Microsoft’s upgrades UltimateTV service
Microsoft’s UltimateTV, a personal-video-recording service sold with DirecTV’s satellite television receivers through retail sales outlets, has added a couple of enhancements to its PVR offering. The new features include a “keep until” option that lets viewers store programs until they choose to erase them and a “custom recordings” selection that enables customers to record from a specified beginning to ending time rather than recording entire shows.
Liberate and AT&T partner on services
Liberate Technologies and AT&T’s Headend In The Sky have signed a multiyear agreement to develop a suite of low-cost interactive television services for HITS affiliates, the companies said last week. The companies plan to use the Liberate TV Platform Compact software and run on the Motorola DCT-2000. The new services, which will be available in fourth quarter 2001, will allow interactive content to be broadcast over satellite to cable headends and transmitted to cable customers. The initial suite of ITV services will include news and information services, enhanced TV and interactive games.
Artesia archiving WGBH programming
Digital asset-management-software developer Artesia Technologies was hired by PBS affiliate WGBH-TV in Boston create a digital archive of its programming. Because WGBH produces several PBS shows, such as “This Old House,” a video collection will be useful during the production process, said Artesia CEO Chris Veator. The station is also seeking to preserve its library.