Triton Digital Media has acquired StreamTheWorld, the premium content delivery network focused on the broadcast industry. Prior to the acquisition, Triton Digital was the largest individual StreamTheWorld shareholder and exclusive marketing partner in the United States. Simultaneous with the acquisition, Triton will merge operations of StreamTheWorld with Ando Media to create The Ando Media Group.

StreamTheWorld is the largest live streaming delivery provider that focuses exclusively on broadcasters. Ando Media is the standard in audience measurement for streaming audio and inserted more than ten billion ad impressions in 2009, many through StreamTheWorld servers.

Wal-Mart has agreed to acquire over-the-top (OTT) content provider Vudu, according to a New York Times report today. Terms of the acquisition weren’t released, but the Vudu screen shotcompanies reportedly informed Vudu’s Hollywood studios and TV manufacturers of the deal today. The acquisition could make Wal-Mart, already a leader in DVD sales, a formidable competitor in OTT service delivery as well.

Vudu started offering its service with a required standalone set-top box (STB) three years ago. But, following a difficult business case, it transitioned to embedding its software into Blu-Ray players, IPTV STBs and high-definition TVs from LG Electronics, Vizio and Mitsubishi, and more recently announced partners Samsung, Sanyo and Toshiba. The company has also sought partnerships with independent telcos looking for a cheaper alternative than IPTV and distinguished itself with a focus on HD content and expansion into applications and Web services.

Wal-Mart has been moving into the services space already too. Along with Hewlett-Packard, it attempted a movie and TV download service in 2007, but the venture only lasted a year following weak consumer adoption. In the past year, Wal-Mart has delved into wireless services as well, including its exclusive StraightTalk mobile brand.

Considering that it sells many of the TVs that Vudu, often along with its competitors Amazon and Netflix, are embedded in, the acquisition should help Wal-Mart sell more TVs. More importantly though, it could be Wal-Mart’s ticket to compete in the OTT delivery space – if it wants it.

As The Diffusion Group indicated in a December interview, Wal-Mart has as good a shot at delivering an OTT service as any pay TV provider, which such a move would put them in competition with. Wal-Mart could essentially act as a broadcast aggregator and use Vudu and the broadband connection to the home to sell more products and advertise its brands. Retailers have been slow moving in doing this, but there is little to stop them. In the short-term, however, Wal-Mart’s purported acquisition of Vudu will most directly affect the likes of existing OTT providers Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster and Best Buy, which started offering a streaming video service with Cinema Now last year.

Nagravision is partnering with Samsung Electronics America to provide TV applications that bring more interactive web services and video content to consumers. As a result of the partnership with Nagravision, consumers will have access to more interactive and compelling applications on Samsung Apps, the world’s first HDTV-based application store where users can download and purchase applications from select 2010 Samsung HDTVs, Blu-ray Players and Home Theater Systems via the upgraded Internet@TV – Content Service.

Part of a complete solution, Nagravision’s content publishing tools provide simple application templates for creating and publishing applications on Samsung Apps.

Nagravision developed applications using the content publishing tools to deliver video content from Fashion TV and Travel Wizard. Both applications were demonstrated on Samsung’s latest HDTVs at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and they will be available on select Samsung HDTVs, Blu-ray players, and Home Theater Systems that feature the Internet@TV – Content Service later this year.

Seen in the New York Times

A survey of consumers in the European Union has found that Internet users are unwilling to pay for content, even if no free options exist. The survey found that less than 5% of Europeans had paid for online content in the last 3 months. Around 30% said they would buy content if prices were lower, quality was improved or if there were more choices. But P2P networks aren’t to blame for this mindset, the survey found, rather “the internet itself that has led us down this path to a place where old monetization models simply no longer apply.”

Read the whole aricle

The past few months the CFULLHDMAi and its predecessor (CFULLHDMA) have received outstanding awards. The CFULLHDMA/CFULLHDMAi functions as a personal portal for streaming digital media files at Full HD resolution (1080p) to a TV, home cinema set and even a hi-fi set. The built-in UPnP AV media client provides easy access to all files found on compatible storage devices (e.g. the Grab'n'GO CH3MNAS and SNAS or a computer). The SAMBA/NFS client provides easy access to a shared folder within the network. Thanks to its outstanding success we decided to integrate SHOUTcast in this already award-winning product.

From now on, the CFULLHDMAi has SHOUTcast' service integrated. By adding this extra functionality, people can listen to free internet radio stations from DJs and broadcasters all around the world! Select your own favorite music genre and then just tune in & enjoy listening! Thanks to the HDMI audio support you can also connect it straight to your hi-fi set. 

The CFULLHDMA owners are not left out, as they too can upgrade their device to the latest firmware to enable SHOUTcast. This firmware is available at our website; www.conceptronic.net through an integrated web update function. 

Besides this extra feature, Conceptronic also made it possible to add YouTube functionality onto the CFULLHDMA/CFULLHDMAi. This is done by simply upgrading your device to firmware version 1.16.06.10 (or higher). The YouTube functionality enables you to watch a broad collection of YouTube movies on your TV.

Zero in on what your peers are watching and say goodbye to long, fruitless EPG and Internet TV searches.


IPTV World Forum , Olympia, London - Neptuny and TVBLOB announce "BLOBwise", the first Social TV Recommendation System for over-the-top IPTV. Based on Neptuny's ContentWise engine, "BLOBwise" along with a Telsey BLOBbox radically change what's possible on TV: users expand their range of content options including EPG, podcasts, pay-per-view VOD, and other Internet TV channels and services, plus experience never before possible social interactivity on TV. The potential of the recommendation engine will be demonstrated at IPTV World Forum London (25-27 March).

"We are very happy to work with Neptuny because of their visionary approach in applying the spirit of the Internet to TV," says Fabrizio Caffarelli, TVBLOB CEO and founder. "They go beyond uni-directional recommendations that are based only on a user's taste and history and integrate new Web 2.0 social media possibilities. In fact, BLOBwise also leverages a user's social networks to provide suggestions of relevant content highlighted by friends and family; privacy is protected by considering just relationships and ignoring sensitive data."

TVBLOB integrated the ContentWise technology in the BLOBbox middleware, making it accessible to a whole new range of TV-centric consumer electronics devices that promise average television viewers new freedom in using their televisions by letting them directly tap into the explosion of content and services available on the Internet.

"Once the richness of Internet arrives directly on TV (and BLOBbox is making this possible), the challenge for users will quickly become how to find and discover what's most relevant and interesting to them", says Fabio Violante, Neptuny CEO. "ContentWise works transparently in the background, processing only relevant data and providing personalized recommendations available on the television screen. It's a great way to streamline the content discovery process and a whole new way to experience TV."

Content recommendation applications that leverage Facebook and BLOBwise are planned to be publicly availabile this summer . TVBLOB has released a free, open source SDK available at BLOBforge, an Open Source TV Development Community that lets developers invent new services for TV while using standard web technologies like Java, Ajax, HTML and open Web technologies.

The BLOBbox is available for purchase now from TecnologieCreative at in Italy or directly on the BLOBbox website. It requires a standard television with analog or HDMI input and a broadband connection.

The technology can be used on other platforms as well.

Sofar DECT has been a product on it's own. A consumer buys a DECT phone, connects it to the telephone line et voilà, he can make phonecalls.

With CAT-iq complete services can be provided; interesting to the consumer, operator, content provider and the hardware vendor.

Services like iTunec are an excellent example. Or services like Last.fm. This is a music service that learns what you love...

Every track you play will tell your Last.fm profile something about what you like. It can connect you to other people who like what you like - and recommend songs from their music collections and yours too.

There are thousands of internet radio stations as well, but how can the consumer make a selection.

Focus would help the consumer, and it could help to develop further content services.