Orca Interactive, which produces middleware and applications for internet protocol television services, is launching an Interactive Alliance to promote cooperation among suppliers of IPTV systems.
The Israeli software company, which is listed in London, says that in the emerging IPTV market it is critical for players across the value chain to provide open solutions that can accommodate the rapid, cost-effective introduction of evolving technologies, capabilities and applications.
The Interactive Alliance marketing partnership includes integration, technology, application developer and user interface partners.
Orca will provide certified partners with its implementation tools, including its subscriber user interface software development kit for television interfaces and application development, and its RiGHTv service delivery platform.
The alliance was welcomed by Simon Woodward, the chief executive of ANT plc, the Cambridge company that provides browser software for interactive television services. “The challenge of delivering an optimal user experience is a crucial test for any IPTV service,” he said.
“By bringing Orca’s SUI SDK together with our ANT Galio Client platform and next-generation Galio browser, service providers gain control over the entire look and feel of the user interface and content presentation, enabling branded and consistent service differentiation.”
BitBand Technologies, another company that has worked closely with Orca, also welcomed the approach, saying it had rapidly achieved interoperability between its video delivery network and the Orca middleware.
The Interactive Alliance reflects the growing affiliation between some smaller suppliers in the IPTV ecosystem in the face of monolithic solutions from vendors such as Microsoft that have tied up many of the tier one telcos.