The dongle is the new STB, according to Digisoft.tv CEO Fearghal Kelly as he unveiled the company’s new white label CastOS framework in hall 14 at IBC.
The company is encouraging telcos to embrace the move towards smaller dongle form factors and OTT delivery methods. “CastOS is a way for telcos to do next generation TV fast without the CAPEX currently associated with IPTV,” explained Kelly.
“We are taking an OTT approach to doing IPTV. We’ve condensed the STB into this dongle, which runs carrier grade video chips designed for 1080p at 60fps and consumers will end up using this dongle more than they will use their Roku, for example,” added Kelly.
The framework takes advantage of existing consumer electronics by coupling them with the operator’s smartphones. It allows service providers to ‘cast’ without worrying about the underlying protocols on the target connected devices, delivering a carrier grade linear TV replacement with VoD and cloud DVR across multiple devices. In reverse, customers can ‘cast’ video from their phone to any device without getting trapped in any of the protocols, using an app-based UX.
Mobile phones are the gateway to unconverted customers and to increased ARPU, so are central to a software-based TV strategy according to Kelly. “Triple play telcos need to embrace the proliferation of devices. Aside from the network, smartphones are a telco’s biggest investment and are also their first point of contact with a customer. They need to leverage this on their IPTV or OTT journey.”
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