LOUISVILLE, CO – How best to run interactive applications within video-on-demand (VOD) content was front and centre at a recent interoperability lab event at CableLabs.
The event, which ran May 23 – 27, consisted of two video on demand servers which were supported by several ad management servers and ad decision servers. Video content was stored in these systems, and each participant could utilize their software interfaces to dynamically insert advertisements into the VOD sessions.
CableLabs said that one of the major accomplishments of this interop was demonstrating the ability to run interactive applications within VOD content by following the latest version of the proposed Stewardship and Fulfillment Interface (SaFI) 2.1 specification. One of the technical details was the inclusion of a VOD server playing an advertisement with a pre-bound interactive request for information (RFI) application. The RFI data was processed in an aggregator at which point the data may be accessed by the appropriate cable operator.
“The interop’s results are valuable to cable operators, programmers and advertisers,” said Don Dulchinos, SVP of advanced platforms and services at CableLabs. “Providing a national footprint where advertisers can dynamically place ads on cable VOD assets has been a goal for a number of years. With the introduction of dynamic advertising into cable operators’ VOD libraries, consumers will ultimately benefit through an expanded choice of VOD titles.”
Participants at the interop included Ad-ID LLC, Arris, Avail TVN, Canoe Ventures LLC, Ericsson, Harris Corporation, The Nielsen Company, Sigma Systems, S&T, This Technology LLC and Unisoft.
