As the IBC show hits the home stretch, here’s another roundup of news snippets from Amsterdam.

Check out our earlier IBC news roundups here, here, and here.

-A+E Networks and Cisco Systems said they have integrated and tested Nielsen ID3 tagging  to track viewing patterns for mobile screen services. Cisco noted that its D9036 broadcast encoder has been enhanced to deliver Nielsen  ID3 tagging, having previously released that capability on its Videoscape AnyRes Live software encoders. A+E Networks is introducing ID3 tagging to support viewer measurement on PCs, tablets and smartphones.

-Elemental Technologies said thePlatform, the Comcast-owned online video publishing unit, has upgraded its mpx Accelerate service to support video processing from Elemental. thePlatform’s mpx Accelerate product enables partners to store high-quality mezzanine video files for transcoding to a variety of formats.

-ONO, Spain’s largest cable operator in Spain, is expanding its relationship with TiVo by supporting TiVo’s cloud service APIs for multi-screen, authenticated TV Everywhere viewing options. The additions will also include cloud-focused search and discovery features and remote DVR management. ONO’s the first TiVo MSO partner to announce its use of the APIs to deliver a consistent TiVo experience across screen types. ONO said it has deployed its TiVo option to more than 400,000 active users, more than half of its user base.

-Cubiware is using the show to demo a prototype of the TiVo UI running on Evolution Digital thin-client set-tops outfitted with its CubiTV middleware platform and access to TiVo’s cloud service APIs. Cubiware said the mix is targeted to cable operators as well as satellite and IPTV service providers.

-Piksel, the recently relaunched online video publishing firm, has unveiled Piksel Mosaic, a proof-of-concept “hyper-personalized” video application that supports “context-based’ recommendations across set-tops and mobile devices. Piksel’s historic custoemrs include AT&T, BskyB, Mediaset and Sky Deutschland.

-Chipmaker Entropic Communications pumped out a bevy of announcements at IBC. Among them, Triax, an international distributor of digital TV and data gear, has added an Entropic-powered MoCA Ethernet-to-Coax Adapters to its product set. Hitron Technologies, meanwhile, has achieved MoCA 2.0 certification for the CGNM, a DOCSIS 3.0 wireless gateway that can bond up to 24 downstream channels and utilizes Entropic’ EN2710 baseband MAC/PHY and EN1410 RF transceiver/analog front-end.  Additionally, Portugal-based Novabase Digital TV Technologies has launched a new line of Digital Transport Adapters (DTAs) powered by Entropic’s EN700-series set-top box chipsets.

Elemental Technologies has become the latest video processing and packaging specialist to swim into deeper waters by launching a platform designed to vastly expand its multiscreen business.

At IBC in Amsterdam, the company has introduced Elemental Delta, a video delivery platform designed to help media companies and distributors add time-shifted services while also cutting down costs and reducing complexities.

Elemental said it’s been able to bring several “major” telcos, OTT, broadcast, satellite and mobile operators in the U.S., Europe (including ops in France, the U.K. and Sweden), and Middle East (including Qatar), and in New Zealand and Brazil, to Delta, a platform that’s designed to support several types of apps and services, including catch-up and start-over TV, and network DVRs. Elemental's customer base includes HBO, the BBC, ESPN, ABC News, CBS Interactive and Comcast, among others.

At IBC, Euan McLeod, director digital media technologies at Turner Broadcasting, was schedule to talk about how the programmer is using Delta to power its new CNNx TV Everywhere app, an Elemental official said.

Elemental said the platform, which uses a software-defined approach that ties into a broader SDN trend, combines just-in-time packaging, origin services, intelligent caching, dynamic ad insertion and replacement, and content protection functions in a single platform that also supports the major adaptive streaming protocols (HDS, HLS, Smooth Streaming and MPEG-DASH), compression formats, and multiple digital rights management systems.

Elemental isn’t alone in attacking the market with a broader, platform-centered approach to multiscreen video. For example, Envivio, another company known for video processing and packaging, launched a more well-rounded platform called Nuage earlier this month.

While many get ready for some R&R this weekend, thousands of video industry people will be burning it on both ends in Amsterdam as the confab continues to roll on.

Here’s a looks at what else is making news there. Check out our earlier IBC news roundups here and here.

-TiVo’s shot at achieving global domination is well underway. The DVR and video software company said it’s expanding its European footprint to include sales, marketing and account management staff offices in Austria, England, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, noting that they’ll be dedicated to personalized video products – a move that happens to come on the heels of TiVo's acquisition of Digitasmiths. TiVo, which already working with Com Hem in Sweden, Ono in Spain and Virgin Media in the U.K., isn't saying how many staffers will be based at these expanded international posts, but the company employs 635 people worldwide today. So we reckon that the number we were looking for is something less than 635.

-Alcatel-Lucent said it’s working on a new architecture that will help pay TV providers store a customer’s favorite TV shows in the cloud at low cost while also maintaining compliance with content rights and copyright laws. Under U.S. rules, cloud DVRs must make a private copy for each recording request made by a given household -- horribly inefficient from a storage standpoint when compared to areas of the world that alllow multiple subscribers to stream off of the same recorded copy. Alcatel-Lucent said will be getting around this via a “virtual private copy architecture” that combines a tiered storage system with its Velocix Content Delivery Network (CDN), claiming that the approach can reduce storage costs by up to 75%. The company is developing a prototype of the architecture and expects it to be ready for trials in mid-2015, followed by commercial availability toward the end of next year.

-SeaChange International is demoing a new platform that integrates Freesat’s next-gen Freetime service with SeaChange’s multiscreen Adrenalin video backoffice platform. They’re pitching the combo, which includes a catch-up and recommendation engine,  to IPTV, satellite, cable and terrestrial operators. Freesat, a joint venture of the U.K.’s ITV and the BBC, is a subscription-free service with more than 200 channels, plus on-demand, that’s in over 1.85 million homes. 

-Envivio has shed more light on the tech partners who are tied into Nuage, its new multiscreen video platform. They include Microsoft (content protection), Adobe Primetime (video playback, authentication, DRM, and ad insertion/decisioning), Dolby (audio processing), and 1 Mainstream (automated video app platform).

-Brightcove has unveiled Brightcove Perform, a video playback system for multiscreen video that supports management APIs and its “HTML5-first” Brightcove Player. As the performance of Perform goes, the company is making the lofty claim that it can load up to 70% than competitive players, including YouTube’s. That player will also be available soon as part of the company’s flagship Video Cloud online video platform.

-Verimatrix said Swisscom has selected its Video Content Authority System (VCAS) to secure the operator’s new TV 2.0 service, which runs on an Android-powered set-top and marks Swisscom’s move away from Mediaroom, the former Microsoft IPTV platform that is now part of Ericsson. Swisscom TV 2.0 supports live TV and a seven-day replay service for 250 channels.

-EchoStar is using IBC to offer a sneak peak at a  home automation and security platform that will feature “do-it-yourself” installation and enable the control of thermostats, security cameras, door sensors, lights, doorbells and switches. EchoStar said the new product is expected to debut in “various territories” in early 2015.

-Second-screen specialist Visiware said its Sync2TV platform reaches more than 50 million users, with 500,000 of them “engaged” with several single TV shows. Visiware said it’s working with several producers and networks, including Disney, Embassy Row, Endemol, ESPN, NBC Universal, the NFL, ITV, M6, Sony, and TF1, among others.

-Harmonic has released its Polaris playout management suite of tools and integrated them with its Spectrum media server family. Harmonic also unveiled new multiscreen packaging and origination capabilities for its VOS software-based media processing platform that adds  packaging-on-the-fly and low-latency origin server capabilities that were originally developed for its ProMedia multiscreen applications. Sky Italia is one the first customers to deploy the VOS platform for its broadcast and multiscreen services.

-Speaking of Sky Italia, it has also deployed Imagine Communications’ Magellan SDN Orchestrator, a distribution system for both ASI and IP transport streams across broadcast routers and commercial IP switches that’s tied into a common software-defined network infrastructure

Ericsson is adding more cloud DVR and VOD assets and talent to its video roster through a $95 million acquisition of Israel-based Fabrix Systems.

Ericsson, which wrapped up its acquisition of Microsoft’s Mediaroom unit about a year ago and its purchase of Azuki Systems in February, said its latest buy will expand its multiscreen video portfolio.

Fabrix specializes in cloud storage and computing and network-based video delivery. One of its known customers is Cablevision Systems, which is using Fabrix to help power its network-based Multi-Room DVR product that now allows customers to record as many as 15 shows at once following a recent upgrade.

Fabrix has kept its wins close to the vest, but Mario Rainville, Fabrix’s VP of sales and marketing, told Multichannel News earlier this year that the company had “large deployments” with more than 10 tier-1 service providers in North America and Europe.

At this year’s NAB show in Las Vegas, Fabrix showed off targeted ad-insertion system tailored for cloud DVRs (subscription required) that utilized Fabrix’s software running on off-the-shelf servers and relied on an automated, programmatic-style ad-buying/selling model.  Febrix’s demo was run on a camaign-managmenet system from Videology.

Ericsson’s latest acquisition follows upgrades to its Mediaroom platform and a new MediaFirst offering that will be covered in more detail soon by Multichannel News.

“We are investing significantly across our TV platform and video-network areas to extend our market leadership position. Our Media Vision 2020 shows that traditional TV is shifting rapidly towards TV Anywhere and Ericsson's leadership in broadcast, video and networks places us in a unique position to enable the most demanding customers to define and deliver the future of TV,” Per Borgklint, SVP and head of business unit support solutions at Ericsson, said in a statement.

Ericsson said it expects to close the deal in the fourth quarter. Founded in 2006, Fabrix has 103 employees.

HBO GO, the popular multiscreen TV Everywhere service, could soon show up on cable set-top boxes in Europe after the premium programmer struck up a partnership with ActiveVideo, maker of a cloud-based platform that delivers apps and services to IP- and non-IP devices.

Under a partnership announced at the IBC show in Amsterdam, HBO Europe said it plans to bring HBO GO (its content and the interface) to set-tops, both young and old, using ActiveVideo’s CloudTV StreamCast platform.

Introduced in April, the new StreamCast component for ActiveVideo’s CloudTV converts user interfaces, video and other content from Web formats to versions that can be rendered and displayed by non-IP set-tops. That conversion and bridging process covers elements such as content protection and content delivery. As designed, the system delivers an MPEG/QAM or H.264 stream packed with the content as well as the UI.

HBO Europe, which operates in 14 territories in eastern and central Europe and the Netherlands, said it intends to bring HBO GO to full footprints of existing set-top boxes, targeting existing HBO GO affiliates.

HBO and ActiveVideo didn’t announce if any affiliates have agreed to jump on board, but Liberty Global’s UPC Hungary unit is the first announced MSO to deploy the CloudTV/StreamCast combo, using it to bring YouTube, Picasa, Flickr and other Internet-based apps to non-IP boxes. Ziggo of the Netherlands and Deutsche Telekom are among other MSOs in Europe that work with ActiveVideo.

“The marriage of libraries of the very best online content and the 10-foot viewing experience of television holds tremendous potential for pay-TV - online video collaboration,” said Jeff Miller, president and CEO of ActiveVideo, in a statement. “Virtualizing STB functionality in the cloud is the key to creating partnerships that can drive audience reach and content expansion for the benefit of both parties.”

In the run-up to IBC, ActiveVideo also announced that it has become a licensee of the Reference Design Kit (RDK), and has boosted the scaling capabilities of its “virtual” set-top architecture by supporting off-the-shelf network servers outfitted with Intel’s new Quick Sync Video technology.

The trend may be toward the so-called “virtualization” of the set-top box as more of those functions get packed into the cloud, but that doesn’t mean traditional boxes will be going the way of the dodo anytime soon.

On that point, Arris is using the IBC show in Amsterdam to unveil a new, sleeker design for IPTV set-tops and video clients that are equipped with HEVC decoding and 802.11ac WiFi, with some models capable of supporting 4K/Ultra HD video.

The VIP4000 and VIP5000 series products being previewed at IBC are based on Arris’s KreaTV IPTV platform. But they also represent the first in a family of new designs that will support both telcos and cable operators and a “variety of software applications,” an Arris spokeswoman said.

Those products, the first to feature Arris’ new high-gloss, fancy set-top design, will be offered in several colors -- snow & copper; ice blue; “Arris orange” (they have staked their claim on this particular shade, apparently); tinted grey; premium umbra; and midnight purple. The front of model will also feature “fluted LED lighting”  that will allow color-customized branding. Arris expects to launch them globally starting next year.

Here’s the initial model lineup for each series:

VIP4000 Series (HEVC compatibility for HD)

-VIP4000: A compact HEVC 1080p60 HD IP set-top with an 80x80x13mm form factor equipped with 802.11ac 2x2 dual-band Wi-Fi antennas.  

-VIP4300 – Featuring a circular design and USB connectivity for DVR and time-shifting, this one decodes HEVC HD 1080p60 and features 802.11ac.  

-VIP4600 – A “fully featured” HEVC 1080p60 HD IP set-top, housing up to 1 terabyte of storage for DVR applications, plus 802.11ac.

VIP5000 Series (Ultra HDTV-capable)

-VIP5200 – An HEVC Ultra-HD IP set-top, supporting up to 4Kx2Kp30 with up to 1TB of storage and 802.11ac.

VIP5600 – A fully featured HEVC Ultra-HD IP set-top for UHD p60 with 10-bit color, plus 1TB of storage and 802.11ac.

Arris, which saw set-top and gateway shipments rise 8% in the second quarter, also extended the design theme to a new family of remote controls – a version with a full set of functions and short cut keys, a mid-level model with number keys and the “most important function keys” around the main navigation key, and a compact model with a small set of user keys.

So, the set-top box appears to be alive and well -- or at least is putting on a fresh face -- despite constant predictions of its demise.

The announcements are arriving at a fast and furious rate as the IBC show (September 11-16) gets underway in Amsterdam. Here’s a roundup of news snippets from the video and tech confab:

-You.i and Pace will show a new user interface that’s running on 4K-capable Media Servers and “IP Pucks” that are pre-integrated with Pace Elements middleware for both Reference Design Kit (RDK) and non-RDK deployments. You.i, by the way, is underpinning the interface for “shomi,” the new OTT subscription video offering from Canadian operators Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications.

-Off the floor, RDK LLC, the joint venture of Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Liberty Global, plans to host a private, closed door meeting with suppliers and operators on Sept. 16, according to people familiar with it. For an expanded look at the RDK’s global ambitions and a sampling of RDK demos that will be shown at IBC, please see this story (subscription required) from the Sept. 8 issue of Multichannel News.

-IBM’s Aspera division -- in tandem with broadcast production systems vendor EVS and multiscreen video specialist Elemental Technologies – has introduced a large-scale system for the delivery of live high-res video streaming from the proverbial cloud. The system is particularly tailored for the delivery of live sporting events, they said.

-Arris has introduced a suite of advanced compression products, including the HEVC-capable DSR-7400 Transcoder Integrated Receiver/Decoder; the SE-7400 HEVC UHD/4K Encoder (a single-channel HEVC/UHD encoder for live linear encoding up to 4Kp60; and the ME-7000 Converged Compression Platform (for multiscreen delivery of IPTV, cable and satellite applications).  

-Alcatel-Lucent has introduced virtualization features to its Velocix Content Delivery Network (CDN) platform that decouples the software that controls and routes traffic on a network from the physical infrastructure that provides compute and storage resources. That combo reduces the time required to install or expand the CDN, the company said, noting that the product set joins the company’s network functions virtualization (NFV) portfolio announced earlier this year.

-Ooyala, the online video publisher being acquired by Australian telco Telstra, said it has won a deal to support Sky Sports’ free VOD content slate offered on its website, including analytics that tell Sky now users are engaging with that content and discovery features that help visitors find content. Ooyala also announced that it is powering premium content for Presto on Google Chromecast  devices. Presto is a premium movie streaming service based in Australia.

Please check back for additional items and updates throughout the day.