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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
Cable Show: Comcast launches Xfinity Home Control
June 10, 2013 10:33 am | by Mike Robuck | CommentsComcast announced today that it has launched Xfinity Home Control, which allows subscribers to remotely adjust thermostats or lighting without the professional security monitoring that is offered with other Xfinity Home services, which are now called Xfinity Home Secure. Among other features, Xfinity Home Control provides customers with the ability to get real-time text and email alerts when doors and windows open or close.
Cable Show: LG debuts line of ‘smart’ set-top boxes
June 10, 2013 10:28 am | by Brian Santo | CommentsLG Electronics has introduced a line of what it’s calling smart set-top boxes (STBs), a set of IP boxes that can be used to deliver live, linear TV programming as well as over-the-top (OTT) services. LG’s Google TV-based IPTV STB supports services including live TV, VOD, a Chrome web browser and access to the Google Play store.
Obama pushes plan for fast Internet in U.S. schools
June 7, 2013 1:44 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsThe President is advocating for an initiative that calls on the FCC to use an existing program that funds Internet access in schools and libraries through a surcharge on telephone bills to meet the goal. He also directed the government to do a better job of using existing funds to get Internet connections and educational technology into classrooms, and into the hands of teachers who know how to use it.
SeaChange posts Q1 loss
June 7, 2013 1:27 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsSeaChange International reported first quarter fiscal 2014 revenue of $35.6 million, down $1 million from the similar quarter a year ago. The company posted an operating loss of $1.8 million, compared to a loss from operations for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 of $1.2 million.
Applied Broadband sells IPDR analysis tool
June 7, 2013 1:25 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsGuavus has purchased Applied Broadband’s Pipeline product. Pipeline is used for collecting, analyzing and mediating IPDR (Internet Protocol Detailed Records) data, drawn from cable modem termination systems (CMTSs) to understand bandwidth consumption and network activity.
Liberty Global wraps up deal to buy Virgin Media
June 7, 2013 12:31 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsJohn Malone’s Liberty Global announced this morning that it had completed its $24 billion deal to buy Virgin Media. Denver-based Liberty Global first announced it was buying Virgin Media in a stock and cash deal back in February. Since then Liberty Global has ran the gauntlet of gaining regulatory and stockholder approvals, as well as wrapping up the closing conditions that were associated with the deal.
Tivo settles up with Cisco, Motorola and Time Warner
June 7, 2013 12:20 pm | by Associated Press | CommentsTivo settled patent dust ups with Cisco, Motorola Mobility and Time Warner Cable, averting a trial that was to begin next week and bringing to a close a string of long-running legal squabbles over its pioneering digital video recorder technology. The settlement fell well short of what most investors had expected, however, and shares of Tivo plunged 17 percent in early trading Friday.
This Technology hires MacDonell as VP of product management
June 7, 2013 12:11 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsAdvanced advertising vendor This Technology has hired Denise MacDonell as its vice president of product management. In her new job, MacDonell will lead will lead a product management organization focused on defining product strategy, developing product roadmaps, and implementing repeatable product processes for This Technology’s dynamic ad insertion (DAI) and alternate content delivery product lines.
Report: NSA demands Verizon hand over all U.S. call records
June 6, 2013 2:04 pm | by Ben Munson, Wireless Week | CommentsThe Guardian has received and published the order which outlines that Verizon is to deliver to the NSA the numbers of both parties, location data, identifiers like IMSI and IMEI numbers, and time and duration of calls. The order has been in place since April and has demanded Verizon give over the requisite information for both international calls originating in the U.S. and calls made within the U.S.
Entropic buys mixed signal specialist
June 6, 2013 1:50 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsEntropic has acquired Mobius Semiconductor, which specializes in low power, high performance analog mixed-signal circuitry. Entropic said it will spend approximately $13 million in cash plus employee equity-based incentives to buy Mobius. Separately, Access Co. said it is integrating its DLNA and HTML5 technologies with the latest set-top box chipset solution from Entropic.
Xfinity Home to add remote control light bulbs
June 6, 2013 1:37 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsComcast Xfinity Home subscribers will soon be able to install light bulbs from Sylvania that can be controlled via remote. The Sylvania Ultra iQ LED BR30 flood light bulb has integrated dimming controls that use the Zigbee Home Automation standard to create a system that can be controlled wirelessly for quick and easy adjustments using a smartphone or the Xfinity Home app.
ActiveVideo beefs up cloud platform; adds Charter to customer list
June 6, 2013 12:06 pm | by Mike Robuck | CommentsActiveVideo has shifted its cloud platform into overdrive with today’s announcement that it can deliver TV as an application over IP along with the news that it’s behind Charter Communications’ cloud-based user interface. ActiveVideo also said it has partnered with Sumitomo Corporation to target cloud-based deployments in Japan and in the Asia-Pacific market
Report: Service provider router market declines in Q1
June 6, 2013 11:55 am | by Mike Robuck | CommentsThe service provider router market declined in the first quarter of this year, according to a recent report by Dell’Oro Group. The latest results were part of a continuing trend with quarterly market revenue growth stagnant since mid-2011, which was the last time the market experienced double-digit growth.
NA up, other regions down in broadband spending
June 6, 2013 11:48 am | by Mike Robuck | CommentsThe broadband aggregation equipment market has dipped in most regions, but service providers were spending in North America to combat cable operators’ DOCSIS 3.0 deployments. Spending on DSL, PON and FTTH equipment decreased 7 percent from the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year for a total of $1.5 billion worldwide, according to a recent report by Infonetics Research.
Conax offering SDK for PlayReady DRM client
June 5, 2013 2:25 pm | by Brian Santo | CommentsDevelopers can use the SDK to create a client capable of secure delivery of video content from the streaming server to the native player of the client device. The Conax security-hardened implementation for MS PlayReady fully conforms to Microsoft’s rules for Compliance and Robustness and is developed according to Conax’ security requirements including security requirements from major Hollywood studios and content providers.
