Digital TV News: BSkyB

Digital+ launches 3D demo channel on ASTRA
Apr 27, 2011 – SES ASTRA (Paris and Luxembourg: SESG) has announced that Spanish operator Digital+ has launched a 3D demo channel. The channel, called Canal+ 3D Demo and broadcast via SES ASTRA's orbital position 23.5ºE, is available free-to-air across Europe.
News categories: SES ASTRA, Digital+, Digital TV, Europe, Metaverse, Satellite, Spain

Global Pay TV Subscribers Increase 6% in 2010 over 2009
Apr 14, 2011 – Over the last few years pay TV subscriber numbers had been negatively impacted. However, things seem to be improving as the total number of pay TV subscribers by year-end 2010 was greater than year-end 2009 by a little over 6%, says In-Stat.
News categories: In-Stat, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Subscribers

Court of Justice ruling means PVRs escape EU customs duty
Apr 14, 2011 – The European Court of Justice has ruled that for customs purposes decoders with a hard disk drive are set-top boxes and not recording apparatus and so are exempt from customs duties instead of being subject to a rate of 13.9%.
News categories: European Court of Justice, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Digital TV, DVR, Estonia, EU, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Set Top Box, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK

DVB Steering Board Approves 3DTV Specification
Feb 22, 2011 – The DVB Project has announce that on February 17 at the 67th Meeting of the Steering Board, the DVB-3DTV specification was approved. The specification will be submitted immediately to ETSI for formal standardisation.
News categories: DVB Project, Digital TV, Metaverse, Set Top Box, Smart TV

PlayJam Teams with STMicroelectronics to Bring Games to TV
Jan 6, 2011 – PlayJam is teaming with STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) to bring games to connected TVs and set-top box devices. PlayJam will integrate its games channel across a wide range of ST platforms, including Freeman Ultra, a TV SoC processor.
News categories: PlayJam, STMicroelectronics, Digital TV, Middleware, Semiconductor, Smart TV

10 million customers now choose BSkyB
Nov 8, 2010 – BSkyB (LSE:BSY) has announced that it has reached its target of 10 million TV customers, making it the choice of 36% of households in the UK and Ireland. Since the target was set in August 2004, a further 2.6 million customers have joined Sky.
News categories: BSkyB, Digital TV, Ireland, Satellite, Subscribers, UK

No Ofcom investigation into Project Canvas
Oct 19, 2010 – Ofcom has announced that it will not open an investigation into 'Project Canvas' under the Competition Act following complaints made by Virgin Media (NASDAQ:VMED, LSE:VMED) and IPVision.
News categories: YouView, Digital TV, DVR, IPTV, Middleware, Regulation, Set Top Box, Smart Home, Streaming, UK

Ofcom releases 2Q 2010 UK Digital Television Update
Oct 7, 2010 – Consumer survey results from Ofcom for the second quarter of 2010 show that take-up of digital television in UK households stood at 92.7%, up by 2.9 percentage points year on year.
News categories: Ofcom, Cable TV, Digital TV, DVR, Market Research, Satellite, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Subscribers, Terrestrial, UK

Hybrid Web-to-TV Set Top Boxes Enable Operators and Broadcasters for Internet Video Battleground
Sep 29, 2010 – With an Internet Protocol (IP) link coming in to nearly every possible consumer electronics device with a screen, hybrid Web-to-TV set top boxes (STB) will be vital tools that enable broadcasters and operators to compete, says In-Stat.
News categories: In-Stat, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Set Top Box, Streaming, Terrestrial