September 25, 2006

Enhanced with Ensequence

The strategic partnership announced today between Ensequence and Cox-Comcast joint venture TVWorks reveals some of the backfilling still required to make interactive TV services a reality for the vast majority of digital cable subscribers.

The partnership makes Ensequence interactive TV authoring software available to programming networks, advertisers and cable operators. It also leverages the CableLabs Enhanced Television—Binary Interchange Format (ETV-BIF) standard, a software stack much thinner than the Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP).

Cox and Comcast picked TVWorks platform, which has incorporated technology and assets from Liberate Technologies and MetaTV, with their installed base of Motorola and Scientific-Atlanta digital set-tops in mind. For several years associated with the toxic glow linked to companies (such as Liberate) that imploded with the dot.bust, the interactive—or enhanced—TV category is in rebound mode.

“Operators have indicated that they are looking to get 90 percent of set-tops enabled in the next 12-18 months,” says Aslam Khader, Ensequence VP marketing.

Some of the momentum is clearly driven by threats. The interactive video goal among operators now is to become “if not leading-edge, then competitive,” says Khader. Ensequence itself is well deployed on satellite platforms (both BSkyB and DishTV) and its light weight commended itself to cable’s deployed base.

“We’re like the Flash for interactive TV,” says Khader.

Deploying OCAP requires a more processing power and memory than found in legacy boxes. “We have a solution for OCAP, as well.” Khader says. “(But) 20-plus million (boxes) don’t and will not support OCAP.”

Among operators, Cox had taken the legacy box interactive lead via its “OnRamp to OCAP” initiative. Khader says that Cox had already selected Ensequence as its “tool of choice” through a licensing deal this spring.

Jonathan Tombes