Fetch TV Platform To Beam On More Set Top Boxes

London-based IP Vision has announced a partner programme with ANT Software Ltd which will enable it to offer its Fetch TV platform on third-party set top boxes, besides its own range of SmartBox devices.

Cambridge, UK-headquartered ANT Software Ltd is into the business of open-standards, flexible application and middleware product for a range of consumer platforms, operating systems and embedded connected products such as the set top box. IP Vision will make use of ANT’s Galio suite that comprises a browser and presentation engine that supports rich and dynamic user interfaces. The Galio suite will enable Fetch TV service to integrate with Hybrid Broadcast Broadband (HBB) devices such as FreeView UK , as well as the emerging Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV specification (HbbTV) in Europe.

The business model pioneered by IP Vision is to deliver over-the-top VOD and TV content to television screens using a broadband connection. The consumer is not expected to bind themselves into a monthly subscription or particular broadband supplier. With the partner programme with ANT, IP Vision is also freeing the consumer from binding with its own set top boxes (such as the SmartBox): customers can go buy any set top box, and install Fetch TV.

Read about the latest strategy unraveled by IP Vision to expand its reach, here.

Belden Acquires Telecast Fiber Systems

Worcester, Massachusetts-based Telecast Fiber Systems Inc has been acquired by St. Louis, Montana-headquartered Belden Inc. The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

Telecast Fiber is a specialist in fiber optics video systems that are required by production companies for television broadcast. The company has been in the forefront of fiber optic industry, having created path breaking technologies such as the first commercial single mode fiber and cable. Founded in 1991, the company was owned by Richard Cerny and Eugene Baker.

Belden Inc is a leading player in the domain of signal transmission products, and manufactures high-speed electronic cables and caters to the industries of professional broadcast, industrial networking, alarm / sound / security systems, home automation, optical systems, and the like. The company has a wide, international reach with offices located in US, Canada, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Middle East / Africa. The acquisition brings to Belden the technological expertise of Telecast Fiber specifically in fiber optic systems required for television broadcast production and other video applications.

The former founders of the company have decided to continue to be with the merged entity.

Read more about the latest consolidation happening in the cable industry, here.

A New SoC For Digital TV From STMicroelectronics

Geneva, Switzerland-headquartered STMicroelectronics has announced the launch of a new System-on-Chip aimed for the digital TV.

Christened FLI7510, the H.264 / MPEG SoC is the first chip from a family which is targeted towards mainstream and high-end segments of the digital TV market. The SoC is built upon ST40 CPU which runs at 450MHz, and has two 16-bit DDR2/DDR3 local memory interface to perform its operations.

The family of these chips will integrate the Faroudja video processing technology that came into the company’s possession after it acquired Genesis Microchip in 2008. The Faoudja technology enables 14-bit color and contrast processing, besides better sharpness, temporal noise reduction and MPEG noise reduction.

Besides the optimized video and audio processing capability of Faroudja, the new SoC has a decoder – STi710x – that supports all the industry-standard video content formats. The chip provides an internet-TV ready environment with its own dedicated application processor. Additionally, FLI7510 has software that protects content. A high-level API has been provided that TV OEMs can deploy to add their own functionalities and customize their offerings in the market.

The SoC is due to be officially unveiled at the forthcoming CES 2010 being organized in Las Vegas.

Read more about the latest chip to hit the digital TV market, here.

65 Inch Class TV From Sony Enthralls

The Bravia W model from Sony Television has all the latest bells and whistles that viewers can expect from a classy equipment, and more. With a price tag of USD 4,999.99, it better be.

The Bravia W comes in four different sizes: 40″, 46″, 52″ and 65″. The 65″ is indeed the top of the heap amongst them. Here we list some of its features.

A 16:9 full HD 1080p resolution panel is capable of processing any video signal and output it with the right, optimum resolution. This means that all Blu-ray Disc players and other high-end entertainment systems (such as Sony’s own PlayStation 3) work beautifully with the TV.

The device comes equipped with Motionflow 120Hz technology that gives a smoother and more natural motion even in complex framing environments such as fast-action sports, animation movies and games.

The TV can be hooked to PCs and other devices which can stream digital photos, music and video, and this is thanks to the circuitry that complies with DLNA specifications. The display comes with internet widgets, which give viewers access to websites that host content such as news, weather, stock info and the like.

Read more about the best-in-class television set from Sony, here.