SeaChange Software Enables Cable's Next on Demand Opportunities

Business Wire

Cable-Tec Expo Highlights SeaChange Axiom Software Advantages in New Applications, Switched Digital Video and Network PVR

This week at the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers' Cable-Tec Expo, SeaChange International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SEAC) will show the new opportunities and performance advantages of its SeaChange Axiom Open Suite video operation system software. Through Axiom, SeaChange's widely deployed on-demand systems automate increasingly complex operations from content intake right down to set-top applications.

"From switched digital video, to network PVR, to advertising and games, the platform for most of the world's on-demand television services is enabling operators to deploy a range of seamless applications on their original on-demand investments," said Yvette Kanouff, senior vice president, corporate strategy, SeaChange. "Software is providing the key to robust on-demand services and the next wave of opportunities. SeaChange Axiom is simplifying operations - from content management to streaming, and subscriber and network management - and providing easy integration for emerging services like dynamic advertising, switched video, network PVR and third-party applications."

Switched digital video capabilities from an on-demand platform

Operators are turning to switched digital video to make the most of constrained network bandwidth to deliver new channels, high-definition and additional services. With their current on-demand platform, SeaChange customers can easily introduce cost-effective switched digital video operations. SeaChange's Switched Digital Video Solution is a seamless software add-on for Axiom, which already performs System and Resource Management behind millions of on-demand streams every day.

The SeaChange Switched Digital Video Solution extends this experience to enable on-demand streams and broadcast channels to share QAM bandwidth, automatically distributing traffic based on usage statistics. Its open architecture will support a wide range of industry protocols and will integrate a range of equipment vendors, letting operators keep their network infrastructure in place.

"Switched digital video strategies get hung up on the network redeployment costs. It's a major sticking point and SeaChange is giving operators a way to get around radically changing their networks to make them run far more efficiently," said Kanouff. "SeaChange's easily scalable and fault-tolerant switched digital video solution will run seamlessly with on-demand network architectures in place today. It's the latest in a range of incremental benefits that come from software shaped by years of service in a wide range of network settings."

Real-time recording: Evolution to network PVR

On-demand television will present increasingly more personalized experiences to viewers. While television's stakeholders work out the ground rules for advancements like subscriber controlled network PVR, the majority of SeaChange's customers, including Comcast's Denver operation, are already offering popular broadcast television content options made possible by SeaChange Axiom Recording System add-on software. This real-time, schedule-based recording is providing the vast majority of on-demand programs, like news and sports, originally aired by local broadcasters and national networks. Available later this year, SeaChange is extending Recording System capabilities to a new solution that provides a network PVR experience matching a local PVR - backed by Axiom and the scalable, fault-resilient storage and streaming of SeaChange's MediaCluster video server architecture.

Axiom delivers new advantages from experience

SeaChange Axiom Open Suite software simplifies content acquisition and management, optimizes network bandwidth and easily integrates new applications and connections beyond television settops. Cable-Tec Expo demonstrations reflect Axiom's operational intelligence and extensibility - the advantages of billions of streams delivered.

On demand services are poised to serve subscribers on demand wherever they are. This week, SeaChange will show its IPTV System seamlessly automating content preparation and management for secure, real-time IP video streaming to mobile phones, PDAs and laptops; and download services to Apple iPods and Sony PlayStation Portables. Axiom, together with the SeaChange QuickSilver VOD Workstation, will generate and manage multiple 'renditions' of video assets to meet individual mobile device requirements, such as 'mobisodes' for PDAs and full-length productions for television.

Today's on-demand services can also be leveraged to meet the billion-dollar demand for video games. Showing at Cable-Tec Expo, the SeaChange Game Now game management system lets operators promote, manage and build a community for games. Regardless of games' source or authoring languages, operators can deliver them as on-demand assets to settops, PCs and wireless devices, just like any other video file.

Such applications are attracting bigger audiences to on demand television and SeaChange is helping operators to monetize these opportunities through advertising. With SeaChange AdPulse On Demand Advertising software and its dynamic ad insertion capability, operators can optimize this growing medium through unmatched capabilities including ad refresh and rotation, granular targeting and detailed reporting. At Cable-Tec Expo, SeaChange will show run-time insertions into on-demand streams at the moment that subscribers order an on-demand program. Regardless of the on-demand content type - recorded broadcast programs, evergreen assets, mobile video and even games - AdPulse enables variations of ads to be rotated in and out of service, and individual ad copy to be refreshed at any time - per schedule, or on-the-fly.

Visit SeaChange during the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers' Cable-Tec Expo (Denver, June 21-23) in booth 579.

About SeaChange

SeaChange provides digital video systems that are changing television. Its powerful server and software systems enable television operators to provide new on-demand services and to gain greater efficiencies in advertising and content delivery. With its Emmy-winning MediaCluster technology, thousands of SeaChange systems are helping broadband, broadcast and satellite television companies to streamline operations, expand services and increase revenues. SeaChange is headquartered in Acton, Massachusetts and has product development, support and sales offices throughout the world. Visit www.schange.com.

MediaCluster is a registered trademark of SeaChange International, Inc. AdPulse, SeaChange Axiom, Game Now and SeaChange QuickSilver are trademarks of SeaChange International, Inc. All other trademarks are properties of their respective companies.

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