San Diego, CA, April 13, 2016 –Verance Corporation, a pioneer of advanced content technology, today announced it will demonstrate the end-to-end implementation of the ATSC open watermarking system at NAB Show 2016 in Las Vegas from April 18-21. The technology provides broadcasters and TV manufacturers with a path to dramatically accelerate the deployment of key parts of the ATSC 3.0 ecosystem since, importantly, the ATSC open watermarks are also compatible with the current ATSC 1.0 broadcast standard. This will enable its deployment in advance of the ATSC 3.0 transition.
“With the new ATSC 3.0 standards package nearing completion and the broadcast industry’s increased focus on planning its implementation, we have been greatly encouraged by the positive response to our planned early roll out of open watermarking,” said Verance Chief Executive Nil Shah. “The open watermark’s compatibility with today’s distribution infrastructure means broadcasters and TV makers can obtain a return on their ATSC 3.0 investment years earlier than previously thought, and can do so with technologies based on openly published specifications.”
Anne Schelle, Managing Director of Pearl TV, a consortium of the nine largest broadcast companies in the U.S. with more than 200 network-affiliated TV stations among them, commented, “Open watermarking standards power content discovery, advanced advertising and audience data opportunities across distribution paths. It is a central enabler with the potential to allow local broadcasters to realize substantially increased revenue in the years following broad deployment.”
In March 2015, ATSC announced its selection of technologies from Verance and Sony Corporation as the basis for its open watermark standards. Verance subsequently partnered with Linear Acoustic® to integrate the capability of ATSC watermark embedding as a field-upgradeable capability for the AERO™ family of real-time and file-based TV station audio processors. This provided a fast path for broadcasters to immediately begin embedding the watermark in their services.
ATSC’s open watermarking system establishes a new path for broadcasters to create direct broadband connections to viewers’ connected TVs and deliver next-generation features including interactivity, personalization and measurement. ATSC has specified watermark signals that broadcasters can include in their services, pass transparently through any distribution path and are reliably detected in TV receivers. Additionally, it has network protocols with which the receiver locates and accesses these enhanced features from broadcaster-designated Internet servers.
ATSC has moved to establish the world’s first open watermarking standards to ensure that all of the broadband-enabled features of ATSC 3.0 can be made available to viewers that receive broadcast services. These are delivered via the emerging ATSC 3.0 broadcast emission standards, as well as via redistribution paths such as cable, satellite and over-the-top (OTT) services.
Open watermarking can trigger the HTML5 run-time environment on TVs and other devices to offer a rich set of interactive applications for the enhancement of video and the consumer experience. These include:
Personalization, the tailoring of a video presentation to viewers’ own tastes and needs. This includes presentation of alternate captioning or alternate language dialog audio obtained from broadband servers for example.
Advanced Advertising, the selection of video advertisements targeted to an individual display device. This capability can deliver advertising that is more relevant to an individual viewer and increases the value and flexibility of advertising.
Interactivity, which includes an unlimited range of interactive features presented via locally rendered graphics overlaid on video. Interactive applications can encompass browsable real-time statistics, custom information crawls and direct response to program content, for example.
Verance will conduct its NAB demonstration at the ATSC Pavilion (located at Futures Park, Upper South Hall, Booth SU15811).
About Verance:
With more than 20 years of experience in watermarking, Verance technology unlocks the power of content to identify insights and empower customers to act on them. Verance’s widely embraced product, Cinavia®, assists entertainment companies in maximizing the value of their premium entertainment properties. With its groundbreaking Open Watermarking solution, Verance enables an efficient market for broadcasters to connect directly with their audience. Verance’s industry standard watermarking solutions are moving industries forward amidst a rapidly evolving technology landscape.
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Contact:
Jim Benson / Kevin Broderick
The Lippin Group
jbenson@lippingroup.com / kevin@lippingroup.com
323-965-1990
