HbbTV three-way partnership launches integrated toolbox for broadcasters at BCA

Wednesday, June 19th, 2013
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Three market-dominant HbbTV technology vendors have combined their knowledge and products to present a powerful new HbbTV toolbox for broadcasters at Broadcast Asia.

The partnership between Screen Systems, Icareus and Digisoft.tv has, claims Screen’s Head of Interactive Sales, Daimon Hall produced one of the most comprehensive solutions available to broadcasters to monetise content via HbbTV platforms.

Hall said: “The HbbTV Toolbox, which can be hosted in the cloud or locally installed, integrates with the delivery of video feeds in to an HbbTV environment to provide multiple options for how a TV programme is viewed; that includes second screen devices and the web too.”

The toolbox enables broadcasters to add a vast scope of additional services to content which consequently opens up extensive opportunities for supplementary revenue generation.

Hall added: “The Toolbox provides broadcasters with a simple but effective means to offer rich value-added content but with the ability to format around sponsored pages and insert advertising interleaved with relevant content.”

In addition to extended viewing options such as providing racing data and football results, the HbbTV Toolbox facilitates the simple placement and management of services like interactive advertising, EPG banner advertising and branded or even seasonal themes.

A smart feature of the Toolbox is the remote access available to advertisers’ marketing agencies. With variable degrees of trusted status levels, an advertising customer’s creative agency can insert adverts, promotional copy and imagery remotely. The decision on whether an agency can switch the material to air is made by the broadcaster.

Screen, whose product provides the infrastructure on to which information services and advertising can be placed – including the provision of state-of-the-art DVB and OTT subtitling – took the strategic decision to partner with Icareus and Digisoft.tv in order to offer a genuine end-to-end HbbTV solution.

Finnish based Icareus has been a long established vendor for quality TV Anywhere solutions, HbbTV carousels and TV Applications. Mikko Karppinen, Technologies Director at Icareus said: “We are proud to be part of this integrated solution with Screen Systems and Digisoft.tv. Icareus Playout and iTV Suite Manager platforms speak natively to HbbTV providing an excellent foundation to build best-of-breed TV services.”

Digisoft.tv is a leading global provider of set-top box software for the cable, satellite, terrestrial and telecommunications industry – Brian Rattray, Director of Business Development commented: “Enhancing the Iris HTML5 platform with HbbTV 1.5 allows us to offer our customers a clear and trusted standards-based solution for hybrid broadcast/broadband application delivery.”

Daimon Hall concluded: “Screen is very proud of the HbbTV Toolbox but our partnership with respected companies like Icareus and Digisoft.tv has, we believe resulted in a complete and unrivalled solution for broadcasters”.