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The Cloud Is on the Horizon | Multichannel

If you haven't had a chance, check out this recent article by Alticast's Direction of Product Management on Cloud technology.

The Cloud Is on the Horizon | Multichannel

What You Need to Know About Cloud DVR

If you’re at all thinking of rolling out a Cloud DVR service you need to listen to Light Reading’s recent webinar “Sunny Skies for Cloud DVR?”. Our CTO John Carlucci is one of several industry luminaries who examine the benefits and challenges of implementing a Cloud DVR service.

Even if you’re not already thinking about Cloud DVR, you really owe it to yourself to still listen to the webinar to understand its potential to reduce subscriber churn, trim capital costs and deliver a more personalized TV Everywhere viewing experience.

Some highlights include:

•       You don’t have to millions of subscribers to be successful.  An economically viable Cloud DVR service can have as few as 50,000 subs.
•       Unlike STB-based DVRs, which can only simultaneously record as many programs as they have tuners, there’s essentially no limit to how many simultaneous programs Cloud DVR can record.
•       Cloud DVR reduces subscriber churn – Telefonica has seen substantial reductions in churn which is attributed to their popular Cloud DVR service.
•        Providing content from the Cloud allows operators to take advantage of IP content delivery to HDMI dongles and other emerging CPE that are smaller, portable and which consume less power.
•       Local ad insertion doesn’t have to be affected by a Cloud DVR service, ensuring that this important revenue stream is maintained.
•       Cloud DVR can provide a personal vault for User Generated Content (UGC). As users increase the content they want to keep in the cloud, operator can add a new revenue stream by selling additional storage space.

The largest operators are setting the pace with Cloud DVR offerings while breaking ground by improving efficiencies, establishing best practices and driving down the costs. 

Cloud DVR is a future proof method for expanding viewer services. Planning for spinning up this service should be on the horizon for any operator that serves up content.

BTR Google Hangout

Alticast CTO, John Carlucci, will participate in a video chat with Broadband Technology Report on Tuesday and discuss trends seen at SCTE and Alticast's diamond award winning HDMI Media Express.  To tune into the conversation, click here.

Alticast at IBC

Click on the link below to see a video of a couple of Alticast's demonstrations at IBC, including Cloud UI, Cloud DVR and HMDI Media Express.

http://advanced-television.com/2014/10/10/alticast/

Alticast at SCTE

If you happen to be at Cable-Tec Expo this week, make sure to stop by the Alticast pedestal in the BTR Diamond Technology Review pavilion to see a demonstration of our 4 diamond awarded HDMI Media Express.

TVoT

TV of Tomorrow, San Francisco was held last week, creating an opportunity to pick up on terminology trends. I was surprised a number of panels were using the term 'digital' to describe "content delivery to consumer devices' like phones and tablets, however, content to the living room TV is also digital. I am hoping this trend does not take hold, as it doesn't make sense. The older terms OTT (Over the Top TV) originally seemed to cover these devices, but with Smart TVs, TIVO, Roku and other devices, the television is also an OTT target, so that's not a fit either. As the market gets muddier with IP offerings and new devices like HDMI sticks, maybe the target device shouldn't be segregated this way. Of course most devices require specific transcoded video to meet display specifications, but in the end the streams are all digital, whether recorded or live. I welcome a different interpretation of how 'digital' was used at the conference to clear this up.

Another term that seems to be picking up steam is the "backwards L." This is the shape made when the main video content is pulled to the upper left of the screen leaving a portion of the screen for additional meta-data, personalization (tweets), or advertising. As our screen resolution continues to expand,  it's appears to be more acceptable to share the screen real estate with other related content.

Alticast's HDMI Media Express is a Leading Lights Finalist

We got some exciting news here recently.  Alticast's HDMI Media Express is a finalist in the Best New Product (Cable) category for the Leading Lights Awards!

Awards will be handed out on June 17th so we will be crossing our fingers until then.

Alticast Highlights State-of-the-Art Solutions That “Simplify the Future of TV” at The Cable Show 2014

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – April 21, 2014 – Alticast, a global partner for the delivery of media entertainment, will demonstrate to attendees of The Cable Show how the company’s latest solutions “Simplify the Future of TV.” These technologies enable cable operators to deliver new features and services to subscribers that address the ongoing demand for personalized TV experiences and will be shown at Alticast’s booth (2537) at The Cable Show, April 29 – May 1, in the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Alticast will demonstrate several groundbreaking solutions leveraging the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the popular pre-integrated software bundle for customer-premises equipment, including next-generation set-top boxes. Demonstrations will include the versatile HDMI Media Express ‘set-top box on a stick,’ several IP set-top boxes featuring RDK and Alticast’s integrated Application Framework technology. In addition, there will be a variety of advanced technology demonstrations including Cloud DVR, CVP-2, multi-screen, 4K, NCAS downloadable security and the new Alticast Cloud-based Application Store.

“Consumers want personalized, increasingly interactive TV experiences that can be enjoyed in the home or on the go and Alticast’s software solutions give operators complete control in deciding how and what they deliver to their subscribers,” said John Carlucci, Chief Technology Officer, Alticast US. “The Cable Show attendees will be able to get up close and personal with several demonstrations that not only leverage the RDK integrated software bundle endorsed by many of the world’s top cable operators, but also highlight the technological strides Alticast is making to enable a reliable, state-of-the-art TV experience.”

Alticast will have the following demonstrations, among several others, available at The Cable Show:

•                The Alticast HDMI Media Express works in conjunction with a home gateway, enabling service providers to securely deliver live and on-demand programing to TVs in the home or on the go. This high performance solution in a portable, small footprint package provides cable operators a new way to deliver content. The HTML5 Application Framework can operate side-by-side with Android, allowing operators to deliver a multi-functional entertainment solution.

•                AltiView II is the new User Experience from Alticast and is the central focus for the Alticast’s modular Windmill Services Platform (WSP).  WSP provides a variety of content delivery solutions and an expanded server side in AltiPlex with additional opportunities for monetization. AltiView II enables service providers to offer a more flexible and personalized approach to each viewer.

•                The Alticast Application Store for HTML5 applications gives complete control to the operator with tools for branding services and curating offerings while the backend administration workflow tools for developers allow application upload, versioning and sales monitoring. The store design opens the doors to new revenue opportunities and provides added entertainment choices to customers.

•                Cloud-DVR puts users in control of their TV watching schedule, allowing them to automate the scheduling of content recording and storage. Once the program is in the Cloud, it can be watched on a variety of devices, providing ease of playback anywhere, anytime.

In addition to booth demonstrations, CTO John Carlucci will present "HDMI Stick: The Untethered Future of Cable" at The Cable Show's Imagine Park Innovation Showcase on Wednesday, April 30 as part of the 11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. content segment. 

About RDK

The Reference Design Kit (RDK) is a pre-integrated software bundle that provides a common framework for powering customer-premises equipment (CPE) from TV service providers, including set-top boxes, gateways, and converged devices. It was created to accelerate the deployment of next-gen video products and services. The RDK is supported by more than 125 licensees, and is administered by the RDK Management LLC, a joint venture between Comcast Cable, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global.

Alticast Demonstrates how to Deliver TV Everywhere Services With RDK-Based “Set Top Box on a Stick” at RDK Users Conference

Alticast’s HDMI Software Allows Operators to Leverage Gateways or the Cloud to Deliver

 a Superior TV Everywhere Experience

Alticast, a worldwide leader in interactive television, will demonstrate to operators how they can expand their TV Everywhere service offerings with the company’s new software for HDMI sticks at next week’s RDK User’s Conference, which is being held on February 11 in Denver.  Leveraging the RDK and Alticast’s HTML5 application framework with an HDMI stick, Alticast’s solution represents a new paradigm for multiscreen IP video delivery, either directly from the Cloud or as a client to a home-based gateway.  

“Our HDMI stick software solution ‘untethers’ the set-top box from the home, enabling cable operators to cost-effectively provide subscribers with a superior TV Everywhere service that is highly customizable, personalized and available on any viewing device,” said John Carlucci, CTO, Alticast US.  “The RDK User’s Conference is the ideal location to show many of the world’s largest cable operators and potential manufacturing partners the benefits of our compact, RDK-based HDMI software solution, which can help operators keep their current subscribers and attract new ones.”

The Alticast HDMI stick supports a personalized multiscreen viewing experience in the home or on the go.  The stick works in conjunction with a home gateway to securely deliver programing to any TV or Consumer Device in the home.  It also has the potential to go anywhere in a Cloud-based delivery model for VOD and operator provided live TV.  The Alticast software solution lets operators decide how and what they deliver to the consumer.  The HTML5 Application Framework operates side-by-side with Android, allowing operators to deliver a multi-functional entertainment solution.

In addition, Alticast will demonstrate their new Application Store running on RDK.  This storefront for HTML5 applications provides the operator with tools for branding the service and curating the offerings. Backend administration workflow tools for developers allow application upload, versioning, and sales monitoring. The Application Store design gives complete control to the operator, opens the door to a new revenue opportunity and provides added entertainment choices to their customers.

The Reference Design Kit (RDK) is a pre-integrated software bundle developed and licensed to create a common framework for powering IP or hybrid Set-Top Boxes and gateway devices for CE manufacturers, system-on-a-chip (SoC) vendors, software developers, system integrators and TV service providers. The RDK was developed to accelerate the deployment of next-generation video services and prevent software fragmentation by providing speed-to-market, collaboration and standardization. Supported by more than 120 licensees, RDK Management, LLC was formed as a joint venture between Comcast Cable and Time Warner Cable to administer the RDK. More information is available at http://www.rdkcentral.com

HDMI Media Express at CES 2014

Watch John Carlucci, Alticast America CTO, discuss the HDMI Media Express with Fred Dawson from ScreenPlays Magazine at CES 2014.