Evaluation of Android TV for Pay TV
December | 2017
A suitable platform for providing a seamless user experience across multiple devices is an imperative for Pay TV operators. Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and Android TV have the possibility to be the turning point for the Pay TV market. However, it remains to be seen how well the operators adapt Android platform for their services. The key considerations for operators to choose the right platform rests on multiple factors.
Tier 1s with a high average revenue per user (ARPU) behavior may rely on aspects like the availability of solution across original equipment manufacturer (OEM) platforms, long term engineering support, ability to invest in custom solution to offer differentiated services, and a complete control on user data to decide whether to use Reference Design Kit (RDK), proprietary or Android in the longer run. Others may look for a Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution with pre-integrated services, requiring minimal customization for faster time-to-market. This is where Android TV-based solutions fit the best.
Going AOSP or Android TV
AOSP can be used by operators to achieve complete flexibility for building user experience. It comes with a good Media Framework, support for digital rights management (DRM) and other essentials but lacks useful features like TV App Store, TV Framework for 10-feet user experience, Guide etc.
Android TV is essentially an avatar of AOSP, refurbished with components specially needed to build a Smart TV experience device like a set-top box or digital TV. It has all the features of AOSP plus an elaborate TV Framework integrated with commonly used OTT apps. Other value-adds include support for App Store, Voice, Search, Recommendation, Gaming console etc. However, Android TV mandates that the operator engages with Google for their Google Mobile Services (GMS) license. And this is a major cause of concern for the operators as they fear losing control over to Google. The choice between AOSP and Android TV is completely with the operator.
Advantage Android TV
Android TV contains many features that Pay TV operators require to build their user experience across set-top boxes and OTT devices.
Android TV – Areas of Improvement
While some of these features provide a clear edge to the Pay TV operators, there are some technological (and other) drawbacks in subsystems which need improvement. Some of these concerns may hamper the adoption and deployment rate of Android TV.
Way ahead
With the advent of Android TV and other similar open middleware like RDK for the Pay TV market, there is consolidation in proprietary middleware market. While telcos are showing more flexibility in adopting Android-based rolls outs, Pay TV operators are still heeding caution. AOSP and Android TV are definitely bringing a churn in the Pay TV industry and show discrete advantages that cannot be ignored.
Manish Verma, Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Wipro
Manish has more than 17 years of experience in Media Engineering and Consumer Electronics industry. In his current role, he helps incubate and develop media solutions for Smart TV, Set Top Box and Media Gateway devices. He consults in System Architecture and design for Next Gen IPTV OTT Video Platforms and Service Integration for MSOs. He is a Software Engineer and holds a bachelor degree in Computer Science & Engineering. He can be reached at manish.verma@wipro.com
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© 2021 Wipro Limited |
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