The Multiscreen Blog

Multiscreen is maturing at a quick pace, with more content available on more platforms than ever before, enabling consumers to enjoy content wherever they want and however they want. However, this raises multiple questions for operators, including securing the media sharing chain and adapting the security requirements to the plethora of devices used to access and consume video.

While operators and content owners need solutions that meet the consumer demand for simplicity and universal access to content, they must also comply with the studios’ stringent security requirements. Additionally, content owners and distributors have to fight for their revenues and relevance in an increasingly competitive marketplace, all the while trying to satisfy growing consumer expectation and requirement for Quality of Service (QoS) across multiple networks.

The joint Intel and ACCESS “Premium Video Gateway Whitepaper” gives an overview of the joint Intel and ACCESS solution that enables operators to meet the content industry’s requirements for universal and secure content access. The solution aims to enable consumer devices to interact and to provide the end user with a seamless, easy-to use solution for all media content while streamlining the operator’s efforts.

To download the whitepaper, click here.

IBC (11-16 September, Amsterdam RAI) will showcase the technological advances that are changing the consumer entertainment experience, in and out of the home. With more devices connected to multiscreen services and increased consumer demand for personalisation, payTV operators and OTT service providers face unprecedented technical challenges in the ever-expanding multiscreen world.

Following the deployment of the ACCESS Twine™ solution by a Tier 1 operator, ACCESS will show operators how standardised solutions can help them tackle the multi-rights and multi-device issues while ensuring that they can aggregate and analyse large data sets to better monetize content services. These include the type of content watched, consumer habits and devices used to access the platform including next-generation connected devices such as the connected car. It securely connects consumers with their personal multimedia content anywhere, and allows the operator to gain new insight into consumer habits to develop new services and upsell data packages and content services.

Additionally, visitors to our IBC stand #14.D14 will be able to see:

• ACCESS Twine™ extended with new applications and features for Android, iOS, Mac, Windows and Windows Phone, enabling operators to deliver high quality content over any network and to any connected device. The solution can stream content to multiscreen over 3G and 4G networks without additional development.
• Demos of the NetFront™ Browser family including support for Android tablet and smartphones, major silicon vendor reference platforms and HbbTV 2.0, Freeview Play and YouTube on TV.
• How our DLNA media sharing Technology Component™ NetFront™ Living Connect has been extended to support the DLNA VidiPath™ guidelines on HDMI dongles, allowing next-generation devices to support secure media sharing in the home.
• Project Uno, the shared source code base for hybrid TV platforms based on HbbTV developed by S&T, Pixsan and ACCESS for Freeview Play will be showcased on the S&T stand (#1.B22). Since its launch 13 years ago, Freeview has deployed 100 million Freeview compatible devices and is now enahancing its offering by launching the new multiscreen service, Freeview Play.

To request a meeting with ACCESS at IBC please use the following link: http://eu.access-company.com/access-ibc-2015-meeting-request.html

In a closed environment such as the home network, an important role of the set-top-box (STBs) is to ensure that content is fully secure. However, the rise of streaming over IP and the increased number of services available to consumers means that a growing number of consumers access content over open networks like the Internet.

While operators would like to stop shipping millions of STBs to reduce costs, ensuring that security is maintained throughout the media sharing process without it is a challenge. Each device has its own Conditional Access (CA) and Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems that are seldom interoperable. In addition, consumers expect to be able to access content from any source on any platform, increasing the level of complexity for operators. In a STB free world, can operators simultaneously ensure a high quality consumer experience and the security levels required by the studios?

Increased access to content needs to go hand in hand with improved security to ensure that third parties can’t watch and stream content illegally, with operators needing to ensure that video is only shared with those that have the correct entitlements. With increased consumer demand for content availability out of home and remote access to services, we strongly believe that video consumption will become hybrid, combining the power of the cloud and local control via the home gateway. This means that STBs, gateways and smart TVs that support both a cloud and a local architecture will play a crucial role as the primary gateway in the home.

Solutions that can support both architectures enable operators to start moving toward zero CAPEX STB strategies, by allowing consumers to access content without requiring additional hardware. By providing a readily available solution to viewers who use their mobile devices, game consoles and laptops as a gateway to access content, operators can extend their reach beyond traditional PayTV. ACCESS has developed solutions based on open standards such as the DLNA® VidiPath™ that provide operators with a path to Zero Capex STB. In addition to facilitating media sharing, ACCESS offers operators the level of control they require to satisfy the studios’ stringent security requirements.

To learn more about ACCESS’ solutions, join us at IBC (11-16 September, Amsterdam RAI) on stand #14.D14. Key on stand demonstrations include:

• ACCESS Twine™ – the multimedia management solution that enables operators to connect consumers regardless of the devices plugged into the multiscreen service, and to aggregate large amounts of data. IBC demonstrations will allow operators to understand how support for diverse Conditional Access (CA) and Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems alongside flexible UI technologies provides a robust multiscreen security solution. New at IBC are enhanced data mining functionality and remote access to personal content inside the home, in addition to the virtual multiscreen content library functionality originally showcased at CES 2015.
• NetFront™ Browser family – demos include support for Android tablet and smartphones, major silicon vendor reference platforms and HbbTV 2.0, Freeview Play and YouTube on TV.
• NetFront™ Living Connect – the DLNA media sharing Technology Component™ has been extended to support the DLNA VidiPath™ guidelines on the latest chipsets, allowing next-generation devices to support secure media sharing in the home.

To request a meeting with ACCESS at IBC please use the following link: http://eu.access-company.com/access-ibc-2015-meeting-request.html

A few years ago, the whole TV industry would have said that ANGA COM was primarily a cable show. Our trip to Cologne this year however showed more clearly than ever before that it’s now an IP video show – shadowing the cable industry’s accelerating move towards becoming next generation broadband providers for whom video is just one service, although a critically important one.

Over the past few months, there were interesting next generation broadband technology launches from the major players and extended Pan-European initiatives such as Sky GO, or Deutsche Telekom partnering with Netflix in Germany, demonstrating that the TV industry market is moving towards launching additional IP based services such as Over-The-Top (OTT) TV.

Connectivity was at the forefront of the discussions at this year’s ANGA. For example, Alcatel-Lucent and Telecom Italia announcing that they are working on 100GB per second optical networking technology to allow the delivery of “ultra broadband” internet and TV services. The upcoming deployment of 5G without borders also means that European TV operators will be able to launch exciting new services throughout Europe.

This is all great news for ACCESS, as connectivity is central to our DNA since pioneering the mobile web browser for major international operators. We all now use multiple devices to watch content both in and out of home at the same time as sharing personal data on social media; when combined with usage patterns, this provides interesting data driven opportunities that we’re excited to be part of. We’re also advocate for standards such as HbbTV and ANGA made it clear that this pan-European initiative is growing in importance.

ACCESS has always combined connectivity and standards to ensure that we provide solutions that remain relevant in an increasingly fast-paced industry. Our solutions have been shipped in over 1.5 billion connected devices since the early days of NetFront™ Browser, which has been extended to offer a tailored solution for each platform, including next-generation smartphones and tablets. ANGA also saw interest in NetFront™ Living Connect, our DLNA Technology Component™ media-sharing stack that facilitates the secure sharing of multimedia content between devices. Operators were excited to see how the latest addition to our product portfolio, ACCESS Twine™, our multiscreen management solution enables them to elegantly develop multiscreen services that offer a tailored experience on every screen, regardless of the device’s specifications or the CA/DRM system in place.

Seeing how connectivity, all IP and next generation broadband is impacting the TV industry, ANGA COM confirms that multiscreen and TV everywhere are here to stay and expand their influence. We’re already seeing the automotive industry add multimedia solutions to its latest models – many of them powered by ACCESS – and we’re confident that the operators that embrace the trend towards an ‘Internet of Video Things’ will be the ones that succeed.