AirTies incorporates ABR for OTT
March 21, 2011
AirTies is incorporating support for Adaptive Bit Rate (ABR) standards into its future and existing range of set-top boxes. AirTies will be supporting both the Microsoft Smooth Streaming and Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming approach to live video streaming which cuts the video traffic into chunks and adapts it dynamically to available bandwidth to offer an optimised, uninterrupted service for online video. The addition of Adaptive Bit Rate support is particularly targeted at OTT services as it will improve the viewer experience and offer a better quality, scalable service up to HD resolution to mirror more closely the traditional broadcast video experience.
AirTies is already integrated with several of the market leaders in ABR technologies like Anevia and Envivio, enabling it to become one of the first STB vendors to introduce ABR into their devices. AirTies has also optimised the live video streaming communication protocols to allow fast channel change without the need for any additional hardware.
According to Jim Lomax, EVP Sales & Marketing of AirTies, “We are seeing the demand for OTT services escalating. The motivation for the latest technology innovation was driven by customer demand and there are already pilots in progress in Europe. Incorporating support for different live streaming ABR protocols can only serve to narrow the divide between broadcast and OTT services as it addresses head on the key differentiator of quality of the user’s viewing experience.”