Connected TV

ACCESS Launches Blink Engine-based NetFront™ Browser BE at IBC to Offer the Industry’s Widest Choice of HTML5 Solutions

Posted on by Robert Guest

As PayTV services embrace Over-The-Top (OTT) delivery for their premium content, they need to enable access from as many devices as possible, and from as many places as possible. Utilising WebKit, an open source web browser engine with high standards support, has proved an efficient solution to this issue. Combined with the utilisation of HTML5 and Responsive Design, the browser has become integral in enabling consumer multiscreen experiences, and will continue as the industry moves forward. Google’s development of the Chromium Blink browser has led to it speeding up development of some new features to provide a viable alternative on higher performance platforms, including those that support Android as the base operating system.

At IBC, ACCESS launched the newest member of the NetFront™ Browser family – NetFront™ Browser BE. Based on the Chromium Blink engine, it is a natural extension to the solutions already offered by ACCESS, enabling our customers to choose a WebKit or Chromium Blink based browser for high levels of HTML5 standards compliance. This combined with our NetFront Browser 4 “microbrowser” aimed at offering a HTML-based UX for resource-constrained platforms enables us, and more importantly our customers, to have all bases covered.

Adobe’s recent Video Benchmark Report, which analyses online TV trends based on aggregated and anonymous data from over 1,300 media and entertainment sites, has provided conclusive proof of the importance of TV Everywhere. It found that the number of TV Everywhere streams watched per visitor each month increased 133 percent year-on-year, which is potentially great news for the video industry. Given that HTML is the technology of choice for presentation of the online video service UX, device manufacturers must offer support for it as standard. This has placed a focus on ensuring web browsers embedded in consumer devices can cope with these interfaces and enable access to the large volumes of TV Everywhere streams. By supporting both WebKit and Blink, ACCESS is perfectly placed to help operators and device manufacturers deliver true TV Everywhere to the widest range of devices with the best standards compliance.

By extending the NetFront Browser family, ACCESS is uniquely placed in the worldwide TV-centric browser market. By extending our solutions to offer support for worldwide interactive TV standards, such as BML, Ginga, HbbTV and Hybridcast, we can continue to provide best-in class browsers for all markets spanning everything from legacy, small footprint platforms to high-end environments. Operators and CE device manufacturers specifying ACCESS broadcast-centric browsers can be confident that they and their end consumers will be able to continue to enjoy multiscreen experiences on as wide a selection of devices as possible.

Connected TV

Multiscreen, Virtualisation and 4K Content Delivery Stand out at IBC 2014

Posted on by ACCESS Europe

IBC is just over and has demonstrated that there is plenty of innovation in the TV industry. The trade show took place on September 12-16 and welcomed a record total of 55,092 attendees from over 170 countries, a 4% increase from 2013, all flocking to the RAI (Amsterdam, Netherlands). This year’s edition enabled the industry to discover the latest developments in multiscreen, virtualisation and 4K content delivery, which were the three hot topics at the largest conference and fair for the broadcast and TV industry outside of NAB.

IBC 2014 saw the launch of IBC Content Everywhere Europe, a new feature of the conference giving special attention to the importance of content and its availability on a when and where basis across all consumer devices. The launch of this new section confirms ACCESS’ belief that video consumption is no longer limited to the primary TV screen. Instead, operators need to ensure that their services are compatible with as many devices as possible to engage consumers and increase their revenues.

This proliferation of content has been ushered in by the multiscreen era and discrepancies between browsers, device type and OS, interaction methods, payment options, screen size, security and control capability as well as advertising support have emerged. At IBC, we launched our solution to this problem, ACCESS Twine™, to provide operators with the simplest route to deploy and control true TV Everywhere services. On site ACCESS Twine demos at IBC showed operators how the solution offered a single point of content access control across multiple Conditional Access (CA) and Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems to manage video distribution from CDNs and PVRs whilst leveraging HTML5 to offer a seamless, unified TV experience on all devices.

4K content delivery was another highlight at IBC, especially in regards to sports programming. With demonstrations including UHD football, rugby and golf showing the part that high quality images play in immersing the viewer in sports programming. The IBC Awards even presented FIFA with a number of awards for the 4K broadcast of the World Cup. Sky Sports and Turner Sports were just some of the other winners indicating that the ability to provide high quality live content to every screen could hold the key to success in the future of the evolving TV market.

Browsers will play a key role in the delivery of content across all devices and it is essential that there are solutions in place to enable the delivery of 4K content. This is why we also launched our new NetFront™ Browser BE, built on the Chromium Blink engine and developed for high-end platforms at IBC. It extends the NetFront™ Browser family and is the ideal solution for operators seeking to deploy next generation hardware platforms and support the latest HTML5 standards on high performance DTVs, set-top boxes, game consoles and automotive infotainment systems.

Virtualisation hasn’t lost its lustre since 2013 and was still on everyone’s lips. With CDNs playing an increasingly important part in the storage and delivery of content, it is clear that cloud TV is set to become a must have in the next twelve to fifteen months. While security and quality of service issues remain, especially in regards to OTT services, operators are better armed than ever before to offer services that support multiple CA and DRM systems while ensuring that content delivered through their platform is of the highest quality. The launch of the new NetFront™ Living Connect 3.1 provides the most robust and secure media sharing solution while support for the new DLNA VidiPath guidelines ensures that operator services are compatible with the largest possible number of devices.

Industry focus remains fixated upon multiscreen TV and there is a noticeable thirst for 4K TV and virtual access to content everywhere, as consumers demand the best possible picture quality on any platform, in and out of the home. The ability to deliver all of these seamlessly is dominating the TV space at the moment and ACCESS solutions provide solutions that enable operators to deliver high quality content to any screen in and outside of the connected home.

IBC has once again provided an excellent environment to share knowledge and showcase the latest innovations in our industry. To keep up to date with our latest news and announcements, please visit http://eu.access-company.com/

Connected TV

ACCESS Provides Operators with Blueprint for Multiscreen Success at IBC

Posted on by ACCESS Europe

This week sees ACCESS showcase its innovative solutions facilitating true TV Everywhere at IBC 2014 (stand 14.D14). We will demonstrate how we help operators and device manufacturers to conquer the growing complexities and technological fragmentation of delivering multiscreen services. We believe that visitors to our IBC stand will see solutions that address many of the most critical technical concerns of operators across the globe.

With over 52,000 professionals from 170 countries, the show aims to immerse visitors in the latest industry developments and acts as a place to trade, educate, debate and connect with the companies that are helping to shape the market, including content distributors, device manufacturers and solution vendors like ACCESS.
The industry has embarked on a new era of entertainment enabled by the proliferation of devices that consumers now expect to be able to watch content on. There are now thousands of devices running across a range of different platforms, and this expanding choice is causing headaches for operators that seek to provide multiscreen services that work perfectly across all devices.

In a response to this, IBC sees the first public demonstrations of our new multiscreen management platform, ACCESS Twine. This new multiscreen platform is designed to provide the simplest route for operators to deploy and control true TV Everywhere services. This solution enables consumers to access the existing operator portfolio and their personal content that is stored on their PVR on other devices even when they are out of the home. Visitors to our IBC booth will be able to discover how this solution provides a single point of content access control across multiple CA and DRM systems to manage video distribution from CDNs and PVRs whilst leveraging HTML5 to offer a seamless, unified TV experience.

Among other highlights at IBC 2014, we will also be hosting a series of on-stand demonstrations showing how operators can leverage standards to offer seamless experiences on all screens without compromising security. Including:

  • NetFront™ Browser BE: launched at IBC and demonstrated running on Broadcom silicon, this newest member of our browser family, based on Chromium Blink technology, is tailored for embedded platforms and ideally suited to higher end environments with multi-core CPUs and graphics acceleration (GPU) giving ACCESS a unique position in the worldwide broadcast-centric browser market.
  • NetFront™ Browser NX: the demonstrations of the WebKit-based embedded browser solution will include integrations with world leading chipsets for STB and TVs offering industry leading HTML5 performance, low memory requirements, JavaScript Extension Framework and an advanced Software Development Kit (SDK).
  • NetFront™ Living Connect: a multiscreen solution that provides the content and CE industries with the simplest and most powerful route to enable consumers to watch, listen, and share movies, music and TV programs inside and outside the home. The solution is a DLNA Technology Component supporting the latest CVP-2 specifications and integrated with leading security solutions, making it a key enabler for business models based on distributing paid and free content to STBs, TVs, tablets, mobile phones and in-car entertainment and navigation systems.  IBC 2014 will also see the full integration of NetFront Living Connect with Zenterio OS completing a cycle that started with the integration of NetFrontTM Browser NX with Zenterio OS, announced at IBC 2013.

We invite you to join us and discuss how our combination of standards and strong security solutions can help operators deploy and maintain efficient multiscreen services inside and outside of the home. I hope you will be able to visit us at IBC and see exactly how we are helping you to shape the multiscreen space to meet your business objectives and surpass consumer expectations.

Connected TV

Flexibility and robustness critical to multiscreen success according to new Parks Associates white paper

Posted on by ACCESS Europe

The growing consumer demand for TV Everywhere services that deliver seamless experiences on every platform and screen has transformed the PayTV and content distribution industries. However, to ensure that services are compatible with every device, services need to be flexible.

It is crucial that operators keep this consumer demand for easy access at the forefront of their multiscreen strategy. 40% US PayTV subscribers already receive personalised video recommendations on a weekly basis but how good are these suggestions if content can’t be accessed on every screen because rights restrictions limit its distribution to a certain type of device?

These are the key findings of the recent Parks Associates white paper entitled “The New Reality: Tomorrow’s Multiscreen, Multirights World”, which examines the new direction for multiscreen services and the overall role of the operator.

The paper looks at the impact the proliferation of new devices and multiscreen features has had in shaping the current TV landscape and how a strategic, planned design approach will allow operators to retain audience loyalty and generate new revenues going forward. Parks Associates has identified flexibility as an essential component for operators as they look to solidify themselves as market leaders in the TV market. While consumers want to access content on every platform, they are more likely to adopt a service if it is convenient. An easy setup is essential, as consumers expect their TV service to replicate the ease of use of their smart devices, while search and discovery features need to be easy to use and tailored to the viewer’s personal habits and tastes.

The white paper reveals that most development is software-based, which provides more efficiency at a lower cost, since operators don’t require subscribers to change their set-top boxes to access these new services. These software developments include the visible user interfaces, apps, search and discovery and browsing capability, as well as security, which is increasingly crucial as access to content becomes ever more ubiquitous. This enables operators to comply with the content industry’s security requirements in order to offer high quality content catalogues on every device.

The paper concludes that flexibility will be the key differentiator as operators launch multiscreen services that can adapt to the multiplicity of devices, features, rights, security and business models that keep evolving at a frantic pace.

If you would like to receive a complimentary copy of the white paper, please visit: http://eu.access-company.com/whitepaper-download.html

Connected TV

ANGA COM turns to multiscreen to share content everywhere

Posted on by ACCESS Europe

ANGA COM, the Exhibition and Congress for Broadband, Cable & Satellite, celebrated its 15th birthday earlier this month. This year’s event focused upon the current state of the broadband market, as well as future considerations for network operators, vendors and content providers all over Europe. The advent of multiple connected devices is creating challenges for operators as consumers expect to be able to share content freely between a number of screens ranging from the traditional living room TV to tablets and increasingly out of the home with a smartphone or via the connected car.

With over 450 exhibitors and 17,000 participants, ANGA COM bettered last year’s attendance. The show was full of solutions which aim to manage content delivery in an increasingly connected world, regardless of the source. The issue of content delivery was prevalent throughout ANGA and virtualization was one word which could be heard repeatedly throughout the show floor and during the conferences. It provides evidence of the clout that the cloud has in the video industry and it’s clear that it has an integral part to play in the future of video delivery. How companies choose to address this should make for a compelling few years as they seek the best way to utilize the space.

The second day of ANGA COM started with a breakfast session hosted by our partner Verimatrix. All participants confirmed that cable and satellite distribution is still going strong, and a secure IP-only world is still the ultimate goal.

ACCESS Media Gateway Solution - Protected content sharing to CE devices
ACCESS Media Gateway Solution – Protected content sharing to CE devices

However, it is widely regarded by those in the industry that multiscreen is the dominant force currently in the marketplace and the one most likely to ensure premium content can spread extensively and at the same time generate increased revenue. Multiscreen was discussed at length during the show, demonstrating that  the market is now ready to adopt efficient delivery systems such as our own, which have the ability to make robust multiscreen possible for all. ACCESS has developed standards-based solutions which allow operators to deliver content to any screen in the connected home. Additionally, our integration of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) enables secure, interoperable media sharing inside and outside the home.

As the entire industry looks towards TV everywhere and multiscreen as the next great TV revelation, we are looking forward to the developments that will be launched on the run up to IBC, where all key trends in the market will be discussed and demonstrated.

ANGA COM 2015 will take place on June 9 -11, 2015, in the Messe Koeln in Cologne, Germany.
Photo copyright ANGA Services GmbH

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