ANT Fresco Browser Navigates Europe's First Satellite-Delivered Digital Entertainment and Communications System For Hotels
Quadriga Genesis to Rival Domestic Digital Broadcasters in Look, Feel and Functionality
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands / Sept. 14, 2001-- ANT Limited, a leading developer of Internet appliance software, today announced that Quadriga, Europe's leading provider of in-room hotel technology, has integrated ANT Fresco(TM) as the core component of its Genesis digital entertainment and communications system.
Genesis is the first pan-European satellite-delivered pay-TV system for hotels, providing customized digital content, high-speed access to the Internet and integrated TV services. This is the first time that Fresco has been licensed for use primarily as a navigation tool within a digital system.
Genesis is the first European system to offer a dedicated digital alternative via satellite to the traditional analog services currently provided by most hotels. Using ANT Fresco, the system provides access through an on-screen guide to customized content. This includes complete program selection in multiple languages for movies, sports and light entertainment, as well as Video on Demand and a digital "jukebox," Web access and a range of guest and hotel management services.
Genesis uses ANT Fresco to navigate around the system, enhancing the user's entertainment experience by enabling access to the interactive digital content and TV services through different menu options. Quadriga developed its own user interface and on-screen service navigation guide with Fresco's user interface environment and GUI libraries. This provides a unique "look and feel" to the system.
"ANT's architecture enabled us to port the Fresco browser quickly, which was vital to the development of our Genesis product," said Terry Austin, Quadriga's director of technology.
"Genesis is an excellent demonstration of how ANT Fresco can be adapted for a wide range of Internet and digital entertainment devices. It highlights that our technology is far more universal than just a tool for browsing the Web," said John Cherry, senior VP sales and marketing for ANT.
"Quadriga has used the flexible functionality of our browser to create the navigation and on-screen menu system for delivery of the Genesis entertainment and communication services. In addition, our customizable user interface allowed Quadriga to create a branded product that rivals domestic digital broadcasters," Cherry added.
ANT's patent-pending three-layer architecture allows OEMs to quickly and easily produce a branded interface for their Internet appliances while retaining their own choice of underlying hardware and operating system. This architecture also allows broadcasters and other service providers to update their user interface in the field via the connection to a set-top box.
About Quadriga
Quadriga is Europe's leading provider of interactive technology services to the hospitality industry. Its interactive services are currently utilized in more than 321,000 hotel rooms worldwide, and enable hotels to satisfy an increasing demand from travelers for guest room information and entertainment.
Quadriga Genesis marks the transformation of Quadriga Worldwide from the supplier of TV technology to the media and communications partner to the hospitality industry.
With headquarters in the United Kingdom, Quadriga employs more than 400 people and operates in 30 countries across Europe, including Austria, The Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, and Greece. Quadriga also operates in several countries in the Middle East and Africa including Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
About ANT Limited
ANT Limited (
ANT's technology gives original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of Internet devices, and the technology partners that supply them, three significant advantages: far greater speed to market, reduced engineering costs, and freedom to leverage corporate identity.
The company's current customers include Analog Devices, Amino Communications, OpenGlobe, Pace Micro Technology, Quiero, Sagem, Symbian and ZapMedia. Partners include Bitstream, Enea, IBM Microelectronics, RSA Security, STMicroelectronics, Tality and Wind River Systems.
ANT Limited, Cambridge Business Park, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WZ, U.K.; phone: +44 (0)1223 716400; fax: +44 (0)1223 716401; E-mail:
Note to Editors: Fresco and SimplEmail are trademarks of ANT Limited. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.