Kasenna, The IPTV Company(TM), today announced PortalTV 2.0, a comprehensive suite of integrated products sporting an innovative user interface and a Web services architecture designed to seamlessly integrate the power and interactivity of the Internet medium with the convenience and richness of the television medium. Kasenna's LivingRoom 2.0 client software, industry's first dynamic HTML-based 'smart' client, enables a unique user experience for delivery of broadcast and on- demand content along with the vast amount of Internet-hosted video content, which can be dynamically linked to the 'walled garden' of traditional broadcast television content and on-demand content offered by service providers today.
The company also announced the availability of its LivingRoom 2.0 Software Development Kit (SDK), which enables service providers to develop their own applications for the LivingRoom Middleware platform, and customize, extend or develop their own user interface, which, in turn, enable them to brand, control and differentiate the IPTV and Internet video experience and offerings they provide to their subscribers. This open approach based on Internet technologies -- Web Services for server-based applications, dynamic HTML for client applications and standards, and Web Services-based interaction between the client and the server -- represents a significant departure from the proprietary, vendor-dominated control over the user interface that has prevented service providers from adding new services or customizing the consumer experience.
The PortalTV 2.0 suite comprises Kasenna LivingRoom 2.0 (IPTV middleware); LivingRoom Smart Client software (IPTV STB client); MediaBase 8.2 (the video delivery platform); vFusion 1.3 (the video network management system); and content from ViewNow, a Kasenna subsidiary. Running on any industry-standard server, the PortalTV 2.0 suite enables service providers to deliver an end-to- end system for interactive television.
"With PortalTV 2.0, Kasenna has helped us become the first North American operator capable of offering next-generation MPEG-4 high-definition television," said Brad Evans, CEO of Cavalier Telephone, a Virginia-based competitive local exchange carrier. "The new user interface technology not only allows the use of standard dynamic HTML tools to provide a richer user experience, but it also lays the foundation for an even wider range of interactive services."
The future of IPTV lies in its ability to make programming come alive by offering interactive features such as gaming, quizzes or voting, or giving users the ability to click anywhere on the screen to receive more information on or buy a product or service. With PortalTV 2.0, Kasenna is taking a leadership position in helping service providers roll out feature-rich, interactive TV services today, while providing a platform for rapidly marketing new services as they become available.
Kasenna also announced at the show:
a) The availability of its MediaBase XMP 8.2 Video Server software
release, which breaks the 130,000 MPEG-4 stream barrier, an industry
first, based on the company's patented pre-caching, hot-spot
management, load averaging, and predictive usage techniques
b) PortalTV Partnership program with a ground-breaking MPEG-4/H.264 IPTV
Middleware, Video Server, Encoders, DRM, and Set Top Box infrastructure
demonstration for delivery of Broadcast TV, Video-on-Demand (VOD), Free
On Demand, Subscription VOD, StartOver TV, Network PVR, Networked
Games, Integrated voice, data, and video applications, such as Caller
ID, and Internet applications -- weather, maps, etc. -- designed using
Kasenna's LR SDK.
"Kasenna has long been regarded as a leader in the Video Server industry for the streaming performance, scalability and resiliency we have provided to our customers," said Kumar Shah, Kasenna CEO. "With the launch of our LivingRoom 2.0 Middleware platform and our PortalTV 2.0 product suite, we are delivering the industry's first IPTV and Internet video middleware infrastructure based on Internet technologies, an infrastructure that drives convergence between the two powerful media of Television and Internet."
Kasenna will be demonstrating PortalTV 2.0 for the MPEG-4/H.264 format, with its dynamic HTML-based smart software client, at the TelcoTV Conference & Expo, November 6-8, at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Dallas.
About Kasenna
Kasenna, The IPTV Company, is a leading provider of video-on-demand (VOD) content and MPEG-4-ready IPTV applications for triple-play services over broadband networks. The fully integrated Kasenna PortalTV(TM) solution enables telecom service providers, cable operators, and others to generate additional revenue, increase profits, and raise customer satisfaction by delivering advanced television services. Proven through dozens of global deployments, Kasenna's patented software technology is built on open standards, enabling providers to easily customize services and the viewer experience. Through its ViewNow subsidiary, Kasenna offers the industry's only turnkey IPTV solution that includes scalable IP video infrastructure, subscriber applications, and VOD programming. Kasenna is a privately held company with headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, and office locations worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.kasenna.com.
Kasenna, PortalTV, and The IPTV Company are trademarks of Kasenna, Inc. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.