StreamSearch and ICTV Form Strategic Relationship
SANTA CLARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 18,
2000 via NewsEdge Corporation -
StreamSearch.com, the leading aggregator and
distributor of playable media on the Web, and
ICTV, provider of the cable industry’s most
robust solution for delivery of broadband Internet
TV services to digital set-tops, have formed a
strategic relationship to showcase a “TV-Ready”
version of the StreamSearch.com site and
Search Engine Services on ICTV’s platform, it
was announced by Michael Collette, senior vice
president Marketing & Business Development,
ICTV, and Rob Shambro, Founder and CEO,
StreamSearch.
The two companies will integrate StreamSearch’s
Multimedia Search Capabilities and Database,
including links to about 2 million audio and video
files, into ICTV’s System. This will demonstrate
the capability of StreamSearch’s www.ss.com
multimedia portal in a format specially designed
to be displayed on the TV screen.
ICTV will showcase this application at the
November 2000 Western Cable Show, and in a
significant number of trials to be conducted with
major cable system operators in the coming
year. Participating cable operators who
incorporate the StreamSearch’s TV Ready Site
and Search Services will be able to give their
subscribers unprecedented access to a vast,
searchable library of streaming and downloadable
Internet audio and video content through a
cable set-top box.
Within the ITV (interactive TV) marketplace,
ICTV is positioned as a manufacturer and
supplier of communications equipment and
software. ICTV sells rack-mounted equipment
that is installed in a cable operator’s headend.
ICTV’s core system software components
manage switching of resources to consumer
sessions, browsing activity, encoding and
multiplexing, network management, provisioning,
customer service, and billing through third party
billing applications.
“This is a strategic alliance which perfectly
bridges the convergence divide,” said
StreamSearch’s Shambro. “ICTV is one of the
premiere forward-thinking companies, which we
believe is driving the vision of delivering
compelling interactive experiences to television
audiences and new revenue opportunities for
MSOs.”
“Our strategy at ICTV is to build a bridge
between the cable industry and the new
economy,” said ICTV’s Collette. “This synergistic
alliance with StreamSearch enables us to partner
with one of the leading Internet entrepreneurs in
order to extend our leadership in the delivery of
streaming media to TV consumers through the
set-top box.”
ICTV’s headend-based system represents a
uniquely powerful approach to the TV Browser.
The system relies upon rack-mounted,
Intel-based processing clients at the headend to
execute browsing activity. These clients run
Internet Explorer sessions and are connected to
the Internet or local servers over a 100Mbps LAN
connection. As the consumer is browsing, the
video and audio of the session is converted from
computer format (VGA) to digital cable (MPEG2)
and displayed on the television using a standard
digital cable set top.
On an a la carte basis, ICTV also supplies a
range of software applications, including a
turnkey E-mail solution, a TV portal application
that cable operators can brand and program with
content, a turnkey PC-gaming solution with over
100 licensed games from leading providers, a
standalone billing system capable of rate-based
billing and a complete reporting system.