The Hindu Business Line : Verismo Networks tool to make TV sets smarter

IT'S time for the network-ready TV. A smart TV that will enable you to link up to the Internet and download movies, buy music from online stores and also to share home videos with your pals.

The US-based start-up Verismo Networks has come out with middleware that allows digital transfer of video and music content over broadband using your TV. Target clients include TV and set-top box manufacturers, as well as Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The company has less than a dozen clients as of now, said Mr Prakash Bhalerao, the company's angel investor who contributed $2.5 million.

The company offers two products: Media Publishing and Home Media. The first is targeted at content owners and ISPs, who could use it to offer triple play services to end-users. The second will be offered off-the-shelf to end-users to store and stream content within their home (the box is WiFi enabled) or to link up to their friends over a LAN. This will enable network gaming and also video and song transfers within neighbourhoods.

"It will also open up the home video segment," said Mr Bhalerao, CEO and Chairman, Verismo Networks. The company is targeting only tech-savvy users in the metros.

The end-user can buy a combination of a server (with 250 GB storage) and a client box similar to a set-top box (with 80 GB storage). This will cost up to Rs 10,000. The product runs on embedded Linux operating system and offers 5.1 surround sound. "In terms of volume, the market for this product will only mature next year and peak at 2011. By the end of this decade, with the proliferation of broadband, we will see the client boxes in use in homes," said Mr Bhalerao.

The company has partnered with Pixel Works (which make codec processors that convert digital video streams into analogue for the TV to understand) and Microsoft. It has also partnered with chipmakers AMD and Intel, who are focusing on digital home entertainment this year.

"The Intel Viiv project is currently making all digital media adaptors interoperable," informed Mr Bhalerao. Verismo has also partnered with the likes of Rhapsody, an online music store by Real Networks, which has a collection of over 5 million songs for download.

When asked about a similar partnership with Apple iTunes, he refused to comment.

The company is competing with the likes of Reliance Infocomm, which has the network infrastructure in place for what they term as "hexa-play" offerings, and BSNL.

Mr Bhalerao was optimistic about the competition and said it would be advantageous to consumers, as it would mean reduction in prices.

Verismo employs 100 engineers and has an R&D centre in Bangalore.