Frost & Sullivan honors Telestream with 2009 Global Competitive Strategy Leadership Award and 2009 World Market Share Leadership Award

Telestream, a provider of world-class video transcoding solutions, affirms its leadership position with the announcement that Frost & Sullivan has presented the company with two 2009 Global Video Transcoders Market Leadership Awards. The Competitive Strategy Leadership Award recognizes Telestream for its accomplishments in the overall global enterprise, broadband and mobile video transcoders market. The World Market Share Leadership award recognizes Telestream’s position in the global broadband video transcoders market sector.

The awards cite Telestream’s best practices as being unmatched in their field; acknowledge the company’s continued double-digit growth rate and market share dominance; as well as the creativity and dedication of its executive team and employees.

Frost and Sullivan’s Competitive Strategy Leadership Award is based on key criteria that benchmarks Telestream against its competitors in the areas of competitive intelligence, competitive strategy, market share, brand positioning and customer satisfaction.

“Telestream has focused on using transcoding as an enabling technology and has been able to successfully merge it with other components to provide customers with complete workflow solutions. Further, Telestream has made two major acquisitions that have helped the company leverage growth,” said Vidya S. Nath, Senior Industry Analyst at Frost and Sullivan. “Despite tough economic conditions and extremely competitive situations, Telestream has enjoyed substantial growth in 2009 and established itself as a leading transcoding vendor across multiple market segments.”

Frost and Sullivan cites several key performance drivers that contributed to the growth of Telestream:

–  A highly diversified line of transcoding products complimented by
other software and workflow automation products have resulted in
higher adoption rates and the ability to address a broader range of
markets.
–  Strong brand recognition driven by its perceived innovation leadership
in spite of the dominance of large broadcast equipment vendors.
–  Year-on-year revenue growth of 30% despite recessionary economic
conditions in 2009.

Frost and Sullivan also recognized Telestream as one of only two vendors that has gained robust growth within the global broadband video transcoders market, while driving innovation. Although the market is highly fragmented, Telestream led its competitors with a 17.9 percent market share.

“An important factor that has contributed to Telestream’s growth is its highly diversified product line. The company offers both enterprise-scale and desktop encoding and transcoding solutions, enabling customers of all sizes to compress video for web distribution,” stated Nath, at Frost & Sullivan. “Telestream’s market share, especially in the broadband video market segment, has grown tremendously because of these efforts.”

Both awards acknowledge Telestream’s recent acquisitions as contributing to its transcoding expertise and breadth of product offerings for Mac and Windows users. These acquisitions have helped Telestream to leverage its growth and expand distribution.

“Telestream is honored to receive these two awards from Frost & Sullivan, one of the world’s top research firms,” said Dan Castes, CEO of Telestream. “The most important recognition for us is customer satisfaction which is reflected in our sales growth and is the foundation for receiving these awards. We are dedicated to continuing our quest to create the technology and products that enable a broad range of digital media solutions across multiple platforms.”

Founded in 1998, Telestream products make it possible to get video content to any audience regardless of how it is created, distributed or viewed. The world’s most demanding media and entertainment companies, service providers and enterprises rely on Telestream products to streamline their operations and generate more revenue from their media. In addition, a growing number of video prosumers are turning to Telestream to simplify the creation of video for online and mobile distribution. Enterprise-class products include video capture devices, video transcoding and workflow automation server software. Desktop solutions include encoding, live webcasting, screencasting and component software. Telestream enables users in a broad range of business environments to leverage the value of their video content. Corporate headquarters are located in Nevada City, California, and its team of video experts is located in France, Germany, Sweden, UK and US.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company’s Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO’s Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com/.

Companies enter mutually exclusive arrangement to develop UK’s most advanced television and broadband offering

TiVo, a leader in the creation of television services and advertising solutions for digital video recorders (DVRs), and Virgin Media, the UK’s leading entertainment and communications company, announced they have entered into a strategic partnership under which TiVo will develop Virgin Media’s next generation TV platform. Under the mutually exclusive agreement, TiVo will develop a converged television and broadband interactive interface to power Virgin Media’s next generation, high definition set top boxes. The terms of the deal are not disclosed.

TiVo will become the exclusive provider of middleware and user interface software for Virgin Media’s next generation set top boxes. Virgin Media will become the exclusive distributor of TiVo services and technology in the United Kingdom.

Neil Berkett, CEO of Virgin Media said, “TiVo’s proven track record of innovation, strength of its patented technology and experience in developing best in class user environments, make it an ideal strategic partner for Virgin Media as we move aggressively to bring our next generation TV service to market. The superiority of our fibre optic network combined with TiVo’s capabilities, will allow us to offer consumers the most significantly advanced and compelling TV service available in the UK, and we believe will do to the TV market what Virgin Media has done to the high speed broadband market.”

The next generation platform will offer a superior television viewing experience which will allow Virgin Media customers to search and discover content through major advances in video-on-demand integration and broadband video delivery creating the ultimate one-stop-shop for in-home entertainment.

“This deal underscores TiVo’s commitment to expanding its global footprint through strategic alliances with leading international media companies to help them deliver the best in-home entertainment experience for consumers,” said Tom Rogers, president and CEO of TiVo Inc. “We are very excited about this new distribution relationship with the UK’s most advanced pay television provider and are particularly proud to have been selected as Virgin Media’s core software partner for its next generation DVR-enabled set top boxes and its next generation non-DVR set top boxes. Virgin Media is a true leader in the world of entertainment and their enthusiasm for building the next generation of pay television is an excellent opportunity to put all of TiVo’s innovation to work in a product distributed by a world class partner. We believe this international deal affords us a significant subscriber growth opportunity.”

Virgin Media currently anticipates its first TiVo co-branded product in 2010.

The application has launched today and for £6 a month people can access the Sky Sports bundle – which includes access to Sky News, the Sky Sports channels and the ESPN channels live on their handset or iPod Touch for the first time.

The Sky TV app is free to download initially and allows users to stream TV via WiFi and not 3G at this stage. It is understood this is because of restrictions from O2. It will be available to all iPhone owners, regardless of what mobile network they are signed to, including Orange, which begins selling the handset today.

Subscribers to the app will have access to live televised matches from the Barclays Premier League, Scottish Premier League and Football League, and other sport tournaments such as the European Tour golf, Premiership rugby and international and domestic cricket.

Full story at telegraph.co.uk.

Users can now enjoy iTunes Extras and iTunes LP in stunning fullscreen with their Apple TV, as well as listen to Genius Mixes and Internet radio through their home theater system. The new Apple TV software is available immediately free of charge to existing Apple TV owners, and Apple TV with 160GB capacity is available for just $229.

“The new software for Apple TV features a simpler and faster interface that gives you instant access to your favorite content,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “HD movies and HD TV shows from iTunes have been a huge hit with Apple TV customers, and with Apple TV 3.0 they get great new features including iTunes Extras, Genius Mixes and Internet radio.”

The redesigned main menu on Apple TV gives instant access to users’ favorite content. Recently rented or purchased movies, as well as other content including TV shows, music, podcasts, photos and YouTube, are accessible directly from the new main menu. The new software also allows Apple TV users to enjoy stunning fullscreen iTunes Extras and iTunes LP, including great new movie titles such as “Star Trek” or classics like “The Wizard of Oz” and albums such as Taylor Swift’s “Fearless (Platinum Edition)” and Jack Johnson’s “En Concert.” iTunes Extras gives movie fans great additional content such as deleted scenes, interviews and interactive galleries. iTunes LP is the next evolution of the music album, delivering a rich, immersive experience for select albums on the iTunes Store by combining beautiful design with expanded visual features like live performance videos, lyrics, artwork, liner notes, interviews, photos, album credits and more.

Now Apple TV users can enjoy Genius Mixes through their home theater system and listen to up to 12 endless mixes of songs that go great together, automatically generated from their iTunes library. Customers can also enjoy Internet radio, allowing them to browse and listen to thousands of Internet radio stations, as well as tag favorite stations to listen to later. Apple TV’s support of HD photos is enhanced with iPhoto Events, which simplifies finding users’ favorite photos on Apple TV, as well as iPhoto Faces, which gives access to photos organized by people identified in iPhoto.

Apple TV users have direct access to a catalog of over 8,000 Hollywood films on iTunes including over 2,000 in stunning HD video available for rent or purchase. Users can also choose from a selection of 11 million songs, 10,000 music videos and over 50,000 TV episodes to purchase directly from their Apple TV or browse and enjoy the iTunes Store podcast directory of over 175,000 free video and audio podcasts. Purchases downloaded to Apple TV are automatically synced back to iTunes on the user’s computer for enjoyment on their Mac or PC or all current generation iPods or iPhones. iPod touch or iPhone users can download the free Remote app from the App Store to control their Apple TV with a simple tap or flick of the finger.

The new Apple TV software is available as a free automatic download to all Apple TV customers. The 160GB Apple TV is available from the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $229 (US). Apple TV requires an 802.11b/g/n wireless network or 10/100 Base-T Ethernet networking, a broadband Internet connection and a high definition widescreen TV. Video availability varies by country.

Apple TV easily connects to a broad range of widescreen TVs and home theater systems and comes standard with HDMI, component video, analog and optical audio ports. Using high-speed Wi-Fi, Apple TV automatically plays users’ iTunes content without setup or management.

Movie rentals work on iPod classic, iPod nano with video, iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Mopar will showcase FLO TV Auto Entertainment at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas next week.

“We want to offer our customers the ultimate in entertainment,” said Pietro Gorlier, President & Chief Executive Officer, Mopar Service, Parts & Customer Care. “With FLO TV Auto Entertainment, we are the first automaker to offer mobile TV with the capacity for as many as 20 channels.”

Until now, the challenge for mobile TV has been to deliver high-quality, uninterrupted coverage in urban environments and at highway speeds. Existing mobile TV systems in the United States either offer limited channels or require large satellite dishes on vehicle roofs – and a large price tag to match.

Mopar’s suggested retail price is $629, plus installation. A one-year pre-paid FLO TV service subscription is included with installation.

The entertainment package will be available as a dealer-installed option on the following 2008-2010 model year vehicles with factory DVD entertainment systems: Chrysler Town & Country, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Commander, Dodge Grand Caravan, Dodge Journey, Dodge Nitro, Ram 1500 and Ram 2500/3500.

The service also can be added to select 2008-2010 model-year vehicles when new Mopar headrest or seat-top DVD entertainment systems are purchased.

How it Works

Television signals are delivered through a dedicated multicast network built by San Diego-based FLO TV Inc., a live mobile TV service provider, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Inc. FLO TV offers live and time-shifted programming from top entertainment brands, including CBS Mobile, CNBC, Comedy Central, FOX News, MSNBC, MTV, NBC 2Go and Nickelodeon.

Up to 20 channels will be available in late December when the feature is available for dealer installation. By the end of 2009, the FLO TV service should be available in more than 100 major markets and many interstate driving corridors. The FLO TV service is not available in some rural areas.

Audiovox Corp., of Hauppauge, NY, supplies FLO TV Auto Entertainment hardware that integrates with Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge Car and Ram Truck vehicles’ existing entertainment systems and new Mopar 7-inch DVD screen systems. A small antenna, similar in size to a laptop mouse, is mounted on a vehicle’s roof to deliver the digital TV signal. Inside the vehicle, the receiver and wiring are installed under the interior trim of the vehicle and are not visible to occupants.

User-friendly wired and wireless remote controls allow viewers to easily surf channels, similar to TV systems at home.

Mopar’s FLO TV Auto Entertainment option includes a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty on new vehicles or a 12-month/12,000-mile warranty on used vehicles for hardware and installation.

Chrysler Group LLC, formed in 2009 from a global strategic alliance with Fiat Group, produces Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge Car, Ram Truck and Mopar brand vehicles and products. With the resources, technology and worldwide distribution network required to compete effectively on a global scale, the alliance builds on Chrysler’s culture of innovation – first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925 – and Fiat’s complementary technology. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich., Chrysler Group LLC’s product lineup features some of the world’s most recognizable vehicles, including the Chrysler Town & Country, Jeep Wrangler and Ram 1500. Fiat will contribute world-class technology, platforms and powertrains for small- and medium-sized cars, allowing Chrysler Group LLC to offer an expanded product line including environmentally friendly vehicles.

Mopar distributes approximately 280,000 parts and accessories in more than 90 countries and is the source for all original equipment parts for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge Car and Ram Truck vehicles. Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered by the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge Car and Ram Truck vehicles – a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide.

When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It also was widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960’s – the muscle car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth “package cars” equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of “special parts” for super stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.

The system allows you to watch live sports, breaking news, kids’ programs and primetime network shows in the back seat
> Live mobile TV available on Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge Car and Ram Truck
vehicles as a Mopar(R) option
> Live TV viewing of CBS Mobile, CNBC, Comedy Central, FOX News, MSNBC,
MTV, NBC 2Go, Nickelodeon and more
> FLO TV(TM) Auto Entertainment will be available in late December for
$629 plus installation, includes one-year subscription

> Mobile TV option includes 3-year/36,000-mile warranty for new vehicles
and 12-month/12,000-mile warranty on used vehicles

“We are pleased with the result of our patent licensing efforts. It further demonstrates the technical strength and value of VIZIO’s patent portfolio,” said Rob Brinkman, VIZIO V.P. of Operations and Administration.

VIZIO continues to expand its intellectual property including the development of new technologies that will be implemented in VIZIO’s products available later this year and beyond. “We are excited about the new line of VIZIO HDTVs which will have technically advanced features. We are committed to providing the best HDTV experience possible to our customers,” Brinkman added.

VIZIO also announced that it has successfully resolved its ongoing patent disputes with Sony, and that VIZIO now is a licensee under Sony’s color television patent portfolio. “Having successfully resolved the disputes, we shall continue to aggressively protect our rights and actively expand VIZIO’s licensing program. As an owner of patent rights and as a licensee of legitimate patent right held by others, VIZIO respects intellectual property and we expect our competitors to do the same,” added Mr. Brinkman.

In addition to the Panasonic booth (#14053), the company’s presence will be supplemented by a Panasonic Full HD 3D Home Theater-equipped tractor trailer exhibit from its nationwide 3D tour fleet to demonstrate 3D for show goers. The Full HD 3D system, which will reach the market next year, utilizes 1080p Plasma display technology and a modified Blu-ray Disc player to deliver a truly immersive 1080p Full HD 3D experience of entertainment and other programming in the home.

“Panasonic believes that the Cable-Tec Expo, with its more than 10,000 cable industry professional attendees, provides the perfect opportunity for us to highlight the impact of Full HD 3D and to give cable engineering, operations and management leaders the chance to experience first hand the powerful and exciting possibilities of 3D. Full HD 3D is anticipated to be widely deployed in 2010, creating new revenue opportunities for the industry,” said Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Panasonic Corp. of North America’s Chief Technology Officer. “It also provides Panasonic with an occasion to demonstrate our commitment to tru2way, including exhibiting our expanded range of interactive cable solutions — both current and next-generation tru2way digital set-top boxes and the design for a new tru2way digital Set-Back Box which converts VIERA TVs into tru2way-capable receivers.”

At Booth #14053, Panasonic will feature a lineup of next-generation tru2way-based broadband cable set-top boxes all of which offer a smaller footprint and are more energy efficient than earlier models. Panasonic will also demonstrate tru2way-enabled VIERA Plasma TVs, their NovaTouch(TM) system, an innovative touch-based remote control designed to navigate next generation cable program guides, and a prototype of Panasonic’s new tru2way Set-Back Box, which can transform Panasonic VIERA HDTVs into tru2way-enabled receivers.

In addition, at Booth #14044 Panasonic will feature its highly acclaimed Toughbook® mobile computers that allow cable technicians, engineers and supervisors in the field or on the workbench to solve problems quickly and efficiently with exceptional reliability.

With wideband, Comcast has introduced a new echelon of Internet speed tiers, which will redefine the customer experience online and create a platform for Internet innovation in the years ahead. Comcast now offers some of the fastest speeds available today in Central California, including the Extreme 50 tier with download speeds of up to 50 Mbps. Wideband also enables Comcast to double speeds for the majority of existing high-speed Internet customers.

“Wideband utilizes our existing fiber-optic network in neighborhoods across our footprint. With this next generation of service, our customers’ online experience is dramatically enhanced,” said Steve White, Senior Vice President of Comcast’s California Region. “And this is just the beginning. Wideband, combined with our fiber-optic network, gives us the capability of meeting the needs of our customers for many years to come by offering even faster speeds in the future.”

Beginning October 29th, Comcast’s new services will be available to residential homes, and beginning November 5th to all businesses, so its customers will soon be conducting business, surfing the web and playing online games even faster.

As part of the wideband deployment, Comcast is launching two new premium speed tiers to its residential and business class customers. Both new services are ideal for households or businesses simultaneously using several computers or Internet-connected devices. They also will appeal to those who simply want some of the fastest speeds available today:

New Residential Tiers
> Extreme 50, offering up to 50 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 10
Mbps of upstream speed at $99.95/month.*

> Ultra, offering up to 22 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 5 Mbps of
upstream speed at $62.95/month.*

With Extreme 50, Comcast customers will be able to download a high-definition movie (6 GB) in about 16 minutes, a standard-definition movie (2 GB) in about five minutes and a standard-definition TV show (300 MB) in a matter of seconds. Customers with Extreme 50 also will be able to download digital photos, songs and games faster than ever.

In addition to the new speed tiers, Comcast will also increase speeds for its existing Performance tier customers, who will now benefit from doubled downstream and upstream speeds – offering up to 12 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively. Plus, with PowerBoost® technology, customers are able to enjoy even faster speeds to download and upload files such as videos, games, music and photos.

Business customers will benefit from wideband with increased efficiency and productivity. Customers can sign up for the Deluxe 50 Mbps / 10 Mbps tier for $189.95/month, which includes a full suite of features and support. As part of their service, Comcast Business Class customers receive Microsoft Communication Services, providing corporate-class e-mail, calendaring and document sharing, as well as additional benefits such as firewall protection, static IP addresses, multiple e-mail addresses and business class 24/7 customer support.

Existing business class customers also will receive complimentary speed increases – speeds on the Starter tier will be doubled to up to 12 Mbps / 2 Mbps and a new Premium Tier also will be introduced, offering speeds up to 22 Mbps / 5 Mbps for $99.95/month.

Sky and Microsoft will attempt to launch the new Sky Player for Xbox 360 for a second time after the companies had to pull the service on the official launch day on Tuesday.

“The service has been suspended due to an unforeseen technical issue.” Sky said in a statement. “Sky Player engineers are hard at work to resolve the problem. We expect to have the full service available on Wednesday.”

The breakdown of the service on launch left gamers confused as to what had happened.

“How do i actually pull up sky on my Xbox, i have Sky Player account and an Xbox Gold Account. Confused… :S,” said Sam in a comment on Pocket-lint.

“The Sky player system went “Offline” before I had a chance to try it! The current news is that it will be fully back online tomorrow (Wednesday) – so you’re not alone, Jamie! Shame – I’m itching to give it a try…” said Doombar.

To access the player you’ll need both an active Sky subscription and an Xbox Live Gold subscription. The former costs £15 per month, and the latter is £40 per year, totalling £220 per year. The same channels will be available to you that are available on your existing Sky subscription.

Alternatively, Sky will be selling a bundle pack of a month of Sky Player subscription (with the Sky Sports pack), a media remote, and 3 months of Xbox Live Gold subscription for £30. If you just want to try out the service without committing to a long-term plan, that could be an option.