• Verizon wins video franchise in Fishkill, N.Y.
By Traci Patterson

Residents of the Dutchess County Village of Fishkill, N.Y., will soon have access to Verizon’s FiOS TV service, thanks to a newly approved agreement authorizing the telco to offer its video service in the area.

The new franchise makes 128 the total number of New York municipalities that have approved video franchises for Verizon.As with all local franchise approvals in New York, the agreement between Verizon and the Village of Fishkill is subject to review by the New York State Public Service Commission.

Verizon's FiOS TV service offers up to 100 high-definition (HD) channels in the New York market and access to more than 11,000 video-on-demand (VOD) titles, 70 percent of which are free. The VOD library also includes an increasing number of HD titles, and Verizon plans to have 1,000 HD VOD titles per month by year’s-end.

• TiVo teams with EW for TV show recommendations
By Traci Patterson

TiVo has teamed up with Entertainment Weekly to provide its broadband-enabled customers with Entertainment Weekly’s “What to Watch” TV recommendations. The service is expected to launch this fall.

The TiVo service will automatically record the suggested programs, the company said, guaranteeing that TiVo subscribers will always have the best programs available to watch whenever they turn on their TV set.

In addition, TiVo subscribers will be able to download Entertainment Weekly video content on the TiVo service, allowing viewers to watch EW.com's original programs, such as "Just a Minute," "Ausiello TV," "Idolatry" and behind-the-scenes video from photo shoots.

• Dreampark to demo Dreamgallery middleware at IBC 2008
By Traci Patterson

Dreampark, a provider of middleware for any platform – cable, terrestrial or IPTV – in the European market, is delivering TV on Your Terms at IBC 2008 with demonstrations of the newest release of its next-generation, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)-based Dreamgallery IPTV middleware.

Dreamgallery maximizes operator flexibility and performance by taking advantage of open standards, such as HTML and SVG, to give operators full control of their TV portals for customization and regionalization, Dreampark said. The introduction of Dreampark's SVG-based middleware optimizes the response times and speed of IPTV services, while providing GUI opportunities and performance for high-definition (HD) graphics.

Dreampark's launch of the newest version of its Dreamgallery IPTV middleware includes features such as live MMS to the TV, mobile PVR, pre-paid, Dreamlets and RSS support. Enhanced network PVR end-user features include Start Over, Historic EPG, Scheduled Recordings, Record Current Event and Time-Shifted TV.

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