M+E Daily

MESA at CES: Source Took Over C Space; Turner, Comcast Turned to You.i TV

This is the third in a series of stories this week relaying what members of the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA) saw and shared at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show

LAS VEGAS — For Hank Frecon, C Space was the right place for his company at the Consumer Electronics Show.

The CEO of tech product and digital content services provider Source Digital found that the entertainment-centric area of the conference at Aria made more sense for his company and others, instead of fighting for attention at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“We’re focused on the marketing technology angles of the business, and C Space is a great fit for us,” Frecon told MESA at the show. At CES, his company showed off its latest efforts around smart content and omni-screen usage, where personalization of content can open up new monetization opportunities for everyone in the media distribution space.

Source Digital’s SourceSync.io platform — which interfaces with existing asset management systems and production data sources to sync data associated with every frame of digital video — was on display, with the company touting its metadata capabilities, allowing for more personalization and easier content discovery.

And Source also showed off several hybrid consumer engagement applications, surrounding social media and messaging, including one that utilizes every screen to discover content for purchasing.

“I don’t want to make commercials easier to watch, I want to make them go away,” Frecon said. “I’d rather weave them into the content itself, with in-screen product placement, and opening up a mountain of discovery during content for viewers.

While many at CES were there to see the new tech, Spark Digital was more interested in seeing what its clients were seeing.

“It’s a nice way to start the year, [but] we’re not here for the next virtual reality goggles,” Chris Cali, co-founder and managing partner of Spark Digital (formerly DevSpark) told MESA at CES. “We’re here because our clients are here.”

The company has long been designing and building software applications to support the business needs of its clients in the digital content space, and at CES, Spark Digital was working to see what the latest needs were in OTT, cloud-based DVR, and even the nascent connected car space.

Cali was made special note of the AirTV Player and service from Dish, the Android-based $100 device that’s aimed directly at cord cutters. He said that may be an indication of where the industry overall is headed.

“Consumers are changing the living room experience,” he said. “People are cutting the cord, and if you can make everything available in one place, make apps more searchable … .”

Over at NeuLion, the tech product and services provider had its own big announcement: it released its CE SDK Version 9.0 for Smart TV manufacturers, covering advance playback, mobile-to-TV interactivity and live streaming of content up to 4K. Considering all the 4K distribution gains the company made during 2016, it was only fitting that it kicked off 2017 with more of the same.

“Live sports, delivered in 4K, is today at the technological forefront,” said Nick Colsey, VP of business development for Sony Electronics, which is the first consumer electronics company to integrate NeuLion’s solution. “NeuLion is the leader in delivering live 4K streaming. We’re excited to partner with them to integrate the NeuLion CE SDK on our Sony 4K HDR Ultra HD televisions to ensure the very best 4K experience for consumers.”

Roy Reichbach, president and CEO of NeuLion, added: “NeuLion is continuously changing how viewers experience entertainment, including by developing advanced innovations on the devices consumers use to watch live sports, TV shows, movies and more. We are proud to license our technology to the biggest brands in consumer electronics to enable high-quality video streaming, up to 4K Ultra HD. By combining the NeuLion CE SDK with the NeuLion Digital Platform, we have created a powerful solution enabling Ultra HD connected devices to seamlessly stream live sports and entertainment content.”

For Western Digital’s premium storage brand G-Technology, CES was a chance to show off the expansion of its G-Drive portfolio, which included a first for the company: G-Tech’s G-Drive slim SSD USB-C drive, a solid state portable drive available in 500 GB and 1 TB versions, that offers fast interface speeds using USB-C connectivity.

“The G-Drive slim SSD USB-C embodies our commitment to delivering products that offer exceptional performance, style, and reliability, while combining SSD technology with the latest USB-C interface ensures users will have the latest technology and performance at their fingertips,” said Mike Williams, VP of advanced technologies for G-Technology, in a statement.

And while many MESA members made headlines at CES, few did it as often as cross-platform video app specialist You.i TV. First, the company shared that it was called on by Turner to adapt the Emmy Award-winning Cartoon Network app for Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, using the You.i Engine — the company’s flagship app experience platform — to add more personalization and navigation functionality.

“Cartoon Network is the latest example of how imaginative design teams are using the power of our You.i Engine platform to deliver superior app experiences,” said Andrew Emmons, VP of product development for You.i TV. “From here, they have everything they need to keep audiences fully engaged and coming back for more.”

Then, midway through CES week, Comcast Technology Solutions — the tech and media services arm of Comcast — announced that it was expanding its direct-to-consumer (D2C) solution for content providers looking to get into the OTT space, by partnering with a pair of companies on the user experience front. One was Accedo. The other was You.i TV.

”Comcast Technology Solutions’ history of innovation is clearly represented in its comprehensive direct-to-consumer portfolio,” said You.i TV CEO Jason Flick. “Together we make premium video app design and delivery more accessible and affordable for content owners. Thanks to this partnership, we jointly offer an unprecedented level of design flexibility that offers full control of branded experiences in an out-of-the-box solution.”