Skitter.TV is a Converged Internet Video/TV Solution that Offers Telecommunications Service Providers a Scalable Solution to Encode, Configure and Deliver Entertainment Services
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 9, 2009 (Atlanta) — Skitter, Inc. today announced the availability of Skitter.TV,™ video technology to encode, configure, deliver and monetize Internet and broadcast TV services. Available to consumers through telecommunications service providers, Skitter.TV provides a converged broadband TV experience on computers, televisions, mobile devices and gaming consoles.
Skitter.TV includes head-end hardware and software for integrated Web video, cable network and broadcast TV over IP, delivered via DSL or fiber. In partnership with service providers, Skitter.TV can also reduce network operations expenses for entertainment companies and content delivery networks (CDNs). Skitter.TV’s end-user software and program guide offer consumers premium-quality high definition (HD) or standard definition (SD) multiscreen video service that combines linear and on-demand content in a unified, remote- control-driven environment.
Skitter.TV Lowers Barriers to Entry, Raises Service Value for Traditional Telco’s
Skitter.TV gives traditional telco’s an opportunity to compete more successfully, increase revenue and improve customer loyalty with entertainment services, according to Robert Saunders, president of Skitter, Inc. “What’s different about Skitter.TV is the ability to go to market quickly with a simpler deployment, compared to traditional IPTV. The service provider can scale up to offer more content to more users as their markets demand,” Saunders said. “It gives service providers a competitive edge with reduced risk, especially Tier Two and Tier Three telephone companies. It’s a business model where ROI happens much faster, virtually from day one.
“With Skitter.TV, telco’s can win the race for Internet/TV convergence and address the competitive threats from cable, wireless and other providers that are putting pressure on the traditional telephone business model.”
A Complete Platform to Create, Encode and Deliver Competitive Entertainment Services
The Skitter.TV Internet TV platform consists of head-end video encoding, subscriber management and multistream delivery technology designed to industry standards and optimized for flexibility, efficiency and reliability. The Skitter Acclaim™ video encoder captures video from multiple sources and encodes into both HD and SD streams simultaneously, in real time. Service providers can easily include content from broadcast TV, cable networks, Websites such as YouTube™, content delivery networks such as NetFlix® , Hulu,™ and Amazon.com,® as well as live or prerecorded local content.
Once content is encoded, Skitter.TV’s subscriber management technology gives the service provider the tools needed to configure channel lineup and manage subscriber access based on the entertainment service bundles marketed to the consumer. Skitter.TV can handle virtually unlimited channels and manage multiple service bundles designed and delivered by the service provider.
The Skitter Acclaim™ Video Encoder Breaks New Ground in Real-time SD and HD Streaming
The Acclaim’s wide variety of input formats include 8VSB, QAM, RF, satellite, baseline analog video and others, allowing service providers to encode content from off-air broadcast stations, cable networks, live or tape-delayed local programming and more. The Acclaim can also be used outside the Skitter.TV environment for service providers and CDNs who want a real-time, dual-stream, small-footprint encoding solution.
“The Acclaim encoder is optimized to offer extraordinary performance at a great value. It encodes video to a standard MPEG4 AVC stream for simultaneous HD and SD service in real time, compared to many encoders that can take up to a minute for encoding,” Saunders said. And the Acclaim fits into a single rack unit, while most encoders require two RUs. That reduces the head-end real estate needed to deploy television over IP.”
Skitter.TV Offers Consumers Converged Internet and TV Content Anywhere
Skitter.TV works on Mac, Windows PC or Linux computers, on Web-enabled smart phones, on popular gaming devices such as the Nintendo® Wii™ and Sony® Playstation® 3, and on Internet TV appliances or traditional TVs connected to an IP-enabled set-top box. Multiple streams per account are supported simultaneously.
The consumer experiences a sit-back viewing environment driven by remote, bringing a comfortable and familiar TV atmosphere to converged Web video, video-on-demand and traditional TV programming. Skitter.TV’s program guide offers advanced features with no lean-forward, mouse-and-keyboard interaction required. The program guide allows viewers to set favorites, rename channels, sort content by program type and more, all from a standard remote control.
About Skitter, Inc.
Skitter is a converged media technology startup based in Atlanta, GA. Its founders have a combined experience base of more than 50 years in computing, telecommunications and Internet technology and more than 30 years in video technology, including numerous patents in video compression. For more information, visit www.skitter.tv.
Skitter.TV has been named a finalist in the Middleware category for the TelcoTV 2009 Vision Awards. This is the second year for the Vision Awards, which recognize the most innovative and “visionary” new products, services, or applications released during the past year, as determined by a panel of industry experts. Here are excerpts from TelcoTV’s press release, announced from Irvine, CA today:
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