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Satellite
Uplinking |
SkyStream
unveils interactive plans
October/November
2001
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With the US
trailing Europe in the transition to digital and interactive services, Advanced
Television asks Bethany Mayer, VP Product Marketing, SkyStream Networks, how
broadcasters can re-coup their heavy digitalisation investment?
Says SkyStream's Bethany Mayer: "Many of our US broadcaster clients,
driven by FCC regulations mandating spectrum digitalisation, face very few buying
customers for HDTV. So they're asking that very question: "Having sunk money
into digitalisation, how can we make revenue from it?"
"There is tremendous interest, especially in Europe, in interactive services
on television. In the US, people are still debating the platform: "Do we want
interactivity on the television, or on the PC?" But in Europe, its very well
accepted that consumers definitely want interactivity on television."
SkyStream's SMR hardware platform and zBand content delivery software, says
Mayer, enable television affiliates and visual television developers to offer
interactive services on the television.
"We've developed two products in particular for this. One is the SkyStream Source
Media Router (SMR), sitting in the digital television headend, taking IP (Internet)
data and putting it into the digital television broadcast spectrum. Television
stations can offer mixed data and video programming - e.g. a nice web page around
the television image. Viewers can select different interactive services, while
still watching the same television show. The benefit: they won't take their
eyes off the TV show, yet they can order services around it if they choose to.
"A show like the Oscars is all about fashion and what the stars are wearing.
SkyStream-enabled interactive television allows you to order things that they're
wearing while youre watching the show. You can find additional information about
the individuals on the show, or play a game around the show, like Survivor,
where you vote people off the show. So instead of you just sitting there and
watching, theyóre going to have you engaged in the activities of the show."
"The other product that we think is going to be very very big is called z-Band
Content Delivery software. This allows service providers to package content
around that television show so that when it's delivered to consumers they can
interact with the show. It gives television broadcasters the controls to schedule
and deliver any type of digital content to set-top boxes or PCs.
"It's a server-client architecture and the server sits in a television affiliate's
digital headend and a piece of client software sits in the set-top box or PC,
allowing them to receive content like games software, or video trailers, or
music. It also has a nice graphical user interface (GUI) which you wrap around
that television show, where you can click on different things. You can order
the stars' dresses if you want to, or music."
Concludes Mayer: "That's what we're doing in the world of television and it's
actually pretty exciting. In the US, Interactive Television is moving along,
and in Europe you already have it. SkyStream is focused on delivering products
to help service providers make money in this digital sector and re-coup their
investment in equipment."
