EMAAR residents to get smart Entertainment on Demand over IP

The system, configured over the Sahm Technologies IP network that serves all Emaar properties, will deliver Digital Interactive Television (iTV), Video-on-Demand (VoD), Music-on-Demand, Games-on-Demand, Networked Personal Video Recording (n-PVR) and Internet Multi-Media Streaming.

Powered by the Myrio IP Video Platform, the eMedia Center gives residential and hotel users total control over a range of entertainment services including video, music, television and games content.

'This is the first time in the Middle East that full interactive entertainment functionality will be delivered over an IP network for residential customers,' said Arvind Bhatnagar, CEO, Sahm Technologies.

'Users will be able to choose to watch, listen or play what they want, when they want. It liberates them from rigid television schedules and gives them the freedom of choice.

'Our customer focused approach is to offer advanced hi-tech home communications solutions through the practical application of emerging technologies that enhance the lifestyle of residents. The eMediaNet deployment meets these criteria.'

eMediaNet is in the process of reaching an agreement with major studios to provide the latest blockbuster movies three months after general release. Residents will have a choice of 30 VoD movies every day, including top-rated Arabic films.

Each movie selection will be played out from the network video server with viewers retaining complete control via the pause, rewind and fast forward functions of the interactive TV.

'IP networked VoD offers viewers much more functionality than typical Pay Per View services provided by digital satellite television networks or conventional cable service providers,' said Arvind Bhatnagar.

'Viewers would not be limited by the storage capacity of a conventional PVR hard disk. They will be able to store as many movies or programmes as they wish in their personal network library.'

Conveniently, residents would benefit from a single unified and itemised bill each month for all their entertainment, telephony and broadband charges.

The networked solution will also give residents the flexibility to record simultaneously as many channels as they wish, while Electronic Programme Guide software could be configured to record automatically regularly watched events like football matches or series.

The eMedia Center will also support network gaming so residents can choose to play against each other across the network. A wealth of G-Cluster and RealNetworks RealArcade games will be available to Emaar residents.

Mohammad Hejazi, President and CEO, eMediaNet, commented: 'Residents accessing the rich library of music, movie and gaming content will benefit from significant cost savings because they will not need to rent DVDs or games.

'All entertainment will be delivered directly to the in-home set top box via a single IP network connection and eMediaNet is exploring further advanced service and content enhancements to offer Emaar residents.'

Sahm is currently in the final stages of trial testing and expects the system to go live early in 2005.

The Myrio IP Video Platform is developed on the Java architecture platform which can be extended and customised, making it powerful yet easy to deploy and tailor to meet future system requirements and viewer demand.