RGB Adds Digital Overlay Capabilities to BNP

By Mike Robuck

RGB Networks cracked open its Broadcast Network Processor (BNP) to add new digital overlay capabilities that are designed to allow cable and telco service providers to deliver localized ads at a reduced cost for national and local advertisements.

While other companies offer digital overlays, RGB's secret sauce is being able to do so with more density since the BNP can deliver 500 video streams in a single rack unit. RGB, which announced the digital overlay today, enables operators to offer overlay text, graphics and videos that are embedded in the picture and not a separate video stream. While the streams remain in within the digital domain, they can be decoded and modulated back into analog in the digital simulcast environment.

The BNP uses the SCTE DVS/629 specification to work with multiple streams from ad campaign servers to deliver targeted, real-time ads to advertising zones or individuals.

Using the digital overlays, cable and telco operators can be better positioned to cash in on the local ad market revenue stream, which Kagan Research said had an income of $4.3 billion in the U.S. last year.

Service providers are also able to reap new financial windfalls by offering overlays to smaller, local businesses that may not typically advertise on TV because expensive production costs are lowered. Operators can also increase revenues by updating the ads with new insertions for weekly ad campaigns for businesses such as car dealerships, realtors and supermarkets.

"We've been talking not just to our customers, but also to ad companies and the companies that are doing the ads for the advertisers," said Ramin Farassat, RGB's vice president of product marketing. "One of the issues is that the costs of the ads were so high, it limited who could do them. The smaller mom-and-pop businesses couldn't afford to do these ads.

"For the ones who could afford them, the same ad would run for months. With our overlay technology, a car dealer can change an ad to highlight specific cars instead of just running a general ad with contact information."

Using the overlay technology, national ads can be customized to the local level and targeted to zones by categories that include geographic locations, demographics and languages. Since the cable operator is inserting the ads onto the video streams, the costs are much lower when compared to broadcast advertising overlays.

"When broadcasters create an overlay, they use expensive equipment for post production and for encoding and re-encoding," Farassat said. "We've reduced the cost per stream from thousands of dollars to tens of dollars, and now operators can put them into their own networks without relaying on the broadcasters."

BNP enables interactive ads through EBIF, which lets viewers telescope into a graphic or jump to another area for more detailed information on products. Motion text overlays can also be added, including emergency alert signals that are mandated by the FCC.

"The one that is really resonating with telcos is the graphic overlay for the emergency alert system," Farassat said. "They're really interested in using it for that."

Other overlay applications that the BNP can serve up include motion graphics and motion videos.

Eliminates ad skips on DVRs

BNP's digital overlay capabilities can also keep subscribers from skipping over ad content when they're watching a downloaded show on DVRs. By putting the ads directly on the video streams, viewers aren't able to skip over the ad unless they're willing to miss part of the recorded video.

Farassat said the ability to update and target ads to specific viewers using digital overlays will also help service operators keep advertising dollars from draining away to Internet ads.

Trials with cable operators underway

The BNP digital overlay is in several lab trials with cable operators, with the product scheduled for shipping some time this month. Farassat said discussions are underway with several telcos.

"We're not talking to satellite yet," he said, "mainly because if you look at zoned ads, its better for telcos and cable with their distributed architectures."

- Mike Robuck