Microsoft Mediaroom picks up another pair of IPTV provider believers

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Mediaroom has added yet another pair of IPTV-based believers.

Canada-based video IPTV service monitoring platform provider Mariner said in a news release that it will juice up its xVu service monitoring platform by incorporating new functionality from Mediaroom Client 2.2, and Swedish video service quality assurance company Agama Technologies said it has become an official Mediaroom ecosystem partner and plans to launch a Mediaroom edition of its end-to-end DTV monitoring solution.

In both instances, the companies said they are using Mediaroom to enhance and strengthen their network quality insights with the goal of helping service providers deliver a better end-to-end experience for their customers.

"With a comprehensive view of service performance across the network, telecommunications operators can dramatically reduce capital and operating expenses while rapidly expanding IPTV services," said Jerry Beresh, senior business development manager at Microsoft, in a news release.

The addition of Mediaroom enhancements allows the xVu monitoring platform to give operators "best-in-class troubleshooting tools for more effective isolation of IPTV service quality issues," including transient video impairments with "more granular subscriber-centric video performance data;" identifying set-top to HDTV connection issues via advanced HDMI connection details; assisting subscribers with menu navigation issues and providing guidance on TV settings; and verifying in-home connection with an active set-top box test, the news release said.

"The Mariner xVu platform is experiencing widespread adoption and usage across Microsoft Mediaroom's customer base, making interoperability essential to ensure high quality of service," Mariner President-CEO Curtis Howe said in the news release.

Agama said further incorporating Mediaroom in its technology would provide IPTV operators with "end-to-end visibility from head-end to home" to get a good and continuous handle of what's happening across the delivery network.

"Parts of our solution have already been deployed for a few years in Mediaroom environments with service operators, primarily to monitor in head-ends and post A-server network locations, but now we take the next step and enable these operators to benefit from our full end-to-end solution," said Agama CEO Michael Dahlgren said in a Rapid TV News story.

For more:
- see this news release
- and this story

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