CE stalwart Panasonic, which the New York Times this week said analysts describe as a company with attention deficit disorder, is off in a new direction this week, announcing it was partnering with Acetrax to launch a new download service in Europe that will allow owners of its Viera Cast connected TVs to download and stream movies from at least three major studios, Universal, Warner and Paramount.

Users will be able to rent or buy SD-quality films--so far about 2,000 titles are available--but a Panasonic spokesman said HD, and even 3D films could be available in the future.

The films will be available to users on up to four registered devices.

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CE manufacturers are preparing for a surge of 3D devices into consumer homes in anticipation of what they expect will be strong content ecosystem featuring live sporting events, major films, consumer gaming and more.

IMS Research says suppliers are gearing up in anticipation of what it forecasts will be a market that ships some 5.99 million 3D TV sets worldwide this year and a cumulative 218 million sets by 2015.

"Within five years, the majority of high-end large-screen TV sets and Blu-ray Disc players are likely to offer 3D capability," said study author Anna Hunt. "The price premium of 3D models in these markets over similar 2D products is expected to diminish quickly. Without a significant price premium, consumers are likely to future proof their purchases by opting for devices with 3D."

IMS Research forecasts that by the end of 2015, over 241 million homes will have a 3D Blu-ray Disc player and over 280 million TV households will have an HD set-top box.

Hunt said a large number of HD set-top boxes can facilitate delivery of 3D service from operators, adding that "With such a large installed base of 3D-capable devices, content makers should see enough of an incentive to aggressively pursue 3D content creation."

Informa last month predicted that just 8.7 million U.S. households would be active 3D TV viewers by 2015, about 7 percent of the market, but said the worldwide growth would continue steadily.

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IPTV growth in the Middle East is expected to accelerate in the next five years as telcos begin to aggressively roll out services. The UAE is forecast to see 36 percent CAG by 2013, becoming the Middle East's largest IPTV market.

SeaChange International's London-based On Demand Group is one of the vendors well positioned to take advantage of the increasing pace, this week announcing it helped UAE's du Telecom introduce subscription video on demand (SVOD) services to its customers.

On Demand Group, a three-screen video enabler for premier content and operations brands, said the launch of a fully managed subscription video-on-demand offering adds to the transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) service launched by du Telecom in December 2009.

The new SVOD service, which launched as "Unlimited Video on Demand," will include TV series, comedy, dramas, documentaries, kids programming, classic movies, and the latest blockbuster music videos acquired and packaged by On Demand Group. New content available in both SD and HD will be added to the service every week.

"The new subscription video-on-demand service, which we launched in collaboration with On Demand Group, will play a pivotal role in our aggressive service expansion and will allow us to quickly capture the leading edge in time-shifted subscriber options with the absolute best content," said du's chief commercial officer, Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer.

On Demand Group develops and manages the on-demand and pay-per-view businesses for service providers Virgin Media, 3 UK and an array of others.

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The British Open golf tournament is one of those annual events that even non-golfers recognize, and this year, whether you're pulling for Phil Mickelson (a 10 to 1 shot to win), Tiger Woods (9 to 2) or maybe even Tom Watson (100 to 1), you'll get a full slate of interactive TV from DirecTV and ESPN as the two continue what has become de rigueur in the IPTV world--big, showy coverage of major sporting events.

The two are offering expanded coverage of the British Open at the Royal St. Andrews Golf Course from July 15 through July 18, with four of the satellite provider's channels being tasked to focus on what is arguably the best known golf tournament in the world.

DirecTV will broadcast 35 hours of the event, more than twice as much as it did a year ago, and will spread its coverage across four channels, including a four-views-in-one option that will show live coverage of the 1st and 18th holes, a continuous feed from the 17th hole, a feed from ESPN and another from the BBC.

Viewers will be able to use their remote to switch audio from each screen, or to switch to a full-screen view of any of the four screens and back again.

Viewers also will be able to call up real-time scores for the top leaders, a more expansive leaderboard, a scorecard view, and be offered a trivia quiz on St. Andrews and the Open.

For more:
- see the DirecTV website

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