ALTICAST FLEXES ANDROID TV, HOSPITALITY MUSCLES AT IBC

Android TV and next-generation hospitality solutions that can open the doors to new service and revenue opportunities for pay-TV operators will highlight the Alticast exhibit at IBC 2016 September 9-13.

At Stand 1.F39 at the RAI Amsterdam, Alticast will premiere an Android TV system for pay-TV, including IPTV.  This demo highlights ambient UX technology that contextually improves the user experience, as well as an Intelligent Personal Assistant that can execute individual tasks or services.  Alticast also will be showing a hospitality solution that embeds guest automation services leveraging IoT systems, as part of its suite of enterprise IoT and media solutions.

In addition, Alticast will demonstrate products and services that are driving success for pay-TV operators today, including:

·       Alticast’s new hospitality UX , which demonstrates how a hotel guest can use voice commands to find salient info about their location including weather, nearby restaurant reservations, and VOD recommendations. This experience exemplifies a sophisticated, future-driven Alticast IoT framework.

·       A full entertainment experience with Android TV functionality, merging an operator based UX with the opportunity to access approved Android applications, as well as a new, unique ambient personalization experience.

·       Integrated media solutions that span cloud, devices and customers –allowing

pay-TV providers quickly to launch innovative complete solutions including dynamic UX and TV Everywhere over multiple devices with Cloud DVR.

                          

·      Cloud UI solutions that enable operators such as Korea’s KT to provide a next-generation user experience for existing and new devices. The Alticast solution also provides the ability to have personalized UIs for watching sports, kids shows and entertainment.

Media and industry analysts interested in meeting with Alticast executives at IBC 2016 should contact pspr@att.net to schedule a date and time.

Visit Alticast at INTX

Meet with Alticast at INTX

Visit Alticast at NAB 2016

CCBN 2016: ALTICAST TO PREVIEW ALTIVIEW 3, SHOW ASIA-PAC MARKET SUCCESS STORIES

Alticast will show the latest versions of technology platforms that simplify deployment of next-generation user experiences at the China Content Broadcasting Network (CCBN) Exhibition March 24-26. 

In Hall 3, Booth #3504 Alticast will preview its AltiView 3 user experience architecture, and will demonstrate other solutions that Asia-Pacific pay-TV operators and others are using to deploy advanced user interfaces and cloud PVR services.

The CCBN exhibit will show how:

•       AltiView 3 will transform the customer experience by leveraging metadata for improved search and discovery, based on customers’ previous viewing choices and other factors;
•       Korea Telecom’s KT Skylife platform is using Alticast’s cloud content ingest/delivery system, cloud service system, cloud media storage system and cloud streaming system to enable the first large-scale deployment of PVR services; and
•       A major Vietnamese pay-TV provider has successfully deployed a completely integrated suite of Alticast products for delivery of live and on-demand services to low-cost set-top boxes and mobile devices.

The latest addition to the AltiView™ family of user interface designs, AltiView 3 is expected to increase customer engagement by driving contextual viewing experiences within an intuitive, elegant UI.  With support for Java and HTML5 environments, AltiView UIs are available uniformly across tablets, mobiles and STBs.  AltiView is a market leader in enabling device pairing that allows seamless viewing transitions between screens.

Media and industry analysts interested in meeting with Alticast executives at CCBN 2016 should contact pspr@att.net to schedule a date and time.

CES 2016: We’ll be where the innovation is

In the three-ring circus that is this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, no single exhibit complex can house all of the technology that is on display.  We’ll be at Tech West, a hub for many of the show’s most innovative products, showing how Alticast is paving the way for new television experiences. Visit us at the Venetian to see how “The Future of TV Simplified” is building value for pay-TV operators through delivery of advanced applications, user experiences and IoT functionality on existing and new CE devices.  Start your New Year off right by contacting mbaltz@alticast.com today to schedule your appointment.

Trends in Recommendation and UX at TVoT

I traveled to Television of Tomorrow (TVoT) last week in NY City. This show runs twice a year bouncing between NYC and San Francisco, and although the NYC conference is shorter, it is just as intense. There was the usual mix of targeted advertising, User Experience, and OTT trends resplendent with Periscope stars. I participated in a panel on recommendations and UX trends led by Patrick Donaghue, the longtime Cablevision UI visionary, and included representation from LG, Digital Smiths, Rovi, Freecast and Lingospot.

While recommendation engines have been around for sometime, they are starting to mature with new trends blending big data from social networking to increase the effectiveness of recommendations. Taking all those new data points and creating an innovative UX that addresses a new generation of viewers is the challenge put forth to Alticast UX designers. Our 4K AltiView 3 concept UX was shared to exemplify these new trends.  The biggest challenge is bringing all these great ideas together and getting them out in front of consumers.

Visit Alticast at INTX

Alticast Highlights Cloud Services and Ultra HD Deployed Solutions at INTX 2015

Alticast, a global partner for the delivery of media entertainment, will demonstrate to attendees of INTX 2015 its newly deployed Ultra HD (UHD) security solution alongside its Cloud Services and other innovations. The demonstrations will take place in Alticast’s booth (1319), May 5-7, at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago.

Alticast will showcase its entire line of solutions at the show, with particular emphasis on its AltiPlex™ Client-Server Cloud solutions, TV Ready User Agent App Framework and AltiProtect™ technology solution.

Key demonstrations at INTX 2015 will include:

          Alticast’s AltiPlex Cloud Services Platform (CSP) provides essential core cloud solutions for handling users, devices, metadata, advertising, big-data support and billing system integration, with a complete web-based management console. Additional options include the dynamic Cloud UI solution allowing operators to deliver a sophisticated user experience (UX) to both their legacy and new set-top boxes (STBs).  The Cloud user interface (UI) can also provide multiple UIs to different devices in a household, for example a UI tailored for kids and one for adults. In addition, Cloud DVR is available for cloud-based recording, storage and delivery of content providing a TV Everywhere experience. AltiPlex CSP is component based, allowing operators to integrate existing portions into their service or to use the complete platform. 

      Alticast will show AltiProtect UHD, the newest addition to its AltiProtect family, that is optimized for UHD security protection and which is paramount for the success of UHD providing more robust security for premium content. Already successfully deployed by CJ Hellovision in Korea, AltiProtect UHD can be remotely installed onto STBs and other devices with the AltiProtect Download Framework, a mechanism to remotely install any AltiProtect CAS/DRM/DTCP-IP or the new UHD solution into STBs and other devices. 

 The company is expanding its HDMI Media Express offering beyond the original thumb drive sized ‘set-top box on a stick’ by adding small tabletop options for IP video delivery with live and on-demand programming being delivered directly from the Cloud or in concert with a home gateway. In the stick form-factor, the product provides a TV Everywhere experience with its download-and-go and plug-and-play capability.  Additionally, HDMI Media Express supports HTML5 and Android application delivery with the flexible Alticast’s TV Ready User Agent application framework that allows multiple user agents to work together on one device. This allows operators to combine HTML5 RDK solutions with Android or Java based solutions all on one device.  

          The new multi-catalog search capability of Alticast’s AltiView 1™ UX, powered by Rovi, allows subscribers to simultaneously search multiple content catalogs from over-the-top (OTT) providers like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube, and select the delivery source.  This gives operators many options for providing OTT services.

In addition to booth demonstrations, President and CTO of Alticast North America, John Carlucci, will present "IoT:  A New Business Model" at INTX’s Imagine Park Innovation Showcase on Tuesday, May 5^th as part of the 4 – 5 p.m. content segment.

Media and other parties interested in meeting with Alticast executives at INTX 2015 should contact alticast@mobilitypr.com to schedule a time.

Alticast Shows Broadcasters how to Maximize Multiscreen and Cloud Opportunities at NAB 2015

Broadcasters can Simplify the Delivery of New Video Services With Alticast

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – April 6, 2015 – Alticast, a global partner for the delivery of media entertainment, will show attendees of NAB 2015 how its latest solutions can simplify the development and delivery of new, more personalized, multiscreen TV viewing experiences.  The demonstrations will take place at their booth (N1223), April 13 – 16, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“NAB is the perfect venue for us to show broadcasters and content owners how they can take advantage of the Cloud and other new technologies to deliver services to many video consumption devices used by viewers,” said John Carlucci, President and Chief Technical Officer for Alticast North America.  “More and more content is being delivered from the Cloud to a variety of devices via IP and Alticast has the technology to deploy quick, nimble, secure and scalable services adapting to the changing digital media consumer.”

Alticast’s key demonstrations at NAB 2015 will include:

·       The company’s HDMI Media Express ‘set-top box on a stick,’ which represents a new paradigm for IP video delivery with live and on-demand programing being delivered directly from the cloud or in concert with a home gateway. The size and shape of a USB thumb drive, it also provides a TV Everywhere experience with its download-and-go and plug-and-play capability.  Additionally, HDMI Media Express supports HTML5 and Android application delivery due to its leveraging the Reference Design Kit (RDK) and Alticast’s TV Ready User Agent application framework.

·       The new multi-catalog search capability of Alticast’s AltiView 1 user experience (UX), powered by Rovi, allows subscribers to simultaneously search multiple content catalogs from over-the-top (OTT) providers like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube, and select the delivery source.   This allows operators to add services from secondary content catalogs and offer it to their viewers.

·       Alticast’s AltiPlex Cloud Services Platform (CSP) provides a variety of cloud solutions, including back office integration, metadata delivery, big-data support and a number of add-on features. Alticast will be highlighting their Cloud-based Digital Video Recording (DVR) system, which enables cloud-based storage and delivery of content. 

·       A joint demonstration will show broadcasters how to take advantage of ATSC 2.0 to overlay applications onto their video and deliver a new generation of iTV services and advanced advertising applications.  The demonstration includes an Alticast enabled set-top box (STB), providing a robust browser and application life cycle control for managing applications.  Tools from Strategy & Technology (S&T) insert ATSC 2.0 triggers into recorded and live content, and Alticast recognizes these triggers and launches web-based HTML5 applications.  These applications can be delivered from web servers to the screen providing a broadcast solution for interactive TV.

Media and other parties interested in meeting with Alticast executives at NAB 2015 should contact alticast@mobilitypr.com to schedule a time.