Ross Video, Verance Announce Aspect Watermarking Support

Verance
(Image credit: Verance)

OTTAWA, Canada—Ross Video and Verance have announced that Verance Aspect watermarking is now available in the Ross Video software media processing platform (softGear). 

Ross Video’s softGear provides broadcasters with the flexibility to adapt to changing  programming needs through media processing microservices. The integration of the Verance  Aspect watermark into the Broadcast Audio Processor based on the softGear platform will  provide Aspect watermarking to a variety of television outlets, the companies reported. 

The Aspect watermark works in both today’s 1.0 and tomorrow’s 3.0 broadcast environments  and was selected to be part of the NextGen TV standard as a way to extend and maximize the  reach of interactive television services in broadcast television. 

Without the Aspect watermark, NextGen applications can only reach the 20% of households that receive signals over the air. With the Aspect watermark, NextGen applications can reach 100% of households, the companies said. 

For the same reason, the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband Television Association (HbbTV) adopted watermarking into its Phase 2 Application Discovery over Broadband specification published in September  2019. 

By deploying Aspect within the softGear platform, programmers are able to activate interactive  services through all distribution paths (including ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 over-the-air, cable/satellite,  and over-the-top services) to reach 100% of smart televisions. Without the watermark, 80% of  households are unable to receive these capabilities. 

“We are thrilled to announce that our Broadcast Audio Processor and softGear platform will  support the Verance Aspect Watermark,” says Wojtek Tryc, director, TPM softGear, Ross Video.  “Our partnership with Verance unlocks new opportunities for broadcasters to deliver new  compelling features to NextGen TV customers.” 

“Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to delivering innovative solutions that  drive revenue and viewer engagement in today’s and tomorrow’s broadcast environments,”  explained Nil Shah, CEO, Verance. “We are excited to partner with Ross Video and are pleased  to expand our product suite and support our partners as they transition to NextGen TV.”

George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.