| Welcome to the New Embedded Solutions Newsletter
Welcome to the very first issue of the Embedded Solutions Quarterly e-Newsletter from Macrovision. Our goal is to provide you with helpful information about the business and technical aspects of ACP, hardware licensing and product certification in an easy-to-scan format. Each issue is designed to keep you informed with key feature stories, product updates, technical tips, news, and more.
We hope that you will find these newsletters to be useful and educational. Macrovision welcomes your feedback and opinions. Please feel free to write us at esg_news@macrovision.com.
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Macrovision Acquires Digital Home Software Developer Mediabolic
 In January, Macrovision announced that it acquired Mediabolic, a leading developer of digital home entertainment software. Mediabolic’s technologies can be embedded into familiar devices found in the entertainment center – TVs, stereos, digital video recorders, cable and satellite set-top boxes, and DVD players – to enable them to share and play back music, photo, and video content from our PCs or the Internet using our existing wired or wireless home networks.
Consumers in large numbers today are getting their media in digital formats and seeking ways to enhance the entertainment experience. CE manufacturers and content providers that recognize these trends are actively seeking ways to add connectivity to their product offerings, but connectivity requires companies to completely rethink those products in terms of their software platforms.
Together, Macrovision and Mediabolic will be able to deliver next-generation operating platforms that offer standards-based interoperability, easy-to-use interfaces, rights management and content management capabilities, and a robust back-end services infrastructure. Mediabolic’s software is a strong fit with Macrovision’s roadmap to help content owners and device manufacturers transition from the world of physical media to the digital world.
The acquisition of Mediabolic extends Macrovision’s capabilities in the protection, enhancement, and distribution of digital content, which enables consumers to access media on their own terms, using a broad set of devices.
For more information on how Macrovision can help you bring your connected entertainment products to market more quickly, e-mail us at esg_news@macrovision.com.
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Macrovision ACP News:
Macrovision Helps Online Video Providers Deliver More Content to Consumers
Netflix, BitTorrent, Movielink, and Instant Media have each signed agreements with Macrovision to employ Analog Copy Protection (ACP) technology as part of their distribution of movies and videos on their websites. With Macrovision’s technology, content providers and online video distributors gain the confidence they need to utilize the digital distribution channel for premium content, and consumers gain the satisfaction of having more choices for purchasing their favorite movies. To learn more, click here.
Macrovision’s Digital Commerce Solution Deployed by Channel 4 Television to Power Video On-demand.
Channel Four Television Corporation, a leading public service broadcaster in the United Kingdom, has deployed Macrovision’s Digital Commerce Solution, including core products RightAccess and RightCommerce, to provide the ecommerce infrastructure for its new Video On-demand (VoD) service. To learn more, click here.
Macrovision Helps Tata Sky Drive Next Generation Digital Distribution of Home Entertainment Content
Building on leading media companies’ adoption of advanced technology to capitalize on the growth of digital content, Macrovision is enabling its partners to create value in new distribution channels. Tata Sky Ltd., the joint venture from TATA and STAR, has selected Macrovision to enable it to deliver protected blockbuster movies to consumers through its satellite television network in India. To learn more, click here.
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DVD Testing Tool Available to Manufacturers
A Macrovision Test DVD is available that can be used to provide a straightforward method of testing the implementation of copy protection in Products that play DVD discs. It can also be used in conjunction with a Macrovision certified DVD player to provide a method of generating copy protected video for testing analog input video appliances for proper detection of copy protection.
This Test DVD is double-sided. Side One is 525/60 (NTSC) and Side Two is 625/50 (PAL). Each side has 12 video clips or test patterns. Each of these contains four chapters in which the copy protection status is set to Off, Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3, respectively. CGMS is set to Copy Never throughout and CSS encryption is not used. The disc is not region coded and can be played on any region player. For information on how to purchase the test tool, click here.
Service Note: While both sides of the disc include a color bar test pattern with a reference white area , the white on Side 2 (PAL) was encoded with a level approximately 3.1% above true Reference White, yielding 722mVolts instead of the usual 700mV level above Blanking Level.
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Come See Macrovision at CONNECTIONS in Santa Clara, May 1-3, 2007
Macrovision invites you to come see what’s new in digital home entertainment. We’ll be demonstrating our award-winning Media Server and Media Player products at CONNECTIONS™ 2007: The Digital Home Conference and Showcase. In addition, Daniel Putterman, vice president of Macrovision’s Embedded Systems Group (and former president and CEO of Mediabolic) will be a speaker at the event.
CONNECTIONS is the largest executive conference dedicated to advanced digital lifestyle solutions for residential and mobile environments. For more information about CONNECTIONS, click here. And if you’re planning to attend, let us know. We’d love to meet with you.
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Macrovision Updates Several ACP Specifications
Macrovision is pleased to announce that we have updated several specifications related to our copy protection technology for analog video (ACP).
Many of the updates simply reflect corrections or clarifications to the underlying specifications that were originally issued in 1998/1999. However, one important new improvement is related to the introduction of an alternate configuration of the number of End-of-Field Back Porch Pulses (BPP) for 525i and 625i Interlaced video. This alternate configuration provides a means to differentiate between Types 1, 2 and 3 ACP waveforms for all 525i and 625i outputs. Previously, this differentiation was only possible with NTSC over Composite and S-Video connections. The use of the BPP also paves the way for defining future usage states.
For Authorized Component Suppliers (IC encoder manufacturers) only:
1. Macrovision now has a Supplement to the 7.1.L1 Specification titled: Supplement 1 to Revision 7.1.L1 specification of the Macrovision Copy Protection Process for Authorized Component Suppliers. This supplement to the encoding specification (Revision 7.1.L1 issued December 2, 1998) provides information on the new alternate BPP configuration. Note that the new BPP configuration affects only a select few Macrovision register data values and is well within the programmable range of all 7.1.L1 compliant encoders.
For Authorized Component Suppliers and Product Manufacturers:
2. An updated revision to Progressive Scan Specification has been released titled: Specification of the Macrovision AGC Copy protection Waveforms for Products with 525p and/or 625p YPbPr Progressive Scan Outputs, Revision 1.3. This revision to the 525p/625p progressive scan specifications primarily provides corrections and clarifications to the previous version (Revision 1.2 issued February 24, 2003).
3. A Supplement to the detection specification for IC devices and products has been released titled:
Supplement 1 to Specification for Detection of the Macrovision Copy Protection process As Used On 525/60 and 625/50 DVD, STB and Pre-Recorded VHS Cassette Analog Video Outputs. This document updates the previous detection specification (Revision 1.00, issued January 11, 2000) by including the incorporation of the previously separate Progressive detection guidelines, and the requirements for Colorstripe-Only detection on NTSC/525i video on Composite and S-Video connections.
For Set-Top-Box (STB/IRD/DMR) Product Manufacturers:
4. Macrovision has released a new specification titled: Specifications Of The Macrovision Copy Protection Process For Digital Media Receivers With APS Type Control, Revision 1.1. This specification complements the traditional STB specification (7.1.S1 issued October 1, 1999) and is applicable to set-top-box receivers that are designed to operate on networks that convey the Macrovision Type of analog protection to be activated on an analog output – hence the term APS Type Control.
For a complete list of the current Macrovision specification documents, click here.
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Market Intelligence Report: 60M Broadband Homes in US by Year End
US residences with a broadband connection surged 20 percent in 2006 to more than 50 million, according to the Parks Associates report “Digital Lifestyles: 2007 Outlook.” The same study anticipates that by the end of 2007, more than 60 million US residences will have a broadband connection. That’s 55 percent of all US households.
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Macrovision Establishes E-mail Groups for Video Technical Support
The Video Technical Support team has created the following e-mail accounts to provide you with an improved service level for your inquiries. These e-mail addresses will always connect you with the appropriate members on the technical support team, even when individual team members are away from the office. Please use these e-mail addresses instead of individual team members’ addresses for better service.
Use the “General” address to request certification procedures, schedule certification tests, and general questions about certification.
Use the “Technical” address for technical questions related to a specific product being tested, or for questions about applying Macrovision’s technical specifications to your products.
Product Type
PC DVDs (graphics cards, notebooks, personal computers):
Set-top Boxes/Digital Media Receivers:
Encoder ICs, Detection Circuit ICs:
Other:
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