Alcatel-Lucent Unveils "Multimedia Solutions" for Three-Screen Video Delivery

At the IPTV World Forum in London, Tuesday, Alcatel-Lucent launched a set of "Multimedia Solutions" that it says will enable service providers to launch an array of new service offerings and will enable consumers to access those services "wherever they are, on any screen." The company bills the solutions, which it says are commercially available today, as unifying the delivery of video, TV and multimedia content to any connected device, including TV's, PC's and mobile phones; and as supporting a comprehensive multimedia strategy focused on the delivery of a wide range of services, including live TV, VOD and network PVR, to subscribers in any location.

According to Alcatel-Lucent, its "multimedia strategy" enables seamless connections between the various multimedia delivery systems available today, allowing service providers to "dramatically" reduce the time, complexity and cost inherent in creating services for the various screens it supports. This, the company says, will help service provides stimulate video consumption and revenue from increased digital content transactions.

According to the company, its new set of "Multimedia Solutions" consists of:

• The Multiscreen Video Solution, which it says ties together existing networks, allowing service providers to extend their fixed IPTV or cable TV service to smartphones, PC's, tablets and a range of other connected devices.
• The Multiscreen Video Foundation, which it says helps service providers consolidate media operations to create an open foundation for a broad set of targeted multimedia solutions.
• The Velocix Digital Media Delivery Platform, which it says consists of a series of appliances that service providers can deploy to support their own dedicated advanced digital media delivery capability, as an alternative to relying on shared content delivery networks, thus helping improve quality and reduce cost.

Alcatel-Lucent says that it has also expanded its Multiscreen Professional Services offerings, in order to support service providers' end-to-end deployment needs for multiscreen services. "Alcatel-Lucent's Multimedia Solutions and strategy help service providers leverage their existing assets in creative ways to introduce an entirely new set of services and associated revenue--a great example of our application enablement vision in action," Kenneth Frank, president of Alcatel-Lucent's Solutions and Marketing arm, said in a prepared statement. "These solutions build on our strengths in IPTV, mobility and content delivery to bring our customers--and their subscribers--a consistent multimedia experience on every screen. We are creating new opportunities for everyone in the digital media value chain by providing a foundation on which new multimedia services and content can be offered to consumers quickly and easily, based on market demand." Alcatel-Lucent says that it is also working with various third-parties to realize its "broad multimedia delivery vision." Those third parties include Harmonic and Isilon.