By Stuart Thomson
Nordic pay TV provider Allente is to deploy set-tops with Google’s Common Broadcast Stack. The Nordic Entertainment-Telenor JV, which combines the former Viasat Consumer and Canal Digital offerings, has completed integration of the Broadcast Stack into an Android Operator Tier set-top, working with Google, Kaonmedia, Nagra, Broadcom and 3SS.
Allente last year revealed that it was deploying set-top boxes and middleware from Kaonmedia alongside Android TV specialist 3SS-enabled viewing experience enhancements across its aggregated 1.2 million subscriber base.
According to the partners involved, the latest milestone sees Allente become one of the first operators to complete Google Common Broadcast Stack integration for an Android TV Operator Tier box.
Kaonmedia is providing its Kaon BCM72180 DVR box, supplied with Nagra Media CAS, a Broadcom 72180 chipset and 3SS’s user experience technology.
The Common Broadcast Stack is designed to enable faster rollouts of hybrid Android TV and broadcast services by integrating the playing and recording of broadcast TV signals, allowing users to access such services via a common HDMI input and removing the need for separate integration of broadcast elements on a case-by-case basis.
Allente’s project was completed in just six months.
Late last year, Technicolor, a leader in Android TV boxes, announced that it was partnering with Google to integrate the Broadcast Stack onto a range of devices, in a move that was widely expected to accelerate adoption of the technology.
“We congratulate Allente for becoming one of the first operators in the world to leverage the Common Broadcast Stack, and in working closely with world-class technology partners, elevating the digital entertainment user experience for consumers,” commented Matthias Puschmann, strategic Android TV partner development manager at Google.
Allente CTO, Jon Espen Nergård said, “Completion of our STB integration so rapidly is a clear testament to the technology, engineering skill and dedication to customer satisfaction from our partners Kaon and 3SS, and indeed those of our wider partnership of collaborators which includes Nagra, Broadcom and of course Google.”