| Europe tests next-generation Linux powered TV networks |
Sep. 10, 2004
 i3 has announced that its Linux based customer premises equipment (CPEs) and newly updated, Linux based XoIP central management server will be used in iDTV and IP-TV test networks, respectively, in Belgium and Sweden. Additionally, i3 says its CPEs support extra-high speed ADSL2+ networks.
i3 made the string of related announcements at this week's IBC (International Broadcast Convention) trade show in Amsterdam, where the company demonstrated its Mood and Vood CPEs for IP-TV and VoIP, respectively, working with a 24Mbps ADSL2+ network providing "triple play" services comprising simultaneous telephone, Internet, and television.
Belgian broadband provider tests iDTV service with Linux IP-STB
 i3 announced that it will supply its Mood IP-STB (pictured) to Siemens for deployment in an iDTV test network Siemens is building for top Belgian broadband provider Belgacom. iDTV, or improved definition television, uses line doubling, ghost cancelling, and other techniques to improve the quality of analog NTSC television signals. Belgacom’s iDTV will offer customers video-on-demand, local information, e-shopping, and the possibility to surf and e-mail via the television, according to i3.
i3 describes its Mood 300 as a multimedia TV gateway with dual-stream MPEG processing, loadable codecs, and built-in hardware-accelerated decryption for both video streams.
The Belgacom iDTV project will begin testing in November at one thousand homes near Ghent, Brussels, and Liege.
Nordic TV network tests IP-TV services in Sweden with Linux IP-STB
i3 says it will also supply its Mood Box for an IP-TV test in Sweden, through a deal with Canal Digital. Canal Digital, described as the largest TV content distributor in the Nordic region, will deliver 15 channels of TV content to 300 residents of Helsingborg, in the South of Sweden, via the Öresundskrafts city area broadband network there.
Additionally, i3 says Canal Digital is planning to launch a large-scale commercial broadband TV offering during the fall of 2004 through a large number of MANs (Metropolitan Area Networks) throughout Sweden.
Canal will also use i3's Centre provisioning system to manage the test network, i3 says.
New central management system release
i3 has released a new version of its central management and provisioning server (pictured at top), which can be used to manage both IP telephony (VoIP) and streaming video services that use i3's Vood and Mood CPEs (customer premises equipment), respectively. Centre 4 Element Manager (EM) is a 1U 19-inch rackmount Linux server and Java application server that is now available with a new, more modular software architecture. The device now includes a "basic element manager," along with five software expansion modules, and middleware for integrating the device with third-party billing, customer care, and license management systems.
The Element Manager manages provisioning, software upgrades, CPE booting, license management, and CPE configuration. Expansion modules include:
- Subscriber management
- Video-on-Demand content and server management
- IP-TV
- EPG (electronic program guide)
- Statistics reporter
ADSL2+ support demo
i3 made the announcements described above at the IBC (International Broadcast Convention) in Amsterdam this week, where the company also demonstrated its Vood and Mood products using ADSL2+ technology. ADSL2+ is a new, higher-speed variant of ADSL (asynchronous digital subscriber line) that supports downstream data rates up to 24Mbps, for spans of copper wire up to 5,000 feet.
i3 says its XoIP devices also supports ADSL2, capable of downstream data speeds up to 12Mbps over wires as long as 8,000 feet.
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