3SS partners with TELUS
March 7, 2023
3 Screen Solutions (3SS), a specialist in software for set-top boxes (STB), smart TV and multiscreen entertainment announces partnership with Canadian communication technology company TELUS to launch a new, next-generation TELUS entertainment service, based on the Android TV OS.
The next-generation entertainment service offers over 400 channels, over 80,000 On Demand assets, and includes many popular third party streaming apps. Netflix, YouTube and Prime Video are pre-installed and deep-linked. Customers can also install their favourite streaming apps in Google Play Store. TELUS offers a number of video service features: Additional to live TV, functions include restart, full nPVR, user profiles, 14-day EPG and zones for Sports and Kids.
Core to its strategy to deliver superior Android TV viewing, TELUS chose 3SS’ 3Ready Product Framework for its proven ability to provide a highly viewer-centric, customised UX. TELUS’ in-house team worked closely with 3SS’ UX experts to co-design, co-develop and collaboratively optimise the custom UX’s layout and functionality. By choosing 3Ready, TELUS TV customers enjoy attractive and intuitive content navigation, discovery and selection across content types and sources, all within a harmonious, branded experience. Meanwhile TELUS benefits from 3Ready’s flexibility, its ease of use, and the ability to co-create and make enhancements rapidly.
The co-created 3Ready Custom Launcher is TELUS’ reference UX that can be scaled and applied to additional service apps in the future which means TELUS can powerfully differentiate from its competitors, with enhanced ability to attract and retain customers, which is so business-critical in today’s fragmented video services market.
Among the service’s innovative UX features is users’ ability to re-order homescreen stripes/rails so that favourite apps appear first, and pinning favorite live TV channels for quick access to what’s airing now. Homescreen content recommendations are super-aggregated from all content sources.
TELUS also deployed new 4K Ultra HD Jade set-top box (STB) from VANTIVA, formerly known as Technicolor, which features next generation 16nm silicon, debuting the latest technology standards such as AV1 decoding. TELUS subscribers benefit from a powerful quad-core processor and Bluetooth 5.0 technology. JADE runs on the increasingly popular Android TV operating system that supports delivery of streaming video and music services, online gaming applications and Wi-Fi 6 capabilities.
TELUS chose to build its new TV platform on Android TV for the operating system’s numerous benefits. These include the ability to efficiently launch content-rich services which incorporate all the attractive Google Play Store apps that consumers have come to love on their Android smartphones and voice capabilities powered by Google Assistant. With Android TV, operators can offer their subscribers an expansive array of content, including programming from multiple sources, and rollouts of new features and other innovations are faster than otherwise possible.
“We congratulate TELUS on the launch of their innovative platform for TV and OTT content,” commented Brian Jentz, Vice President Americas at 3SS. “Through close collaboration with multiple technology leaders, and commitment to delivering excellence in consumer UX, TELUS stands apart from the competition, and is now delivering a truly next-level super-aggregated entertainment service to its customers.”
TELUS also deployed the ThinkAnalytics Think360 platform for personalised content discovery and viewer insights for its service. Think360 delivers increased viewer engagement and customer retention while enabling TELUS to perform real-time A/B testing. It places the power of content discovery outcomes in the hands of the TELUS team. In addition, TELUS benefits from the ability to track engagement KPIs, content intelligence metrics, and automated metadata enrichment for multiple languages.
“TELUS is able to fully leverage the Think360 platform from ‘cold start’ viewers all the way through to advanced personalised content discovery and editorially curated campaigns for the optimal user experience,” said Greg Riker, Chief Revenue Officer at ThinkAnalytics. “TELUS offers a mix of live broadcast TV and streaming channels for both English and French Canadians. With such a wide variety of content options and diverse subscriber base, it is imperative to quickly dial-in the best experience for each viewer so that they keep coming back for more. We are excited to be a part of this advanced deployment with TELUS and our partners,” he added.
The remote control for TELUS is powered by remote control manufacturer t4h. (Tech4home) and is equipped with the latest technical innovations and sustainability features. It is cast with PCR ABS and has backlit buttons with laser etching technology, and a dual-sensor mechanism that activates the backlight system. With Voice Search and Display Assisted Setup for seamless TV pairing, this remote control makes home entertainment simple and easy. The Over the Air Download feature allows for wireless firmware and Universal Database (UDB) upgrades, ensuring that the TELUS remote will always be up to date.
“t4h. is proud to provide such a highly innovative remote to give TELUS’ customers the ultimate control and user experience. This collaboration is a testament of our commitment to delivering high-end remote controls and the best UX,” said Graça Candido, Commercial Director at t4h.
“In an extremely competitive video distribution market, consumers expect both value and performance,” said Mercedes Pastor, SVP Global Customer Unit at VANTIVA.
“Value, in this case, emerges from ease of use, intuitive navigation — to rapidly find desired content — and the ability to manage content and advanced features from multiple sources in an integrated manner. VANTIVA’s collaboration with TELUS and 3SS offers a great example of how these value propositions can be brought to market. VANTIVA is the global leader in Android TV video customer premises equipment. Our JADE STB platform allows TELUS to tailor its content delivery service to the specific needs of its subscribers, optimising the customer experience and allowing subscribers throughout the home to enjoy seamless entertainment experiences.”
“In collaboration with our esteemed partners, we are thrilled to bring a truly world-class entertainment platform to our customers. Our platform delivers a superior service, centered around an intuitive customer user experience,” said Tim Fell, Vice-president, Future Friendly Technology Services, TELUS. “With the flexibility and capability to co-create and co-develop, 3Ready has proven to be a powerful foundation to build our next generation of experiences that will bring great entertainment to customers on all their favorite devices.”