Comcast is testing ActiveVideo’s cloud-based delivery system in a trial of an enhanced video-on-demand (VOD) service in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Comcast has licensed ActiveVideo’s CloudTV H5 platform and will use it to provide a cloud-based user interface (UI) for Xfinity On Demand customers to search and discover VOD content.

The CloudTV H5 platform runs an HTML5 browser not on the client devices, but in remote servers; all execution and rendering is conducted in the cloud and is then streamed to the user’s device. The latency between a customer key press and the UI response is minimal, the vendor said.

The technology makes it possible to create and deliver pixel-accurate applications and user experiences across any digital set-top box or connected device, ActiveVideo explained. The in-home device capabilities are irrelevant to the application designer because the application is fully executed and rendered on the cloud-based server, making it possible to create complex animations and functionality without worrying about device capability.

One of the ultimate attractions of the approach is that it does not require the addition of a single device in the home.

And as television operators move more and more to a unicast distribution network, they can take advantage of the CloudTV platform to drive personalized, on-demand video to every customer.

“Our goal is simple: to help Comcast make it easier for customers to search and discover new content from their vast on-demand library,” said Jeff Miller, CEO and president of ActiveVideo Networks. “Leveraging CloudTV’s enterprise-class performance, we can offer providers like Comcast new, rich experiences from the cloud, as well as a consistent look and feel that can be delivered to any set-top box.”

CloudTV is available on approximately 10 million screens – in the United States and abroad – with Cablevision Systems, Oceanic Time Warner Cable and other operators, as well as on Philips-brand NetTVs.