--DigiSoft.tv Teams with ATCi on End-to-End IPTV Solution
DigiSoft.tv, a Cork, Ireland-based provider of technologies for developing, deploying and managing interactive TV applications, that has hitherto enjoyed a fair amount of success in the Italian market (note: the company is also attempting to penetrate the US market and now operates an office in Louisville, Colorado), and Tech Mahindra, an Indian company that supplies technologies and services to telcos and that formed a partnership with DigiSoft earlier this year (see [itvt] Issue 7.32 Part 2), have released an application called DigiTracker to the global market. The app, which the companies are billing as a "world first for digital interactive TV," is designed to enable IPTV operators to allow their viewers to track family members' mobile phones: parents, for example, could use it to view on their TV screen the current location of their children's mobile phones. The app also allows text or SMS messages to be sent to the phones that are being tracked.
According to the companies, DigiTracker uses integrations with Location-Based Services and mapping systems to enable the plotting of a mobile phone's location on a map and display it on TV. "There is an immense appeal for this type of technology, as parents concerned about the safety, well-being and location of their children can know exactly where they are," DigiSoft CEO, John Allen, said in a prepared statement. Added Shankar Allimatti, Tech Mahindra's VP of next-generation technologies: "This is the start of a whole new age for TV, as the entire interaction takes place from the armchair at home, while watching a TV show, using nothing more than the TV remote control. DigiSoft's platform enables the rapid development of revenue-generating applications for IPTV service providers. DigiTracker is an example of these advanced applications."
In other DigiSoft news: the company has teamed with Antenna Technology Communications (ATCi), a US-based provider of commercial satellite communications systems, on what the companies are billing as a cost-effective and scalable end-to-end IPTV solution for tier 2 and tier 3 telcos. According to the companies, the solution provides all the components needed for an IPTV video headend, including a Simulsat receive multibeam antenna, a satellite subsystem, and MPEG-4 compression; and an application management server and a "dynamic and customizable" EPG from DigiSoft. The solution sees the latter's DigiHost service delivery platform coupled with a new, low-cost Java set-top box that runs the EPG, a VOD interface, an nPVR interface, and an application launcher with a variety of interactive applications. "With our partnership with DigiSoft, ATCi will be able to deliver cost-effective, highly customizable IPTV Ecosystems to our customers" ATCi's Eric Luttermoser, said in a prepared statement. "The DigiSoft platform will allow us to create custom solutions and applications, deliver targeted relevant advertising to consumers, and create a compelling product offering which will increase ARPU and drive customer satisfaction." Added DigiSoft's SVP of business development, Fintan McKiernan: "This is a critical transition point in the IPTV industry: the first generation of IPTV was all about delivery of MPEG-2 standard-definition video; the new generation of IPTV is much more exciting, marked by the roll-out of MPEG-4 high definition video. Telcos and broadband operators are now looking much more closely at the additional services that can be layered on top of the video offering, not just to increase ARPU but to differentiate their service offering from that of cable and satellite operators. We are very pleased with our global partnership with ATCi, who are a strategic part of our channel strategy at this very exciting time in the industry." The companies say that their new IPTV solution will be priced "aggressively."
Originally Published: October 12, 2007 in [itvt] Issue 7.39 Part 3A
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