Sonic, Verismo in Pact for Movie Streaming in India

Sonic Solutions, a provider of consumer media software, and Verismo Networks, a provider of free Internet videos directly to TV, reportedly announced partnership to provide instant movie streaming in India.

 

Verismo (News - Alert) will begin offering video entertainment from Sonic Solutions’ Roxio  CinemaNow as part of its VuNow Internet TV platform, which is available for a large number of original equipment manufacturers as well as service providers.

 

Verismo's Internet TV platform is an end-to-end solution consisting of a compact size set-top box, middleware and video-on-demand server. Officials said this unified solution combines IPTV (News - Alert) with over-the-top Internet video to enable TV viewing of linear TV channels as well as Web-based content.

 

VuNow platform is also being deployed by ACT Television as part of its IPTV services into 100,000 homes in Bangalore, India.

 

Prakash Bhalerao (News - Alert), CEO of Verismo Networks, said the partnership with Sonic enables them to expand and enhance their lineup of instantly accessible digital entertainment that includes linear TV channels as well as a range of Web-based content.

 

Bhalerao said that with the addition of on-demand premium entertainment from Roxio (News - Alert) CinemaNow, Verismo platform becomes a next-generation cable box capable of delivering the broad assortment of content that consumers crave.

 

Sonic has associated with more than 250 content providers in the world. Its content portfolio includes entertainment from all major Hollywood studios and independent distributors.

 

Roxio CinemaNow offers a huge selection of premium video entertainment including new releases from major Hollywood studios. The DVDs are available for rental or purchase often on the same day they are available in stores.

 

Officials said the cloud-based media services from CinemaNow power devices from multiple manufacturers, forming a connected ecosystem that includes PCs, connected TVs, set-top DVRs, Blu-ray Disc and mobile media players, which consumers can use to seamlessly choose, move and view video entertainment.

 

Roxio CinemaNow is currently powering Internet movie stores for Lionsgate, Warner Bros. and Blockbuster, and is instantly accessible through Bestbuy.com.

 

“Our partnership with Verismo allows us to introduce consumers in India to the convenience, instant gratification, and flexibility of digital entertainment from Roxio CinemaNow,” said Mark Ely, executive vice president of strategy of Sonic Solutions, in a statement.

 

Recently, Sonic entered into a similar partnership with Zip.ca, a leading online video rental service in Canada, to provide access to digital Hollywood movies to Canadian customers. As part of the alliance, Zip.ca announced a digital movie service powered by Roxio CinemaNow.

 

These agreements, according to Ely, are part of their broader strategy to make anytime, anywhere access to high-quality entertainment a reality for more consumers in more regions.