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Netflix Partner Tries UltraHD on the Internet

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Welcome to today's cable and broadband news roundup.

  • A video processing startup that counts Netflix Inc. as its marquee customer has launched a new version of encoding software that, it claims, is efficient enough to deliver UltraHD/4K video over the Internet. EYE IO LLC says its new H.264 software encodes 45 percent faster and trims down bitrates 26 percent versus its first generation, which Netflix is using to help keep its customers stay under ISP usage caps by delivering more efficient video streams. Now, EYE IO is trying to expand its targets so high-quality video can be delivered over a broader range of networks and bandwidth qualities. "The goal is to provide HD to the world over the Internet," company CEO and CTO and former Microsoft Corp. exec Rodolfo Vargas tells Light Reading Cable.

    Netflix, which just signed a deal to stream Walt Disney Co. content, is the company's only announced customer, and EYE IO won't say if or when Netflix will upgrade to its 4K-capable platform. But execs do note that the company has "commercial relationships" with about 70 companies worldwide, including cable operators, telcos, satellite TV companies and other OTT players.

  • Comcast Corp. confirmed that it's begun to deploy a new class of HD Digital Terminal Adapter (DTA) with integrated security that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved for use in the fall of 2010. A version made by Motorola Mobility LLC recently passed through the FCC. Comcast won't reveal where the deployment is starting, but "we're at the beginning of a phased deployment that will ultimately go the entire footprint," a spokeswoman says.

  • Nintendo of America Inc. has introduced a service for its new Wii U console called TVii that lets users in North America navigate pay-TV listings and launch online video from sources such as Hulu Plus via the GamePad touchscreen controller, reports Multichannel News.

  • DirecTV Group Inc. has added more than 30 new networks, including A&E, MTV and Showtime, to its TV Everywhere platform, which streams on-demand fare to PCs, iOS and selected Android devices.

    — Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable

    • Newest Comments First       Display in Chronological Order
    Jeff Baumgartner
    User Ranking
    Thursday December 20, 2012 12:57:12 PM
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    Anyone caught a glimpse of one of these in the wild?  Could be a cheap (sub$50) box for secondary HDTVs for Comcast and other MSOs to distribute.  Downside: no VoD... yet.  AT some point i'd expect Comcast and others to allow tablet apps to force-tune these one-way DTAs to a VoD asset. JB

    The blogs and comments are the opinions only of the writers and do not reflect the views of Light Reading. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.