OpenTV and Ucentric to Show Whole Home Entertainment Solution

[Sean Mota]

Source


Joint Approach to be Featured at IBC2004
Ucentric Also Featuring Whole Home Showcase With Samsung


MAYNARD, Mass., Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenTV, one of the world's leading interactive television companies and Ucentric Systems, a leading provider of home media networking software, are teaming up to demonstrate whole home entertainment offerings to OpenTV's customers worldwide. The two companies are nearing completion of their first joint deployment with Cablevision's VOOM, an HDTV DBS operator in North America. The integrated solution for VOOM will include ITV from OpenTV and Ucentric's Whole Home DVR, Whole Home Music and Whole Home Photo applications.
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Ucentric's software manages an IP-based digital home media network that runs over existing phone, cable or power lines in the home. The joint demonstration with OpenTV and Ucentric software will utilize very low cost IP media clients to enable the complete set of ITV, DVR and digital media and communications services to all connected locations in the home. OpenTV and Ucentric will feature the multi-room entertainment experience in the OpenTV booth (#1.121) at the 2004 International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam, September 10-14.

"As an industry matures the focus often shifts from basic market penetration to increased Average Revenue Per Unit (ARPU). Media home networking provides the most affordable way to enable additional outlets for revenues to flow from ITV and other operator services," said Michael Collette, Ucentric chief executive officer. "It is clear now that consumers are willing to pay for DVR services. Those who have DVR want DVR functionality on all the TVs in the home. OpenTV has been a pioneer and leader in bringing compelling interactive TV services to viewers worldwide and with our IP-based solution we are providing one of the most advanced and cost efficient whole home experiences available on the market today."

Ucentric will also showcase a demo with Samsung (booth #3.311) at IBC2004. The company will demonstrate multi-TV networking capability using a Samsung media center and Ucentric's Whole Home DVR, Whole Home Music and Whole Home Photo applications.

Ucentric's Whole-Home DVR application creates a single recording library, shared among multiple television sets that allows users to independently record, pause, play, rewind and fast forward live or recorded programming from any TV in the network. Additional applications available from Ucentric include Whole-Home Music and Whole-Home Photo applications that allow users to access, share, and transfer their complete digital music and photo collections to any connected device in the home.

Ucentric works with leading players in the cable, telecommunications and digital home industries. In addition to VOOM, Samsung and OpenTV, the company has announced a vendor relationship with Motorola to bring home entertainment solutions to the market. Ucentric also has trialed Multi-TV DVR and Whole-Home Music with Comcast and Samsung.

 

[Sean Mota]

I wonder which OPEN TV applications it will have?

 

[HeavyC]

This is exciting, hopefully we'll get some real dates out of this. I had no idea the solution incorporated the use of existing phone and electrical lines as well as coax. That's pretty cool.

 

[gutter]

I vote we send Sean to Amsterdam to investigate further.

 

[Sean Mota]

Old News but in the same page as the above and little more details


Motorola’s solution provides a cost-effective way to share digital entertainment programming across “connected home” devices.
NEW ORLEANS. – 3 May 2004 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced that it has extended the functionality of its industry-leading digital set-top platform with the introduction of the Motorola Home Media Architecture (HMA). Providing cost-effective hardware and software solutions, Motorola HMA enables operators to bring the experience of multi-room digital video recording (DVR) and media distribution functionality to their subscribers.

As part of Motorola’s “connected home” strategy, Motorola HMA allows consumers to enjoy access to stored media on connected devices throughout the home. Motorola’s highly scaleable and extensible architecture enables operators to deploy a basic multi-room DVR solution by leveraging legacy digital set-tops and currently deployed interactive program guide (IPG) or video on demand (VOD) applications. The architecture also provides a growth path to enable advanced services and capabilities utilizing technology from Ucentric Systems, a provider of home media networking software.

These advanced capabilities of HMA, enabled by Ucentric Systems Multi-TV DVR technology, add a new level of in-home media networking. In addition to enhanced multi-room DVR functionality such as management of recording and viewing resources across the entire home network, advanced HMA leverages standards based IP technology to enable subscribers to connect a range of compatible devices through their in-home network. Consumers will be able to configure set-tops, digital cameras, camcorders, mp3 players, laptops, PCs and mobile phones through a simple user interface.

With a Java-based open architecture for applications, the advanced capabilities of Motorola’s HMA solution offers service providers the ability to introduce new IP-based services in areas such as home security, home monitoring, smart home management, remote education and remote health management.

Motorola’s basic multi-room architecture provides an easily-deployed solution for the access of DVR content throughout the home. Specifically, the solution enables content recorded on a DCT6208 or DCT6412 digital video recorder set-top to be accessed from any HMA-enabled DCT digital set-top. Further, the solution allows for the continued use of current program guides and application suites.

Using IP-over-coaxial technology developed by Entropic for the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), the HMA enables “whole-home” networking for core and advanced digital set-tops already in the home. The Entropic technology enables multiple standard and high-definition video and data services to be simultaneously distributed throughout the home, over existing unmodified coaxial cable, without the need for a service call by a technician.

“With Home Media Architecture, Motorola is enabling operators to increase the penetration of digital services in the home and extend their investment in a digital set-top platform,” said Carl McGrath, Motorola corporate vice-president and general manager, digital core gateways. “By working with existing application providers as well as integrating technology from companies like Ucentric, Motorola has provided operators a flexible architecture for offering subscribers access to entertainment and information throughout their homes, and a simple software upgrade path to advanced features”

"Ucentric is proud to work with Motorola to provide cable operators with a solution that extends the DVR functionality to anywhere in their home, in a way that is easy to manage and install. " said Michael Collette, chief executive officer, Ucentric Systems. " Motorola’s leading digital set-top platforms combined with Ucentric technology delivers multi-screen DVR capabilities that not only provide customers with the ability to control recording throughout the home, but to actually leverage the capabilities of the all set-top resources in a simple and intuitive manner.”

Motorola is demonstrating the Home Media Architecture to attendees of the NCTA 2004 trade show (May 2-5, New Orleans, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center) at the company’s booth #3323.

As the world leader in digital cable technology, Motorola has shipped more than 30 million digital set-tops and over 2,060 digital headends serving more than 75 million homes. Motorola’s diverse digital set-top portfolio has enabled broadband operators worldwide to deliver a range of interactive information and entertainment services to customers’ homes in over 1,000 cable systems. These services include video-on-demand, interactive television, and HDTV.

 

[Sean Mota]

And if you are interested in re-reading the product details go here

 

[Dvlos]

Wasn't there supposed to be some show, with some new info surfacing soon?

 

[Sean Mota]

Wasn't there supposed to be some show, with some new info surfacing soon?

I think you are referring to the first post in Amsterdam.

 

[Kentstater72]

Wasn't there something in Indianapolis this week?

 

[Dvlos]

Ok this is what Ilya posted:

I'll see if I can get some additional info from VOOM at CEDIA Expo next week.

I was assuming this was another Cable/Sat show of some kind with hopefully some new info out... during the hurricane Voom's CSR replied to me via e-mail regarding a DVR for the fall lineup. She said that there have been many inquiries and that Voom is planning on launching this in "the next few months" she said to subscribe to the e-mail newsletter because the day it is ready they are probably sending everyone an e-mail.

 

[Ilya]

Yes, Scott Greczkowski and I will be reporting from Indianapolis (CEDIA-2004 Expo) this coming Friday and Saturday! All satellite companies including VOOM are exhibiting there. Expect our pictures and the latest news from the show floor. Stay tuned!

 

[smasuch]

Hmmm... If it's going to offer whole home music and photo's from my server, maybe I should wait a little longer before I buy that RoKu HD1000 home media set top box.

I wish Voom would give out some real detailed information of what features they are going to include and what type of networking architecture they plan on using to share the media between the STB's. Are they going even going to provide a home media option with the DVR? If they use Ethernet over coax, will they provide a bridge to UTP? Inquiring minds would love to know.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

You can see a Demo of the DVR Now here at SatelliteGuys.

Check out http://www.satelliteguys.us/demo

 

[madpoet]

The demo said several times "In '05"... we're screwed.

 

[rollerfink]

Yeah, that sucks. I was just getting excited about the new OAR cinema 10 policy (and kung-fu channel) but I really want a DVR. Looks like I'll be jumping to cable and then maybe I'll come back later next year.

 

[rollerfink]

Or maybe I'll stick around and see what happens. Ah, who knows. Maybe I'll do a poll to see what other people think I should do.