Zappware Launches New Interactive TV Platform, "iView Platform"

--Also Launches iView Service Packages for Broadcasters, Operators

At the IBC show in Amsterdam last month, Belgian interactive TV technology provider, Zappware, launched an integrated suite of tools for the production and management of interactive TV services. Dubbed, iView Platform, the new product suite supports the management and editing of content, the management and authoring of applications, and the management and editing of timelines, and automates the roll-out of applications on a variety of digital TV platforms, the company says. According to the company, the platform's main components are:

• iView Portal, an integrated Web environment for creating and managing content, applications, timelines and deployments.
• iView Producer, a visual authoring environment for the creation and/or modification of ITV applications.
• iView Playout Manager, an automation tool that integrates with a broadcaster's playout room in order to automate the roll-out and lifecycle of interactive layers on top of TV programs or commercials.
• iView Zaphire, a portable runtime environment that allows applications produced by iView Platform to run on a variety of set-top boxes with minimal memory footprint and minimal use of processor resources.

iView Platform is part of a new iView product line, which also includes iView for Operators, a series of interactive TV services for operators, and iView for Broadcasters, a series of interactive TV services for broadcasters (see below). In addition to supporting these two sets of iView services, iView Platform supports the production and management of services provided by third parties, Zappware claims. Services powered by iView can be produced and managed on a broad variety of set-top boxes and middleware platforms, including MHP, OpenTV and IPTV, the company says.

iView for Broadcasters and iView for Operators were also launched at the IBC. iView for Broadcasters is comprised of:

• iView TextPlus, which is billed as enabling broadcasters to easily set up digital teletext portals, and which features numbered pages; RSS-based news and information feeds; advertising and direct-marketing modules; and quizzes.
• iView TVPlus, which is billed as enabling broadcasters to easily create interactive layers on top of TV programs, and which features quiz, direct-marketing and informational modules.
• iView AdPlus, which is designed to enable easy creation of direct-marketing layers on top of commercials. It supports impulse-response ads, DAL's and microsites.
• iView Babalooza, a games service complete with a portal that allows viewers to browse and order games. It supports various business models, including pay-per-play, day passes, monthly subscriptions and sponsored games.

iView for Operators, meanwhile, is comprised of:

• iView EPG, which, according to Zappware, features a flexible data import and processing engine, a grid or list display mode, reminders, a flexible search engine, integration with the iView PVR and iView nPVR applications (see below), so as to allow viewers to record programs with a single key-press, and startover TV.
• iView VOD, which allows viewers to browse through an operator- or broadcaster-defined catalog of movies, and order movies for viewing. According to the company, it supports a flexible pricing model, allowing assets to be combined in various product offerings; and VOD billboard advertising. It is designed with a modular architecture and pre-integrated with a broad range of video servers, Zappware says.
• iView PVR and iView nPVR, which allow viewers to record programs on a hard drive on their set-top or on an operator-managed storage service respectively. According to Zappware, iView PVR allows viewers to pause live broadcasts, offers conflict-resolution capabilities, and supports remote programming over the Web or mobile devices.
• iView Personal TV, which automatically recommends programs based on viewers' preferences: viewers express their preferences by highlighting programs in the EPG, and the programs are then presented to them in virtual channels.
• iView Babalooza (see above).
• iView Home, which Zappware describes as a portal service that provides viewers with an integrated frontend for starting and personalizing all services provided by the operator or by third parties, and for configuring the set-top box.

In other Zappware news: the company has developed an interactive TV service for the show, "Bestemming Vlaanderen" ("Destination Flanders"), that integrates three separate ITV applications into one. When viewers press the red button during the show, a menu appears with options to participate in a quiz, request a brochure, or access more information about the show itself. If viewers opt for the quiz or the brochure, both interactions are handled while the show continues to run in full-screen mode. If viewers opt to access more information about the show, a separate "walled-garden" site opens up, and the show runs in a scaled-down window (note: the walled garden can also be accessed via cable operator Telenet's ITV portal). According to Zappware, this combination of two different types of ITV application is "so far unique in Belgium."

Originally Published: October 12, 2007 in [itvt] Issue 7.39 Part 2A

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