Screen Subtitling, supplier of captioning and subtitling systems, will be showing off ScreenConnect, its new connected TV publishing tool, at this year’s BVE event in London. Despite the significant revenue-generating opportunities presented by connected TV, Gordon Maynard, Screen’s product manager for connected TV, suggests that pick-up is generally slow due to deployment barriers – obstacles that the company has designed ScreenConnect to address.
“The benefits of connected TV are very clear but the challenges faced by service providers in producing content for the profusion of different connected TV platforms is proving to be prohibitive,” said Maynard. “Because an application has to be written and then updated for each and every platform it is driving many companies away from the market, even though the fundamental desire to enter is there.”
ScreenConnect allows media companies to access and deliver services to the maximum number of connected TV and tablet outlets without having to devote the significant time and cost associated with writing applications for each of the many platforms available.
Maynard added: “ScreenConnect has been built to be adaptable, not just for current platforms but with a view to developing platforms too, including those that are yet to emerge. The key to this is high level language that the system uses to define the content and structure of the service and how users navigate through it.”
ScreenConnect provides the platform to build a service for connected TV platforms, including the navigation structure and the definition of content panels across that service. A browser-based tool is used to edit and manage content with flexible control of content display. That content can be global or platform-specific, with sites generated in a platform-neutral format for delivery to display applications.
Transactions can be supported by custom plug-ins while different navigation types – remote control or touchscreen, for example – can also be handled. It also supports code injection for specialized requirements. ScreenConnect handles the variation in HTML-based platforms and delivers applications through its ConnectWriter module, a key component for multiple platform delivery. Its core code takes output from the content management system and builds pages according to location; platform-specific code handles the differences between receivers. Site-specific code then takes care of custom requirements while cascading style sheets control the look of the service, optimized for each platform.
Maynard concluded: “Broadcasters, irrespective of size and genre need to take a look at the opportunities and be assured that the major market entry barrier presented by connected TV can now being addressed by ScreenConnect.”
