Keisense's Interactive TV Platform Integrated with DiviNet's IPTV Solution

Keisense, a Hartford, Connecticut-based developer of user interface technologies for consumer electronics devices, and DiviNet, an Indian company that offers an end-to-end IPTV solution (note: the solution is billed as including NOC and customer premises equipment, multicast streaming, encoding, VOD streaming and storage, middleware, DRM, CRM, billing interfaces and various application frameworks; according to DiviNet, it has been deployed by Indian telco, BSNL, to power an IPTV service currently available in 21 cities in five Indian states), said Monday that they have successfully integrated Keisense's ConnecTiVi user interface platform with DiviNet's IPTV solution.

Keisense bills ConnecTiVi, which incorporates predictive text technology, as "allowing interactive messaging using the simple TV remote controller" and as enabling viewers to "chat with friends about the TV program they are both watching, search for content to share with friends over the TV screen, [and] search for the next sports event using [the company's] advanced content and functional discovery solution." The companies say that their joint solution--which they claim will enable operators to develop and deploy "powerful interactive applications"--is currently available on WiceBox, DiviNet's IPTV set-top box, and that it will eventually also support various cable and DTH platforms. It will be offered to operators through DiviNet's deployment company, WICE Net, which is working with DiviNet on the BSNL deployment as well as on an IPTV deployment in Ghana on the Vodafone Ghana network. "We look forward to working together with WICE Net to drive new interactive applications to the big screen" Keisense president and CEO, Santosh Sharan, said in a prepared statement. "The integrated platform takes advantage of WICE Net's widely deployed IPTV footprint and opens up an enormous market for developers of social networking and messaging applications." Added DiviNet managing director and CTO, PR Eknath: "Interactive TV services are true market differentiators in this dynamic market. The combined DiviNet-Keisense solution overcomes the hurdles of text-driven interaction with legacy TV systems and opens the door to many new applications. Keisense's predictive user interface provides an intuitive and enjoyable way for users to use new applications."

Keisense and DiviNet say that they are planning to use the ConnecTiVi platform to introduce community chat and messaging services around popular TV shows "as a pilot service to WICE Net's existing customer base." The companies also say that they are jointly designing "new search and interactive reality TV applications that will generate new revenue streams for IPTV service providers and cable operators."