HBO GO online video STB-enabled
September 12, 2014
Colin Mann @ IBC
Cloud-based software platform specialist ActiveVideo is enabling services that for the first time seamlessly integrate premium online content with linear and on-demand channels on existing pay-TV set-top boxes at scale.
By virtualising STB functionality (vSTB) in the cloud, pay-TV and online video providers can partner to deliver both the full content libraries and the rich HTML5 user interfaces of premium online services to any set-top box via pay-TV managed networks.
HBO Europe, which operates in 14 territories in eastern and central Europe and the Netherlands, is using ActiveVideo’s CloudTV StreamCast platform to bring HBO GO to full footprints of existing set-top boxes, targeting existing HBO GO affiliates.
CloudTV StreamCast resolves content experience, content protection and content delivery issues by rendering user interfaces and bridging online and pay-TV DRM and video formats in the cloud. The content and the user interface are delivered as a single interactive MPEG or H.264 video stream via the pay-TV QAM or IP network, eliminating customers’ need for multiple inputs and remote controls when switching between managed and online video services.
“The marriage of libraries of the very best online content and the 10-foot viewing experience of television holds tremendous potential for pay-TV – online video collaboration,” said Jeff Miller, president and CEO of ActiveVideo. “Virtualising STB functionality in the cloud is the key to creating partnerships that can drive audience reach and content expansion for the benefit of both parties.”