Digital settops in Hong Kong, with Macrovision................
HK Telecom IMS Gets Macrovision Tech License
SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Macrovision Corp. said that
Hongkong Telecom IMS Ltd. has obtained a license to test
Macrovision's pay-per-view, copy-protection technology for its
video-on-demand service to be introduced within the next few months.
The Hong Kong-based company will use Macrovision's
copy-protection know-how in cable equipment and digital TV set-top
decoders to be installed throughout Hong Kong for the company's iTV
Service. That service is formally called Interactive TV.
Hongkong Telecom IMS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hongkong
Telecom, a member company of the UK's Cable & Wireless group.
Stocks of both Hongkong Telecom and Cable & Wireless are listed on
the New York Stock Exchange, through American Depositary
Receipts. IMS means interactive multimedia services.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Macrovision develops technologies to protect
content providers in the distribution of video and audio programming.
The company's stock is listed on the U.S. NASDAQ market.
Macrovision was founded in 1983, and it has a subsidiary in Tokyo.
''We're pleased to welcome Hongkong Telecom IMS to the growing
list of Macrovision-licensed operators around the world,'' Mark
Belinsky, a Macrovision vice president, said in a statement.
''We look forward to working with Hongkong Telecom to implement
copy protection in its iTV Service and enable the broadest possible
array of VOD programming for iTV subscribers,'' he said.
Macrovision's pay-per-view, copy-protection technology allows
consumers to watch, but not record, programs that are copy protected.
System operators and program suppliers use this proprietary
know-how to prevent popular movies and other programming from
being widely copied.
PerfecTV! Japan and Singapore Telecom are two of Macrovision's
Asian customers using copy protection-ready set-top decoders in their
digital video networks.
(Neil Davis)
Biztech Asia Correspondent - 08/07/97 |
