Interactive TV News Round-Up (I): Apple, Clearleap, eyeIO, Netflix

Due to the large volume of news generated by the recent 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and other factors, we are covering stories in this issue in round-up/summary format. We anticipate that it will take us several more days to process all the news from the show: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us.

• Piper Jaffrey analyst, Gene Munster, is once again predicting that Apple is set to launch a connected-TV set. In a note to clients Tuesday, Munster--who has been predicting for some time now that Apple will launch such a device--said that last month he spoke to a "major TV component supplier," that had been approached by Apple "regarding various capabilities of their television display components." This conversation, combined with earlier reports that Apple is investing in manufacturing facilities for 50-inch LCD screens and that prototypes of an Apple connected TV are being developed, leads Munster to predict that an Apple connected TV will launch in late 2012. Fortune's Philip Elmer-Witt has a detailed account of Munster's latest Apple TV predictions and musings. Meanwhile, Daniel M. Ladik, a professor at Seton Hall University's Stillman School of Business, is predicting that, rather than a connected-TV set, Apple is actually working an advanced cable set-top box. Forbes' Erika Morphy has more.
• Clearleap, which offers Web-based content-management and streaming solutions for delivering video to pay-TV VOD platforms, as well as to connected-TV devices, said Wednesday that it has hired Cisco veteran, Bob Van Orden, as VP of product marketing. "Van Orden is responsible for all of Clearleap's product marketing and strategy efforts, and he reports directly to the company's CEO, Braxton Jarratt," the company states in its press materials. "Van Orden's experience in the digital systems business is well-suited to driving further development of the Clearleap cloud platform and evangelizing the benefits of Clearleap solutions...Prior to joining Clearleap, Van Orden worked at Cisco Systems, where he held key positions, including general manager of the IPTV middleware business unit. His assignments involved launching complex technology products and businesses from concept to revenue generation. Van Orden also served at Scientific-Atlanta (S-A) at the time it was acquired by Cisco Systems. During his tenure at the company, he served in senior management roles responsible for product strategy, business development and marketing. He was a founding member of the team at S-A that launched the company's first digital set-top receiver, as well as one of the cable industry's first digital video recorders. Prior to joining Scientific-Atlanta, Van Orden served as business development manager with Ameritech Corporation in Chicago (now part of AT&T)...Van Orden holds a master's of business administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor of arts from Emory University. He has been granted three patents and has five patents pending in the fields of television user interfaces and remote controls." Said Clearleap CEO, Jarratt: "With his deep knowledge of IPTV and cloud technologies, Bob is going to help take our product team and cloud platform to the next level."
• A Silicon Valley-based start-up called eyeIO, which has developed what it bills as an "ultra-low-bandwidth" video-encoding technology, exited stealth mode, Wednesday, and announced that it has signed a commercial license agreement with Netflix, which sees the latter already using its technology to enable streaming in bandwidth-restrained environments. "eyeIO technology enables Internet content providers and network operators to deliver premium digital video of the highest quality to consumers over the current infrastructure at exceptionally low bandwidth," the company states in its press materials. "It enables its customers to reach and address the complete universe of connected devices, including mobile phones and smart TV's, with unsurpassed quality...eyeIO video encoding is fully compliant with existing standards, making high-quality video available anywhere in the world, on any connected device. The technology can be deployed as either a cloud or local solution and the enhanced video can be viewed without a custom video player or equipment modification. eyeIO was founded by an all-star line-up of technology experts: Charles Steinberg, former CEO of Ampex Corporation and former president of the Business and Professional Products Company of Sony Electronics; Robert C. Hagerty, former chairman and CEO of Polycom; and Rodolfo Vargas, former senior program manager of video at Microsoft and former co-chairman of video streaming and Internet interactivity at the DVD Forum." Said Rodolfo Vargas, who serves as the company's CEO: "eyeIO provides a straightforward solution for accommodating the rapidly growing demand for video delivery around the world by alleviating the overwhelming bandwidth currently required to stream video. Our future could not look more promising as eyeIO continues to challenge the commonly accepted limits of Internet video delivery and enables everyone connected to the Internet to enjoy high-quality video no matter where they are."