Envivio powers multiscreen across Europe
Belgacom, Orange France and Stofa Denmark, have launched new multiscreen TV services for their subscribers using the Envivio 4Caster C4 encoding platform. Services range from OTT TV available to alternative viewing screens in the home, to comprehensive TV Everywhere services that enable subscribers to watch TV on traditional TV sets, PCs, tablets or smartphones wherever they go.
“Envivio’s ability to deliver TV without Boundaries not only refers to the choices in services available to TV viewers, but also the options operators have in creating those services,” said Envivio CEO, Julien Signès in a statement. “We are gaining significant success with operators worldwide who are choosing 4Caster C4 because of its flexible platform that meets today’s demands, while enabling the scalability to grow with future needs, including new screens, new platforms and entirely new types of services.”
The TV Everywhere service from Belgacom launched in July 2011 is powered by Nokia Siemens Networks’ Ubiquity Multiscreen TV solution utilizing Envivio 4Caster C4 encoders, along with the 4Manager network management solution. Nokia Siemens Networks integrated these cornerstones of the platform and supported Belgacom in an effective launch of this ground-breaking service.
Belgacom TV offers up to 180 channels (with the packages), free Belgian football, a TV guide, a recording function (PVR), and an extensive on-demand catalog (with movies, TV series and documentaries). The launch of TV Everywhere is an important step towards a full convergent offer allowing customers to watch their favorite content on a TV set, tablet or smartphone (via Wi-Fi at home or outside the home, and via 3G within Belgium) or PC.
Globecast worked with Envivio to create a new multi-screen TV service to support the growing needs of Orange France. As a result, Orange France became the first European operator to offer more than 100 live TV channels to subscribers’ mobile devices, tablets and PCs.
Orange and Globecast selected Envivio 4Caster C4 as the foundation of a new convergence headend capable of accommodating the massive number of streams offered by the service. The new headend streamlines operations; a single encoding platform delivers each channel in 13 profiles to support viewing by all target devices and eliminates the need to manage, power and maintain multiple, concurrent, platform-specific headends. The new system handles Orange France’s mobile, Wi-Fi and Internet services and will enable the launch of new services using technologies such as adaptive bit rate protocols without interrupting ongoing operations.
Finally, Danish cable TV operator Stofa selected Envivio 4Caster C4 encoders and 4Manager network management to enable the company to expand into additional markets. The Envivio systems leverage the IP infrastructure Stofa has been building and form the technology foundation Stofa used to launch its new 70-channel over the top TV service. The new WebTV service from Stofa gives subscribers free access to watch their favorite channels on iOS, Android and PC devices over their broadband connections.