www.tvbeurope.com

April 2015TVBEurope Supplements

In association with

Smart set-top box solutions for IPTV/OTT and Hybrid DVB

It’s true: there is nothing as permanent as

change. And right now nowhere is that more

true than in the field of set-top box (STB)

solutions for IPTV, OTT and hybrid DVB. The brave

new (well, relatively new) world of connecting

television to the internet is presenting a whole

host of new opportunities – and yes, challenges –

to those operating in that environment.

The industry has witnessed transitions from

a purely IP approach to the development of

hybrid smart STBs. These bring together traditional

DVB with IP-based services and apps. And

such developments are essential in today’s

maturing market.

To make their operations successful and cost-

effective, those companies already providing

their customers with hybrid DVB projects must

demand from manufacturers of STBs, and

associated equipment, innovative upgrade

solutions which capture the best of traditional

linear TV and combine it with the exciting – some

might say, thrilling – functionalities of network

PVR, VoD, catch-up TV and third-party services.

And the onus is surely on those equipment

providers, because the emergence and

expansion of OTT services is only set to continue,

and those who fail to meet the challenge –

whether STB makers or service providers – will

surely fall by the

wayside.

Of course, one of

the advantages for

new entrants in the

market is that they

can build on all the

development work

of the last few years

and use OTT to deliver

services without

actually incurring the

expense of owning

or building a network

infrastructure. Such

services can be

deployed globally

on an extremely

cost-effective basis,

enabling a whole host

of local and specialist channels to be accessed by

the worldwide audience.

But whatever the scenario, smart STB platforms

are essential for the advancement of today’s

versatile viewing experience, combining

traditional TV services with all that the internet

can readily provide.

Generation gapSo, what are the demands on STB manufacturers?

To begin with, there is an urgent requirement

for upgrades that incorporate the modern third

generation solutions for those companies already

operating in the IPTV environment. And that

means equipment that supports all the major

standards for both streaming and applications.

The first generation IPTV was mainly used in

DVB STBs with native DVB GUI and certain IPTV

extensions. The second generation offered

embedded middleware solutions with first

interactive functions like network PVR, VoD

and custom implementation of apps. Now, the

third generation solution allows operators and

Supplement30 TVBEurope

Setting the top standard for connected TV

‘There is an urgent requirement for upgrades that incorporate the modern

third generation solutions for those companies already operating in the IPTV environment. And that means equipment that supports all the major standards for

both streaming and applications’

As IPTV moves from purely linear products to a complete TV experience, Oliver Soellner, VP of business development and sales at ABOX 42, outlines what is required from today’s set-top boxes

In association with

systems integrators to quickly build modern and

advanced IPTV solutions. These latest generation

platforms are designed around HTML5 and

open standards, meaning operators are not

restricted to a proprietary STB platform. Utilising an

open approach allows the ready integration of

functionality such as third-party VoD applications

and cloud-based services and provides complete

control over user interface and upgrades.

Next, it has to be recognised that not all

operators have the same requirements in

order to fulfil the service to their customers. So,

manufacturers must provide units that can readily

be customised to meet unique demands. Put

another way, today’s STBs need to offer ‘smart’

solutions. And alongside that, bearing in mind the

amazing speed at which this section of the media

industry is expanding, the ability to produce such

solutions must be just as rapid. So, short production

cycles are essential.

Qs and AsOne of the keys to finding the right provider

of such equipment is to ask some pertinent

questions; and then demand proof that the

responses can be fulfilled.

For instance, it is worth asking for examples of

how economical and short set-up times have

already been achieved right across Europe

utilising that supplier’s kit.

Or how about enquiring about an innovative

IPTV set-top box platform, which is not only offering

the latest technology on the hardware side, but

also provides a complete solution to manage the

STBs in the field? This second point is becoming

increasingly more important for modern operators.

Another question might be: “What is your

experience in adaptive streaming, HbbTV and the

integration of multiple third-party TV apps that will

help in the speedy development of services?”

And, of course, we must never forget ‘the

cloud’. Does your potential supplier offer a

unique collection of software as a service (SaaS)

facilities for the installation, deployment and

operation of the STB deployment in the field and

to upgrade the functionality of those deployed

services over time? Of course, those companies

operating with existing networks do not need to

switch to new technologies overnight. However,

the time will come when changes will prove

necessary in order to provide customers with an

almost limitless choice for special interest ‘niche’

channels. And those extra channels will provide

added income for the operating company.

Single applicationModern hardware platforms are designed

to meet today’s requirements from a single

application project up to complex project

requirements of demanding IPTV, OTT and hybrid

DVB services. A smart STB product line should

offer the best price-performance and latest

technology for even the most challenging IPTV,

OTT, hybrid DVB and cloud TV services.

In fact, the latest solutions in this ever-

expanding – and innovative – field allow

operators, perhaps for the first time, to provide

a full TV experience to television receivers over

unmanaged internet lines.

At the end of the day, the user of IPTV, OTT and

hybrid DVB services must be in a position to

enjoy the same TV experience that is available

with traditional DVB-C or multicast IPTV. In

reality, viewing must be a seamless experience,

whatever the source of the programme.

Whatever solution is employed, the OTT DVB

solution must technically combine features

required for television using OTT protocols and

market-proven standard headend systems over

public internet. Such solutions will allow operators

to build and quickly roll out third generation

HTML-based IPTV services. And that will provide

consumers with what they expect – make that,

demand – from their viewing experience.

TVBEurope 31April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

Supplement

‘The onus is on equipment providers, because the emergence and expansion of OTT services is only set to continue, and those who fail to meet the challenge – whether STB makers or

service providers – will surely fall by the wayside’

Case Study32 TVBEurope

Telecom Liechtenstein, member of the

Telekom Austria Group, wanted a complete

upgrade of its existing first generation IPTV

system in order to provide a platform for a new,

complete multiscreen experience.

To facilitate this, the first generation IPTV network

had to be seamlessly upgraded to a third generation

IPTV proposition with advanced first screen features

(provided by a modern STB platform) in combination

with a full multiscreen offering for mobile devices.

By choosing ABOX42’s Smart STB platform in

combination with Zattoo’s managed B2B Multiscreen

TV solution, Telecom Liechtenstein could manage a

smooth transition to an advanced TV solution that

allows them to outperform all traditional TV offerings

provided by cable operators or ISPs.

ABOX42 features Latest generation set-top box hardware

(ABOX42 M20-series) for advanced operator

requirements and with advanced performance

Modern HTML5 GUI (supported by the ABOX42

Developer IDE/SDK/Toolkit)

Support of HbTV Applications from German

and Swiss broadcasters

Support of third-party VoD services for SVoD

and TVoD solutions

Support multiple DRM Systems for telco grade

security and Hollywood approved content security

End-to-end lifecycle management and

software as a service of the set-top box for

secure updates and upgrades in the field

The user interface, middleware and headend

are provided by Zattoo as a fully managed service

Zattoo’s key features Rich multimedia EPG

Network PVR

Network time shift/pause TV

Restart TV

Seven-day catch-up TV

Unified UI for first and second screen

Mobile applications including full

PVR management

Branded UI for all screens

Next generation IPTV Telecom Liechtenstein’s IPTV refresh provides a recent case study of the work being done by ABOX42 in upgrading first generation IPTV systems to third generation interactive solutions

Telecom Liechtenstein’s IPTV network upgrade was enhanced to offer a complete multiscreen solution

In association with

ABOX42.com

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OTT, IPTV and Hybrid Smart Set-Top-Box Product LinesABOX42 Smart STB´s are latest technology based, operator proven and offer best in class price-performance

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OPX TV ServicesModern and comprehensive OPX TV client and OPX Cloud TV services for IPTV, OTT and Hybrid operator projects.

OPX SaaS and Cloud TV Services Full Management of the Set-Top-Box deployment in the fi eld including health status information

TV Connect Asia, Singapore12. - 13. May 2015

TV Connect, LondonBooth #78

28. - 30. April 2015

ABOX42´s Industry BreakfastCrowne Plaza Hotel

29. April 2015 8:30 - 10:00

CommunicAsia, Singapore02. - 05. June 2015

ANGACOM, Cologne09. - 11. June 2015

In association with

Supplement34 TVBEurope

What was the catalyst behind the

company’s birth?

We have been providing B2C products in this

industry for many years, during which time many

international operators have approached us

looking for more advanced smart STB platforms,

directly because of our activities in the B2C

segment. More and more of these operators

were demanding modern and consumer

oriented products with more advanced features.

At the same time we recognised initiatives like

HbbTV (bringing new services to TV) gaining

ground in mature markets, so we decided

to form ABOX42 as a manufacturer of latest

generation smart STBs for the global operator

and telco market.

Has the company’s strategy changed since that

initial founding stage?

From a technical perspective our vision is still

unchanged. We wanted to move the project-

driven business of STBs, where every operator

project brings with it specifi c requirements for a new

‘smart platform’ approach, to one where ABOX42

develops a unique hardware platform which can

be shared by many operator projects with minimal

adjustments. You can compare our approach

with the transformation from embedded feature

phones to modern smartphone platforms, where

the software is making the difference, all based on a

powerful, scalable and mature hardware platform.

We started with an IP-only approach, focussing

on IPTV and OTT projects. Lately, we have also

been offering a full range of hybrid smart STBs

that can combine traditional DVB with IP-based

services and apps. On the product side, we started

with an advanced SDK that allows operators and

application developers to create applications and

integrate mature TV applications.

Since the end of last year, we have also been

providing a comprehensive solution with our OPX

TV services, the full TV user interface, and our

OPX middleware and backend services.

Our Smart STB platform can now be used as

a development environment for a modern TV

service or as a total solution to quickly deliver

new TV services with essential TV features.

What are the specifi c and most complex

technical challenges you have faced in

developing next generation IPTV solutions?

When we started ABOX42, we built up the

ecosystem with key stakeholders such as chip

set vendors, middleware providers and factories,

Chiefexecutive perspective

Matthias Greve, CEO and founder of ABOX42, concludes our supplement by refl ecting on the advances made in set-top box (STB) and IPTV solutions, and how his company’s business has adapted to changing market demands

and we are still a high volume, project-driven

business. Over time, we have redesigned the

entire supply chain and manufacturing process

to be able to handle continuous supply requests

and demand from operations in new businesses.

With regard to engineering, we design

hardware as well as the entire software platform

in-house, with the aim of having the most

modular and agile software platform, which can

easily be adapted to operators’ requirements.

What type of advances are we seeing with the

latest generation of IPTV and STB solutions, and

how different and developed are they from their

first generation iterations?

The first generation of IPTV products worked like

a traditional DVB receiver with IP input. The user

interface was ‘hard coded’ and the services very

limited. The second generation of IPTV solutions

brought new features, but were still built as

embedded middleware solutions, meaning that

any changes for operator projects were hard to

do, very costly and time consuming.

Our new third generation platform is completely

built around HTML5 and open standards. Our

customers are not tied into a proprietary STB

platform. With this open approach, our operator

customers can integrate third-party VoD

applications, cloud-based services and other new

functionality into their platform very quickly. The

operator has full control over the user interface and

upgrades of their services.

Where do you think the broadcast market is in its

understanding of the true meaning of IPTV and

OTT solutions?

Many operators and broadcasters have a good

understanding of the advantages of OTT and IPTV.

Nowadays, everything is possible in a technical

sense as the market continues to prove, so the

operator is now more able to concentrate on

shaping its business model around its services.

Do you think that OTT is seen by some to be a

greater advantage to new entrants to market?

Naturally, it offers great opportunities for new

entrants, but equally, it opens up new avenues of

exploration for broadcasters. Where do you see

the true business benefits of OTT and IPTV for both

incumbent operators and new entrants?

For new entrants in the market, the advantage

of OTT is the ability to deliver TV services without

owning or building a network infrastructure and

with very little fixed costs. New services can be

deployed cost-effectively on a global scale – an

example of which is Ethnic TV – where local TV

channels can be broadcast worldwide to people

who want to access domestic content from

wherever they are.

For existing, well-established operators, the

key advantage in using OTT/IPTV technologies

and modern solutions is that they can now react

to market needs and launch new features and

services more quickly over time. Within traditional

DVB networks, the rollout of new services took

years. With OTT/IPTV delivery and a modern smart

STB platform, it is much more cost-effective; since

internet technologies are built for easy and cost-

effective scalability and can be used even in lower

bandwidth networks, thanks to highly efficient

streaming formats (eg HEVC) and adaptive bitrate

technologies (eg HLS or MS Smooth Streaming).

Where do you see the next innovations in the

IPTV/OTT/cloud TV space?

For ABOX42, the next innovation will be integrating

DVB into OTT/IPTV. Operators with existing networks

do not have to switch entirely to new technologies,

but can gradually extend their service offerings.

For example, a cable operator can use the hybrid

DVB platform to offer new services via IP. The linear

television is still distributed via DVB-C. Network

PVR, network time shift, restart TV and catch-up

are provided via the IP connection. Even now it is

possible to freely mix DVB and IP live TV channels

in the same channel list, without any difference

in terms of user experience. Operators can have

an unlimited number of special interest channels,

which do not occupy bandwidth on the DVB-C

network, but only use bandwidth when accessed

by the user. These new services mean new income

streams for operators and a unique service offering

in competitive markets.

Also for DVB-T/T2 markets, hybrid DVB is a great

way to extend services. DVB-T is used for free-to-

air channels and pay-TV can be handled via the

internet. We see more and more projects that

make use of a ‘best of both worlds’ strategy.

How markedly do you think the TV industry as we

know it today will change in the next five to ten years?

Consumers in the future will demand much more

control of where and especially when they watch

their preferred content. So, I believe that time shift,

network PVR and full catch-up TV for all channels will

be mandatory for viewers in a couple of years. What

is also pretty clear is that once TV habits change

and people start to explore new ways of consuming

content, there is no way back. Users come to expect

these new features and the freedom of watching

preferred content at any time.

How fast these new technologies are launched

is a TV rights issue as the technical solutions are

already in place today.

What should media entities be factoring in to their

business models and strategies to ensure they

remain competitive and relevant in a future digital,

mass-IP-enabled marketplace?

Since the user wants to decide when, where and

what they consume, TV operators need to be more

flexible with time shift, network recording and catch-

up TV. When the user gets such a diversity of access

to TV content (e.g. Netflix), the operators have to

deliver a competitive solution, where the user can

decide according to his or her preferences.

Coming back to the company’s progress, and

your role within that, what elements of ABOX42’s

development to date satisfies you the most as

founder and CEO, given the increasing rate of

change in the industry, and the competition

you face?

We are very happy that our decision to build a

flexible software foundation for our Smart STBs

and our modular cloud TV/SaaS platform was

exactly the right decision at the right moment in

time. Our customers need flexible solutions and

a solid hardware platform that can be deployed

quickly. We get more and more enquiries from

operators who consider current suppliers too

inflexible to handle projects in the new fast

moving consumer environment.

Supplement TVBEurope 35April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

Matthias Greve, CEO and founder, ABOX42

“For existing operators, the key advantage in using OTT/IPTV

technologies is that they can now react to market needs and launch new features

and services more quickly over time”

ABOX42´s

INDUSTRY BREAKFAST29 APRIL 2015 08:30-10:00CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL - next to ExCeL London / TV Connect

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Hosted by ABOX42, key stakeholders of our industry will share their experience and future view on modern first screen Set-Top-Box platforms, new multiscreen TV solutions and the challenges of a fast changing TV landscape.

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ABOX42´s Industry Breakfast29 April 2015 - 08:30 - 10:00

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