Social TV Has Arrived: Technicolor, Entropic Communications
Power Comcasts Xfinity HD Video Calling Experience
HD Video Conferencing Solution Enables Video Chatting While
Viewing TV
PARIS & BOSTON, May 21, 2012 (The Cable Show 2012, Booth
#1567) Last week, Comcast rolled out its consumer widescreen
High-Definition (HD) video calling experience made possible through
advanced technology provided by Technicolor (Euronext Paris: TCH) ,
a worldwide technology leader in the media and entertainment sector
and Entropic Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTR), a world leader in
semiconductor solutions for the connected home. Technicolor
provided the custom-developed adapter, powered by Entropics
integrated broadcast system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions, to give
Xfinity customers an interactive video calling experience making
video or audio calls with friends and family while watching the
same TV program simultaneously over their existing set-top box, TV
or wireless LAN network. There is a large and growing market for
interactive applications over broadcast TV, said Jason Blackwell,
director, Service Provider Strategies, Digital Consumer Practice at
Strategy Analytics. Technicolor and Entropics video chat over live
TV solution represents one of the first in a new wave of Social TV
applications that will drive operator services and increases in
ARPU (Average Revenue per User) with triple-play services. Comcasts
experience delivers an unparalleled two-way video communications
dialogue over a live broadcast stream. The Technicolor 720p HD
telepresence adapter leverages the media processing power and
performance from Entropics ARM Cortex-A9 CPU (PNX8471) of SoC
solutions. This solution showcases Entropics innovation to
integrate a new value-added service, a HD video call, on its
platform by augmenting a web-enabled technology with traditional
broadcast. Specifically, Entropics client-based SoC technologies
act as a HDMI pass-through that connects to a live event (the HD
video conference) from a remote connection (the cloud); affording
Comcast the ability to have video as an overlay on top of its TV
content, or as a picture-in-picture. We selected the Technicolor
and Entropic solution because their joint vision and ability to
execute proved valuable in allowing us to integrate new digital
services, like video conferencing, into our traditional service
packages, said Steve Reynolds, senior vice president of Premise
Technology for Comcast. The device developed by Technicolor uses
the advanced capabilities of Entropics ARM-based SoC to enable us
to quickly develop and deploy new video-centric applications.
Comcast is at the forefront of mass adoption of video services,
said Barbara Bessolo, senior vice president of Technicolors Set-top
Box Division. We have been working with our long-term partner,
Entropic, to deliver a powerful telepresence experience that uses
advancements in HDMI pass-through technology to overlay the remote
video with a local preview while watching Comcasts TV service.
Social TV has arrived, and we are proud to have worked with
Technicolor and our ecosystem partners to drive a movement to where
video chat over live TV exists, said Mark Samuel, senior vice
president, Set-top Box Group, Entropic Communications. We combined
the best of broadcast with broadband technologies to enable Comcast
to securely deliver high-quality HD video calls with superior
picture quality.
Key Technical Features:
The Technicolor adapter includes an HDMI input and output,
Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, RF4CE (Radio Frequency for Consumer
Electronics) control, external USB and SD card slot, and an
integrated external camera and microphone.
Entropics PNX84xx integrated broadcast SoC family includes all
the major building blocks needed to develop next generation set-top
box and client applications for global cable, satellite and IPTV
networks. Key highlights include: superior video and audio quality,
best web browsing through the ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, an advanced 3D
GPU, flexible content decoding, advanced 3DTV processing, efficient
power management, and support for Linux and Google Android
Operating Systems.
Availability Comcast began its national rollout of its Xfinity
HD video conferencing service on May 15th. For more information
regarding availability, please visit www.comcast.com/skype. The
technology will be demonstrated at The Cable Show 2012 in Boston,
May 21-23, 2012. About Technicolor Technicolor, a worldwide
technology leader in the media and entertainment sector, is at the
forefront of digital innovation. Our world class research and
innovation laboratories enable us to lead the market in delivering
advanced video services to content creators and distributors. We
also benefit from an extensive intellectual property portfolio
focused on imaging and sound technologies, based on a thriving
licensing business.Our commitment: Enhance media experience on any
screen, in theaters, at home and on the go. Euronext Paris: TCH
www.technicolor.com. About Entropic Communications Entropic
Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTR) is a leading global provider of
silicon and software solutions to enable connected home
entertainment. The Company transforms how traditional HDTV
broadcast and streaming video content is seamlessly, reliably, and
securely delivered, processed, and distributed into and throughout
the home. Entropics next-generation home connectivity and set-top
box system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions enable Pay-TV service
providers to offer consumers a more captivating whole-home
entertainment experience by delivering new, high-performing ways to
connect, engage, and enjoy multimedia content. For more
information, visit Entropic at: www.entropic.com. Forward-Looking
Statements Statements in this press release that are not strictly
historical in nature constitute "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements
regarding Entropic's STB SoC technology, its related prospects, its
role in the future of home networking and statements regarding
Technicolors leadership in delivering devices in conjunction with
Entropic products or in any of the applications or markets
mentioned herein, and statements regarding the anticipated benefits
from the collaboration between Entropic and Technicolor. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause Entropic's and/or
Technicolors actual results to be materially different from
historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not
limited to, the success of the collaboration between Entropic and
Technicolor, which will depend, in part, on each company continuing
to devote sufficient resources to achieve the goals of the
collaboration; the ability of both Entropic and Technicolor to
successfully address technical challenges and introduce new and
enhanced products on a timely basis; risks associated with market
acceptance of new products developed by Entropic and Technicolor;
the risk associated with market acceptance for Comcasts Xfinity
Video Calling Experience; the effect of intellectual property
rights claims; the effects of competition, including the risk that
other wireline or wireless technologies may achieve greater market
acceptance than solutions developed by Entropic or Technicolor; and
other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Entropic's
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31,
2012. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their
entirety by this cautionary statement. Entropic and Technicolor are
providing this information as of the date of this release and does
not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements contained in this release as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Copyright 2012 Entropic
Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. All other product or
company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only
and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Investor Contacts: Media/Industry Analyst Contacts: Entropic
Communications Entropic Communications
