Glashart Media moves to cloud-based TV with ActiveVideo

KPN-owned IPTV service provider Glashart Media has migrated its interactive services to ActiveVideo’s CloudTV H5 platform.

Netherlands-based Glashart Media is using CloudTV H5 to deliver cloud UIs and other rich interactive services – including an EPG, on-demand video, Cloud DVR, and other advanced applications – to thin-client IPTV devices.

The CloudTV-powered service is live in approximately 140,000 homes and is attracting an average of 1,200 new customers each week, according to AcitveVideo.

CloudTV H5 decouples the user experience from devices by delivering HTML5-based interactive services from the cloud.

“CloudTV has been essential to Glashart Media’s ability to achieve key success metrics, including an annual doubling of subscribers and VOD take rates of three items per subscriber per month,” said Niels Jonkman, manager of development at Glashart Media. “The performance enhancements of CloudTV H5 and the ability to work with the deep pool of HTML5 web developers are enabling us to accelerate innovation of new services, to drive increased customer penetration and to enter new market areas.”

“A key advantage of a solution based entirely in the cloud is the ability to execute upgrades in the network, rather than at the device level,” said Ronald Brockmann, chief technology officer of ActiveVideo.  “Transitioning Glashart Media to CloudTV H5 – an entirely new platform – required only a simple software upgrade in the cloud; there was no new equipment needed, no changes to network infrastructure and no inconvenience to customers.”

Using browser technology, CloudTV renders the complete UI in the cloud to enable consistent multiscreen delivery of advanced user interfaces. The CloudTV H5 platform streams user experiences with low latency in either H.264 or MPEG2 via IP or QAM networks to set-tops, CI Plus TVs or connected devices, according to ActiveVideo.

CloudTV is available on more than 10 million devices in the US and internationally with Cablevision Systems, Ziggo, Oceanic Time Warner Cable and other operators and with Comcast in a multi-stage trial. Charter Communications is also using CloudTV to support its cloud-based UI strategy. CloudTV also is on Philips-brand NetTVs and is powering interactive services for Net2TV, a virtual service provider.

ActiveVideo will exhibit at IBC on stand 3.B13