As part of its move from interactive television to transforming television in general, OpenTV has acquired Ruzz TV, an Australian company that provides software systems for television broadcasters. Based in Sydney, with just ten employees, Ruzz TV was founded in 1999 by Robert Rutherford, who will continue as managing director and chief technology officer of Ruzz TV following the acquisition.
Ruzz TV provides broadcasters with a platform for broadcast playout operations that integrates systems from multiple vendors.
“The bringing together of these two companies recognises the importance now being placed on workflow automation, its value in the digital television space and its contribution to a greater customer viewing experience,” said the founder of Ruzz TV. “We look forward to being a part of OpenTV as the business continues to grow.”
Ruzz TV has previously supplied systems for the ABC, Seven Network, SBS, Foxtel and Austar in Australia.
The company says that it sees the demise of conventional broadcast presentation suites, to be replaced by channel in a box solutions that include playout, mixing and graphics, all controlled by the schedule and metadata.
Its software systems are based on QNX Neutrino Real Time Operating System which is designed to provide robust and reliable embedded systems.
“Ruzz TV is an innovative provider of high-quality technology solutions for broadcasters,” said Ben Bennett, chief executive of OpenTV. “With this acquisition, we are excited to complement our products and offer broadcasters around the world the right components to manage their workflow and content processes quickly and efficiently.”