General

IPTV is Software as a Service (SaaS)

One application developer claims to have built the operating system that will usher in the future of IPTV.

by Gerry Blackwell [March 10, 2006]

IPTV may seem brand new, and it is in many respects, but British-based software developer ANT PLC is already touting the next generation of IPTV systems enabled by its new ANT Galio Platform. Galio is a new class of software, the company claims—not just a TV browser like its earlier market-making Fresco product or competitors' browser products, but a TV Application Manager.

"It's kind of like Windows for TV," says ANT executive vice president of product strategy Stephen Reeder. "Galio takes operators where they're seeking to go right now, which is one step beyond just cable TV. It gets into interactive TV, gaming, video on demand [VOD], community-based services. It's even taking things to the point where the whole metaphor of TV channels starts to dissolve."

ANT has been a major player in IPTV almost from the beginning. The Fresco browser is used in set top boxes (STBs) in 70 percent of the IPTV deployments around the world, Reeder says. That's about 100 different operators providing service to about 1.5 million subscribers. Customers include leading lights such as France Telecom, Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan, which has one of the longest-running IPTV services, and Sasktel in Canada, with the largest in North America.

Going modular to avoid the crash
The Galio software, like Fresco, runs on IPTV STBs—ANT's direct customers are STB manufacturers—and interacts with TV screens and IPTV middleware and services. Like Windows on the PC, it creates a standard platform on which developers can build applications. Developers don't have to know which STB the application will run on, don't have to know how much memory or processing power it has, don't even need to know if it's a PVR or not.

Also like Windows, Galio will provide "application fragments," as Reeder calls them—shared bits of functionality, like the file selector in Windows, that applications can use to save custom coding. "The best way to [create advanced IPTV services] is to write little pieces of application that layer on top of each other, rather than writing one big application," he says.

An example of an application fragment might be a dialog that requests the user input a PIN number. The developer can create his own custom dialog, or simply invoke the Galio fragment. Galio manages the interactions between applications and fragments.

What kinds of applications are we talking about? It could be karaoke, a very popular service in Asian markets. It could be online gambling or dating or TV-based web photo sharing services. But these are just the ones IPTV operators have dreamed up so far. More will come, Reeder says.

One huge benefit of Galio is that service providers no longer have to custom develop STBs and middleware around specific services. They can mix and match and install and uninstall service applications much as PC users do Windows applications. This is important because as Reeder explains, "It's often not possible to determine ahead of time which service will be successful. Ultimately you have to put it out there and see if it lives or dies. If you work on a service by service basis and the service dies, you're in a lot of trouble."

In the past, if an IPTV provider launched a service and it failed, or if the operator wanted to launch a new service, it often had to substantially re-jig its system to accommodate the change. Now, with Galio, if karaoke doesn't work in your market—as it likely won't outside Asia—you can take it out and install a new application for a dating or a photo sharing service, Reeder says. "The head end doesn't need to change. The middleware doesn't have to change. You're just bringing in a new instantiation of an application."

Galio will help operators transition from the current environment in which they offer a conventional onscreen electronic programming guide (EPG) showing broadcast and pay per view channels to one where it's more an electronic service guide. As an example of a transitional service, operators could start offering "channels" of programming selections by celebrities—Arnold Schwarzenegger's picks, Reeder suggests. The channel would really be a set of links the content, either offered by a broadcaster at a certain time or available on demand.

The ANT platform will also enable new strategies for getting content to users. In some cases, it might make more sense to download popular programming to subscribers' PVRs ahead of time. "The customer doesn't know or care," Reeder points out. "This can be the basis of some very exciting services. We're really removing the hardware and network infrastructure constraints, removing the customers' need to be aware of how the system works—and just presenting them with great TV."

Another thing Galio will do is manage how different applications share the screen. For example, when a call comes in on an integrated VoIP service, Galio might automatically mute the volume on the program you're watching, optionally start recording it to the PVR for later viewing, and pop up a call answer dialog you can use to answer the call or send it to voice mail. Or if you want to get more information about a product you see advertised on broadcast TV, you could press a tell-me-more button and go to a web-like interface that will provide the information you want. Galio will, meanwhile, send the program you were watching to the PVR so you don't miss any of it while surfing the advertiser's content.

Go to page two >