OpenTV Launches Core3 Middleware, System Integrator Program

At the IBC show in Amsterdam, interactive TV and advanced advertising technology provider, OpenTV, has launched the latest version of its OpenTV Core middleware platform and a new System Integrator Partner Program, and has announced that it will make its a SDK Development Suite available to developers free of charge. The company has also been showcasing its support for over-the-top video and pull-VOD.

According to the company, OpenTV Core3, which it says will be available to select customers by mid-2010, is "engineered to enable technology choice by operators" and combines a "top-to-bottom open architecture" with a unique design that simplifies the integration and deployment of "everything from complex user interfaces to consumer services and application widgets." "Core3 is not just another middleware platform; it's a generational shift in middleware innovation," OpenTV CEO, Ben Bennett, said in a prepared statement. "With Core3, OpenTV is reasserting its commitment to operator choice by providing a unique middleware architecture that is not only the most open and modular, but also embraces the latest industry standard for application development."

OpenTV says that Core3 accelerates the deployment of third-party applications, and features support for HTML/JavaScript, Adobe Flash, and "industry standards demanded by the marketplace." It will also offer an adaptable framework, the company promises, that will enable operators to easily support new features and functionalities that may emerge in the future, and also to tailor their offerings based on local market requirements. The company says that the platform's "unique degree of openness" will allow pay-TV operators and third parties to innovate and "leverage the most powerful tools for creating compelling user experiences without hindering engineering efforts and initiatives."

According to OpenTV, its new System Integrator Partner Program (SIPP) is designed to provide partner companies that use its technology with the tools and knowledge needed to deliver "state-of-the-art" services to its international customer base, including set-top box porting, network integration, interactive application development and other systems integration services. Initial members of the program include Corpus Media Labs, Orange Business Services, S3 and Triple Play Integration. OpenTV says the program underscores its commitment to deploying open solutions and complements its existing relationships with such partners as Cisco, Irdeto and Nagravision. "As our business continues to grow, it is important for us to leverage our partnerships with the industry's leading system integrators to meet and surpass our customers' needs and expectations," Tracy Geist, OpenTV's SVP of business development, said in a prepared statement. "Through this new program, we're combining our middleware expertise with the finest skills in porting and system integration to deliver robust solutions with the best viewing experiences to our customers and viewers worldwide in the fastest time possible."

OpenTV says that the new program allows members to work independently or jointly with it to create solutions around its platform. Benefits claimed by the company for the program include: the licensing of its middleware technology to partners at no cost for integration purposes; early visibility into its product roadmap; the ability to fully complete an integration without relying on outside parties; and freedom for partners to develop their own solutions.

The OpenTV SDK Development Suite that the company is licensing to developers free of charge, meanwhile, is billed as an integrated interactive application development environment for OpenTV middleware that allows developers to create interactive TV apps using the complete functionality of an OpenTV-enabled set-top box. According to the company, developers will now have free access to a set of development tools that includes an integrated development environment (IDE), a virtual set-top box (VSTB), an SDK application programming interface (API) and SDK tools. The company says that the SDK tools will include a bundled development solution to code, compile, step-by-step debug, generate and optimize interactive applications, all with free access to documentation and testing on a VSTB. "OpenTV believes it is important to open up to the community of developers and enable more companies to write and pitch truly compelling interactive applications," OpenTV's SVP of sales, Mike Ivanchenko, said in a prepared statement. "Our SDK suite will also allow manufacturers to write and test applications more easily than ever. This will strengthen the OpenTV ecosystem by enabling developers to create and offer compelling applications with our suite of tools."

Finally, the pull-VOD/OTT support that OpenTV is demo'ing at the show and that is part of the latest release of the company's Core2 middleware includes, according to the company, standard integration with CDN infrastructure and Internet Web servers using any HTTP-based server and CDN, thus minimizing the need for specialized and costly servers and infrastructure; a flexible container format that works with any content type (including VOD products, video and audio assets targeted at portable devices, and standalone applications); flexible business rule support to manage local content availability windows and also implement models based on targeted advertising; bandwidth management tools, such as the ability to schedule and prioritize downloads and to manage delivery of multiple content streams to the set-top box simultaneously without negatively impacting the user experience; progressive download technology which enables viewing of pull-VOD content during download; and Web video content integration in order to enhance the broadcast content experience by offering relevant supporting materials such as actor screen tests, promotional photos and movie reviews.