CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DAILY
Comcast ended a nearly year-long trial in the Philadelphia area of networked digital home applications and services with no immediate plans to revive it. The test, which involved Samsung set-top boxes (STBs) and Ucentric Systems' Digital Home Software Suite, was announced last May and grew to include Ucentric's Whole Home Music 1.0 in Jan. "The trial was on running on a box without embedded conditional access and it was inherently good for making sure that certain core hypotheses made sense, but in terms of a broad-based consumer trial, we wanted to have more of an integrated product," Ucentric CEO Michael Collette told us. Samsung and Comcast officials weren't immediately available for comment. The trial, despite being shut down, "accomplished key objectives" for Comcast and Samsung, Collette said, including gathering data related to the use of the PVR included in Samsung's STB. The test included Ucentric's multi-TV DVR software. Put on the back burner by the ending of the trial was Ucentric's alliance announced earlier this year with ATI Technologies. ATI demonstrated its Xilleon 225 processor at CES in Jan. running Ucentric software. The Xilleon processor was "tailored" to the Samsung STB and Ucentric's other alliance with Motorola typically involves a Broadcom chip, Collette said. Meanwhile, Motorola's Home Media Architecture, which will include Ucentric's multi-TV DVR software, will likely debut in STBs in early 2005, Collette said. "We're taking their core technology and extending it, which includes the networking platform and the multi-TV DVR logic application," he said. Collette declined comment on Ucentric's funding, but said he was "extremely comfortable" that the company will have "sufficient cash to operate to break even." Collette declined comment on the timing for achieving break even. Ucentric received an additional $4 million last Dec. from Polaris Venture Partners, which has been the company's primary investor. Maynard, Mass.-based Ucentric has doubled the number of its employees since Jan. and will grow another 50% by the end of the year, said Collette, who declined to disclose exact figures.
Comcast ended a nearly year-long trial in the Philadelphia area of networked digital home applications and services with no immediate plans to revive it. The test, which involved Samsung set-top boxes (STBs) and Ucentric Systems' Digital Home Software Suite, was announced last May and grew to include Ucentric's Whole Home Music 1.0 in Jan. "The trial was on running on a box without embedded conditional access and it was inherently good for making sure that certain core hypotheses made sense, but in terms of a broad-based consumer trial, we wanted to have more of an integrated product," Ucentric CEO Michael Collette told us. Samsung and Comcast officials weren't immediately available for comment. The trial, despite being shut down, "accomplished key objectives" for Comcast and Samsung, Collette said, including gathering data related to the use of the PVR included in Samsung's STB. The test included Ucentric's multi-TV DVR software. Put on the back burner by the ending of the trial was Ucentric's alliance announced earlier this year with ATI Technologies. ATI demonstrated its Xilleon 225 processor at CES in Jan. running Ucentric software. The Xilleon processor was "tailored" to the Samsung STB and Ucentric's other alliance with Motorola typically involves a Broadcom chip, Collette said. Meanwhile, Motorola's Home Media Architecture, which will include Ucentric's multi-TV DVR software, will likely debut in STBs in early 2005, Collette said. "We're taking their core technology and extending it, which includes the networking platform and the multi-TV DVR logic application," he said. Collette declined comment on Ucentric's funding, but said he was "extremely comfortable" that the company will have "sufficient cash to operate to break even." Collette declined comment on the timing for achieving break even. Ucentric received an additional $4 million last Dec. from Polaris Venture Partners, which has been the company's primary investor. Maynard, Mass.-based Ucentric has doubled the number of its employees since Jan. and will grow another 50% by the end of the year, said Collette, who declined to disclose exact figures.
