Alticast: the Future of TV, Simplified

December 18th, 2013- Broomfield, CO-- Alticast, a worldwide leader in interactive television, announced today they will present a variety of All-IP STB solutions including multiple RDK device integrations and a new HDMI stick set-top box at The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), January 7-10 in Las Vegas, Nevada at Venetian Hotel, suites 30-225 and 30-227.

Alticast, a leading provider of fully integrated open standard software solutions including RDK, OCAP and MHP, will show a variety of advanced software for set top boxes and other devices.

The Alticast TV Ready Application Framework in conjunction with RDK provides a versatile high performing solution. The TV Ready User Agent manages operations, provides core TV functionality and allows operators to implement HTML5, Android, and Native UX applications on one STB platform.

For a complete solution Alticast has AltiProtect™ CAS and DRM content protection offerings and an innovative Downloadable and Exchangeable framework for delivering security solutions.

In the suite, Alticast will premiere a new HDMI stick solution, demonstrating a new direction for IP delivery. The HDMI stick can be used as a client with a gateway, or for direct content delivered via cloud based IP delivery. Other innovations to be displayed include Alticast Cloud Based DVR allowing operators to extend their library offering, and the standards-based Alticast Application Store, extending new entertainment choices to consumers.

Alticast will also present a new paradigm for the user with the US premiere of Windmill 2.0. This new user experience design provides a more personalized approach to each viewer in the house, while giving the operator the ability to easily expand services and create new revenue.

The broad array of new and innovative demonstrations at the Alticast suite presents the cable industry with solutions for the savvy next generation cable audiences.

For more information about Alticast's technologies, please visit our website at www.alticast.com.

Visit with Alticast at CES 2014

Alticast Announces The Closing Of Initial Public Offering

December 11, 2013- Seoul, Korea -- Alticast, a worldwide leader in open standards based software for video service delivery, announced today closing of its public offering of 2,000,000 shares of the Company's Class A common stock on the Korea Exchange KOSDAQ. The stock closed today at Won 8,600 per share.  The shares trade under the ticker symbol “ATCAST."

 “Today is a historic day for our company with respect to our offering on the KOSDAQ. It demonstrates confidence by the business community in Alticast’s capabilities and potential to growth in the world market”, said Alticast CEO, Won Cheol Kang. “We are in a very exciting time in the Industry and today Alticast is positioned better than ever to maintain our momentum as a world leader in the Interactive TV Industry.”

Alticast intends to use the net proceeds from its initial public offering to expand its lines of products and services in the Interactive TV industry, as well as for general corporate purposes.

For more information about Alticast's technologies, please visit our website at www.alticast.com.

Visit With Alticast at CES 2014

North American Cable Operators Visit Korea

A contingent of North American Cable Operators visited Alticast 's Korean HeadQuarters last week and shared their views on the future of cable television. While they were there they took a field trip to visit Korean operators to see some technology in action. Here the executives were viewing Alticast's Downloadable and Exchangeable support hardware that handles the security services for over 5M users. 

They also were able to see native and HTML5 systems with features including companion device integrations and application stores. The highlight of the trip may have been a fun night out with traditional Korean Barbecue.

Optimization

As Operators begin to use HTML5 to deliver the User Experience for millions of people to multiple devices, understanding how to optimize their UI will be very important. We are keeping our sights on this and will be posting various ideas for optimization so that Operators can broaden their scope of devices where they might deliver an HTML5 UX. The television industry has unique devices with legacy systems that are quite restricted in CPU and memory, so optimizing the UX can really pay off. 

The cable industry isn't alone in considering this challenge, and in fact there is a whole conference that is held at least twice a year on Web Performance. Fortunately the conference posts videos of their talks and interviews on YouTube. Below is the listing of videos from their most recent event in SantaClara, and if you are in the area, the next one is in London starting Wednesday Nov. 13th. We'd like to hear your ideas too, so please enter comments or contact us to enter a guest posting.

http://bit.ly/1fklO00

Will US Cable Operators Embrace Netflix?

Two weeks ago Netflix stock went up over 20 points on the news FierceCable passed on that they are in talks with cable operators including Comcast and Suddenlink. This week they shot up further on news their subscriber base is growing rapidly. Netflix already has a cozy relationship with Cablevision, and has a more tightly coupled integration with Liberty Global and Virgin Media through Tivo.

Up to this point, some operators have gone so far as to create their own competitive VOD service. Operators have made clear choices to either embrace Netflix or treat them as a competitor. Netflix and the operators know that either way there are many users with both services and as reported in the original article in the Wall Street Journal, Netflix would "love to reduce the friction to the end consumer." 

4K OTT Coming Soon?

Netflix chief Hastings on the prospect of 4K content: "Downloads would be on the order of 45-60GB, requiring a substantial high-speed data connection for the interested consumer." No date was given on when 4K content would be available, but it is conceivable that Netflix will be the first major purveyor of ultra HD movies.

The Couch

The adage 'couch potato' has transformed with the proliferation of smart phones and tablets. Almost every individual on the couch is using a laptop, messaging with friends, or gaming or surfing on a tablet while 'watching' TV. In the last year or so, cable companies have started to offer applications on those devices to help you view guides, use secondary content applications and in some cases view content (the breadth of content on secondary devices is growing as licensing deals are extended).

Consider the contrast of the computer and the TV. In regards to entertainment consumption, the visible difference is the computer is mostly a one-to-one device, verses the TV which is one-to-many. What happens when your phone starts allowing you to do things like 'vote' interactively for a reality TV show, or becomes the remote control? The battle over the remote is well documented and phones and tablets are controlled by the owner, where the remote is a shared device. I hope application developers keep this in mind and consider multiple parties on the couch each with a single device that might want to interact with the TV. Do you allow all devices to be the remote control? Image the possible chaos. However, if voting is allowed, shouldn't each person on the couch get to vote using their own device?

The couch where this is often discussed is at the therapists, they might want to prepare for a much more complex world!

Waiting for the Millenials: Xbox

An increasing concern for Pay TV operators is the video consumption practices of the youthful sort, the 18-34 year olds, a.k.a Millennials, a.k.a Cord Nevers. This generation of video consumers is far more savvy with far more choices than its predecessors. It's becoming more apparent that Millennials are not going to simply follow the single monthly subscription model that their parents have habituated on. 

 Xbox is having some success reaching this group -- recent statistics from Microsoft reveal that 42% of Xbox Live members stream 30 hours of video monthly.  Xbox live has nearly 50 million subscribers, so this is more than an asterisk on a recent Nielsen report. Microsoft owns the content discovery and navigation experience, displacing the UX of the Pay TV operator, who is relegated to an almost invisible position even as it delivers the entire streaming experience into the ecosystem.  

Pay TV operators have plans of their own, of course. TV Everywhere initiatives are in play, and just last week, TWC indicated that are planning to bring their UX experience to devices such as the Xbox (or Roku, etc) for customers within their service footprint.

DVB RDK at IBC

IBC proved to be a great introduction of RDK to markets beyond the US. Highlighting its ongoing world-wide development efforts, Alticast showed a DVB-RDK solution which attracted attention from European, Middle Eastern and Asian video service providers. This also included satellite providers looking to expand their market reach. There were two well attended RDK special sessions which made it apparent that this open software solution is headed towards global adoption.

CME Will Use Alticast’s Platform for the New Voyo Player, The Pure IP STB, Connected to its Subscription Video-On-Demand Service

September 23, 2013—Seoul, Korea—Alticast, the leader in interactive TV open standard software solutions, and Central European Media Enterprises (CME) have announced that CME’s subscription video-on-demand service, Voyo, will be available on the new Voyo Player STB that will be powered by Alticast’s OTT STB Platform starting in September 2013 in the Czech Republic. The platform will subsequently be deployed in other CME countries.

CME is deploying AltiPlatform™ and AltiView^TM, which allows the broadcaster to launch pure IP STB throughout CME’s markets. AltiPlatform enables the launch of new services with minimal expense and fast time-to-market, while maintaining full compatibility with existing devices, security and networks. AltiPlatform is based upon open standards and can grow to accommodate new requirements, including HTML5 applications, Microsoft Playready DRM, DASH.

“We are very excited to roll-out this amazing full featured consumer experience,” said Claudiu Paraschiv, Head of Technology, CME. “Consumers first want to watch TV but as the market has evolved the demand for interactive services and content is in demand. Alticast has enabled CME to provide the applications and content desired by our subscribers. They have been a great partner in ensuring that we can satisfy our customers’ needs now and in the future.”

Alticast’s AltiPlatform, is a global leading middleware solution for operators and broadcasters. AltiPlatform is used in over 30 million devices worldwide, including set top boxes, smart TVs, mobile phones and portable embedded devices, Blu-Ray Disc players, and personal computers. AltiPlatform supports HbbTV, HTML5, MHP, OCAP (tru2way), BD-J and ensures support of DTV signaling around the world. It supports terrestrial, satellite and cable and has already been deployed in Europe.

“Alticast is very pleased to work with CME and launch this exciting new experience for CME’s subscribers. Alticast will continue to support and develop the exciting applications that enable it to increase subscriber numbers as well as launch new revenue generating services,” said Thomas Jung, CMO, Alticast.

About CME
CME is a media and entertainment company operating leading businesses in six Central and Eastern European markets with an aggregate population of approximately 50 million people. CME broadcasts television channels in Bulgaria (bTV, bTV Cinema, bTV Comedy, bTV Action, bTV Lady and Ring.bg), Croatia (Nova TV, Doma, Nova World and MiniTV), the Czech Republic (TV Nova, Nova Cinema, Nova Sport, Fanda, Smíchov, Telka and MTV Czech), Romania (PRO TV, PRO TV International, Acasa, Acasa Gold, PRO Cinema, Sport.ro, MTV Romania, PRO TV Chisinau and Acasa Moldova), the Slovak Republic (TV Markíza, Doma,  Dajto and Fooor), Slovenia (POP TV, Kanal A, Brio, Oto and Kino). CME also operates Voyo, the pan-regional video-on-demand service. CME is traded on the NASDAQ and the Prague Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CETV”.

Alticast demonstrate RDK on STMicroelectronics’ Orly SoC at IBC

Seoul, Korea—September 12, 2013--  Alticast,  a worldwide leader in interactive TV open standard software solutions, announced today they will be demonstrating an RDK set-top solution on the Orly (STiH416) SoC platform from STMicroelectronics at IBC in Amsterdam, Netherlands, September 13-17 in the Alticast booth, Hall 1: F36 and ST booth, Hall 1: F40.

Alticast’s integration of RDK software on the ST platform creates a state-of-the-art set-top product.  The Reference Design Kit (RDK) is an integrated software bundle that can be accessed by operators in need of a software stack for set-top devices. Alticast combines standard RDK or DVB RDK with their Application Framework providing operators the flexibility to implement specific content delivery and business solutions. ST’s powerful processor platform along with Alticast’s RDK solution provides a very competitive offering for operators and OEMs.

“Alticast’s software running on the Orly SoC-based high-performance RDK platform provides a compelling solution to OEMs worldwide. We look forward to deploying Alticast’s middleware on Orly and its derivative products,” said Youssef Kamel, Set-Top Box Director Gateway and Client Business, Unified Platform Division, STMicroelectronics.

“This is a very exciting time in the market with RDK revolutionizing the content delivery business. ST’s international footprint allows Alticast’s RDK and DVB RDK solutions to provide customers broader choice worldwide,” stated Thomas Jung, CMO, Alticast, Corp. 

Industry Veteran David Nicholas Joins Alticast

Denver, CO – September 9, 2013 - Alticast, a worldwide leader in deployed interactive television solutions, announced today that David Nicholas has joined the company as Senior Vice President, Sales.  Nicholas brings almost three decades of industry experience to Alticast. David’s most recent position was as Vice President, Sales at iNovo Broadband. 

David has served in executive level positions at Panasonic, BigBand Networks, Symmetricom, N2 Broadband, Concurrent and Phillips Electronics.  Prior to joining iNovo Broadband, he was VP/General Manager, CATV Group at Panasonic, where he was responsible for the refocus and restructuring of the business in the US market.

“Alticast is pleased to have someone with David Nicholas’ insight and experience guiding our North American business activities,“ said Alticast CMO Thomas Jung. “David is well known and respected in our business sector, he will ensure we continue to anticipate, develop and deliver solutions that meet our US and Canadian customers’ revenue and operating goals.”