. It claims that its system provides video networks with a “syndication edge” by delivering advertising directly into Adobe Media Player programming, as well as other Web properties and platforms such as dynamic VOD. In order to simplify advertising operations, BlackArrow says, its system dynamically generates enhanced media RSS feeds that incorporate targeted ads formatted specifically for playback within the Adobe Media Player. “As an Adobe advertising partner, we are committed to enabling a sophisticated, engaging advertising experience for viewers–whether they watch their favorite content inside the browser, or outside the browser with the Adobe Media Player–while introducing new revenue opportunities for content and media publishers,” BlackArrow’s Chris Hock said in a prepared statement.
• The company says it is integrating its technologies with VOD technologies from Motorola, in order to provide an SCTE 130-compliant addressable advertising solution that enables advertisers and content providers to exert control over ad placement and generate revenue through additional advertising opportunities. According to the companies, the integration allows ads to be selected in real time by BlackArrow’s ad decision server and added dynamically to VOD content, using Motorola’s B1 VOD server: one of the key features of the B1 server, according to Motorola, is its ability to create ranged playlists that allow it to dynamically insert targeted ads at any point in on-demand content; the companies say that combining this capability with the BlackArrow real-time ad decision server means that accurately targeted ads can be dynamically inserted before, after, and during on- demand content playback. As a result, they claim, it is possible to deliver pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll ads that are always “fresh, relevant and targeted.” “We are enabling on-demand content providers and distributors to maximize the relevance and timeliness of their advertising,” BlackArrow’s Denhart said in a prepared statement. “This not only optimizes content providers’ ad revenues, but ultimately enhances the end-user experience. Once our powerful ad decision server has identified the right ad for the right audience, the unique capabilities of the B1 server enable it to be inserted on the fly anywhere into on-demand content.” Added Buddy Snow, senior director of on-demand video for Motorola’s Home Networks and Mobility business: “Time-shifted or on-demand content is already personalized due to the way it is requested and delivered, so it can enable better targeting than live broadcast. By working with BlackArrow, we can enhance this one-to-one relationship with the user, and leverage the world’s most widely deployed solid-state, on-demand platform to open up new advertising opportunities to leading operators.”
• The company says it will support the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) “Digital Video Ad Serving Template” (VAST), a recently announced XML-based solution that is designed to standardize communication between video players and servers. By supporting the VAST standard, BlackArrow says, it will enable its customers to increase digital video yield by utilizing ad networks to sell unsold inventory and reduce friction with buyers via the support of third-party ad tags. BlackArrow is an active participant in the IAB’s Digital Video Committee.
• The company has released a “Connector” (software development kit) that integrates its ad-management system with Akamai’s Media Framework. According to the company, this integration will allow broadband video providers to “ad-enable” video content distributed using the Akamai Media Framework. BlackArrow also says it is participating in the Open Video Player initiative, a community site whose goal is to facilitate the development and sharing of open standards and best practices for video player applications that support a wide range of advertising technologies. The company claims that the integration will allow premium content owners and publishers to adopt turnkey video player solutions to maximize the return from their digital video content. This, it says, will reduce the complexity of developing ad-supported video players, speed deployments, and stimulate new advertising revenue opportunities. “It’s critical that we make it easier to integrate and deploy advertising solutions, given the escalating demand to monetize video content,” Tim Napoleon, Akamai’s chief strategist for digital media, said in a prepared statement. “BlackArrow’s support for the Akamai Media Framework and participation in the Open Video Player initiative addresses this demand. Together, we can enable content providers to more easily develop and deliver ad-supported broadband video content.” Added BlackArrow’s Chris Hock: “The BlackArrow and Akamai systems work together to provide an optimal platform from which to monetize premium content, and this reflects BlackArrow’s support for open standards. We’ve built an extensive network of broadband ecosystem partners, and our integration with Akamai furthers our goals of reducing the complexity of integrating multiple systems, while ensuring seamless deployments of the BlackArrow ad-management system.”
• The company has signed a deal with multiplatform children’s programmer, Kabillion, that sees the latter implementing the BlackArrow video advertising platform within its broadband and VOD programming, in order to enable its advertisers to deliver dynamically targeted ad campaigns to its audience of six to 12-year-olds. “BlackArrow’s incredibly innovative technology provides a centralized ad-management environment in which to manage our Web, VOD and display advertising–along with the freedom to support any ad type or combination of ads,” Deb Pierson, VP of advertising and marketing at Kabillion, said in a prepared statement. “This is great news for our advertisers, who count on us to effectively reach targeted audiences viewing our programming, whether it’s on VOD or via the Internet.” BlackArrow claims that its multiplatform advertising system enables content providers to solve the problem of how to reach increasingly fragmented audiences (i.e. audiences that are watching programming distributed on broadband, VOD and other platforms outside of linear TV). The company says that its system enables Kabillion to dynamically rotate ad creative targeted against viewing platform, specific programming, time of day viewed, geography and other parameters; and that it also allows the programmer to package sophisticated creative ad-type combinations–such as overlays, pre-loads on games, and mid-rolls–in new ways that serve to differentiate it from other children’s programmers. In addition, the company claims that its pre-integration with thePlatform, which provides Kabillion’s media player technology, has ensured a seamless and quick deployment of its advertising system.

Motorola Unveils Enhancements to its VOD Portfolio

–Launches OCAP Development Toolkit
–Launches New Set-Top Platform Offering Media Mobility
–Secures Deals with T-Home, Ziggo

At the IBC show in Amsterdam earlier this month, Motorola unveiled various enhancements to its VOD product portfolio that make use of adaptive media management (AMM). AMM is a technology framework that is billed as creating a flexible and cost-effective platform for the delivery of such on-demand services as VOD, on-demand advertising and time-shifted TV. According to Motorola, its AMM enhancements will enable its operator customers to rapidly adapt to changing content usage patterns, while optimizing storage, streaming and network costs; and will also enable more content choice and improved service reliability for end-users.

Motorola says that the enhancements are intended to respond to the ongoing rapid growth of operators’ VOD content libraries, by addressing the fact that increased content choices mean that viewership is more widely distributed and traditional concurrency rules no longer apply. Instead of taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach to managing and storing content, the company says, its AMM implementation proactively and reactively manages the placement of content within the network and identifies and assigns the most effective streaming and storage technology (DRAM, flash, disk and network attached storage/storage area networks).

Motorola’s VOD portfolio enhancements include:

• The ODM2000 (slated for availability in Q1, 2009), an on-demand media blade that the company says is designed to improve the performance, scalability and reliability of its B-1 Video Server. It is a hybrid solid-state ingest and streaming module which supports a configurable cache of both DRAM and flash memory and which the company says is designed to support the full range of advanced video services. According to Motorola, the B-1 uses AMM to manage content and streaming between DRAM, flash memory, local and remote storage in a manner that maximizes system performance while lowering total operating costs.
• The CPS1000 cluster manager which is the first component of Motorola’s content propagation system. According to the company, it is designed to optimize storage, streaming and network resources, and improves the fault resiliency of co-located or geographically distributed on-demand elements.
• System Release 4.0 of Motorola’s on-demand solution system, of which the CPS1000 is a part. According to the company, SR4.0 features enhanced H.264 support, integration with Tandberg OpenStream 4.0, chaptering functionality for creating a DVD-like experience on VOD, and ranged playlists that enable the B-1 to insert targeted ads at any point in on-demand content.

In other Motorola news:

• The company has announced the commercial release of a toolkit, called DEVPlatform for OCAP, for creating and debugging tru2way/OCAP applications. “Motorola is committed to bringing new, innovative and interactive viewing experiences to operators’ cable systems,” Larry Robinson, Motorola’s VP of product management for digital video solutions, said in a prepared statement. “Motorola’s support for open specifications and tru2way technology enable cable companies and application developers to rapidly bring to market the innovative television applications that consumers demand.” According to Motorola, the new toolkit provides developers with both a Windows PC simulator and a commercial set-top environment. It allows developers and cable operators to load, run and debug on actual set-tops, the company says, without the need for a cable headend or any additional software licenses. It runs on Windows XP SP2 and is integrated with Motorola’s tru2way-enabled set-top box. According to materials on Motorola’s Web site, DEVPlatform for OCAP includes the following components: Standalone Windows PC developer environment; Windows-based PC simulator with virtual TV monitor, remote control, and set-top front panel; built-in section generator for generating MPEG-2 transport streams; a Motorola OCAP-enabled set-top box; Motorola OCAP middleware for both the simulator and the set-top; new project wizards for creating OCAP projects; TFTP and HTTP server software; sample applications and technical bulletins; Javadoc API references; Motorola technical support; system, design and testing services available on request.
• The company has launched a multimedia set-top platform that allows users to transfer content to and from a mobile phone, without having to use a PC. It also allows users to create and store personalized music and video libraries, Motorola says. The first implementation of the new platform will be launched November 1st by Japanese mobile wireless operator, KDDI, which is deploying Motorola set-tops equipped with the platform to power a service called au BOX. The service will allow subscribers of KDDI’s au mobile wireless service to transfer content between their home entertainment systems and their mobile devices. The Motorola set-tops will be offered to au subscribers as an option on a leased basis. Among other things, the boxes feature a CD player and CD ripping capabilities, in order to allow users to rip CD’s from their personal collections, automatically retrieve CD information, store the files in their music libraries, and then transfer them to a mobile handset or portable media player via USB. In addition, Motorola says, subscribers will be able to play music from a CD, mobile handset or portable media player on the set-top through its integrated speakers. The boxes also offer video encoding capabilities, so that viewers can upload video from a DVR and then transfer it to their mobiles; a DVD player; and the ability to access the Internet, Motorola says. The new set-top platform is based on Motorola’s KreaTV open software for set-top devices, which it acquired via its acquisition of set-top box manufacturer, Kreatel, back in 2006. According to the company, KreaTV is designed to let operators easily add new functionality and services at any time, is compatible with a wide range of OS middleware and DRM technologies, and supports multiple video formats, including H.264 HD.
• The company says that Deutsche Telekom has selected its HD-enabled VIP1616E IPTV set-top box for its Microsoft Mediaroom-powered T-Home Entertain services. According to Motorola, the box–which T-Home will brand as Media Receiver 300 Typ A–will enable T-Home customers to access a range of multimedia applications, in addition to standard TV offerings. The box will also allow those customers to access premium sports content in HD and to use its included EPG to plan their viewing and schedule recordings. It incorporates a DVR and two-way IP capability.
• The company says that Dutch cable operator, Ziggo, has selected its B-1 Video Server and its Stream Commander management software to power its new VOD service, which will offer both SD and HD content. The service launched commercially on the former Casema network in the second quarter and is scheduled to launch across the entire Ziggo network by the end of the year. The service features several thousand titles, including movies, children’s programs, documentaries and music videos, and will shortly also offer a selection of content in HD. According to Motorola, its VOD platform has now been selected by European operators that collectively pass over 8 million homes. The B-1 Video Server–which Motorola acquired via its acquisition of Broadbus (see [itvt] Issue 6.87 Part 1)–separates storage from streaming, which, the company says, allows operators such as Ziggo to independently scale content libraries and streaming resources “at a fraction of the operational costs” of legacy servers. Motorola bills the solid-state server as providing a very high-performance, scalable and reliable solution for VOD and an open platform for advanced on-demand services, such as time-shifted TV, network DVR and on-demand ad insertion.

Motorola Unveils Enhancements to its VOD Portfolio

–Launches OCAP Development Toolkit
–Launches New Set-Top Platform Offering Media Mobility
–Secures Deals with T-Home, Ziggo

At the IBC show in Amsterdam earlier this month, Motorola unveiled various enhancements to its VOD product portfolio that make use of adaptive media management (AMM). AMM is a technology framework that is billed as creating a flexible and cost-effective platform for the delivery of such on-demand services as VOD, on-demand advertising and time-shifted TV. According to Motorola, its AMM enhancements will enable its operator customers to rapidly adapt to changing content usage patterns, while optimizing storage, streaming and network costs; and will also enable more content choice and improved service reliability for end-users.

Motorola says that the enhancements are intended to respond to the ongoing rapid growth of operators’ VOD content libraries, by addressing the fact that increased content choices mean that viewership is more widely distributed and traditional concurrency rules no longer apply. Instead of taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach to managing and storing content, the company says, its AMM implementation proactively and reactively manages the placement of content within the network and identifies and assigns the most effective streaming and storage technology (DRAM, flash, disk and network attached storage/storage area networks).

Motorola’s VOD portfolio enhancements include:

• The ODM2000 (slated for availability in Q1, 2009), an on-demand media blade that the company says is designed to improve the performance, scalability and reliability of its B-1 Video Server. It is a hybrid solid-state ingest and streaming module which supports a configurable cache of both DRAM and flash memory and which the company says is designed to support the full range of advanced video services. According to Motorola, the B-1 uses AMM to manage content and streaming between DRAM, flash memory, local and remote storage in a manner that maximizes system performance while lowering total operating costs.
• The CPS1000 cluster manager which is the first component of Motorola’s content propagation system. According to the company, it is designed to optimize storage, streaming and network resources, and improves the fault resiliency of co-located or geographically distributed on-demand elements.
• System Release 4.0 of Motorola’s on-demand solution system, of which the CPS1000 is a part. According to the company, SR4.0 features enhanced H.264 support, integration with Tandberg OpenStream 4.0, chaptering functionality for creating a DVD-like experience on VOD, and ranged playlists that enable the B-1 to insert targeted ads at any point in on-demand content.

In other Motorola news:

• The company has announced the commercial release of a toolkit, called DEVPlatform for OCAP, for creating and debugging tru2way/OCAP applications. “Motorola is committed to bringing new, innovative and interactive viewing experiences to operators’ cable systems,” Larry Robinson, Motorola’s VP of product management for digital video solutions, said in a prepared statement. “Motorola’s support for open specifications and tru2way technology enable cable companies and application developers to rapidly bring to market the innovative television applications that consumers demand.” According to Motorola, the new toolkit provides developers with both a Windows PC simulator and a commercial set-top environment. It allows developers and cable operators to load, run and debug on actual set-tops, the company says, without the need for a cable headend or any additional software licenses. It runs on Windows XP SP2 and is integrated with Motorola’s tru2way-enabled set-top box. According to materials on Motorola’s Web site, DEVPlatform for OCAP includes the following components: Standalone Windows PC developer environment; Windows-based PC simulator with virtual TV monitor, remote control, and set-top front panel; built-in section generator for generating MPEG-2 transport streams; a Motorola OCAP-enabled set-top box; Motorola OCAP middleware for both the simulator and the set-top; new project wizards for creating OCAP projects; TFTP and HTTP server software; sample applications and technical bulletins; Javadoc API references; Motorola technical support; system, design and testing services available on request.
• The company has launched a multimedia set-top platform that allows users to transfer content to and from a mobile phone, without having to use a PC. It also allows users to create and store personalized music and video libraries, Motorola says. The first implementation of the new platform will be launched November 1st by Japanese mobile wireless operator, KDDI, which is deploying Motorola set-tops equipped with the platform to power a service called au BOX. The service will allow subscribers of KDDI’s au mobile wireless service to transfer content between their home entertainment systems and their mobile devices. The Motorola set-tops will be offered to au subscribers as an option on a leased basis. Among other things, the boxes feature a CD player and CD ripping capabilities, in order to allow users to rip CD’s from their personal collections, automatically retrieve CD information, store the files in their music libraries, and then transfer them to a mobile handset or portable media player via USB. In addition, Motorola says, subscribers will be able to play music from a CD, mobile handset or portable media player on the set-top through its integrated speakers. The boxes also offer video encoding capabilities, so that viewers can upload video from a DVR and then transfer it to their mobiles; a DVD player; and the ability to access the Internet, Motorola says. The new set-top platform is based on Motorola’s KreaTV open software for set-top devices, which it acquired via its acquisition of set-top box manufacturer, Kreatel, back in 2006. According to the company, KreaTV is designed to let operators easily add new functionality and services at any time, is compatible with a wide range of OS middleware and DRM technologies, and supports multiple video formats, including H.264 HD.
• The company says that Deutsche Telekom has selected its HD-enabled VIP1616E IPTV set-top box for its Microsoft Mediaroom-powered T-Home Entertain services. According to Motorola, the box–which T-Home will brand as Media Receiver 300 Typ A–will enable T-Home customers to access a range of multimedia applications, in addition to standard TV offerings. The box will also allow those customers to access premium sports content in HD and to use its included EPG to plan their viewing and schedule recordings. It incorporates a DVR and two-way IP capability.
• The company says that Dutch cable operator, Ziggo, has selected its B-1 Video Server and its Stream Commander management software to power its new VOD service, which will offer both SD and HD content. The service launched commercially on the former Casema network in the second quarter and is scheduled to launch across the entire Ziggo network by the end of the year. The service features several thousand titles, including movies, children’s programs, documentaries and music videos, and will shortly also offer a selection of content in HD. According to Motorola, its VOD platform has now been selected by European operators that collectively pass over 8 million homes. The B-1 Video Server–which Motorola acquired via its acquisition of Broadbus (see [itvt] Issue 6.87 Part 1)–separates storage from streaming, which, the company says, allows operators such as Ziggo to independently scale content libraries and streaming resources “at a fraction of the operational costs” of legacy servers. Motorola bills the solid-state server as providing a very high-performance, scalable and reliable solution for VOD and an open platform for advanced on-demand services, such as time-shifted TV, network DVR and on-demand ad insertion.

Seagate Launches New Storage Devices for Use with DVR’s

At the NCTA Cable Show in New Orleans last month, Seagate
Technology launched a series of storage products, dubbed Seagate
Showcase, for use with DVR’s, and also announced that the new
product line has been designed for compatibility with Motorola’s
eSATA-capable HD DVR set-top portfolio. According to the company,
the new drives will initially have storage capacities of up to 1 terabyte
(i.e. 200 hours of HD programming or 1,000 hours of SD
programming), and plug-and-play capability via standard USB 2.0 or
eSATA connections, as well as a “stylish design” that will fit
“seamlessly” into existing entertainment centers and “complement the
look of” existing A/V equipment. “Today’s consumers are constantly
demanding more storage for high-definition video and high-fidelity
audio–and they want it as part of their home entertainment system,”
Patrick King, SVP of Seagate’s Consumer Solutions division, said in a
prepared statement. “We believe that the Seagate Showcase product
line will take its place alongside the receiver, speaker system and
television as a must-have component for the entertainment center. We
are pleased to be working with Motorola to enable an enjoyable
consumer experience.”

CableNET Line-Up Announced

The NCTA and CableLabs have announced the line-up of companies
that will be participating in CableNET, their annual showcase of new
cable technologies and products at the NCTA’s Cable Show (takes
place May 18th-20th in New Orleans). A number of participating
companies, including UniSoft/Strategy & Technology, Sigma Designs
and Zodiac Interactive, will be demo’ing tru2way-based technologies,
and several other companies, including Digeo, Motorola, Pixel3 and
Symmetricom, will be demo’ing other advanced video technologies. In
addition, there will be a number of presentations on tru2way at a
CableNET Theater.

CableNET participants that will be demo’ing interactive TV-related
technologies include:

• Digeo, which will be demo’ing its latest DVR for cable, the Moxi HD
  DVR 3012. The demo will feature the box’s Emmy-winning interface,
  its dual digital tuning capability, and its integrated CableCARD.
  According to Digeo, the new DVR includes a streamlined processor
  and a high-capacity hard drive.

• Digital Fountain, which will be demo’ing DF Splash, billed as an
  end-to-end solution that streamlines the most complex elements of
  delivering and measuring a high-quality video experience. According to
  the company, the technology provides viewers with an instant-on,
  full-screen, TV-quality experience, and significantly improves “the way
  we watch streaming video over the Internet.”

• EchoStar Technologies (i.e. the company that was formerly the
  hardware arm of the satellite TV provider now called DISH), which
  will demo SlingModem, a product it acquired through its recent
  purchase of Sling Media. According to the company, the product is the
  first DOCSIS cable modem to fully integrate the place-shifting
  capabilities of the original Slingbox. It is billed as allowing viewers to
  watch and control their TV programming on any Internet-connected
  computing device just as they would in front of their livingroom
  television set.

• Motorola, which will be demo’ing its MTR700 Tuning Adapter.
  According to the company, the product connects unidirectional UDCP’s
  (in this case, a TiVo device) to a cable network, accessing multimedia
  content in the cable network’s switched digital video tier. It says the
  demo will showcase “seamless tuning of the TiVo device across both
  broadcast and SDV tiers.”

• Oversi, which will be demo’ing its OverCache multi-service caching
  and content delivery platform for Internet video and P2P traffic.
  According to the company, the platform enables cable operators to
  relieve heavy network congestion, while improving customers’ quality
  of experience and monetizing over-the-top video traffic.

• Pixel3 (formerly Clique Communications), which will be demo’ing
  ImageIQ, an application which is billed as taking SD video and
  upgrading it to HD quality. The company claims that the resulting
  video “is not just a scaled-up version of low-definition content, but an
  actual, full-bandwidth 1080p image” with high-frequency detail.

• Samsung, which will be demo’ing downloadable conditional access,
  and digital program insertion for advertising.

• Sigma Designs, which will be demo’ing an integrated, tru2way-based
  set-top box that features four narrowband tuners that can display three
  video channels (HD as well as SD). According to the company, the
  tuners can be linked to enable channel bonding based on DOCSIS 3.0,
  enabling high-speed throughput.

• Softel-USA, which will be demo’ing its MediaSphere TX carousel
  playing both tru2way and ETV applications, as well as what it
  describes as the “flexibility and ease-of-use” of the system’s Web-based
  configuration tools. According to the company, the carousel has been
  integrated with Motorola and Scientific-Atlanta headends and set-tops,
  and with various automation, scheduling and billing systems. The
  company also bills its MediaSphere product line as fully supporting
  DSG delivery via GigE and ETV I04 updates.

• Symmetricom, which says it will be demo’ing “the importance of
  video QoE from a viewer’s perspective.” According to the company,
  mean opinion scores from a streamed video signal, along with video
  quality results, will be displayed to indicate perceptual video quality,
  and validate video quality as perceived by end-users.

• Synacor, which will be demo’ing various new features of its consumer
  portal, including Web DVR scheduling.

• thePlatform, which will be demo’ing an integrated delivery
  framework, jointly developed with Cisco Systems, that it claims gives
  service providers a mechanism for seamless delivery of broadband
  video to multiple screens. The company says it will also be exhibiting
  technology that allows cable operators and programmers to create a
  branded, customized broadband video channel “in minutes,” and that
  can also manage the entire logistics process and enhance the overall
  online video experience.

• UniSoft/Strategy & Technology, which will be demo’ing various
  aspects of tru2way and ETV application creation, testing and delivery.
  The demos will include the company’s TSBroadcaster 2.0 delivering
  multi-service transport streams containing a number of OCAP and ETV
  applications; ETV-based ad insertion and splicing; validation of ETV
  and OCAP applications using XFSI’s XAV; OCAP benchmark testing
  using Sofia’s OCAP Benchmark system; and generation of
  authenticated OCAP applications using UniSoft’s OCAP Security File
  Generator.

• Zodiac Interactive, which will be demo’ing its tru2way Zidget
  framework, which utilizes a plug-in architecture to support such
  applications as local search, weather, traffic, sports scores, and local
  news, without disrupting the TV viewing experience.