Robert is VP Product and Content at ACCESS Europe, with a focus on HTML5 platforms and media sharing solutions, including industry specific extensions such as HbbTV and W3C Vehicle APIs, so that ACCESS customers can deploy standards based state of the art products. He has been involved in projects with major customers in both automotive and TV and ensures a customer focused development strategy for ACCESS. His role involves working with telcos, middleware suppliers, STB OEMS, automotive tier 1s and automotive OEMS to ensure that ACCESS products deliver the features needed in these fast evolving markets.
By 2020, the global in-vehicle infotainment market will reach $52.billion, with personalised entertainment experiences playing a big part in its growth. Consumers are already well accustomed to hyper-personalised services on their mobile devices, which know what type of content they want to watch – from a branded catalogue through to personal content – on a certain device at a specific time.
The idea that such entertainment services in a new automotive tailored portfolio could be available in the car has, until now, always been a vision of the future most typically seen in Hollywood movies. However, today’s cars are all connected and through our newly launched product, ACCESS Twine™ for Car, the pipedream of drivers and passengers being able to enjoy multimedia services while on the road can now be made a reality. Our solution will enable drivers to enjoy specific audio centric content or news on demand, while passengers can use it to watch video, play games, listen to music or read eBooks from the comfort of their seat.
ACCESS Twine for Car has the ability to combine the user’s own library with an international content catalogue and adjust the experience to each journey and user, means tailored to the specific demography and duration of the ride.
It will empower the driver and passengers to plug into their personal entertainment system and alleviate the boredom that typically occurs during long journeys. ACCESS Twine for Car will also help remove the frustration from busy commutes by enabling drivers to adjust content to their daily commute or offer parental controlled short form entertainment for children in the rear-seat on their way to school.
Along with providing drivers and passengers with futuristic in-vehicle entertainment experiences, car manufacturers and automotive suppliers can also benefit from ACCESS Twine for Car. Its ability to seamlessly integrate with built-in devices and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Remote Media Access means car manufacturers can collect and use the data to better understand end-users and deliver better service recommendations, as well as personalised, targeted advertising to optimise and generate new revenue streams and increase customer loyalty.
Key features of ACCESS Twine for Car:
Audio & video; live, catch-up and on-de¬mand content
Multimedia content types including HTML5 games, eBooks, ePapers, audiobooks and more
Indexes content in the cloud for ease of access from any authorised device
Offers multi-zone playback
Parental control
Seamlessly integrates with built-in devices in the car, such as the head unit and rear seat entertainment, and personal devices brought in the car, including smartphones and tablets
Supports DRM protected content
Independent from broadcast infrastructure
We’re proud to be launching a solution that will bridge the gap between the automotive and content industries and provide numerous benefits to drivers and passengers, as well as to the car manufacturers and suppliers we work so closely with. If you would like to learn more about how ACCESS Twine for Car can help you offer best-in-class car infotainment experiences, please contact automotive@access-company.com.
The in-vehicle infotainment market keeps garnering exciting headlines and for good reason. Electric vehicles, autonomous driving and smart cities are all receiving significant investment, and the revolution towards a more automated, connected future is moving up a gear.
However, there is a lot of work to be done.
To help OEMs and Tier 1s navigate the twists and turns of today’s automotive industry, we have produced an ebook that looks at the long and exciting journey – with many technological stops along the way – that will take us from today’s reality to this vision. Starting from the current state of the market, we look at the impact in-car connectivity is already having on the market: from solving the BYOD vs. embedded conundrum, to adopting open standards and engaging the consumer. Looking ahead, we also cover the advent of the Internet of Things and how it will transform the automotive industry.
CES 2018 is upon us and, once again, will set the agenda for the next generation of in-vehicle services. Our main stop will be the GENIVI Reception at CES 2018 (January 9, Bellagio Hotel), where we will be available for discussions and demonstrations of our solutions ACCESS Twine™ and the NetFront™ Browser family. We are always interested in comparing visions for connected infotainment services and contrasting it with ours, detailed in our ebook.
If you would like to discuss the points we’re raising in our ebook, please contact automotive@access-company.com to book an appointment with us in Vegas. We’re looking forward to seeing you as we kick-start the year!
As the TV viewing experience continues to shift towards multi-screen consumption, operators have the opportunity to create content specially designed for niche audiences. The OTT realm also includes challenges to be overcome, including video piracy. Shawn Liew reports.
TV Everywhere is now a reality, and operators need to look beyond their own services to comply with evolving consumer demand, says Dr Fleming Lampi, global product director at ACCESS Europe.
With the number of connected devices continuing to grow, broadcasters and service providers are now compelled to provide content over multiple devices and platforms.
Speaking with APB, Dr Lampi cites the successful example of Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio), an Indian LTE mobile network and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) operator that has seen its subscriber base growing to 100 million on the back of a new service launched earlier this year, and which combines access to multiple content sources and platforms.
Dr Lampi continues: “First and foremost, consumers want a seamless experience where various types of content and supporting apps live harmoniously within the same ecosystem. To respond to this new demand, Jio decided to offer consumers not only access to both its own branded catalogue, but also the user’s personal library stored in the cloud, and immediate access to social media platforms such as Dropbox and Google Drive.
“By using the Jio User Interface for all content sources, Jio is offering an answer to a crucial consumer challenge — remembering where and how to access a specific piece of content, and of course, with which password.”
What has been hindering traditional TV Everywhere developments, Dr Lampi suggests, is cost and its time-consuming nature due to the lack of interoperability between devices. Citing a Business Insider UK prediction that there will be 24 billion connected devices in the world by 2020, he adds that taking time to develop the “perfect app” for each platform is no longer an option.
Instead, operators can increase both flexibility and simplicity, as well as solve many technical challenges, by moving much of the service delivery into a cloud-based interface, which will enable them to serve users across a multitude of devices. “Unlike per device apps, a browser-based interface adhering to common standards such as HTML5 ensures compatibility across a wide footprint,” Dr Lampi explains. “This approach has enabled Jio to deliver a unified, readily accessible multi-screen service that works across many platforms — be it a set-top box, home gateway, HDMI dongle, Android or iOS smartphones and tablets, or Windows and Apple Mac computers.”
Online viewers today demand high-quality video streaming that operates seamlessly across devices, and which contributes to an out-of-the-box, high-quality experience, suggests Chris Wagner, EVP marketplace strategy, NeuLion, a digital video technology company.
And this may hold particularly true for live sports streaming, which is a growing and highly lucrative business. NeuLion, for instance, is powering the Sky Sports Box Office over-the-top (OTT) service and recently streamed live the highly anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor for several global rights holders, including UFC, Sky Sports, Sky New Zealand and Eleven Sports Network.
Wagner describes: “Being in a digitally connected world, viewers have access to multiple devices all day long, enabling them to no longer be confined to one area to watch content.
“NeuLion has been working with a number of big sports rights holders, such as Sky Sports, the NBA and others, to make their content readily available, both live and on-demand, and on all leading consumer devices — including Web, PC, tablets, mobile, gaming consoles, smart TVs, streaming devices, VR headsets and more — to increase consumer reach and accessibility.”
And to allow operators not only to reach the right audiences, but also to better monetise their content, NeuLion recently launched its OTT Dashboard 3, part of the NeuLion Digital Platform, and the NeuLion ACE Analytics solution.
With OTT Dashboard 3.0, the best quality video can be delivered to all viewers while driving revenue by showing NeuLion customers real-time dashboards of key performance indicators across users, content, apps, operations and detailed customer relationship management (CRM) data for each registered end-user. “The new UI widgets filter data into multiple scopes to create new correlations between different in-depth metrics,” says Wagner. “This can help traditional broadcasters get real-time metrics on viewing to drive programming decisions and marketing tactics to get and keep subscribers.”
He also points out that broadcasters need sharp insights and fast intelligence to stay competitive and grow their business in today’s data-driven world. NeuLion ACE Analytics is thus designed to provide the tools needed to leverage business intelligence and make decisions to drive growth, quality of service and quality of experience for OTT and TV Everywhere services.
“With NeuLion ACE Analytics, we can help broadcasters answer questions such as: What are my most effective and profitable marketing channels and campaigns? Who are my most valuable customers and how do I find more of them? Who is likely to cancel and how can we keep them?”
NeuLion also believes that 4K/Ultra HD (UHD) with high dynamic range (HDR) is ready for OTT delivery, and will help expand revenue for broadcasters and broadband providers. NeuLion, according to Wagner, delivers true 4K/UHD quality, at 60fps, to Internet-connected 4K/UHD HDR TVs, and which is enabled by the NeuLion CE software development kit (SDK), the company’s 4K/UHD streaming consumer electronics SDK.
For live sports viewing, in particular, 4K/UHD-quality video enhances the overall viewing experience, Wagner suggests. “We have been streaming UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) events in 4K/UHD under a transactional pay-per-view model. UFC in 4K/UHD gives MMA (mixed martial arts) fans access to every punch, kick and takedown with intense detail and stunning quality — making them feel like they are next to the action for the entire event.”
Essentially, it is all about the fan experience, he emphasises, and to provide fans with the option to watch content in both HD and 4K/UHD HDR. Constantly push the envelope with new technologies, new features and new services, Wagner advises.
Another key consideration for pay-OTT operators is security, ACCESS’ Dr Lampi highlights. Going back to the example of India, he notes how illegal redistribution of content in the country is costing the film industry more than US$3.34 billion and 60,000 jobs yearly.
A success story: Reliance Jio Infocomm, an Indian LTE mobile network and fibre-to-the-home operator, now has 100 million subscribers, as it continues to build on a new service launched earlier this year, which combines access to multiple content sources and platforms.
“Service providers already need to have end-to-end security in place to be able to discuss content rights and syndication tools,” Dr Lampi says. “In a multi-screen world, operators need to take a few technical questions into account, including the nature of the transport stream, codecs, resolutions, bitrates and end-to-end encryption. Using modern digital rights management (DRM) solutions that support multiple and interoperable DRM technologies provides the best value, and ensures the best level of content protection, irrespective of the content or device used to access it.”
Many broadcasters and content owners view Asia as the “most exciting prospect” for largely untapped OTT and video-on-demand (VoD) service revenue. Media analysis firm predicts OTT and video revenues for 17 leading countries in Asia to reach $18 billion by 2021, up from more than $5.5 billion in 2015, reports Chrys Poulain, sales director, NexGuard, a Kudelski Group company.
This growth, however, presents a double-edged sword, he cautions. “Video piracy is a common challenge in Asia, and the advent of OTT services delivered over IP is providing pirates with new potential avenues for illicit content redistribution.”
Poulain believes that when priced appropriately, OTT and VoD services are a more attractive and convenient alternative than pirated options. This is especially true for premium content such as live sports, where immediacy is a big part of the value chain. He continued: “Yet, content owners, including the major studios, are increasingly stipulating that these services must adhere to a higher level of conditional access (CA) and DRM to protect content, often as a mandatory condition before proceeding with licensing agreeements.
“Beyond these two security measures, the issue of live, high-quality content re-transmission is a major one that can only be tackled with the addition of more advocated security methods — like forensic watermarking.”
Forensic watermarking, Poulain explains, places a unique identifier within each copy of content. This “digital tattoo” can not only trace the original source of a pirated piece of content, but also be complemented with real-time anti-piracy services that can detect illegal online streaming services. This can then be brought forth to the Internet service provider to issue cease-and-desist notices to take down these illicit sites quickly.
He is also heartened that besides content owners and service providers, governments across Asia — most notably China — have launched a number of initiatives to better protect intellectual property for video content, and are educating consumers on the long-term harm inflicted by piracy on the wider industry and by extension, the content they will be able watch. “This is of particular concern in markets like India. The world’s largest production market is increasingly embracing OTT delivery in shorter windows just after the theatrical release, largely in an effort to thwart pirates,” Poulain says.
And while he acknowledges that video piracy may never truly be eradicated, it can be lessened through providing compelling and high value content services that offer a better consumer experience.
He concludes: “Technologies such as CA, DRM and forensic water¬marking are vital tools for content owners and service providers who fight content theft. This, in turn, will help studios deliver high value content for service providers in Asia, and ultimately deliver richer and more compelling services to consumers.”
The open source movement has radically transformed software development – and has had a global impact across all business sectors, including the media and entertainment industry. The ability to access a vast array of software modules and the underlying source code has enabled software developers to utilise common functionality, and focus on innovation and value added services. Today, most embedded platforms are developed using Linux, an open source operating system and compiled using the open source gcc compiler. Open communications protocols such as a TCP and IP power the Internet, and OpenSSL is another open source technology widely used to provide security.
Yet, where open source undoubtedly provides increased potential for innovation, there are a number of pitfalls that engineering teams and operators need to recognise to ensure that short-term benefits of open source don’t turn into long-term problems. The fundamental expected benefit of access to an essentially free code base is dramatically reduced costs in terms of software development cycles, due to software reuse. However, the flip side is that highly skilled developers, with a wide knowledge of the adopted modules, are required to build successfully deployable solutions. These are an expensive commodity – and if outsourced, then knowledge can easily be lost. After initial development, a major underestimation can be the cost of maintenance, such as ensuring that the software remains functional for the product lifetime as new standards are required, security patches are released, underlying APIs change and new features are added to essential modules. This requires a long-term commitment to the software lifecycle.
Another challenge revolves around integration, code testing and documentation. In the highly diverse modern environment, ensuring that the application developed works across multiple target devices and operating systems is a major endeavour. This requires an additional ongoing commitment to testing, and well-defined and executed QA processes. Validating managed set-top boxes is no longer sufficient, with consumer devices such as smart TVs and media players for OTT services now in the mix. Adding the iOS and Android ecosystems for value added second screen services; the number of operating systems versions and potentially sub branches can easily run into the hundreds of combinations. The ability to test all these groups requires a significant investment.
Yet these challenges are not insurmountable. Adhering to standards and working with experts around field proven foundational elements can help reduce the burden. This is an area that organisations such as DTVKit, a UK based not-for-profit organisation that is collaborating across the consumer electronics industry, can help service creators and consumer electronics manufacturers to deliver production-ready DVB software, which is continually developed to meet evolving standards and enhance features. DTVKit provides an innovative, shared source approach enabling it to continue to evolve the software solution with partners, while still providing open access to source code to enable custom modifications. With the addition of technologies such as ACCESS Twine™ for media redistribution, remote access and IoT services, and the ACCESS NetFront™ Browser family for portable UI development based on HTML5, HbbTV 1.5, HbbTV 2.0.1, BML and/or Hybridcast, developers can deploy compatible solutions across Linux, iOS and Android environments. Utilising a commercial partner for fundamental building blocks ensures that, as the target platform and software environments evolve, the key technology components are updated, enabling operators and service developers to focus on the key value for their customers – the video service.
This approach of combining standards, deployed technology, deep industry expertise and leveraging open source where appropriate allows developers to benefit from the stability of a code base that has been tested for interoperability, whilst still enabling service innovation and certification. Operators also benefit from the ability to reduce costs for commodity components and increase flexibility through the benefits of open source, with the reassurance that key elements adhere to industry standards and are backed by expertise, new feature development, ongoing updates such as security features, and bug fixes.
The market trend towards more hybrid services that mix over-the-air linear and IP based streaming, plus value added on-demand services, shows no sign of slowing down. The industry needs reliable broadcast focused technologies blended with browser based application environments for service creation to ensure operating system neutrality and the greatest cross platform compatibility. Similarly, as consumers widely adopt second-screen devices to enhance their viewing, operators need a proven and open method to continue to innovate and create services for the upcoming IoT enabled, Content Everywhere era.
There are more multiscreen services available than ever before and competition among service providers for the eyeballs of consumers is fierce. However, if operators truly want to differentiate themselves from their competitors, they need to offer a service that meets the expectations of their subscribers. In the near future, content consumption will not only be driven by Smart TVs, set-top-boxes and mobile devices, but also by connected cars, IoT and smart home devices.
Today’s consumers are used to multiscreening; they expect to have easy access to operators’ media and smart home services across all devices through a single management process. This simplified, centralised approach has now become a prerequisite to create a unique user experience that turns a casual user into a loyal subscriber.
In addition, consumers often find that their favourite content is available on numerous sources. For instance, it’s incredibly confusing when a new season of a TV series is available on one service and older seasons are only accessible on another, forcing viewers to subscribe to multiple services that they may not have considered otherwise. This can lead to a negative perception of a service, immediately backfiring for the operator offering the back catalogue. Operators can resolve this issue by syndicating content without compromising the content owner’s brand. This way, subscribers can watch their content on one platform instead of having to flick between different services and apps.
In our latest white paper, we provide operators with a three-step guide to maximising the potential of their multiscreen services. Serving a plethora of devices, syndicating content sources efficiently and securing the delivery of all assets are the three fundamental steps that all operators need to follow to create a compelling service that consumers crave. These tips also empower consumers to watch all the content they desire on any device, anytime and anywhere.
To learn more about the state of multiscreen in 2017 and best to solve these critical challenges, please download our white paper by following this link. The “Multiscreen in 2017: Delivering best-in-class experiences across all screens” white paper will also be readily available on our stand at IBC (#14.D14) so feel free to book an appointment with us to see how we can help you solve your multiscreen challenges.
