itaas Wraps Up First istart Developer Conference
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Interactive '05 Conference Focused on Rapid Application Development for Scientific-Atlanta Platforms
Featured Groundbreaking Presentations from most of the Major N. American MSOs, Scientific-Atlanta and CableLabs
ATLANTA, Ga., November 1, 2005 - itaas Inc., provider of an innovative and compelling suite of video on demand (VOD) products, and the only provider of end-to-end iTV services in the digital video industry, today announced the successful conclusion of its first developer conference, Interactive '05. Co-Sponsored by Scientific Atlanta, this invitation-only event for itaas' istart program members and co-sponsored by Scientific-Atlanta, Interactive '05 was held in Atlanta on October 20-21. The conference featured groundbreaking presentations from most of the N. American MSOs, CableLabs® and Scientific-Atlanta who discussed their iTV product roadmaps and OpenCableTM (OCAP) strategies to the application development community.
"Interactive '05 was a huge success thanks to the amazing presentations that were delivered by the cable operators, Scientific-Atlanta, CableLabs, and the development community who shared their application development stories and challenges at the conference," said itaas' President and CEO Vibha Rustagi. "We are proud to say that this event has brought together - for the first time - all the key players in the digital TV industry and the greatest minds in the business, and we look forward to delivering the same experience next year for our istart members at Interactive '06."
Steve Necessary, VP, video product development at Cox Communications, commented, "I am greatly encouraged by the increasing development momentum relative to iTV. Most notably, iTV is not a single application, but rather a blanket term for a wide array of incredibly creative offerings. I applaud itaas for their role in encouraging and facilitating this forward progress as evidenced by Interactive '05."
Interactive '05, a first-of-its-kind event, was designed to help foster tighter relationships between the istart members, the cable operators, CableLabs and Scientific-Atlanta. The istart Developer Support Program provides the iTV development community with all the right tools, best practices and guidance they need to push the envelope with new, exciting and revenue generating applications for cable operators - applications that will ultimately change the way people watch and interact with television. A new study from Kagan Research predicts 59 percent of TV households will be iTV-equipped by 2009, reaching 69 million digital subscribers (more than half the TV households in the U.S.).
"Interactive '05 was a great success and provided an excellent opportunity for developers to explore new ways for helping to create applications for the 'personalized TV' marketplace," said Jeff Seebeck, vice president of product strategy and development at Scientific-Atlanta. "Innovative applications have the potential to deliver new and exciting video entertainment services to the home, including expanded content choices, enhanced navigation experiences and exciting new personal applications."
John Callahan, SVP, software development at Time Warner Cable, said, "It's critical that we encourage and support a dynamic iTV application development community and the Interactive '05 conference was a great forum to bring hardware suppliers, operators, and developers together to share plans and discuss application initiatives."
Alain Boissonnault, director, new technology development, engineering at Videotron, said, "I feel that such a dynamic - and interactive - gathering of most of the major players in the iTV industry, both from the MSO side and the application developers, can only improve our understanding of the strategic issues we are all confronted with."
"Congratulations to itaas for bringing in the "A" list of cable TV engineering management," said Tyrone Lam, president of Buzztime Entertainment, Inc. "It's the only conference I have attended where senior cable TV executives openly discussed major technology issues that will guide future iTV deployments."
About itaas Inc.
itaas provides of an innovative and compelling suite of video on demand (VOD) products, and is the only provider of end-to-end iTV services in the digital video industry, serving broadband operators, set-top manufacturers, application and content developers, middleware and OS providers.
From design and development to integration and support, combined with a robust lab facility and a VOD product suite, itaas is uniquely positioned in the broadband industry to help broadband operators deploy advanced iTV solutions on accelerated schedules. The company has more than 70 clients and its products are deployed in 47 cable systems nationwide. Leading broadband companies depend on itaas for creative solutions to complex digital TV challenges. Visit itaas on the Web at www.itaas.com or call 770-368-4024.
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Tammy Snook
President
HighTech Public Relations, Inc.
407-667-9355
www.hightechpr.net
tammysnook@hightechpr.net
