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–Integrates Adobe’s Flash Lite Software into its Middleware
–Teams with eventIS on End-to-End Cable VOD System
–Unveils “Next-Generation” Interface, OpenTV Core nX

Interactive TV middleware and advanced advertising technology provider, OpenTV, generated a fair amount of news at the IBC show in Amsterdam earlier this month:

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• The company announced a deal with Adobe Systems, under which it is integrating the latter’s Flash Lite software into its middleware as an additional application environment. This, the companies say, will complement OpenTV’s standard and HTML offerings, further enhance its platform’s support for Web browsing, and facilitate the development of rich applications and user interfaces. The new agreement builds on a longstanding relationship between OpenTV and Adobe, and, the companies say, will also see OpenTV joining Adobe’s Open Screen Project and working with Adobe and other members of that initiative to define the TV profile and Open Screen requirements in order to help enable improved user experiences on TV screens. The Open Screen Project, which was launched in May, is billed as bringing together industry leaders to deliver a consistent runtime environment across desktops, televisions and mobile devices by using Adobe Flash technology and Adobe AIR software. “This collaboration is significant in that it brings two market leaders together to provide the best solutions for consumers of digital television,” Tracy Geist, OpenTV’s SVP of market development, said in a prepared statement. “By combining our technologies, the authoring and development benefits of Adobe Flash with the digital TV experience and technology of OpenTV, we’re opening the door to a host of new service possibilities for operators and developers worldwide.” Added Gary Kovacs, VP and general manager of mobile and devices at Adobe: “Together, Adobe and OpenTV can push the boundaries of digital TV application development and bridge the gap between various sources of content, such as Web and television. By combining the rich graphical effects of Flash technology with the advanced features of OpenTV’s Core middleware, we’re enabling developers of digital television services to leverage the best technologies for the delivery of advanced services to consumers worldwide.” According to OpenTV, the first commercial deployment of its Core2 middleware with integrated Adobe Flash support will take place in the Japanese market in the second half of 2009. The company says that the incorporation of Flash into its middleware will enable its customers to easily combine Web technologies, such as HTML and Flash, in order to deploy “new, rich services faster and readily generate time-sensitive applications such as advertising and other enhanced TV applications.”
• The company announced that it has partnered with Dutch VOD technology specialist, eventIS, to assemble an end-to-end VOD system for cable networks that offers various advanced features, including HD support, start-over TV and catch-up TV. The system, which was showcased at the IBC, is based on the eventIS backoffice solution, which features PRODIS and TRAXIS, on OpenTV’s Core2 middleware, and also on the latter’s HTML browser solution, which it says is used in numerous cable VOD deployments around the world. According to the companies, the eventIS backoffice looks after content and transaction management and includes pre-packaged VOD content available on a free, subscription or pay-per-view basis. It also includes off-air content capture, accessed through both start-over and catch-up TV services. Meanwhile, the OpenTV client middleware solution supports rapid deployment of visually rich applications across a diverse range of set-top boxes, the companies say, including HTML-based applications that allow cable operators to create VOD storefronts. “We are developing solutions to make TV personal,” eventIS CEO, Erwin van Dommelen, said in a prepared statement. “This partnership with OpenTV perfectly complements that goal and has already led to several installations around the globe.” OpenTV and eventIS say that their joint solution is already being deployed by a number of major cable operators around the world, including Ziggo in the Netherlands, VOO in Belgium, and StarHub in Singapore. It is also slated for deployment with a large operator in Austria, the companies say.
• The company used the IBC show to launch of its “next-generation” user interface, OpenTV Core nX, which it bills as allowing viewers to “create a virtual living room where they can expand and personalize their media universe while enjoying programming with friends and family.” According to the company, Core nX will 1) enable viewers to build their own TV community, using “buddy lists” to share program ratings and recommendations, comment on programming in real time, and find new content quickly and easily; and 2) enable viewers to “bring relevant content to the forefront of the television experience” via an intuitive and unified media interface that can be used without leaving the viewing environment.
• The company used the IBC to showcase new PVR deployment models which it says are enabled by its Core2 middleware and take advantage of USB technology–including 1) the ability for operators to deploy PVR services via low-cost in-field upgrades and to launch individual, “a la carte” features such as live pause; and 2) the ability for consumers to expand their PVR storage incrementally. The company also used the IBC to demonstrate how its technologies enable addressable advertising from PVR. According to the company, dynamic insertion of ads through its PVR platform will allow advertisers to 1) address advertising based on individual user profiles, thus increasing relevance, keeping ad content fresh, and thereby increasing the likelihood that that advertising will be watched; and 2) to measure viewership. In addition, OpenTV showcased technologies which it claims allow network operators to differentiate their hybrid VOD services by 1) leveraging broadcast and broadband infrastructure to manage network bandwidth and maximize the efficiency of content delivery; 2) personalizing and targeting VOD content based on subscriber preferences in order to better realize the benefit of long-tail content; and 3) combining multiple media types and content formats to extend the VOD experience beyond the traditional model and enable portability to other devices. (Note: for recent OpenTV corporate news, see article in this issue; and for an in-depth interview with OpenTV CEO, Ben Bennett, in which he discusses the company’s “three-phase” strategy, see [itvt] Issue 8.01.)