ADB and ALi extend graphyne2 partnership to HEVC chipsets

ADB and ALi extend strategic partnership to enable rapid deployment of graphyne2 via HEVC chipset

GENEVA, Switzerland, TAIPEI, Taiwan — Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB), a leading provider of solutions and services for media convergence, has announced an extension of its strategic partnership with set-top-box (STB) chipset provider ALi that will enable more makers of TV equipment such as STBs to deploy the advanced features of ADB’s new graphyne2 next-generation personal TV software platform.

ALi will incorporate graphyne2 technology into its newest HEVC system-on-chip (SoC) family. The pre-integration deal will allow original device manufacturers (ODMs) using ALi chipsets to utilise graphyne2’s cutting-edge features quickly and consistently, while saving costs on testing, manufacturing and certification. The result will be enhanced performance through ALi chipsets, allowing ODMs to more easily support efforts by pay-TV operators to provide a seamless user experience between smartphones, tablets, PCs, smart TVs, STBs and other devices.

The live introduction of graphyne2, including demonstrations of its Multiscreen UX optimised user interface, second screen app and other features, will be at IBC in Amsterdam 8-12 September at the ADB Booth (5.B60). Visitors to IBC will also be able to see first-hand how ODMs and operators can benefit from state-of-the-art chip technology at the ALi Suite (BM 19 & 20, 2F, Hall 1).

Wojciech Doganowski, Vice President Product Marketing, Personal TV at ADB, comments: “Within our ecosystems of ConnectedOS partners, the extension of our relationship with ALi provides a proven and effective way of delivering STB’s that offer industry leading personalisation features along with seamless compatibility for added value elements, including a back-end provisioning platform and extended functions such as direct marketing messaging and audience tracking.”

“Through this agreement and our wider partner programme, we give pay TV operators the widest possible choice of solutions and flexibility without compromising on reliability or future upgradability,” he adds.

ALi solutions support HEVC, HD and SD MPEG2/ H.264 video decoding, and integrate Smart Card, USB and HDMI interfaces. The joint solution with ADB supports full HD1080P60, MVC video decoding and multi-stream, as well as features such as USB media, VOD and YouTube.

“The extension of our partnership with ADB offers tremendous advantages for our system development clients and TV operators,” Tony Chang, Chief Operating Officer, ALi Corporation, says. “Integrating the graphyne2 personal TV solution into ALi’s high-performing chipset will enable operators to bring innovative TV experiences to viewers everywhere while offering operators new tools to unlock value added services and operating models.”

In meeting consumer demand for cutting-edge STB’s and other media streaming devices that deliver high quality content through a consistent set of features, pay-TV operators are keen to reduce the cost and the complexity of managing a diverse set of customer premise equipment. At the same time, they still need a common platform that enables the rapid delivery of new services and facilitates the introduction of new revenue drivers.

Peter Balchin, Chief Executive Officer of ADB, notes: “The continuation and evolution of our partnership with ALi provides our clients, both ODM and pay-TV operators, more flexibility over the customer premise equipment they require to deliver the best services – while balancing features and cost. Closer relationships between chipset providers and the software ecosystem is essential to ensure that the next generation of pay-TV and OTT services are able to deliver against the expectations of consumers in a highly competitive market.”

The graphyne2 platform has been built on 20 years of continuous technology development for cable, satellite, IPTV and OTT service providers. The new platform delivers a cloud-optimised solution for next-generation pay-TV and OTT. It builds upon, and is backwards-compatible with ADB’s award winning Carbo and GraphyneTV UX, as well as ADB’s UniphyneTV middleware.