Rovi Corporation made it known today that it has entered a multi-year extended agreement for interactive program guides (IPGs) deployed by Sky Italia. The agreement – which was originally made directly between Rovi and Sky Italia – was granted an extension under Rovi’s license agreement with NDS (News - Alert) Group Ltd., a leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV and supplier to Sky Italia.

Under this extension are rights under Rovi patents for set-top boxes (STBS (News - Alert)) as well as secondary screens (ie. mobile devices, tablets, and online applications).

"We are pleased to expand our relationship with NDS to allow the continued deployment and use of our intellectual property by leading providers like SKY Italia," said Samir Armaly, EVP, Intellectual Property & Licensing, Rovi Corporation. "We believe Rovi IPG and related technologies are essential to helping service providers satisfy consumers' growing demand for 'anytime, anywhere' access to TV entertainment."

Recently, TMC (News - Alert) covered Rovi at the recent Cable Show 2012, where Rovi’s Chief Evangelist Richard Bullwinkle walked us through just what Siri can do for remote controls and set-top-boxes (STBs).

The ideas which have been set in place were aimed at simplifying channel surfing for easier coverage, the video explains. For example, simply by saying “change channel to ‘Starz,’” the television literally changes the channel to Starz network, taking just as much time as it would for buttons to be pressed manually on a remote.

Pretty impressive stuff.

Let’s say you’re in the middle of finishing up a work-related task or something which requires multiple devices. This is no problem, as you can connect this voice recognition technology and use it via your iOS device as well, which is also demonstrated in the video above. This ability to handle multiple devices increases productivity while cutting down on time and frustration.

Other functions which can be accomplished using this innovative voice technology include:

• Showing which movies are On-Demand via voice recognition
• Being able to switch content to multiple screens to accommodate single or multi-person parties,
• Creating a blended and shared environment/experience for everyone to enjoy
• Enhancing the average consumers home and television experience

Additionally, this technology is run on broadly deployed hardware, meaning that anyone – and I mean anyone – can enjoy this eye-opening, interactive experience with a software upgrade overnight. Individuals accustomed to more traditional methods needn’t worry about making a complex switch to see for themselves just what this powerful cable technology can do!

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

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