ATIS IPTV Interoperability Forum Releases Five New Standards

–New Standards Represent Conclusion of Phase 1 of IIF’s Three-Phase Work Plan

Standards-development organization, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), last week released five new standards which it bills as establishing IPTV’s “foundational framework.” The standards, which were created by ATIS’ IPTV Interoperability Forum (IIF), conclude Phase 1 of the IIF’s three-phase Work Plan: Phase 1’s goal was to standardize linear TV service over an IP network.
ATIS says that work has already begun on Phase 2 of the plan, which will focus on interactive services, including on-demand applications and pay-per-view programming. Phase 3, which is scheduled to begin in 2011, will focus on what ATIS describes as IPTV’s “most demanding” applications, including multi-party video conferencing and next-generation gaming.

The newly completed Phase 1 standards documents are:
–“IPTV Linear TV Service” (ATIS-0800018), which is billed as establishing IPTV’s “fundamental building blocks” for expansion into more advanced services, including pay-per-view and next-generation gaming.
–“IPTV Consumer Domain Device Configuration Metadata” (ATIS-0800022), which specifies the data structures (metadata) required to provide basic information needed to acquire IPTV content.
–“Media Formats and Protocols for IPTV Services” (ATIS-0800013), which is billed as a comprehensive listing of the protocols and media formats required for the implementation of IPTV-related services.
–“IPTV Terminal Metadata Specification” (ATIS-0800029), which ATIS says defines the data structure that facilitates the exchange of user-related data and the IPTV devices.
–“Fault Codes for IPTV” (ATIS-0800028), which includes a categorized listing of fault codes for IPTV functions and components.

Copies of the standards documents are available through the ATIS Document Center at: https://www.atis.org/docstore. “The IIF’s completion of Phase 1 work is a significant step forward towards enabling tomorrow’s innovative IPTV ecosystem,” ATIS president and CEO, Susan Miller, said in a prepared statement. “Representing the IPTV ecosystem’s companies, the IIF has distinguished itself as a leader in IPTV interoperability standards development. Going forward, the IIF’s open, pragmatic approach will ensure it continues to lead in this paradigm-shifting technology’s realization.”

Brandon Brown Named CEO of Zodiac Interactive

–Round-Up of Recent Zodiac Interactive News

Interactive TV software provider, Zodiac Interactive, has named Brandon Brown CEO. He replaces Zodiac’s co-founder, Michael Rivkin, who will now become CTO. The company says that Brown will be tasked with identifying new business opportunities as it “moves into a new growth stage.” “Brandon is a seasoned IT veteran, bringing to Zodiac more than 20 years’ experience executing and growing profitable businesses for both commercial and open-source markets, and we’re pleased to have his multinational expertise,” Zodiac co-founder and COO, Alex Libkind, said in a prepared statement. Added Brown: “Zodiac has done an excellent job driving ITV standards into the cable market and creating a platform that allows Interactive Television 2.0 to run across any combination of tru2way devices. Interoperability is key to a successful ITV rollout, and Zodiac removes those concerns from operators with its PowerUp framework, allowing operators to offer these exciting new services more quickly to their subscribers. I’m thrilled to join the Zodiac team at this stage in the company’s growth, so they can answer the demand from operators for true ITV ubiquity, while keeping an eye on new and additional opportunities in the entertainment industry.”

According to Zodiac Interactive, companies built and run by Brown have resulted in one IPO and four successful mergers, and have delivered revenues of up to $95 million annually, while achieving growth rates of 40-200% per year, and market cap values of more than $600 million. His resume lists stints in senior management at several start-ups, including Sigaba, a provider of secure messaging solutions, and Persistence Software, a database middleware company subsequently acquired by Progress Software. He has also held sales executive positions at GE Financial and Lockheed Martin. He has a BA from Queen’s College, and also studied finance and brokerage operations at NYU.

In other recent Zodiac Interactive news:
–The company is demo’ing a tru2way-based movie guide at the NCTA Cable Show in Washington, DC this week (note: for more on this, see the story published on itvt.com earlier this week).
–Last month, the company announced that it has integrated its PowerUp platform with products from Geneva-based set-top box manufacturer, Advanced Digital Broadcast (note: the latter, generally referred to by the acronym, ADB, is the sister company of Osmosys and Vidiom Systems). PowerUp is Zodiac’s tru2way framework, billed by the company as a common platform of open API’s and libraries that allow for a broad range of applications to be developed and to interoperate across multiple devices. Zodiac and ADB claim that their combined solution will allow operators to deploy tru2way and EBIF applications (including advanced guides, targeted advertising and TV widgets) more quickly. Integration with Zodiac’s PowerUp framework will enable ADB set-tops to support a range of ITV applications offered by the software provider, including local restaurant searching, click-to-call, games, photo-sharing, weather, traffic, sports scores and local news. The companies also claim that developers will benefit from the integration, because they will now be able to build tru2way applications to the PowerUp framework’s specifications without worrying about interoperability with any tru2way component already deployed by an operator. “Zodiac’s tru2way technology has proven its performance with ADB’s tru2way set-tops and software,” Zodiac’s Michael Rivkin said in a prepared statement. “After almost a year of continual testing we could not be more pleased with the results. Although tru2way creates a national footprint for applications to run across multiple operators, the technology does in fact depend on various interfaces working together. That’s where Zodiac’s PowerUp plays a key role in integrating multiple steps, offering a streamlined application-development process.” At the Cable Show this week, Zodiac and ADB have been demo’ing Zodiac’s PowerUp for tru2way technology integrated with Osmosys software running on an ADB-6880 CDMX tru2way DVR.
–Also last month, the company announced a partnership with ActiveVideo Networks, which it says will enable cable operators that are deploying tru2way technology to bring Web-infused TV experiences to their subscribers. Under the terms of the companies’ agreement, Zodiac’s PowerUp framework software for tru2way and PowerTV will incorporate an ActiveVideo client, making it easier for operators to deploy ActiveVideo services on their tru2way or PowerTV set-tops. The companies also plan to collaborate on the development of new applications for the Zodiac ActiveVideo client that they say will “facilitate true interoperability and transparency across all TV services” including linear TV, VOD, EBIF services and advanced advertising. ActiveVideo Networks’ flagship ActiveVideo Distribution Network is billed by the company as combining standard Web technologies for authoring and distribution with network processing, in order to create a single, personalized, interactive MPEG stream for delivery to an individual subscriber’s digital set-top box or Web-connected CE device; the ActiveVideo client enables viewers to navigate on-screen MPEG content via remote-control keyclicks: each keyclick is sent upstream to server-based processors that modify the stream in real time. According to Zodiac and ActiveVideo Networks, Zodiac’s integration of the ActiveVideo client will extend tru2way with tools and infrastructure that use Web technologies to expedite the development and deployment of applications with rich, Web-connected personalized content, including search and recommendation apps. The integrated solution will allow operators to rapidly deploy such rich-media apps as advertising microsites, customizable navigational mosaics and Web-like search functionality, the companies say. “With the ActiveVideo client as part of our PowerUp framework, ActiveVideo’s Web environment can extend the capabilities of tru2way to allow cable system operators, traditional programmers and Web media content providers to more easily include the powerful ActiveVideo Web development environment and personalized, interactive Web services within their tru2way PowerUp deployments,” Zodiac’s Alex Libkind said in a prepared statement.
–In January, the company announced that it had signed an agreement with Korean tru2way and MHP specialist, Alticast, to bundle its PowerUp for tru2way technology with Alticast’s AltiCaptor firmware. The companies claim that the combined solution will allow MSO’s to more easily offer advanced interactive services, including interactive user interfaces, guides, messaging, EBIF applications and TV widgets. They say that their first joint effort will be to deliver a solution that powers Cisco (Scientific-Atlanta) tru2way set-top boxes. Alticast was responsible for the world’s first commercial deployment of tru2way (then OCAP)–with Korean MSO, CJ CableNet. The company says that it is currently acting as a prime integrator and solutions provider for similar large-scale tru2way platform projects with other major cable operators. “Alticast’s experience with major chip designs is unmatched in the industry,” Alticast general manager, Jeff Bonin, said in a prepared statement. “By delivering reduced cost and time-to-market, Alticast enables CE’s to more readily leverage new SoC designs that ultimately drive consumer adoption. For MSO’s this means they can more easily realize reduced cost for deploying new interactive services and increase quality of service. They can further differentiate themselves to drive subscriber retention and revenue through innovative services and products enabled by Zodiac’s PowerUp Framework.”