* Broadband continues to flourish in United Kingdom
Associated Press
The demise of Internet dial-up has come a step closer as more people in the United Kingdom choose broadband, figures out today showed.
Competitive prices and widespread availability have made broadband increasingly popular, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) report said.
Dial-up accounted for just 13.9 percent of all connections in June – down from 16.4 percent in March this year and 67.3 percent in June 2004.
Nearly half (47 percent) of all Internet users in the U.K. now have connection speeds of at least 2 Mbps, according to the ONS index of Internet connectivity.
“The market share of broadband connections has been increasing since the index began in 2001, reflecting its growing popularity, widespread availability and competitive connection packages offered by Internet service providers,” the ONS report said.
Phone company T-Mobile said the official figures did not take account of some 500,000 people who accessed the Internet via their mobiles.
* Scopus Networks increases presence in Romania
By CED staff
Scopus Networks said today that Digital Cable System (DCS), the third-largest cable and DTH operator in Romania, selected Scopus’ digital broadcast platforms for an expansion of its direct-to-home service (MAX TV).
Under terms of the deal, Scopus is deploying a fourth transponder system in DCS’ Bucharest headends. DCS’ new system is composed of IVG-7100 Intelligent Video Gateway platforms, IRD-2900 Integrated Receiver Decoders, statistically multiplexed encoder systems, and Network Management System software. The ASI/IP-based IVG platforms provide advanced video processing capabilities including Joint Transrating, grooming, and bit-rate shaping for better bandwidth utilization.
* CodecSys receives U.S. patent
By Traci Patterson
Broadcast International’s CodecSys video compression technology has secured a patent in the United States. This is the company’s seventh international patent for the technology. CodecSys is based on artificial intelligence technology that reduces video bandwidth requirements for satellite, cable, IP and wireless media.
CodecSys will enable 12 HDTV channels to be broadcast over the same platform that can currently only support two, the company said, allowing for bandwidth-intensive video apps such as real-time video chat and live streaming video to mobile phones.
* Eagle Broadband sells more HD set-top boxes
By CED staff
Eagle Broadband, a provider of IPTV products and services, announced today that its leading hospitality customer has placed orders for 1,100 more MediaPro IP3000HD set-top boxes. This most recent sale will mark 3,500 units of Eagle’s IPVideo set-top boxes sold to this same major hospitality customer, of which more than 2,000 units have been ordered within the past three weeks.
The MediaPro IP3000HD delivers streaming video quality for both NTSC and PAL broadcast standards. It uses a system-on-chip architecture including an integrated graphics accelerator and dedicated multimedia engines executing in parallel to deliver 2D, 3D graphics, and video capabilities with motion compensation for video playback.
