Espial IPTV Middleware. Evo Solution Whitepaper. <Title> Delivering Interactive, Personalized 3-Screen Services

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1 Espial IPTV Middleware Evo Solution Whitepaper Delivering Interactive, Personalized 3-Screen Services <Title> April 2010 Espial Group All rights reserved

2 The 3-Screen Challenge Differentiate your TV services with personalized, interactive, 3- screen web and web video applications. Digital TV operators across the world are focused on growing their subscriber base for triply and quad-play services. To do this, they must differentiate their TV services with new, personalized, interactive 3-screen applications. Unfortunately, they are typically hampered by proprietary, closed middleware platforms. Espial IPTV Middleware is an open, high-performance system with easy-to-use tools to design and deliver personalized, interactive TV applications. In the following pages, this paper considers the following questions: Why does middleware often fail to deliver new applications and increase revenues? What should a next-generation IPTV middleware application platform provide? Why is it so important to customize the interface? Why does the meta-data matter to content & application delivery? How can operators deliver uniform applications to all screens and devices? 2

3 TODAY CLOSED, PROPRIETARY MIDDLEWARE Today s digital TV operators are hindered by the following limitations: TV application development is closed to operators and third parties Application delivery is complex to integrate and is tied to proprietary platforms. Application development is time-consuming and performance is often very poor as there is no separation of the presentation layer from the content & data layers. The subscriber experience cannot be personalized and the operator is unable to target subscriber preferences. It has been difficult to integrate the TV with other home devices such as mobile phones and PCs. The net results - operators are unable to drive their own interactive service roadmap. TOMORROW OPEN MIDDLEWARE APPLICATION PLATFORM Espial delivers an open, standards-based platform to address these shortcomings with the following features: Customization Toolkits Create applications in-house or with 3rd parties using easy-to -use Software Development Kits Leverage web applications for a mash-up and deliver new applications quickly. Take complete control of the TV user interface using the Evo Content Development Kit (CDK). Meta-Data Definition Define, organize and present content using powerful content meta-data features. Personalize, target and build user preferences using subscriber meta-data features. 3-Screen Support Separate content meta-data from presentation allowing applications to be delivered to the TV, PC or mobile screens. Leverage & share content and applications between screens using web-centric standards & tools. Bridge devices in a whole home environment using an Integration Development Kit (IDK). 3

4 ESPIAL IPTV MIDDLEWARE An Open Platform With Espial IPTV Middleware, TV operators can maximize video and applications consumption by personalizing the subscriber experience. Espial provides a scalable and continuously available system for delivering and managing TV Services. It is purpose-built to provide a superior user experience while meeting the rigorous service delivery requirements of large and small operators. The strength of Espial's technology and products is based on an open architecture and open standards. Using open SDKs, this allows reliable integration of key ecosystem components into an overall solution including third-party STBs, Conditional Access, VOD servers, Encoders and other applications. Since the solution is based on standards and a web services paradigm, the platform is also opens to 3rd parties. It also provides customizable meta-data to define content and target subscribers. The platform separates presentation and applications for highperformance service delivery to all screens. 4

5 Delivering A Superior TV User Experience An operator defines their brand through the TV user experience. Excellent UI and application design drives subscriber retention and pay-tv services. Espial IPTV middleware offers operators full control over their user interface, navigation and context. This allows operators to build solutions that increase consumption of revenue-generating and service differentiating applications. Customizing your TV experience is easy with Espial IPTV Middleware: Provides total control of the layout using HTML & Images. Add logic using Javascript & meta-data. Create TV applications using plugins. Serve the applications from the set-top box or from a web server using HTTP. 5

6 ESPIAL CUSTOMIZATION Espial provides a Content Development Kit which is PCbased. It features a content and user interface authoring environment that leverages HTML, Javascript and a set of optimized TV extensions. User interfaces are built on standard HTML pages supplemented with Javascript for logic and TV application plugins. Plugins are available as templates that require virtually no programming. They pack TV functionality into objects that take care of the programming logic: for example, they can provide EPG or Parental Controls. Applications are not platform-specific or dependent on chipsets, OS s and programming languages. This allows to operators to design their TV user interface and easily port it to new set-top boxes from the same or different manufacturers. The UI and applications can run on the client device or in a client-server configuration using a web portal server. A client-based delivery approach provides the most efficient network utilization and best application performance. Espial utilizes an unique HTML pre-compilation which multicasts the UI and applications to client devices. This approach eliminates send -request interactions typical of most web applications and provides the best application performance. The development model is simple compared to traditional setplatform specific and closed middleware solutions. It uses common web technologies and can be delivered over IP or broadcast transport. This allows operators to rapidly develop and deliver new applications to the set-top boxes in their ecosystem. ENABLE A COMMUNITY The Content Development Kit (CDK) also allows 3 rd party developers to build UIs and applications. Operators can independently arrange for their party development to execute their implementation there is no need to work with a middleware vendor for custom changes. Web and UI developments can easily build new application Espial uses a web paradigm and uses known standards like HTTP, HTML & Javascript. This means operators can leverage an existing base of applications and developers to bring interactivity to the TV. 6

7 MetaData The Foundation for Targeting Meta-Data is the key to personalizing applications, promotions and services to your subscribers. In addition to openness and customization, the middleware platform must support the creation, storage and delivery of useful content and subscriber meta-data. The following features are key to enable personalization: Ingest content meta-data and create products for the subscriber. Define billing models like pay-per-view, a la carte or subscription for content, including content from third-parties Extend meta-data to create personalized, targeted applications that increase usage, and drive revenue. With Espial, the operator can define a highly personalized TV service. By harnessing subscriber meta-data properties, operators can deliver targeted interactive features across all devices and all screens. The operator can also define advertising that targets specific preferences. In combination with profiling or end-user preference engines, operators can showcase high margin content and increase the likelihood of purchase. 7

8 META-DATA TO PROMOTE CONTENT Operators struggle to promote and monetize VOD content in the short time window the content is available. Subscribers are often are overwhelmed with the sheer volume of available movies. Ideally, operators would present the VOD content of most interest to a particular subscriber. This requires an intelligent server middleware as well as a well-designed user interface. With a well-designed UI, operators can effectively serve advertisements and promotions to their subscribers. With an intelligent and open server middleware, they can use and customize meta-data to personalize the user experience. This allows them to target content and advertising to a subscriber s preferences. For developers, the content and subscriber meta-data is accessible through Javascript APIs. It can be harnessed for the user interfaced by the operator or via a third party developer. Developers can create, define and modify the user experience based on usage and user preferences. For example: Meta-data extensions data can include URLs, related products, user preferences, logical user groups, advertisements, images, services. Operators can easily incorporate a recommendation engine by defining content and subscriber meta-data that matches their preferences. Operators can profile content usage and update content meta -data based on subscriber usage patterns. Meta-data is dynamic it can be changed on-the-fly. Developers can customize meta-data with in-house operator data using Espial Javascript APIs. INTEGRATE ON-DEMAND CONTENT WITH TV With complete control of the interface design and meta-data definitions, operators can build interactive applications and effectively promote their products. Here are a few examples of what they can implement: Change the content that is presented based on the end-user preferences. Create a landing page with a series of targeted advertisements and promotions whenever the TV is turned on. Targeting can be based on content availability, region, or unique subscriber meta-data. Redirect users to the VOD portal whenever they hit the end of the channel list. Use EPG data to redirect the user to other interesting content such as On-Demand content, related episodes or movies. Augment EPG & VOD data with links to third-party content meta-data. This provides operators with total control over the user interface, the content and, ultimately, their subscribers. These capabilities are provided in an easy to manage and understand workflow, extensive management tools, and complete PC Content Development Environment (CDE). Operators can simply and rapidly develop, manage and deploy targeted and personalized services. 8

9 Anytime, Anywhere TV Services The television remains the preferred way to watch video content. Internet video offers a new opportunity for TV operators to deliver TV, VOD content and interactivity to their subscribers. With the right middleware, Pay TV operators can define, create and deliver exciting user experiences across PCs, TVs and mobile phones. A unified experience adds value for the customer and increases consumption. Espial IPTV Middleware is an excellent platform to unify applications across screens and devices for the operator. It features the following capabilities: Meta-data is separated from the presentation layer and can be used for web services on any screen (TV, mobile, PC). Devices may be bridged and content shared within the home using our set-top box middleware which is portable and separates presentation & applications from the hardware. Operators can build and test innovative applications using Espial s Content Development Environment (CDE) 9

10 THE 3 SCREEN EXPERIENCE Overview Espial IPTV Middleware extends the video experience to PCs and mobile devices. Web applications developed with Javascript can be redirected to a set-top box by a content management system or an existing application server by calibrating the content for the set-top box environment. The separation of presentation and data allows operators to generate on-demand portals for the PC or a mobile device. The operator can use a standard PC or mobile browser or client applications (iphone or Android apps) as desired by the operator. Content & subscriber meta-data is available to any of the devices the subscriber is authenticated on. This enables compelling applications including VOD catalogue browsing, remote DVR recording and place shifting across devices. For these nextgeneration services, operators can integrate these types of services with powerful personalization and targeting features. This allows operators to create a compelling personalized, interactive user experience across devices. Web Mash-Up Espial IPTV Middleware enables a full range of Web applications and services such as: Retrieve HTML text from a web server providing RSS feeds. Login into a proxy for Facebook and announce the currently viewed TV show. Use Picasa to run a photo slideshow on their TV. Combine interactive applications with video, enable picture and picture with multiple interactive or video sources (broadcast, video on demand, over the top or web video) in a graphically seamless user experience. Over- the-top Video and Web Services For a complete web experience, operators can also use the Espial TV Browser which features: Open Internet and web capabilities to provide a PC-like browsing experience on TV. Complete Adobe Flash video and HTML 5 video capabilities to deliver web video to TV including YouTube and other Premium video sites (i.e. Netflix). Full compliancy with CE-HTML, SVG and 3D CSS technologies to extend and enable the user experience and services on the platform. Whole Home Applications Operators are keen to grow their presence within the home. Espial s multi-screen capabilities and elegant architecture enable subscriptions across multiple devices. Espial supports whole home applications such as: Whole Home DVR Purchase Video-on-Demand on one set-top and view on another one. Enable DLNA applications on supported set-top boxes to move media like Photos, Videos, Music between home devices set-tops, PCs, Cameras, etc. 10

11 CONCLUSION To drive a personalized, interactive 3-screen TV experience, TV operators need a middleware platform that gives them full control over application design, delivery and maintenance. It is also essential that meta-data can be ingested, customized and harnessed to personalize the user experience. Finally, it must support development of applications across set-top boxes, mobile devices and computers. With these capabilities, operators can promote value-added content, create a compelling personalized TV experience and provide their service anywhere, anytime. Espial IPTV Middleware provides a simple path for operators to boost their revenues and differentiate their TV service. 11