PackeTV® Views Whitepaper

_______________________________________________________________________

PackeTV® Views Fast, Simple Setup for IPTV Channels White Paper Created by Visionary Solutions, Inc.

October, 2013

http://www.vsicam.com

_______________________________________________________________________

http://www.linkedin.com/company/visionary-‐solutions-‐inc.

http://www.facebook.com/vsiptv

http://www.twitter.com/vsiptv

http://www.youtube.com/vsiptv

Fast, Simple Setup for IPTV Channels

Executive Summary One of the biggest challenges facing IPTV system providers is managing how viewers select the

channels and content that they want to see. Keeping track of multiple live and pre-‐recorded assets and providing an easy-‐to-‐use portal for users can be time-‐consuming at best, particularly given the complexity of many commercially available middleware packages. An ideal channel guide system would allow producers of video content (including end users) to easily create a listing in the overall channel guide without requiring complicated database manipulation. With the development of newer tools based on software-‐as-‐a-‐service cloud concepts, deployment costs can be reduced while at the same time making these “middleware” systems easier to deploy and manage.

Simpler is better for many system operators, including school systems, commercial enterprises, local governments, healthcare facilities, and universities. PackeTV® Views from Visionary Solutions Inc. (VSI) offers an efficient, organized and cost-‐effective way for administrators and end users to efficiently publish and view all types of video content. Once a channel framework is in place, local administrators can update the channel listing guide without intervention from the overall system manager.

Multiple program listing views are supported, allowing different channels guides to be displayed based on each viewer’s permission level. With this functionality, a professional channel guide can be deployed cost effectively for virtually any organization, even one with limited experience in digital media programming.

Introduction Video distribution systems are the ideal portal for providing access to content, and one of the keys

for successful digital content distribution is making it easy for viewers to find what they want to watch. Channel guides are a popular means for providing information to viewers. User-‐friendly icons and short text descriptions of the available channels and programs provide an easy mechanism for viewers to play content with a simple click of a remote or a mouse. Over the years, many types of channel guides have been deployed, and they have been implemented on custom IPTV networks using a wide range of technologies. Until recently, implementing a channel guide required custom programming, expensive servers, and software packages known as “middleware” that provide services to handle transactions between viewers’ devices and video servers.

In legacy installations, complex, expensive middleware is used to control the channel guide and to manage viewer permissions. For large video service providers (such as CATV systems and IPTV carriers), these systems can be prudent, because they are needed to promote channels and programs to entice viewers, as well as to control the revenue flows for subscription channels and pay-‐per view events. However, for many smaller (and particularly private-‐network based) IPTV providers, these features are not only unused but also make it more difficult to manage video channels and assets efficiently.


Key Channel Guide Requirements Creating the optimal channel guide for an IPTV network is as much a matter of design as it is of

technology, but certain attributes apply in nearly all cases, including: Ease of Use – At its heart, a channel guide has one purpose: to provide viewers with a simple,

attractive way to find and watch their desired content. Viewers should be able to scroll through the available offerings and select a specific video program using a standard keyboard, mouse and web browser. The overall user experience can be enhanced through the use of graphics, featuring appropriate icons for each content item. Ease of use requirements also extend to the functions of enterprise administrators, who are responsible for creating the channel guides that are accessed by viewers. Ideally, when new content is created, these people should have an easy, intuitive system for creating new entries in the channel guide along with the associated data and icons that are visible to users.

Platform agnostic – Video delivery systems are often built up over

time in organizations, as user needs evolve and budgets permit. Several different technologies from multiple vendors may be employed to deliver on-‐demand video files and real-‐time or live video programs. Channel guides should be compatible with all of the deployed technologies, providing users with a single, common access point for all varieties of content. With a unified guide, users can avoid the headaches of using multiple portals to play content residing across incompatible systems.

Centralized Administration – Keeping the information in a channel guide up to date is easier when

multiple parties are able to add channels and content, but chaos can result without an established rule and protocol chain. A best-‐in-‐class IPTV channel management system will have provisions for setting up permissions for various levels of users and the ability to create templates that can be shared across multiple users. The system should also allow any issues that arise to be immediately corrected by an onsite administrator, who is supported by a technology vendor with a responsive customer support team.

Supports User-‐Generated Content – In many commercial IPTV systems, content is generated by a

central group that manages the programming that will be offered to viewers and tightly controls the channel guide that will be presented to users. This is unfortunate, because users often have the ability to create content themselves (using low cost digital cameras and PC-‐based editing tools) and also can find content from a variety of online sources that they would like to share with other viewers. If a channel guide system is simple enough, users can create and curate content of their own choosing to be shared with others. Network administrators should also be able to establish approval rules to ensure that content is reviewed and acceptable before pushing it out to a wider audience.

“PackeTV® Views will revolutionize the IPTV market as the ideal, low-‐cost, web-‐based IPTV channel guide solution.”


Reduced Expense/Complexity – Many traditional middleware packages currently used to create channel guides are expensive, require dedicated hardware servers, and are complex to program and support. While these packages are useful for IPTV service providers with hundreds of thousands of paying customers, they can be overkill for organizations that may have fewer channels of content that are shared by dozens or hundreds of viewers. A good solution will provide the essential functions that an individual organization requires without the expense and complexity of an over-‐complicated system.

Applications Organizations of many types can benefit from a channel guide management tool to support their

video delivery systems, and increase viewership by providing an easy-‐to-‐use method for content selection and access.

Educational organizations of all types will increasingly be using video delivery to enhance their

courses, for both live instruction and pre-‐recorded courseware. Primary and secondary school systems (K-‐12) need to create age-‐appropriate channel guides for a range of students. Colleges and universities can index a wide range of content to supplement curriculum in any academic discipline, while also providing a mechanism for students to share content they have created or located.

Business and non-‐profit enterprises can use video for a variety of purposes, including training,

conferences, and employee communications. Organizations that have multiple locations can distribute video programming cost effectively over corporate networks to employee desktops, allowing viewers to see live events occurring at different facilities. This content can also be recorded and time-‐shifted to support multiple time zones. Making all of this content available to the correct viewers can be simplified with an on-‐line channel guide, particularly if it can be quickly modified to present new content as soon as it becomes available.

Government video applications span the range from pre-‐recorded training and constituent

communications to live coverage of legislative sessions and natural disasters. In many cases, the content is created or gathered in multiple departments, and shared across a secure network. Coordinating all of these resources can be difficult. A channel guide management tool can be an effective solution.

Health care facilities often have responsibilities for providing video services to both staff members

and patients. Continuing medical education can often be supported by high-‐quality video content. Patients can be provided information about procedures that they are about to undergo and information about post-‐discharge care. With simple-‐to-‐use program guides that are tailored to provide content to their specific needs, both employees and patients will benefit.


PackeTV® Views As a leader in IPTV and related video technologies, VSI has supplied equipment and software to

support a huge variety of video delivery applications. One longstanding obstacle to deploying cost effective, IPTV systems has been the expense and complexity of deploying traditional middleware solutions to provide channel guides. Typically, these systems require dedicated servers, tight coupling to a homogeneous set of video source devices, specialized interface or player software loaded on each user’s device, and significant efforts to install and customize for a particular organization.

PackeTV® Views was developed to make channel guide creation much simpler and significantly

more user-‐friendly. Through the use of cloud-‐based services, any organization can deliver high-‐quality channel guides to all viewers, both within and outside the organization. Any type of video can be displayed, either on-‐demand or real-‐time, as long as the viewer’s device has suitable media player software installed (such as QuickTime, VLC, Adobe Flash plug-‐in, etc.).

The overall system architecture is deceptively simple, because all of the functions are provided by

way of Software as a Service (SaaS) systems hosted by VSI in the cloud. From a practical standpoint, what this means is that the only hardware requirement for users is a working Internet connection. The PackeTV® Views system can be accessed through standard firewalls, and is secured through user login accounts and passwords. Video streams can only be played by devices that have physical network access to the video servers, providing additional security. Unauthorized users who are outside of the network scope of the video source will not be able to view the content.

PackeTV® Views features intuitive controls that can be easily operated by both technical and non-‐

technical personnel. Operators simply open the URL with the channel lineup, build a content feed customized for the intended audience, and instantly push the media to viewers.

Each user has an individual login and password that must be entered before using the channel guide.

This process identifies the user so that the permissions can be controlled to provide a customized list of content offerings (a user’s “View”) that is specific to one individual or a whole group or viewers. Each “View” contains a collection of icons, each one corresponding to a single channel or VoD program. To watch the content, a user simply clicks on the desired icon using a standard browser, causing their device to begin downloading the video from the correct network server and open a media player window on the user’s device.

Certain users, who have been given Enterprise Administrator privileges, can create entries in the

channel guide that can be published to other users. Each entry consists of an icon with a user selectable image and a URL that points to the video content’s source. Users can choose from a library of predefined icon images or they can upload a picture of their own choosing. Templates can be produced to simplify providing common formats to multiple users. Also, Enterprise Administrators can create “Views” that allow anonymous sign-‐ons for public users.


PackeTV® Views provides a solid technical platform to support simple or sophisticated channel guides, allowing organizations to create a user experience that will encourage viewers to actively use the system. By eliminating unneeded functions and delivering services from a centralized, cloud-‐based server, VSI can provide a sophisticated product at an attractive cost for any video delivery system.

Conclusion

Almost any private video network can benefit from giving users an easy way to access content by means of a professional-‐quality channel guide. Through the use of remotely server capacity, PackeTV® Views delivers a sophisticated, user-‐friendly product that is simple to use and cost-‐effective to install and maintain. PackeTV® Views will revolutionize the IPTV market as the ideal, low-‐cost, web-‐based IPTV channel guide solution.

For more information about PackeTV® Views or to get a product demonstration, please contact

Visionary Solutions Inc. ph: 805.845.8900 ext. 181, email: [email protected], web: www.vsicam.com

_____________________________________________________________________________________

VISIONARY SOLUTIONS INNOVATIVE NETWORK VIDEO SOLUTIONS

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Technology

PackeTV® Views Whitepaper