French interactive TV technology and services provider, HTTV, contacted [itvt] last week to let us know that it has launched what it says is an end-to-end IP-based solution for designing, creating and managing interactive multichannel video mosaics.Dubbed Prime//Mosaic, and targeted for use on satellite, cable and IPTV networks, the solution tiles several channels within a single video stream, and supports various interactive functions including navigation and selection, i-ads, and links to other interactive TV services.
According to HTTV, Prime//Mosaic is comprised of two main elements: a mosaic builder and an interactive application. The mosaic builder can construct a video mosaic (featuring up to 20 videos per page) from channels that are already encoded and on transponders. The company says that any number of ASI or IP inputs can be plugged into the mosaic machine and that audio feeds are synchronized with the video feed, so that the relevant audio is played when viewers navigate between thumbnails. TV networks can create and manage an interactive mosaic using a drag-and-drop tool, which allows them to add or remove thumbnails, create links, and alter the look-and-feel of their mosaic. HTTV says that Prime//Mosaic is integrated with most headend equipment used by DTV operators and that versions of the product are available for OpenTV, MHP/OCAP and IPTV middleware. According to the company, the product is a comprehensive solution that requires no extra hardware, such as video and audio encoders or multiplexers.
According to HTTV, input source streams for Prime//Mosaic can be Multiple Program Transport Streams (MPTS) or Single Program Transport Streams (SPTS). These streams come to an ASI or an IP interface. The output of the builder is transmitted to an MPEG-2 SD encoder (MPEG-4 support will be available shortly, HTTV says). The output of the encoder is then delivered to a final multiplexer which also manages DVB SI signalization. The multiplexer then generates an SPTS that includes video, several audio tracks, DVB SI and interactivity.
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