Ardent video gamers no longer need a game console; all they have to do is make use of the Playcast Media games-on-demand services, which will allow them to play their favorite games on their cable television set top box itself.

 

The London- and Israel-based company has broadcasted a pilot program with Israel’s cable network and the objective of the pilot is to test the Playcast Media system at full capacity on a live cable network, company officials said.

 

Playcast Media has claimed that the launch of the games-on-demand service pilot positions places it as the only live and deployed service of its kind on cable television.

 

Playcast uses a new proprietary technology to offer games, on demand, to ordinary cable or teleco set-top boxes via standard cable telephone lines. Subscribers can play those on games on their cable TV STBs using a game pad or game controller without any lag or latency, according to company officials. Playcast claims that its technology uses so-called ultra high-speed processing to handle off-the-shelf games and distribute the game’s audio-visual output as digital video.

 

Playcast has stated that the services pilot has proven the viability of this type of on-demand services and can bring to fruition the vision of TV games-on-demand, enabling new growth opportunities for game publishers and TV operators with minimum investment, as well as an affordable gaming experience to hundreds of millions of cable and IPTV (News - Alert) subscribers around the world.

 

The pilot program will also get user feedbacks about the game portal (UI) and the revolutionary gaming experience. Israel will see the first full operational rollout of the games-on-demand services at the end of the pilot period.

 

Playcast Media is a gaming service solution for cable and IPTV operators, and brings next-generation IP owners to hundreds of millions of connected households. In addition to the pilot launch in Israel, Playcast Media is engaged in advanced evaluation phases with cable and IPTV operators, and expects to reach major markets in the U.S., Europe and Asia during 2009 and 2010.

 

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