Technicolor Develops 3D Certification Program

Technicolor wants to be sure 3D is comfortable to watch.

With that in mind, the company has introduced a 3D Certification program aimed at broadcasters and network service providers, to ensure that 3D material meets minimum quality requirements before it is delivered to consumers. The foundation of the service, dubbed Technicolor Certifi3D, is an in-house developed 3D analysis software tool.

Technicolor's new 3D analysis software was developed by its Research and Innovation team. Utilizing the left and right source masters, the software is designed to build a 3D model in real time giving an accurate pixel count for objects that are too close or too far away from the viewer that would result in discomfort. It also automatically detects and flags conflicts with the edges of the TV screen, another source of discomfort for 3D in the home.

Initially, the certification program will be available in London and Los Angeles. Eventually the service would be available worldwide.

For the complete article, please click here.

Ericsson's IPTV Remote: Another Tablet for the TV Operators

In addition to differentiating on infrastructure and content management, television infrastructure companies are now competing on tablet devices, with the Technicolor Media Touch Tablet vying against the Ericsson IPTV Remote.

Ericsson's IPTV remote gives consumers a single interface through which to control live broadcast TV, on-demand video, Internet video, photos, audio and any media stored on a personal computer or device with storage capabilities. The Ericsson IPTV Remote includes a touch screen so that the consumer can intuitively browse different sources of media, as well as preview and organize playlists. Once a decision has been made, a program can be started on the main TV screen with a single touch. While one person is browsing, other viewers can watch the main TV screen and their selected program is undisturbed

Residential gateway announcements - Technicolor, Motorola, Broadcom, Marvell, and Jungo

Here are several residential gateway-related news releases in the past week or so:

• Technicolor will provide its TG587nv2 to O2 UK Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telefónica;
• Motorola's 7600 Series of ultra-broadband VDSL2 gateways will be deployed by Swisscom to provide high definition (HD) video, high-speed data and voice-over-IP (VoIP) to its subscribers.;
• Broadcom announced the availability of its BCM6818 Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON)-based residential gateway system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution. Broadcom notes that this SoC represents one of the first and most complete hardware and software solutions currently available for enabling advanced GPON-based residential gateway services that include Wi-Fi, voice over IP (VoIP), Ethernet switching and IPTV.
• Marvell and Jungo announced the integration Jungo's OpenRG™ residential gateway software and Marvell's AVANTA™ Application Gateway - on-a-Chip (GoC). With the new residential gateway reference platform, service providers and network operators will have easier access to always-on home services and value-added applications while increasing average revenue per user.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Technicolor's Media Touch Tablet

Last week, Technicolor announced that it is launching the second generation of its Media Touch tablet.

The product has been primarily defined to consume online and home audio and video, access the
Web, and interact with other equipment. It is also positioned as an all-in-one remote controller.

The device is based on Google's Android operating system.

Intel making headway in the service provider market with "smart TV" solutions?

After several missteps into the living room, Intel seems to have made significant progress in working with service providers and their CPE vendors. There have been announcements with Technicolor, Telecom Italia, and Liberty Global/UPC this year. Now, Reuters is reporting that Intel and Chunghwa Telecom are in discussions for a "smart TV initiative.

Intel is getting its connected CE groove on

Intel had a busy week at the Intel Developer Forum. The company showed off two smart TV-enabling products powered by the Intel® Atom™ processor CE4100 and Google TV that will come out this Fall. The Sony Internet TV and the Logitech Revue add-in box seamlessly combine access to the Internet with the TV viewing experience through the combination of Intel processors and the Google TV Android platform. The Boxee Box from D-Link was offered for pre-orders last Monday, Telecom Italia and several other companies are also expected to launch Intel® Atom™ processor CE4100-based devices soon.

In addition, Technicolor announced that it was collaborating with Intelon its latest system on a chip, the Intel® Atom™ processor CE4200, formerly code-named Groveland. The strategic collaboration will fuel Technicolor's plan to drive into the market a new generation of integrated broadcast and IP set-top boxes, enabling service providers to create exciting new multi-screen, 3D, games and online video user experiences in the home

CONNECTIONS Europe features Technicolor keynote & executives from ADB, HbbTV, IBM, NDS, Omniphone, OpenTV and more

The speakers for CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit: Monetizing Connectivity and User Experiences, announced today by Parks Associates, offer unique executive insight into business strategies for digital content, value-added services, connected CE, and advanced video devices and services. International research firm Parks Associates will host the Summit on April 27, 2010, at the Mövenpick Hotel in Amsterdam.

Benoit Joly, Vice-President, Home Network & Applications, Technicolor, will present the opening keynote. Other speakers:

-- Jonathan Beavon, Director, Segment Marketing, NDS

-- Paul Bristow, VP Strategy, Middleware & Consumer Experience, ADB (Advanced Digital Broadcast)
-- Ronald Brockmann, Managing Director, Europe, ActiveVideo Networks
-- Rob van den Dam, Global Telecom Sector leader IBV, IBM
-- Klaus Illgner-Fehns, Managing Director, HbbTV
-- Trond Neergaard, Founder and Managing Partner, Cloudberry Associates
-- Steve Oetegenn, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Verimatrix
-- Rolf Uwe Placzek, CEO, Acetrax
-- Kurt Scherf, VP, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates
-- Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates
-- Andrew Wajs, CTO, Irdeto
-- Olivier Wellmann, VP, Product Management, OpenTV
-- Speaker TBA, Omnifone

For information or to register, visit http://www.connectionseurope.com.

Technicolor mp3HD format adopted by Samsung

Technicolor today announced that its mp3HD format, introduced in 2009, is featured in the Samsung “IceTouch,” the company’s first mp3HD portable player, which was recently unveiled at CES 2010.

The mp3HD format offers lossless audio compression as well as compatibility with the widely-used mp3 standard. mp3HD enables content creators, the music industry and consumers to benefit from the ultimate audio quality experience with the same ease of use as the mp3 format.

For the full press release, click here.

Technicolor (formerly Thomson) supporting ONO with residential gateways

Last summer, I had commented about the uptick in cable broadband-related residential gateway deployments. Cable operators are now starting to look at the residential gateway as a potential path to CAPEX reduction, as they seek to reduce costs on advanced set-top boxes and allow the RG to handle more video-centric functionality. Spanish cable operator ONO is working with Technicolor (formerly Thomson) to deploy RGs. Technicolor announced on Friday that it had deployed 250,000 RGs (the TCW710) to ONO.