Arris
has struck an agreement to resell an "advanced video-delivery system" developed
by stealth-mode startup Verivue, and the company plans to launch a new line of
its own video-on-demand servers that will use off-the-shelf hardware
components.
Arris
expects to officially announce the products and the Verivue deal in March,
prior to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's Cable Show
'09, director of media relations Alex Swan
said.
The
company's deal with Verivue was reported Thursday by LightReading.com.
The
expanded product line would be Arris' first significant move in the VOD server
space since acquiring C-COR in late 2007.
Verivue's
product is a multimedia distribution device that uses solid-state storage, and
provides the ability to access multiple content sources, according to Swan. He
declined to provide additional details.
The
second product announcement will be an Arris-developed product, based on
off-the-shelf hardware that will give operators the option to use either hard
disk drives or solid-state storage. Swan said this will be a "natural evolution
of the n5 product line, aimed at those who have the existing n5 product today."
Arris
also plans to introduce software that would provide a unified way of managing
both the Verivue platform and the new Arris VOD server. Swan noted that Arris
hasn't settled on the branding for the Verivue product, and may or may not
relabel it.
On
Verivue's Web site, the Westford,
Mass.-based startup describes itself as "an early-stage, venture-backed company
developing advanced networking solutions for the distribution of digital media
services," backed by venture-capital firms Matrix Partners and Spark Capital.
Verivue's CEO is James Dolce, who previously headed worldwide field operations
for Juniper Networks.
