TiVo launched a trial of a video download service, which will enable movies and other video transmitted over a broadband connection directly onto TiVo owners' hard drives. The company partnered with the Independent Film Channel (IFC) on the project; IFC will offer downloads of episodes of its first scripted TV series -- "Hopeless Pictures," "Greg the Bunny" and "The Festival" -- in advance of their network TV premieres. In addition to the episodes themselves, the TiVo downloads will include outtakes and other unaired footage from the IFC series. "The key element of this trial for us is that it will enable consumers who do not typically have access to IFC to download our three new original series over broadband," said IFC executive vice president Evan Shapiro. TiVo said that Limelight Networks will provide content delivery network services for the trial, which it plans to expand to a series of broadband features beginning in the fall.
From my vantage point, few areas are evolving as rapidly and with such profound implications as the space sector. For decades, satellites were essentially fixed hardware – powerful, expensive, but ultimately immutable once launched. That paradigm is undergoing a transition driven by Software-Defined Satellites (SDS). A recent market study by ABI Research underscores this transition, painting a picture of technological advancement and a fundamental reshaping of global connectivity, security, and national interests. LEO SDS Market Development The core concept behind SDS is deceptively simple yet revolutionary: decouple the satellite's capabilities from its physical hardware. Instead of launching a satellite designed for a single, fixed purpose (like broadcasting specific frequencies to a specific region), SDS allows operators to modify, upgrade, and reconfigure a satellite's functions after it's in orbit, primarily through software updates. The ABI Research report highlights ...