NCTA: SeaChange, Motorola, TVN Drive VoD Evolution

SeaChange International, Motorola Corp. and TVN Entertainment advanced VOD allure with basic recommendation capabilities, remote system monitoring, and control of asset pricing respectfully.

VoD Libraries

The news is more evidence that consumers are using VOD libraries of service providers, which now will have more flexibility in control and management of content.

In an economy crippled by soaring gas prices, going out to the movies and buying new releases on DVD are now being replaced by VOD Pay-per-view.

Axiom by SeaChange adds basic recommendation capabilities by linking to Facebook with an interface they released. VOD users can recommend content to friends and build a favorites list, generating viral traffic.

R. Alan Hoff, senior director of product marketing for SeaChange explained that the Facebook interface also promotes VOD by supporting a ratings system. VOD users can then choose content from a list of 4-star movies.

Motorola added remote monitoring capabilities for service providers to track performance of their VOD systems. This technology frees up technicians to perform installs and spares excess deployment of trucks. Motorola first entered the VOD domain with its acquisition of Broadbus Technologies.

With remote monitoring, service providers can check VOD quality, set-top box status, storage remaining and any download problems reported.

TVN Entertainment, which began selling packaged VOD systems to telcos last fall, spent over $20 million on research and development on a fourth satellite transponder as well as encoding suites that support different video formats including MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. The satellite transponder helps with capacity and service reach.

TVN offers a web interface for editing content. Service providers can change prices, send messages, use barker channels (the audio window in a VOD menu) and otherwise adjust content based on performance information.

For example, if sales of a movie are dropping, a content owner can drop the price using TVN’s interface. And if a movie is at the end of its pay-per-view lifecycle, the owner can deliver a “last chance” message to customers.

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