Alticast Sees Tru2way Penetration Boost With Cisco Agreement

Alticast’s tru2way middleware will be in 7-8 million cable set-top boxes by year-end, down from an earlier forecast for 10 million units, as some deployments were postponed to 2011, CEO David Housman said. The installed base has grown from 1.5 million units at year-end 2009 to about 2.5 million this month as Bright House Networks, Cablevision and Time Warner Cable continue to expand use of the technology, Houseman said.

The growth will be further fueled in Q4 as Cisco begins distributing Alticast middleware widely in its cable set-tops, building on those installed at Time Warner Cable in New York City and Bright House in Orlando, Fla.; Syracuse, N.Y.; and Tampa, Fla., Housman said. In switching to Alticast, Cisco is dropping OCAP Development LLC tru2way software that was jointly developed by Time Warner and Comcast, Housman said. Time Warner Cable, which also uses Samsung set-tops, accounts for “a little more than” half of Alticast tru2way installations thus far, Housman said.

The increased use of tru2way contrasts with the technology’s sluggish rollout last year. Major operators had vowed to have 20 percent of the cable set-tops lease tru2way-capable by July 2009, but so far only Cablevision, Cox and Time Warner Cable have met that target, Housman said. Comcast and Charter have fallen short of that goal, he said. Alticast also is shipping Samsung tru2way set-tops for Videotron’s cable service in Canada. Videotron has about 2.3 million subscribers. “It’s not 100 percent on this date Cisco goes to Alticast, but it does provide them a mature software middleware with a company that’s going be around for a long time and that was one of their concerns in choosing a partner,” Housman said. “They didn’t want somebody with a toe in the water. They wanted someone where this was their business."

In pushing forward with Cisco, Alticast ended a partnership with TiVo (CED March 20/09 p1) that was to deploy tru2way-capable DVR software with Motorola STBs in Comcast’s Chicago market. The DVR software had been working in the Boston market as a Java-based application to OCAP. TiVo was going to combine its DVR software with Alticast’s middleware. Alticast was also part of Intel’s Consumer Electronics Network that the chipmaker formed in 2008 to build a base for its Canmore CE 3100 processor, which gave way last year to the Sodaville CE 4100. Alticast’s ties to Intel “remain strong” and it has “multiple projects with them,” Houseman said.

Intel, TiVo and Alticast “just decided to go in different directions,” Housman said. Intel “learned a lot from it, but it was probably not a TiVo-type of thing they wanted to do,” he said. “TiVo was kind of in the same sport and the companies had different strategic agendas and considered it exploratory and good learning.”

Alticast also recently partnered with Rovi to develop tru2way interactive program guides (IPGs). Rovi has shown renewed interest in tru2way having unveiled earlier a new tru2way IPG that combines its cable-oriented Passport back-end with its new TotalGuide. Alticast and Rovi haven’t finalized an agreement, but hope to have a pact in place by Q3, Housman said.

In addition to tru2way, Alticast is readying software applications for Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF) guides, drawing from a base of 120 that the Korea-based company has developed for operators in nine countries, Housman said. Among these is social media software -- it demonstrated Twitter on TV at a recent cable show -- that allows operators and programmers to measure audience response. It also has developed Qook TV that was developed with Korea Telecom. Qook TV uses a seven-button remote equipped with a motion sensor and on-screen icon that enables a user to go through an on-screen guide and channels.

Alticast also plans to broaden its reach in Blu-ray players, Housman said. Alticast and Vidiom Systems jointly developed software behind BD Live that has been deployed in 3.5 million players, Housman said. Blu-ray accounts for about 10 percent of Alticast’s global revenue, but is expected to double this year, Housman said. The BD Live software is deployed in Blu-ray players ranging from those fielded by Samsung, Harman Kardon and Vizio to Orion, Sansui and others. Alticast expects to deliver “more of a total Blu-ray solution” later this year, said Housman.

"If you look at Blu-ray players and what is happening with BD Live and Internet access being able to get new applications onto that device is easily, it is becoming the first real viable threat to cable operator’s VOD services,” Housman said. “When you take a TV-centric customers, BD Live is right in that sweet spot of how they navigate and look at TV."

As it expands development, Alticast is adding employees in the U.S. When Housman arrived as CEO in June 2009, Alticast had 14 employees, but now expects to increase that to 33-34 by year-end. Many of those hired are working on software applications, he said.