“
THE CHANNEL
|
DELIVERY
Features
that dazzle
the end
user are
the ones
telecoms
operators
can
monetise
”
32
|
ISSUE 1 2014
|
THE CHANNEL
ssentially,
Perception is the
software,
middleware and
hardware that
drives a
sophisticated IPTV
platform – including pay‐TV IPTV
services to set‐top‐boxes and multi‐
screen OTT apps that include iOS /
Android smartphones and tablets.
Traditionally Perception sits most
suitably within the telco
environment, for a telecoms
operator wishing to launch a pay‐
TV service alongside its broadband,
fixed line and mobile services.
Perception also manages the
ingestion of the content and
metadata, through all the different
encoding profiles, as well as
streaming out to on‐net and OTT
multiscreen devices. The really
interesting features that dazzle the
end user are the fully integrated
catch‐up and cloud storage
elements; these are the exciting
features telecoms operators can
monetise.
Equally, we can offer elements of
that service, for example to a
satellite pay‐TV operation that
delivers multiple channels to a
satellite STB, but also wants to have
a service where subscribers can
watch TV on their iOS or their
Android devices. Perception is best
used if you have a multi‐channel
offering that requires a
multiscreen upgrade. However,
we are talking actively to
broadcasters who have a single
channel and have been attracted
by the catch‐up features.
Perception allows catch‐up of
previously broadcast programmes
via the EPG. You scroll backwards
through the EPG, you see a show
that you missed anytime within
the catch‐up window and straight
away that programme becomes
available to you.
The beauty of Perception is that
telecoms operators and even
broadcasters with a single channel
don’t need to develop their own
system and don’t need to engage
with a large systems integrator
who is likely to be managing
multiple vendors. Perception is an
off the shelf solution, so you could
have a fully operational multi‐
screen service – to your TV, your
smartphone, your tablet – up and
running in weeks, not months or
years. All content is captured and
stored in the cloud. This radically
reduces cost – instead of funding
a PVR with a hard drive for
around $200 your STB costs are
more likely to be well under $50.
The running costs for an operator
are very much lower as well, due
to the architecture of the network.
It’s based on a grid system so you
can easily add capacity to
accommodate increasing numbers
of streams or the amount of storage
required. Also, it is a self‐healing
grid system where the servers
constantly poll each other and if
necessary, rebalance loading across
the network.
How does monetisation work?
To give you one example, for
Slovenian telecoms operator T‐2 we
manage their entire IPTV service.
They offer a 2‐day catch‐up TV
service via the EPG grid and charge
subscribers an extra Euro 3,00 per
month just to have this feature. A
very encouraging fact is that a high
proportion of their subscriber base
takes up this offer. Building on that
success, T‐2 is now extending the 2‐
day catch‐up window to three days
–
so for the extra day you pay a
little bit more.
What about R&D support?
Vision247 has offices in London
and in the UAE but our
development team of about 20 is
based in Ljubljana. Perception was
developed in conjunction with T‐2,
one of Slovenia’s leading telecoms
companies. To give you the context
of Slovenia: it’s a small country
with a population of 2m, there is an
extensive fibre to the home network
Perception, the latest product offering from media technology and
content distribution company Vision247, is hailed as ‘internet-delivered
TV coming of age’. With a range of advanced features that can easily be
monetised, content managed in the cloud and radically reduced costs,
it’s a channel operator’s dream, says Tim Ayris, Director of Sales and
Business Development. Can broadcasters use it to jump into the on-
demand world?
NEXTGENERATION
IPTV
E
