| NAB is one of the year’s major events for us. It’s a great opportunity to sync up face-to-face with a broad base of our customers and partners. As for the traffic this year, I will echo some comments I’ve heard – the attendance was down, but the quality of attendees remained high.
One thing that the NAB experience demonstrates is that the technology innovation around video delivery certainly hasn’t slowed down. We are seeing a rapid evolution of TV platforms and services, which is feeding into the overall converged TV movement. Here are some observations from our team’s immersion in these trends:
1) Next Generation TV User Experience
The user interface of TV in general is changing – just like it is on the computer desktop. What would most people consider the most commonly invoked interface on their PC today – Windows or a Web browser? The answer might lie in how many people have installed Google Desktop tools. And, an interesting note, YouTube is now considered the second largest search engine. The point is that the role of presentation middleware is shifting from a static, walled garden catalog to a much more open application environment. Users are attracted to interactive and personalized services. The entire delivery chain will become more streamlined and more user-friendly. Content security is still an important ingredient, but it must also meet the challenge of being streamlined and transparent as consumption models evolve.
2) Simplify life by increasing the value of your device
We are continuing to see more features integrated directly into consumer devices. Most TVs feature an Ethernet jack and game consoles are fired up and able to connect to the Internet. Broadcom chipsets in current set-top boxes are now embedded directly into next-generation TV sets. Of course we’d like our content protection available in all of these devices, which we feel further enhances their value. We’ve already announced our partnership with Neotion and are working with other components players to extend our reach. We anticipate a lot of activity in this space as consumers vote with their dollars on devices and services. For proof, review the news and sessions from NAB.
3) Easy (and secure) TV-based commerce
Service providers are always looking for “stickiness” to attract and retain customers. We are seeing more progress with interactive advertising – particularly the model that ZillionTV has introduced – that allows subscribers to order products directly from their TV. IP-based services have an edge here because of the inherent nature of two-way networks. Plus the infrastructure already exists to handle these transactions in a secure manner. Purchases appear on customer's regular monthly bills and the purchase process is similar to online shopping experiences people are comfortable with. Keep a close eye on the success of ZillionTV and others.
4) TV widgets – Fact or Fantasy?
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Picture this. You bring home a new 60” plasma TV and when you plug it in – into both the wall and your Internet jack, “widgets” (or apps) appear on the screen, like for Netflix or YouTube. One of the widgets is to subscribe to a pay-TV service. When you click on it, it takes you to a browser that automatically downloads the middleware, content protection/authorization, etc. that you need to begin watching TV immediately. This market clearly has not developed yet for the TV, however it is not hard to imagine that it could . . . one day soon.
5) Naturally, we have an opinion on the recent judgments in the Pirate Bay case in Sweden . . . 3 down, 3 million to go!
6) And the biggest new thing from NAB . . . DVB!
Ok, DVB-based networks are certainly not new, however since launching our latest version VCAS for DVB last year, it is a rapidly growing part of our install base. We are now talking with a new category of operators that is 25 times the size of the current addressable IPTV market. Operators that are interested in our highly flexible content security solution are not just those with eye on evolution to hybrid networks. Current one-way, or broadcast only, operators are very pleased to have an alternative option to the legacy vendors.
Next stop, ANGA Cable show in Germany.
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