SoftAtHome Leads Dongle Casting Revolution Adding Live Content and Mobility

Operators can now let their subscribers carry their TV subscription around in their pockets.

IBC 2014, Amsterdam – September 12, 2014 – SoftAtHome, the leading provider of operating platforms enabling convergent services for the digital home, is spearheading a revolution in premium content consumption with HDMI “cast” dongles that can be plugged into any main TV set. This dongle solution will be one of the main attractions of IBC 2014 as it creates a new consumption paradigm by eliminating barriers between different content sources, such as user generated content and live premium content. The universal “cast” dongle cements pay TV operators’ position at the centre of the digital home ecosystem with a cost-optimised package that minimizes TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). As dongles are portable devices, consumers can carry their services in their pocket wherever they go to any available TV screen, taking benefits of the best available content distribution protocol (multicast on managed-network and unicast on unmanaged-network).

“While linear TV will remain the predominant source of content, consumers will increasingly want to integrate personal multimedia, as well as OTT content streamed or downloaded to mobile devices,” said David Souhami, Product Marketing Management Director. “This is why we believe dongles have emerged so quickly to fulfil this role as casting devices. Our universal cast dongle creates a new paradigm by converging all TV consumption technologies in a single portable device and puts the operator at the centre of the Open Digital Home, no longer constrained by existing walls centered instead on the end-user. Intelligence is now devolved to mobile applications, allowing casting of any content, including premium live or linear in HD as well as OTT services, in a small form factor, that you can carry in your pocket.”

Powered by SoftAtHome’s SOP7 software platform and using a future-proof secure multicast enabled chipset, the universal “cast” dongle represents a radically new class of devices that unites multicast and unicast within the extended home via casting. With a tablet or smartphone app, it is now possible to cast any content onto any TV set that has the SoftAtHome dongle attached, thus enabling the personalization of any nearby TV screen when needed. This content can be a live IPTV stream (full HD H264 or H265 with CAS/DRM protection), VOD (RTSP, Adaptive streaming, progressive download), an OTT service such as web TV, YouTube, Deezer, or online games, using Apple, Google or Wi-Fi Alliance cast protocols, or user generated content cast through DLNA.

Meet SoftAtHome in Hall 4 on stand 4.A51 at IBC RAI Amsterdam from 12^th to 16^th September 2014.

About SoftAtHome

SoftAtHome is an operator-backed software company delivering the best of connectivity, Pay TV and digital services to the home. Through its SOP product SoftAtHome empowers operators to compete against local competition and global players alike by leveraging the ecosystem to deliver outstanding services. SOP is central to delivering standard based cost-effective solutions that are simple and long lasting. SoftAtHome solutions are already deployed on over 20 million Home Gateways and Set Top Box throughout the world in multiple broadband and broadcast deployments. The company is headquartered in France with development and sales teams also in Belgium and the UAE. For more information, visit our website at www.softathome.com or follow us @SoftAtHome.