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14-Sep-2009
by Philip Hunter
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Vendors show off their Hybrid Vigour at IBC
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IBC News
Hybrid STBs and DVRs were much in evidence last year at IBC, but the difference this time is that more vendors can point to live deployments. Pace for example has just announced deployment of its satellite IP hybrid STB with Viasat, part of the Swedish Modern Times Group, for its TV3 channels, following earlier deployment with French pay-tv operator CANAL+, and is also involved in trials with BT.
“Each product we create is unique to the service and network requirements of each pay-tv operator,” said Richard Slee, Pace president. “We have over 100 operator customers around the world, testament to our focus on pay-tv and the development of set-top box technology, which has made us global number two in HD.”
Another kind of hybrid on show from Alticast combines web access with HD DVR functionality, enabling users to access and record traditional VOD and Internet based content such as YouTube from the same machine. This is based on Broadcom’s 7405 chipset, which is a complete STB on a chip and has been integrated with a variety of middleware including Microsoft’s Mediaroom to enable home content sharing and place shifting.
Meanwhile Cisco has been busy fielding enquiries about its new hybrid ISB IP STBs and other hybrid products from a variety of operators seeking to blend OTT content with broadcast services, according to Bob MacIntyre, CTO of its Service Provider Group (Cisco SPG). “There’s been a lot of discussion about hybrid applications, being able to use web based tools in addition to the standard broadcasting model,” said MacIntyre.
In the case of cable operators, there is a full scale migration to hybrid architecture right across the delivery infrastructure and not just at the STB and CPE end, according to Murali Nemani, director of video solutions marketing at Cisco SPG, citing Virgin Media as an early adopter here. “One of the key proof points for us is Virgin Media, which is going to transform its headend infrastructure, so that all the content is distributed and produced ready for the on-demand world,” said Nemani.
Hybrid technology is often seen as a quick fix for satellite and cable operators to provide their customers with access to on-demand content over broadband connections, and for IPTV operators to overcome limited bandwidth for broadcast services – BT Vision in the UK for example combines DTT with IPTV. At IBC I have been hearing that a growing number of IPTV operators elsewhere are looking closely at hybrid platforms even when their broadband bandwidth is not a constraint, enabling them to reach subscribers beyond their network, perhaps combined with a “BSkyB-like” DVR based service to provide content on demand. In this way an IPTV operator can gain critical mass more quickly and become a more appealing target to advertisers.
Not surprisingly then there are many hybrid products on show at IBC this year, posing operators the challenge of identifying the ones that actually match their particular requirements in terms of interfaces supported, performance and cost.
About the author
Philip Hunter is a leading specialist writer on the business of delivery and consumption of digital entertainment. He writes widely for both technical journals and specialist web sites, as well as more general interest publications such as Prospect Magazine, conveying complex ideas and subjects in a clear but not condescending manner. In the multimedia content and TV arenas, Philip combines in depth technical knowledge with appreciation of the business models that will bring success in the new age of on-demand content consumption, identifying the opportunities and pitfalls facing operators, broadcasters and content providers as they embrace new platforms beyond the traditional end point of the set top box.
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