CNM Short Takes

New focus for PhotoChannelVancouver’s PhotoChannel Networks Inc. announced it will further expand its Digital Media Platform offering to include music, games, and video and mobile content. The Digital Media Platform – previously known as the PhotoChannel Network – is entering the final stages of development as a system for delivering digital photos to in-store locations for transfer to paper, CD or DVD. With the expanded focus, the system will allow consumers to produce their own music CDs. Said PhotoChannel chairman and CEO Peter Fitzgerald in a release: "Our retailers now...have a significant advantage in the marketplace by being able to merge the online digital content world with in-store production." PHSN-TV acquired by AdwurksHealth-care waiting room video network PHSN-TV has been acquired by Morrisburg ON’s Adwurks Canada, which specializes in narrowcast digital signage networks. Toronto-based PHSN-TV claims a monthly viewership of 14.7 million through its installations in waiting rooms in hospitals, clinics and other care facilities. Adwurks plans to enhance PHSN-TV’s existing offering with Internet-enabled ‘smart boxes’ and new LCD or digital projection displays. Montreal game show ready for launchThe 2005 Montreal International Game Summit kicks off November 2 with a keynote address by Warren Spector of Junction Point Studios, who while at other firms was responsible for developing several instalments of the legendary Ultima Online series of adventure games. Speakers from other game companies such as Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Sony Online Entertainment will also share their insight into artificial intelligence in video games, mobile wireless gaming, and many other hot topics. CryptoLogic capitalIzes on comic crazeToronto’s CryptoLogic Inc. and Marvel Enterprises Inc. have entered into an agreement under which the Canadian firm will produce Marvel-branded casino slot games for the Internet gaming market. The offerings will include such Marvel brands as the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk and Daredevil, and will be available this fall. CryptoLogic’s WagerLogic subsidiary will execute the deal on the Canadian firm’s behalf. Tira opens L.A. officeTira Wireless of Toronto recently expanded to the City of Angels with its new Los Angeles office. The firm, whose flagship product line Tira Jump aids in the publishing of Java-enabled content to mobile devices, will benefit from having a presence in the city hosting many of the U.S.’s largest players in film and television entertainment, recorded music and video game design, some of whom – such as Disney Mobile, Sony Pictures Mobile and Namco – already use Tira Jump. Softimage releases XSI version 5.0 Montreal’s Softimage unveiled the latest version of its XSI animation software at August’s SIGGRAPH 2005 conference in Los Angeles. XSI 5.0 includes Ultimapper, a utility for generating high-resolution cinema-quality maps with a minimum of effort and time, and Gator, a tool for merging fully textured 3D models with animated ones. The new version of XSI will also provide support for newer 64-bit processors. Softimage is a division of Avid Technology Inc. of Tewksbury MA. 18th Angel Forum takes flight in B.C.Tuesday, October 25 will see the kick-off of the eighteenth edition of the Angel Forum, an event that brings together technology, service and manufacturing firms seeking up to $1 million in funding with private equity investors. Registration for this instalment of the forum, which is held twice a year in Vancouver, is open until September 30. A related free event, Investor Ready 101, will take place on September 26 on the mainland, and September 29 on Vancouver Island. A/V maker licences Certicom technologyCerticom Corp. of Mississauga, ON announced that Japan’s D&M Holdings Inc. – maker of the ReplayTV line of digital video recorders, Marantz and Denon audio equipment, and more – has licenced Certicom’s elliptical curve cryptography (ECC) technology to implement the DTCP digital rights management system in its products. The Canadian firm says ECC is a more efficient means of protecting audio and video content from unauthorized copying, and uses less power and memory than comparably technologies. D&M Holdings will make royalty payments to Certicom on every product shipped over the life of the agreement. Nevada firm to help PN2media go publicPublic Company Management Corp. announced that a subsidiary unit will work with Montreal’s PN2media to help the latter firm make the transition to a publicly traded entity. PN2media is an aggregator and publisher of online and mobile games of chance and skill, including casino and poker offerings, and will list on the over-the-counter bulletin board system (OTCBB) in the U.S. The Nevada firm’s Go Public Today subsidiary will work with PN2media until the listing stage, at which point another Public Company Management Corp. firm, Public Company Management Services, will provide assistance in maintaining the listing and meeting all terms of compliance. Aliant and DownEast offer online gaming packageTelecommunications provider Aliant and retail partner DownEast Communications have teamed up to offer Aliant Online Gaming, a product that includes both Aliant’s high-speed Internet service and a Sony PlayStation 2 gaming console on one bill. The offer starts at $38.94 a month for the first year. INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS AMD unit working to shrink wireless devicesSunnyvale CA-based chip developer Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) said recently its Spansion Flash memory unit will work with Fujitsu Ltd. to incorporate package-on-package Flash memory samples into the latter firm’s mobile handset, PDA, MP3 player and digital camera product lines. Spansion says its Flash memory chips save space with lower pin counts and simplified system integration, and also offer a performance improvement over comparable offerings. SkillJam’s quest for the best gamerSkillJam Technologies Corp. of London announced a new competition, the Skill Games World Championship, with a US$2 million purse. Through both its own websites and partners such as AOL Games, eBay, GSN, MSN Games and Real Networks, SkillJam will set up 400 qualifying tournaments for three popular skill-based games: Solitaire, Zuma and Bejeweled 2. Finalists will fly to Los Angeles in March next year to compete head-to-head in a test of skill at all three games, with the grand champion walking away with US$1 million. Porto announces media kiosk partnershipIreland’s Porto Media will team up with IBM to develop a series of vending kiosks for movies based on Porto’s SD flash memory modules, which can download and store a two-hour movie in just 18 seconds. The DVD-quality content is protected by the Copy Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) system of encryption, which IBM developed with partners Intel, Matsushita and Toshiba. The kiosks, which will be managed by IBM, will be the first commercial application for the CPRM for SD Video encryption standard and will be featured in retail locations as well as at transportation hubs – users simply make a selection, insert a Porto SD flash memory module, and download their choice for later viewing. HomePlug bags Belgium cablecoBelgium’s largest cable operator has begun using HomePlug technology in its home broadband networking installations, announced Ocala FL’s Intellon Corp., a leading provider of HomePlug hardware. In addition to high-speed Internet access installations, Brussels-based Telenet will use the technology in its upcoming The HomePlug system uses adapters known as ICs to convert a building’s existing electrical wiring to deliver not only power but also Ethernet networking between rooms at up to 14 Mbps. DG2L rolls out digital cinemas in IndiaDG2L Technologies Inc. of New York has deployed 150 all-digital movie theatres in India. Part of a contract with United Film Organizers, an Indian firm devoted to digital cinema, the theatres take an average of three days to set up and bring online. India is the largest producer of motion pictures in the world, with 800 movies on average produced a year. DG2L’s Digital Cinema System uses the MPEG-4 layer and digital content protection technologies such as digital rights management and watermarking.

CNM Short Takes

Broadcast | September 16, 2005

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