Cambridge Companies Combine For IPTV Systems

LONDON — IPTV software and set-top box specialist Amino Technologies plc has bought, for £1.3 million ($2.3 million) SJ Consulting Limited, which has developed and is licensing IP for video codecs to numerous set top box suppliers.

Based, like Amino, in Cambridge, England, SJ Consulting’s primary focus is in embedded systems design, particularly for advanced networked equipment using technologies such as MPEG, ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) and wireless Ethernet.

SJC also has considerable experience of video-on-demand systems, having participated in the recent Cambridge video-on-demand trial.

The company’s decoding technology is embedded into several single chip MPEG4 (H.264) based set top boxes, as well as those conforming to the Windows Media/VC1 specification.

The technology will be an important element of Amino's proprietary IntAct IPTV software stack that will be made available under licence or pre-loaded on Amino's AmiNET range of IPTV set top boxes and gateways.In the year to 31 March 2005, SJC had a turnover of £ 504,000 ($900,000) and made pre-tax profits of £ 166,000.

Amino is paying £800,000 ($1.4 million) on completion of the acquisition and a total of 300,000 Amino ordinary shares will be allotted to the vendors in three equal tranches on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd anniversaries.

Amino chairman Grant Masom commented: "We believe SJC's technology is one of our industry's best kept secrets. Its addition to our IntAct offering will add significantly to the value of Amino's suite of IPTV software technologies. Amino is also adding a uniquely qualified, experienced group of software and hardware engineers to what is already one of the largest dedicated IPTV development teams."