Monday, March 23, 2009

Alcatel-Lucent enables IPTV Apps with Microsoft Mediaroom

Alcatel-Lucent has enhanced its digital media suite of products with support for the recently announced multimedia application environment for the Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV platform, called the Microsoft Mediaroom Presentation Framework. By using Alcatel-Lucent's Multimedia Content Manager and Interactive Media Manager in conjunction with Microsoft's IPTV platform, service provides are able to offer more personalized multimedia, on-demand offerings while delivering interactive advertising services.


Announced in January of this year, the Mediaroom Presentation Framework helps IPTV operators differentiate their services from those provided by cable and satellite operators by providing the tools to seamless blend on-screen broadcasting with content and services pulled from the Web.


Through the use of pre-tested templates, Alcatel-Lucent's digital media suite further complements this value proposition. Content providers and media agencies can quickly create new interactive TV applications such as voting, enhanced TV or interactive advertisement to augment the broadcast experience and to offer the TV viewer a real interactive and personal TV experience.


Alcatel-Lucent said these templates give content providers and media agencies an abstraction layer so that they can focus on their core expertise and do not have to worry about the technical capabilities of a TV software platform.


The digital media suite also brings to market the capability for an operator to upload a digital media asset once and monetize that asset across many devices and users. Operators can extend the video experience for their TV audience while also enabling that same experience through mobile or broadband. Content packaging to personalize the user's experience is made easy by cross-promoting video assets with music and other services, and by providing multi-platform purchase capabilities allowing users to enjoy their content anywhere, anytime. The look and feel of the experience can be exposed to the content providers and media agencies so that they can tune it to their needs using pre-tested templates.


Alcatel-Lucent is a strategic reseller and systems integration partner for Microsoft Mediaroom.


Separately, Alcatel-Lucent announced that Telefonica is conduction an extensive interactive IPTV advertising proof of concept pilot for its Imagenio IPTV customers throughout Spain. Telefonica is using the application enablement solution from Alcatel-Lucent, bringing increased interactivity and web 2.0 features to the TV experience of Imagenio's already robust IPTV platform.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com