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 Expands EMEA Business Team

Industry Veteran Joins Alticast Lead EMEA Business Development Activities

AMSTERDAM – May 5, 2014 – Alticast, a global partner for the delivery of media entertainment, announced today that Mr. Tiaan Schutte has joined the company as President, for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). An industry veteran with more than two decades of experience, Schutte is the latest addition to Alticast’s Amsterdam-based EMEA operations. Schutte’s most recent position prior to Alticast was with Three Media Associates.

Schutte is well versed in numerous technologies including interactive video, IPTV, mobileTV, cable, DTT, VoIP, satellite and OTT services. He has served in executive level positions at such industry heavy weights as Technicolor, Lucent, Irdeto and nCube. 

“Tiaan brings a wealth of experience to our efforts in the EMEA market. We are delighted to have him join Alticast to guide our EMEA business activities,” said Alticast CMO Thomas Jung. “Tiaan is well known and respected by operators and OEMs; we believe his experience and leadership will ensure that Alticast continues to grow our presence in the EMEA markets and anticipate and meet the needs of our customers.”

Widespread Wi-Fi Combined with HDMI Sticks Create the Perfect Recipe to Untether the TV Experience

Watching TV on the go is about to get easier than ever with MSOs looking to dramatically increase the number of Wi-Fi hotspots deployed across the United States. The CableWiFi Alliance, which is made up of leading MSOs, including Comcast, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks, recently announced that it now offers access to more than 250,000 Wi-Fi hotspots at no additional charge to qualified customers. Comcast also just unveiled its plan to target 8 million Wi-Fi hotspots by the end of 2014 on top of the 1 million already active Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspots.

The increasing ubiquity of Wi-Fi is a smart move by operators as they expand their TV Everywhere services – and is an ideal complement to our HDMI Media Express “set-top box on a stick” solution.

The size and shape of a typical USB thumb drive, our HDMI Media Express sticks enable subscribers to untether the viewing experience from the living room TV and enjoy it on any HDMI-enabled device, either via a home gateway or by accessing cloud-based content.  This means that you can take your cable content with you on a business trip to watch on your hotel screen.

Clearly, subscribers want to watch TV anywhere – in both the home and on the go – and it behooves MSOs to utilize multiple methods to ensure that their TV Everywhere services are as everywhere as possible.   HDMI sticks and ubiquitous Wi-Fi are definitely two major enablers of TV that can be enjoyed anywhere, anytime and on any devices. More details about the CableWiFi Alliance’s recent announcement and Comcast’s Wi-Fi hotspots news are available at CED Magazine.

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.

Time Warner Cable and Humax Team Up to Keep RDK Moving Forward with an Integrated IP Set-Top Box

Time Warner Cable (TWC), one of the leading cable operators in the U.S. has announced plans to start development on the cable giant’s first IP set-top box. The set-top box, which will be developed in partnership with Humax, one of the world's largest manufacturers of digital set-top boxes and an organization Alticast has collaborated closely with in the past, will leverage the popular RDK software bundle and also feature TWC’s new HTML 5 cloud-based navigation guide.

The announcement is the most recent move in the ongoing effort to promote RDK as the cable industry’s dominant, unifying platform. Last year, TWC and Comcast announced their RDK joint venture to support widespread implementation of the standardized software bundle so that it will eventually become the industry standard. Alan Breznick from Light Reading points out that Comcast leveraged RDK in its X1 hybrid IP video gateways, which have been introduced in all of its markets.

As we look ahead to an industry continually progressing towards all IP service, it’s critical that we realize the key role that RDK adoption will play in the process.

Check out more details about TWC’s announcement and the advancement of RDK at Light Reading and Multichannel News.