Minerva Networks and SK Group to provide IP-based television services in Korea
Minerva Networks, a provider of carrier-class video networking solutions that enable the delivery of broadcast-quality interactive television and video services over broadband networks, announced a partnership with The Contents Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of SK Group, to deploy IP Television services throughout Korea.
Under the terms of the exclusive agreement, Minerva Networks and SK Telecom will build multiple IP Television Headends throughout the country to enable the delivery of IP Television to millions of subscribers. Over the last decade, the Korean government has sponsored and mandated the installation of thousands of miles of fiber connecting multi-dwelling units (MDUs) throughout the country, resulting in an extensive fiber network. Utilizing this fiber infrastructure and the Minerva IP Television solution, The Contents Company will provide live television, near Video-on-Demand (NVOD), and true Video-on-Demand (VOD) to residents of the MDUs.
In addition to live television, NVOD, and VOD, The Contents Company will continue to add services made possible by the IP-based infrastructure such as network-based PVR (Personal Video Recording) functionality, which allows users to pause, rewind and fast-forward live television and movies without the need for a local hard-drive. Additional IP services will include Internet and email access, assessable directly from the users' television screen.
Comprised of Minerva iTVManager media management software, Minerva Video Network Platform MPEG-2 IP encoders, and Minerva MediaGateway DVB-to-IP demultiplexers, the Minerva IP Television Headend is the central point of subscriber management, media aggregation and distribution of video services over high-speed broadband networks.
About Minerva Networks, Inc.:
Minerva Networks, Inc. is a provider of carrier-class video networking solutions that enable the delivery of broadcast-quality interactive television and video services over broadband IP networks. For more information, visit www.minervanetworks.com.
About SK Group:
SK Group holds brands in many vertical markets including telecommunications, textiles and fibers, energy production and distribution, engineering and construction, international trade and finance as well as film. For more information, visit www.sk.com.
About The Contents Company:
The Contents Company was founded by the SK Group in July 2000 to spearhead the development of SK's future broadband strategy. Targeting the Korean multi-dwelling unit market, TCC develops bundled service packages to include voice over IP, Internet access, home networking, automation and security; and IP television services consisting of video- and music-on-demand, time-shifted television and gaming.