Strategy & Technology launches S&T Player and Mediator for VOD and Catch-up TV

Strategy & Technology (S&T) will launch S&T Player and Mediator, an MHEG-based solution for Video on Demand (VoD) and Catch-up TV services, at NAB 2010 in Las Vegas (April 12-15).

The S&T Player is a highly flexible, data-driven Video on Demand application for MHEG-enabled integrated digital TVs (iDTVs) or set-top boxes. S&T Player uses the latest version of the MHEG Interaction Channel specification for hybrid broadcast broadband receivers and also runs on CI Plus iDTVs. It offers a configurable and customisable application for browsing and navigating of content as well as playback control for streamed media delivered over broadband. The client interface can be easily re-skinned and configured for customer branding.

S&T Player allows viewers to navigate a broadcaster’s VoD catalogue – either catch-up TV or true on-demand premium content – and select individual titles for viewing using the remote control. Video is delivered via DVB-C or IP, and once playback has started, the S&T Player offers viewers full playback control through familiar trick modes such as pause, stop, skip forwards/backwards, etc. Dynamic playlist support enables additional revenues to operators through ad insertion, while comprehensive playback reporting provides important measurement data and reporting for the operator.

To support the S&T Player client, S&T is also launching Mediator for flexible integration into back office systems for content provisioning and subscriber management. Mediator provides a scalable framework for accessing, processing and transforming metadata.

Mediator supplies data to the S&T Player in a format that is highly optimised and which requires very little further processing within the TV. This approach minimises the bandwidth required for communications and helps ensure the best possible performance for the viewer.

Colin Prior, Director of International Sales at Strategy & Technology, commented: “Broadcasters realise that viewer demand for catch-up TV is very strong, and where this can be delivered to the TV then this is preferred over PC viewing. The combination of the S&T Player and Mediator enables broadcasters to offer their viewers a seamless experience combining linear TV with catch-up/on-demand services that is totally scalable.”