Motive plans Tablet TV pilot
April 2, 2013
Motive Television, the London-based television software and services company, has revealed plans to install a full-featured demonstration of its disruptive technology that delivers live broadcast television and video-on-demand to tablets and smartphones beginning mid2013. This is expected to be followed by a market field test with Tablet TV equipped T-Pods later in the year and thereafter a commercial rollout.
As the next step in development, Tablet TV, a joint venture between Motive Television and Granite Broadcasting Corporation in the United States, will unveil a pilot demonstrating the full suite of the Tablet TV features, broadcast directly to tablets over the standard live ATSC digital terrestrial signal. The consumer features available on tablets will be: Live viewing of local broadcast stations, recording of live television with PVR functionality, datacast delivery of video-on-demand content, and integrated social media. All of this will be done in the heart of Silicon Valley at Granite’s KOFY station in San Francisco.
The company says this will underscore the completion of a major milestone as the Tablet TV team, which will have successfully ported Motive Television’s patented technology, that has been in large-scale commercial use in TV broadcasting in Europe since 2009, to tablets using the ATSC broadcast standard. This technological breakthrough permits tablet users to view all television broadcasts receivable from public and commercial television stations in their city and the ability to time-shift the viewing of these programmes. In addition, Motive’s patented Television Anytime Anywhere software will make possible video-on-demand catch-up and additional movies and television programmes directly to the fastest-growing viewing devices – iPads and Android tablets.
An application for a patent of the Tablet TV technology has been filed with the US Patent Office and further patent applications will follow.
Leonard M Fertig, CEO of Motive, said the demonstration pilot was the next step in readying Tablet Television for the US market introduction. “Tablet TV continues to move toward its launch and becoming a significant player in delivering content to the fastest growing segment of television viewing. It will permit the television industry to see Tablet TV in action, prove Tablet TV’s technical capabilities in a television broadcast environment, and make our consumer appeal apparent,” he declared.
Peter Markham, Chairman of Granite Broadcasting Corporation, said the pair were working together to create a new way that American viewers could enjoy their favourite broadcast television programmes on the exponentially-growing number of tablet screens. “As a broadcaster, we see Tablet TV as a source of additional viewing convenience for the public and a win-win for the industry. Granite is looking forward to being the test site and business partner with Motive on this exciting new technology,” he added.