At The Cable Show 2013, last week in Washington D.C., Espial and Cisco demonstrated Espial's advanced multiscreen companion app integrated with Cisco's Videoscape 9800 Series Multiscreen Gateway.
Showcased on an Apple iPad tablet, the demonstration highlighted an advanced set of multiscreen use cases, including metadata sharing, channel changing, tuner streaming, and DVR streaming.
Leveraging Espial's multiscreen companion app on Cisco gateway devices and set-top boxes (STBs) allows consumers to extend the capabilities of their device significantly with second-screen functionality, including a customized user interface and extended metadata. The app allows MSOs to generate additional revenue opportunities through the sale of application downloads and in-app advertising, as well as increase customer loyalty.
Espial's multiscreen companion app enables a smartphone or tablet device to act as a second-screen companion for Espial-enabled home devices, increasing the capabilities of today's TVs and STBs beyond the living room. Connecting directly to TVs and STBs via Wi-Fi, the Espial multiscreen companion app allows consumers to stream live TV and VOD, manage recordings, access traditional program information, and quickly navigate through the EPG without disrupting viewing on the main TV screen. The app's intuitive touchscreen interface can be customized to ensure a consistent user experience across multiple devices.
Capable of decoding and distributing IP video, hybrid, or digital video broadcasting (DVB) and Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)-based live, on-demand, online, and recorded video content services to other devices, the Cisco Videoscape 9800 Series Multiscreen Gateway offers a unified platform for accessing all forms of content via existing STB technology. The gateway's extensive feature set includes support for live, on-demand, and recorded content; a variety of formats (e.g. HD, 3D TV, DVR); and MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 delivery.
More information about Espial products is available.
