BRIEFS

SAN CARLOS, CALIF. —Liberate Technologies and Concurrent Computer Corp. said they have combined their respective technologies to form an integrated interactive-television and video-on-demand product.

Specifically, Concurrent, a member of Liberate's PopTV Program, fused its MediaHawk VOD system with Liberate's set-top box middleware. Cox Communications Inc. in San Diego will be the first cable system to deploy the new product, the companies said.

The combination "creates a very real, competitive differentiator for us and provides incremental revenue and greater customer satisfaction," Cox vice president of multimedia technology John Hildebrand said in a press release.

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — High-definition television pioneer and former General Instrument Corp. executive Robert M. Rast was named CEO of video-compression technology company DemoGraFX Inc.

Rast will head the company as it plans to commercialize Visually Perfect, a product that can take on such applications as digital cinema; satellite- and cable-based digital TV; DVDs; PCs; and the Internet.

BOSTON, MASS. — United Kingdom-based ANT Limited said OpenGlobe Inc. has licensed its Fresco browser software for a line of Internet-based home entertainment appliance reference designs.

Those designs are expected to result in retail home-networking products manufactured by OpenGlobe partners Compaq Computer Corp., Kenwood Corp. and Thomson Multimedia. ANT's browser is specifically designed for consumer-electronics devices such as digital set-tops, televisions, mobile phones, personal digital assistants and car-based information systems.

Separately, Spain-based broadcaster Quiero TV agreed to license ANT's browser and e-mail application to about 200,000 interactive-television subscribers. Quiero TV launched its Internet-based TV service in May of last year.

SAN FRANCISCO — In preparation for this month's National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, nCUBE Corp. said its n4 broadband streaming-media platform has added support for RealNetworks Inc.'s RealAudio 8 and RealVideo 8 players.

The move would enable broadband service providers to deliver high-quality streaming media to "thousands" of consumers from a single n4 server, the companies said.

AUSTIN, TEXAS —WSNet has launched a new Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)-based system that allows multiple-dwelling unit service providers to offer digital programming via existing cable wiring and without a separate satellite antenna on each building.

The product will enable operators to offer a 200-channel lineup without the need for expensive MDU network upgrades, said executive vice president of business development Mark Sherman.

"Our transcoders can digitize a property in a few days for between $10,000 to $20,000," he said. WSNet has relationships with 1,400 independent operators that serve about 1 million subscribers.

SUNNYVALE, CALIF. — In a potential blow to Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc., iSurfTV Corp. and the National Cable Television Cooperative said they have struck a nonexclusive deal to jointly develop and market a standardized, turnkey interactive program guide based on iSurf's technology.

NCTC said it would make the resulting product available to its cable operator membership, which count 13 million subscribers.