* BigBand, TVWorks do ETV demo work
BigBand Networks and TVWorks, the Comcast Corp.-Cox Communications interactive television joint venture, said they have demonstrated enhanced television (ETV) capabilities during a series of interoperability tests conducted at CableLabs.
BigBand noted that it has expanded its Broadband Multimedia-Service Router (BMR) to enable interactive advertising, TV-based e-commerce and interactive programming based on the CableLabs ETV specs.
TVWorks, meanwhile, has developed a platform that supports apps based on the new CableLabs ETV-Binary Interchange Format specs, which are designed to support the cable industry’s legacy, pre-OCAP base of digital set-tops, as well as forthcoming models that will support the full OCAP stack.
* Main joins Tandberg
Tandberg Television has appointed Robin Main to the post of senior vice president of application software.
Main joins Tandberg from Movaz Networks, where he served as SVP of engineering. Before that, he was VP of software engineering at Scientific Atlanta.
* Widevine to protect Telus content
Widevine Technologies, a maker of downloadable content protection technologies, has won a six-year deal to protect content across multiple devices and platforms for Canada-based TELUS, which offers a range of cellular and IPTV-based video services.
Under the deal, Widevine will secure content via set-tops and PCs. TELUS will also tap Widevine’s Cypher platform to protect content that is fed wirelessly.
* Cisco to buy metro Ethernet specialist Greenfield Networks
Cisco Systems Corp. will acquire privately-held Greenfield Networks, a maker of integrated circuits, hardware and software optimized for Ethernet packet processing techniques that will be used to optimize next-generation Metro Ethernet services.
“By integrating Greenfield Networks’ technology with Cisco’s family of Metro Ethernet switches, we will be able to improve time to market of new carrier-class features to our service provider partners,” said Kathy Hill, senior vice president, Ethernet and Wireless Technology Group.
