QuickPlay Media took the wraps off of its new mobile set-top box platform that allows TV service providers to extend their reach to mobile devices.
Sending home video to other devices isn’t new: Sling Media’s Slingbox has been around for a while now, and it recently came out with a mobile version that works with Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch devices.
QuickPlay’s Mobile Set-Top Box platform takes aim at cable and IPTV service providers by offering their subscribers a means of taking their video content with them on their mobile devices . The Mobile Set-Top Box functionality allows viewers to access content previously restricted to their cable set-top boxes and enjoy it anywhere, anytime on all types of consumer electronics and mobile devices.
“As we have seen with our award-winning PrimeTime2Go service, consumers are eager to take their entertainment experience beyond the confines of their living rooms. With the Mobile Set-Top Box solution, we enable service providers to extend the value of their premium programming by making it available to subscribers anywhere they may go, complete with all of the capabilities they’ve come to count on from their set-top boxes,” said Wayne Purboo, president and CEO of QuickPlay Media. “At the same time, we allow providers to retain control of their content while managing specific business rules and entitlements across multiple devices.”
One of the issues with flowing content to mobile devices is authentication, which Comcast is tackling in its current On Demand Online trial with Time Warner. Content owners and service providers want to make sure that the requested content is going to the correct subscriber and not to other devices.
The platform from QuickPlay Media includes:
- Digital rights management (DRM) protection with “content expiry,” which ensures content rights are extended securely to mobile device platforms, enabling a number of VOD entitlement models such as rentals and subscriptions.
- DVR capabilities, which enables consumers to set the device of their choice to automatically download their favorite programs. Additionally, subscribers can pause programs and return to them later or, in the case of an incoming call, have the service pause automatically and resume when the call is finished.
- Geographic and entitlement access control, which ensures that content can be accessed only by approved customers within specified regions.
- Smart download technology, which allows content to be delivered to a device during periods of intermittent network availability to make sure that customers can always access their favorite shows.
- Multiple network transfer support, which provides options for users to access and download content over Wi-Fi, high-speed cellular networks and via sideloading.
- Advanced device management, which detects and alerts customers when their device storage, memory or battery is low, allowing them to manage their device and settings accordingly.
- Cross-device quality, which lets users enjoy the same high-quality entertainment experience regardless of where or how they choose to view the content on their mobile device.
- Multiple viewing options, which offers customers multiple viewing options, including live TV, VOD and automatic content downloading.
QuickPlay will demonstrate its mobile set-top box offering at International CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2009, set for Oct. 7-9 in San Diego.
