Interactive TV News Round-Up (III): Sling Media, Broadcom, ViXS, VEIL Interactive

Due to the large volume of news generated by the recent 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), we are covering stories in this issue in round-up/summary format. We anticipate that it will take us several more days to process all the news from the show: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us.

•  Earlier this month, EchoStar-owned TV placeshifting specialist, Sling Media, announced the integration of the Sling Media SDK into Broadcom's latest set-top box system-on-a-chip (SoC) platforms. "The collaboration paves the way for manufacturers of STB's and CE devices to offer consumers a solution to enjoy watching their favorite television content wherever they want on whatever device they want, with an Internet connection," Sling Media states in its press materials. "Sling Media's licensed software ecosystem supported on the Broadcom BCM7425 Dual HD Transcoding MoCA Gateway SoC gives users a full-featured multiscreen, multiplatform viewing solution. Broadcom-powered boxes with Sling Media software will be available by the third quarter of 2012. Subscribers will have the ability to watch any content available on the STB on the widest range of portable devices with full authentication. Sling Media's pioneering placeshifting technology coupled with Broadcom's leadership in high-performance STB platforms enable a wide range of content with a consistent viewing experience for service operators' customers who demand a simple, high-quality way to watch television on the go. With the wide adoption of broadband-connected smartphones and tablets, video consumption is growing rapidly...About 62% of US consumers said they would likely watch live TV on laptops, tablets and smartphones, if their television service provider offered the service for no extra charge, according to a new survey sponsored by Broadcom and conducted by JZ Analytics...The Broadcom survey also found that in households with three or more people, 55% said a multiscreen TV service would help when they have to "compete for control of the remote." The survey of 1,025 consumers 18 and older was conducted in November 2011." (Note: more results from the survey are available here.) Said Sling Media general manager, Raghu Tarra: "Broadcom has the most advanced streaming and transcoding capabilities available today and is without equal when it comes to delivering the most-deployed STB SoC solutions. Now they will bring placeshifting technology to the largest possible audience. We believe service operators will benefit with increased revenues, lower costs and most importantly, customer loyalty."
• In other Sling Media news: The company also announced earlier this month that it has ported its Slingbox technology to the ViXS XCode network media processor. "This partnership makes the Slingbox Software Development Kit (SbSDK) available on XCode media processors to OEM's, pay-television service operators, and software developers," the company states in its press materials. "ViXS provides an extensive portfolio of XCode media processor SOC's integrating transcoding, advanced media processing, security processing, transcryption and high-performance networking. Integration of Sling Media's software on ViXS Xtensiv software stack offers a compelling turnkey solution for OEM's and operators for distribution of media content anywhere in the world. Sling's technology in combination with leading transcoding technology from ViXS ensures excellent video quality on iPads, tablets, PC's and smartphones anywhere in the world, even in a bandwidth-constrained network." Said Sling Media's Tarra: "We are pleased to be engaged with ViXS in a strategic partnership that combines the leading-edge XCode multi-stream HD transcoding technologies with our next-generation Sling-enabled products. High-performance ViXS XCode SoC's will enable us to extend our reach and ecosystem with our software development kit, resulting in highly innovative products."
• ACR company, VEIL Interactive (note: the St. Louis-based company, whose name is an acronym for "Video Encoded Invisible Light," bills its flagship technology as "essentially the process of encoding and decoding the invisible embedded signals that are hidden in the active portion of any viewing screen"), contacted [itvt] Friday to let us know that it has secured the first deployment of inTOUCHTV, its second-screen interactive TV application for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch (note: an Android version of the app is slated to launch later this year). According to the company, Springfield, Missouri TV station, Fox KRBK, will begin utilizing the app on January 30th. "Fox KRBK will begin airing general trivia questions including trivia that will be specific to the Springfield community," VEIL states in its press materials. "When viewers open their inTOUCHTV app, they will be directly linked to Fox KRBK and become participants in the contest. Correct answers will be worth points good for rewards including a $1,000 grand prize to the participant with the most points on the winning team during the two-week period. The faster the question is answered, the more points a player will receive. Trivia questions will air weekdays during commercial breaks between the hours of 5:00PM-7:00PM and 9:00PM-11:00PM, January 30th-February 10th. The proprietary VEIL technology powering inTOUCHTV will also be made available to producers, networks, broadcasters, brands and other television stakeholders to enhance their programming and apps." Said VEIL vice president, Alec Coughlin: "Fox KRBK is the perfect venue to launch as we roll out this proprietary technology at the national level. By enabling consumers to interact with television content, we will enhance the viewing experience while unlocking significant consumer and brand value."