Q. Where do you see emerging opportunities in the digital home?
We see the rapid evolution of services and usage models starting with basic usages like photo sharing and music.
Then we see video communications services coming into the picture in a big way, including video mail and video phone.
These new services benefit from super-fast computing power, enabling operators to springboard to new usages.
Q. Amino recently announced the formation of IntAct. What is IntAct’s role?
For years, Amino has been a leading provider of software technology and set top box solutions for the IPTV market segment.
We have worked with leading ecosystem vendors in content aggregation, middleware, conditional access and head-end systems.
IntAct was created to offer licensing opportunities for Amino’s range of hardware and software products designed to fit into
the television area of the digitally connected home, particularly for IPTV and IPTV hybrid connected homes.
Our vision is a fully connected digital home in which many consumer electronics devices are able to interoperate and share
data/content with one another seamlessly. IntAct believes that the pipe into the home will be IP, regardless of the physical
pipe (cable, satellite or DSL).
Q. As we move toward this vision, what are the biggest challenges
faced by software developers and consumer electronics OEMs?
New usage models in the digital home present consumer electronics device manufacturers and network operators with enticing
opportunities to deliver IPTV services. While new usage models are constantly emerging, porting new applications, validating
software stacks and conducting user-based lab and field trials can be a time-consuming and expensive process.
One of the pressing challenges for IP digital set top box manufacturers is simply getting software to work in IPTV.
Successful implementation of IPTV imposes unique requirements, including optimizing low-level code for fast channel changes
and closed-captioning. IntAct’s overall goal is to make the IPTV experience a smooth one for the operator, and for consumers.
Adding to the challenge, multiple configurations of IPTV applications, middleware and conditional access solutions must run
simultaneously on the set-top box. It is important to remember that these applications are not standalone software components –
they must be integrated together. The challenge for OEMs can be easily summarized: how quickly can you get your unique software
configuration developed, validated and ready for deployment?
This process involves lab trials, field trials by a telco or other service provider, prior to full deployment. The digital set
top box manufacturer must integrate the hardware platform, components of the software stack and the operating system board support
package, often working with the operating system vendor in the process. The development cycle can take from 18 to 24 months to complete.
Q. What are the advantages of Intel’s platform architecture?
IntAct’s IPTV software, running on IP digital set top boxes based on the Intel® CE 2110 media processor, provide set top
box vendors and service providers with a turnkey platform for rapid integration with third-party middleware, conditional access and
video on demand solutions.
Intel’s consumer electronics platform architecture based on the Intel CE 2110 media processor provides more processing power than we have seen with any other
silicon. The hardware-based video decode capability of the highly integrated Intel CE 2110 media processor is important in another way – it
maximizes the availability of the core processor for application processing. With the Intel CE 2110 media processor, when you see a 1
GHz processor, you get 1 GHz worth of processing performance.
We envision that this processing capability will enable a new era of television-based entertainment that was not possible with
previous generation silicon. This will begin with rich animated user interfaces and span across gaming, communications, conferencing,
and other applications that offer a rich experience that was previously only available on the PC.
With the IntAct software platform running on an IP digital set top box based on the Intel CE 2110 media processor, Intel can
provide IPTV OEMs with a proof-of-concept design that is functionally similar to a working IPTV digital set top box.
Q. What is IntAct’s IPTV software?
IntAct’s software is designed to manage all types of digital content, enabling the provision of multiple services such as voice,
data, broadcast TV, and on-demand services in a single consumer device. IntAct, which runs on the Linux* operating system, provides
customers with the benefits of lower cost deployment and faster time to market.
The IntAct solution allows service providers to increase customer satisfaction by offering consumers benefits such as true video on
demand, personal video recorder functionality including the ability to pause, replay and record live TV, High Definition, Dolby* Audio,
games and interactive services – in every room of their home.
In our experience, using IntAct software can reduce development time by up to six months, accelerating IPTV service deployment and
maximizing return on investment from emerging digital home usage models.
Q. Can you tell us more about the time-to-market advantages?
IntAct’s software platform integrates multiple software components including industry-leading conditional access systems, encoders,
media browsers, middleware, video server software, gaming and a host of other value-added third-party applications. This pre-integration
dramatically reduces the amount of speculative work that set top box vendors need to complete to port their differentiated applications.
The value proposition is different for application developers. Instead of porting separate middleware platforms, developers can port
once to the IntAct platform, where IPTV middleware from leading providers is pre-integrated and immediately deployable. This enables
developers to quickly demonstrate their applications in conjunction with particular combinations of applications, browsers, or conditional
access solutions that the service provider wants to run on the hardware platform.
OEMs and ODMs can move from chip availability to volume sales very quickly. In addition to the time-to-market and development cost savings,
when the time comes to ship in volume, the manufacturer can significantly reduce the cost of technical and software support. Selling more
set top boxes faster, with lower support costs, helps optimize return on investment.
Q. What are the benefits of IntAct Software Development Kits?
In addition to working with silicon providers, including Intel, to provide turnkey solutions that manufacturers can take to market quickly,
IntAct also provides software development kits (SDKs) that let telcos and service providers quickly develop value-added proprietary applications,
user interfaces and on-screen displays.
IntAct’s patent-pending JMACX* browser extension employs the same syntax as Javascript* and provides a high-level interface for application
developers to enable faster porting of middleware and faster time to market for IPTV services. The developer can work with leading middleware,
secure in the knowledge that it will run on the hardware platform, including set top boxes based on the Intel Olo River media processor.
Q. What opportunities do you see in the future?
We share Intel’s vision of the digital home as a networked environment. We anticipate that ultimately set top boxes with PVR capability will
function as an RTSP server, streaming content to other consumer electronics devices in the home.
IntAct looks forward to the day when ‘follow-me’ content sharing enabled by IP digital set top boxes functioning as digital home gateways
and real-time streaming protocol (RTSP) servers will enable a family member to browse content and use trick-play mode on any device, so
long as the RTSP set top box supports PVR.
When you ask a set top box to function as a RTSP server, you immediately see a demand for maximum processing performance. The processing
headroom of the set top box is also important to support the constant evolution of digital home usage models. The Intel CE 2110 media processor hardware
platform provides more processing power than we have seen with any other set top box silicon.