The Comcast Media Center (CMC) is throwing its support behind enhanced television (ETV) and tru2way services with the recent launch of its HITS Advanced Interactive Services (AxIS) platform.
AxIS is a centralized platform that was designed to supported advanced interactive application developers, while also facilitating the launch of these interactive services on cable systems that serve small- to mid-size markets.
The CMC collaborated with Vidiom and TVWorks on the AxIS service, which also supports product development for other companies that are developing interactive applications, including Alticast, Biap, Emuse, Ensequence, Sofia Digital, vivoTrak and Zodiac Interactive.
“In the CMC tradition, the HITS AxIS service will provide the content community with the tools they need for creating advanced services from a facility that can also deploy those services over a broad footprint and provide efficient and ongoing management support,” said Gary Traver, SVP and COO at CMC. “In addition, we can provide cable system operators with an end-to-end solution that shifts much of the burden associated with offering these services to a content management center, and thereby support the industry’s vision for a ubiquitous ‘plug and play’ experience for any and all cable customers, regardless of market size.”
The HITS AxIS service will serve as a centralized resource to support the development, delivery and management of advanced interactive applications. Its product development services for advanced interactive application developers encompass business modeling, licensing and application testing (standalone and interoperability). Deployment services available in connection with the HITS AxIS service will include configuration, hosting, affiliate sales, contract management and product launches on HITS’ cable system affiliates.
The HITS AxIS service can also provide cable system operators with an alternative to headend-based solutions for launching and supporting advanced interactive video applications. HITS Quantum affiliates will be able to offer interactive services to their customers using their existing headend management systems.
CMC said that through its product offerings, it will help to stimulate the development and deployment of applications that can use both the current ETV EBIF (Enhanced Television-Binary Interchange Format) platform, as well as the emerging tru2way platform.
CMC, a business unit of Comcast Cable, provides services to 400 cable affiliates across 2,000 local headends.
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