Videonet - news, blogs and analysis for the pay-tv industry

• 22-Mar-2010 by John Moulding
• More news from IPTV World Forum
• IP Television

This is from 09 but it does look similar this year

IPTV World Forum opened today in London. Here are some of the stories so far:

Fetch TV and Netgem launch hybrid HD STB

ANT demonstrates HbbTV set-top potential

ADB launches Freeview HD hybrid STB

Witbe boosts Mediaroom ARPU possibilities

Pace highlights its IP connectivity expertise

Accedo apps on Netgem IPTV platform

ADB and Mariner provide proactive monitoring

Fetch TV and Netgem launch hybrid HD STB

IP Vision, the company behind the UK-based FetchTV service (a hybrid DTT and broadband TV offering) and set-top box and middleware provider Netgem are launching what they say is the UK’s first Freeview+ HD hybrid STB at IPTV World Forum. The set-top box is in beta testing and is being demonstrated at the show. It is expected to be available in shops by the end of Q2.

Fetch TV provides a good example of a hybrid over-the-top and free-to-air digital terrestrial offering that gives consumers broadcast plus online catch-up TV services on television. The BBC’s iPlayer on-demand service is currently available via broadband, delivered to the TV screen through the Fetch TV set-top box.

While IP Vision has not ruled out using other devices to deliver its connected TV (i.e. broadband video to the television set) service, CEO Eddie Abrams told Videonet recently that an STB is the best way to deliver a hybrid experience.

“First, the recent flat-screen television upgrade cycle means many consumers will not be replacing their living room TV for another seven years,” he explained. “Secondly, set-top boxes are a single box solution as they can also include hard drive recording, unlike televisions. And thirdly, a set-top box can support multi-room services, which means every television set in the home can be enabled for hybrid broadcast and broadband services.”

The retail price for the new Freeview+ HD hybrid STB is expected to be very close to the current FetchTV set-top box price (which is £219).

ANT demonstrates HbbTV set-top potential

ANT has been highlighting its role in enabling hybrid broadcast and broadband services to enhance the TV experience at IPTV World Forum in London this week. A demonstration based on the company’s ANT Galio HbbTV Platform shows a range of services including a news VOD offer from Tageschau, catch-up TV programming from German broadcasters ARD and ZDF, digital text and Bayerische Rundfunk’s radio applications.

ANT is one of the founding members of the HbbTV initiative and the ANT Galio HbbTV Platform is a dedicated version of its ANT Galio client software to support HbbTV services. This is found on the first HbbTV set-top boxes to be deployed in the world – the Humax iCord HD+ boxes now available in the German retail market to support a range of broadcast and related broadband-enhanced interactive services.

One of the main tasks for HbbTV in Germany is to enable faster and richer broadband-enhanced teletext but it will also provide direct access to broadcaster online catch-up TV services. Standardisation also offers the potential to achieve the holy grail of interactive TV, where developers (including broadcasters) can create an application that works across all ‘traditional’ television delivery platforms, including cable, satellite and terrestrial, regardless of the middleware used.

ANT has also been demonstrating its Managed Service Portal at the show. The company has been working with IP Vision to deliver FetchTV services (a hybrid DTT and over-the-top service delivered via a set-top box) which include a wide selection of on-demand movies and TV programmes on the ANT Galio Platform. The ANT Managed Service Portal will be entirely customisable, enabling device manufacturers to brand the service and tailor the content offered.

ADB launches Freeview HD hybrid STB

ADB is launching its iCAN retail set-top box brand into the UK with an HD DVB-T2 Freeview receiver that is also Pay TV ready. iCAN set-top boxes are established in the Italian retail market for digital terrestrial and ADB believes it can exploit its expertise in HD and hybrid connectivity to compete with established retail brands.

Paul Bristow, VP of Strategy, Middleware & Consumer Experience at ADB, says UK retailers have welcomed the additional competition. He is confident the receivers will stand out through high performance and the quality of the user interface, which is the same as that used at TV Cabo.

The iCAN EasyHD set-top box (model 2851T) will be in the shops by May. This is a hybrid set-top box with Ethernet connectivity and the BBC iPlayer will be available to consumers with broadband from day one. Other connected TV services will follow. New features will be possible through over-the-air updates.

Witbe boosts Mediaroom ARPU possibilities

Witbe’s QoE (Quality of Experience) solutions are helping Tier 1 IPTV providers using Microsoft Mediaroom middleware to measure the added value of features like VOD, DVR and instant channel change, and therefore contributing to customer acquisition and improved ARPU, the company said this week at IPTV World Forum. Witbe solutions are used by a number of T1 service providers worldwide including European Mediaroom customers like Deutsche Telekom.

Witbe says its solutions help IPTV providers using Microsoft Mediaroom to ensure subscriber satisfaction by providing key performance indicators such as: channel change times, menu response times for the User Interface, performance and availability of VOD and DVR assets, and video and audio quality using a Mean Opinion Score (MOS) based on an analysis of the actual video and audio signals coming out of the set-top box.

Witbe is showcasing its QoE solutions at the London show and says its approach to QoE monitoring is designed to simulate as closely as possible the subscriber experience by using active Robots rather than passive probes. Robots are connected to the video and audio signals behind the STB, enabling them to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ just like a subscriber. They interact with the service by sending infrared signals to the STB much like a remote control. “Robots are therefore capable of providing accurate application response times as well as metrics on video and audio quality,” the company points out.

ADB and Mariner provide proactive monitoring

Set-top box provider ADB and Mariner Partners, which provides service assurance solutions for operators, have unveiled a solution to enable proactive Pay TV service monitoring, which they say increases the quality of the subscriber experience and reduces operator costs. The joint solution integrates new software capabilities in ADB’s latest IPTV set-top boxes with Mariner’s flagship service assurance suite, xVu.

The solution provides quantifiable metrics on the quality of the video, audio and performance of each set-top box in each home. The companies say the Pay TV operator is given visibility into problems of long channel change times and errors within the video such as frame drop. Operators can proactively resolve these issues, sometimes even before the subscriber notices them.

“As operators continue to invest a significant amount of resources to acquire new subscribers, the importance on retaining these has never been higher. A key aspect to subscriber retention is video service quality,” said Francois Pogodalla, CEO of ADB. “Operators who deploy the joint Mariner-ADB system will be able to anticipate and more efficiently address service glitches, thus reducing disruptions and enabling a seamless consumer experience.”

“The recent integration of Mariner’s xVu into ADB’s set-top box technology is the next step in proactive service monitoring,” adds Curtis Howe, President and CEO, Mariner. “Mariner’s collaboration with ADB in this venture brings end-to-end service assurance to the set-top box ecosystem, which equips IPTV providers with invaluable insight into the cause of service disturbances, helping them improve the quality of the end user’s experience and reduce call centre costs and truck rolls.”

The joint solution is based on TR-069, a Broadband Forum developed protocol for remote management of end user devices.

Accedo apps on Netgem IPTV platform

Accedo Broadband’s IPTV applications are going to be made available via Netgem’s IPTV platform – NetgemTV. The two companies will introduce a range of customised and innovative IPTV applications over the next 12 months.

“Netgem is at the forefront of creating innovative, new IPTV solutions of which applications play a key role,” says Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo Broadband. “NetgemTV is one of the best interactive TV platforms available today, combining open Internet standards with a thorough understanding of the unique aspects of a TV operator’s service requirements. We are very excited about the prospects this partnership offers and look forward to developing the future of TV together.”

Christophe Aulnette, Netgem’s Managing Director adds: “Enabling third-party development of applications on top of our NetgemTV platform is part of our business strategy as it will allow operators to enrich their advanced TV consumer offering and create more value.”

Pace highlights its IP connectivity expertise

Pace is demonstrating its IP connectivity expertise during the IPTV World Forum show in London, which started today. The company is showcasing both future technological innovation and real-world customer deployments of its converged Pay TV technologies.

During the three day event, Pace is demonstrating: The recently launched Vision+ box for BT, using the Microsoft Mediaroom software; High-end game streaming to a set-top box (part of the Games@Large project); A set-top box and gateway solution built on the SoftatHome platform; 3D graphics running on the ST7108 3D chipset; and Internet browsing and video streaming from a set-top box onto a web tablet.

Visitors can also see Bewan technologies including the Bewan iBox A5100, a multiplay DSL residential gateway, and the Bewan Ecosystem, a comprehensive set of ‘connected home’ accessories including video surveillance IP cameras and sensors to remotely control and monitor the home from anywhere.

Mathias Hautefort, President, Pace France, comments: “The set-top box will be at the heart of digital TV convergence. Our combined set-top box and gateway offering is the cornerstone to enabling the delivery of compelling Pay TV content to a variety of devices around the home.”

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