Moving the EPG to the companion device, a natural evolution

One new development that was commonplace at IBC this year is the use of companion devices such as an iPad or smartphone for navigating the EPG. Over the last year there have been lots of demos of these services, but now it’s becoming a commercial reality. ANT Galio Move, the companion device offering from ANT, is available to consumers today under the View21 brand in the UK and recently won an award at the ConnectedWorld.tv awards for its approach to using a second screen.

This isn’t just a “we won an award” blog entry, though.  What I really want to talk about is how this kind of app has changed my use of the EPG.  

Moving the EPG off the main screen on to a second screen does more than just give me a better way of navigating around a grid-based guide. It changes how the guide gets used as a browsing tool and a content discovery mechanism, and affects the whole dynamic of watching TV. Many tablet owners are already used to multi-tasking while watching TV, and having the EPG on a companion device means that browsing the guide simply becomes another part of that multi-tasking.  Most importantly, it means that it’s not interrupting other people’s TV viewing.

Having the guide on a companion device, with its own connection to the Internet and a richer interaction model also opens up new possibilities for what the guide looks like.  Imagine “zooming in” on a programme to find out more about it, as if the detailed information about the programme is just another part of the main guide grid.  Imagine having that tied in to a recommendation engine, or personal recommendations from friends via Twitter that suggest programmes you’d like.  Imagine having it integrated with catch-up TV services, or VoD services, or the iTunes store so that you can buy the movie or TV series to keep.

With the rich metadata that is now available, the combination of advanced TV services and a companion device with an easy-to-use user interface means that are we now in a position to make the best use of that new data to improve our EPG and help us to more easily find what we want to watch.

ANT wins at ConnectedWorld.TV Awards

Last night at the ConnectedWorld.TV Awards we collected the prize for the best native app for a portable device for ANT Galio Move. The awards ceremony took place at IBC 2012 and was hosted by Spencer Kelly (middle), presenter of BBC Click. It was great to see the product recognised by the industry as one of the leading applications on the market.

ANT Galio Move was launched at IBC 2011 and allows consumers to stream live and recorded TV to tablets and smartphones anywhere in the home. You can view the device in action on ANT’s YouTube Channel.

The award has come as we have been demonstrating the latest social media functionality of ANT Galio Move at this year’s IBC. We’ve had excellent feedback from visitors who have had a hands-on demonstration of the new features. 

ANT Galio Move now enables viewers to update Facebook or Twitter while they watch TV content on the companion device, or access additional related associated content on Wikipedia, YouTube or iTunes. It’s this interaction with the content, and being able to engage with what you are watching, that has hit the right note at IBC this year.

With these new features added, we’re already looking forward to innovating further as the fast moving second screen market continues to gain momentum.

Socialising at IBC 2012

IBC 2012 marks a year since the launch of our unique multiscreen TV app, ANT Galio Move. Over the last 12 months the app has continued to evolve as connected devices have presented a massive opportunity for the TV industry. With the foundations of the connected home in place, it’s clear that consumers want to be able to interact across multiple devices. Now with the ANT Galio Move app, viewers can access Facebook and Twitter on the same screen as their favourite TV shows.

ANT Galio Move was developed to meet the growing demand for the multiscreen viewing experience. It enables viewers to watch both live and recorded TV on tablets and smartphones anywhere in the home. People can watch either the same or different TV shows without interrupting the main TV screen. The app ‘talks’ to the TV or STB over a Wi-Fi connection, any tablet or smartphone device can also act as a remote control. So viewers are also able to manage recordings and access programme information.

Now viewers can update Facebook or Twitter whilst they watch TV content on the same screen. Not only this, but because the app analyses programme metadata it can also provide links to additional associated online content. ANT Galio Move can provide links to Wikipedia for additional programme and actor information, movie trailers on YouTube, or a soundtrack on iTunes. It can even suggest the right hashtags for the viewer to follow on Twitter.


We’ll be at IBC until the end of the show so pop our stand 4.C98 in Hall number 4 to see ANT Galio Move in action. Or you can view a video demonstration of the new features below.

Households getting smarter with their TVs

Internet connected 'smart TVs' are growing in popularity with 5% of UK households now owning one, according to stats in Ofcom’s new report.

As smart TVs grow in popularity, so does the physical size of the average TV screen.  More than one third (35%) of TVs sold in the UK in Q1 2012 were either 'super-large' (33" to 42") or 'jumbo' sized (43" and over). In addition, smartphone and tablet ownership are also up, 39% and 11% respectively.
The connected home is no longer just a pipe dream. Smart TV sales are steadily increasing and more importantly the number of consumers actually using the internet enabled features is increasing too. Over two thirds of people are now using the internet capabilities of their smart TVs - a result of more engaging, relevant content being provided for viewers combined with improved consumer understanding of the benefits of plugging an internet cable into the back of their new TV.

The rise in smartphone and tablet ownership presents an opportunity to not only watch TV on these devices but to join the TV and the connected devices together for a converged TV experience. Tasks such as scanning the electronic programme guide or scheduling new recordings should take place on the touch screen user interface of a smartphone of tablet device to avoid disturbing what the TV is best as – displaying great television pictures.

By Simon Woodward, CEO of digital TV specialist ANT Software

Tablet video views continue to grow

The latest report by online video company Ooyala is out and once again provides an excellent insight into how people are consuming video content on PCs, smartphones, tablets and connected TV’s.

The report includes some great statistics around the increase in long-form content viewing (videos longer than ten minutes) on tablet devices. This accounted for over half of the video content consumed. The iPad remains the dominant tablet device, accounting for 95% of tablet viewing.

We’ve seen strong industry interest in this area seen since the launch of ANT Galio Move, an application that allows consumers to stream live and recorded TV direct to tablets and smartphones anywhere in the home from connected TV’s and STBs. Tablet sales continue to go from strength to strength and new product releases have enhanced video content usage, Ooyala’s report states that following Apple’s March release of the iPad 3, the amount of video watched on tablets jumped 26%. 

Streamed mobile TV users set to soar

This week, Juniper Research released a survey highlighting the increasing popularity of streaming TV services directly to smartphone devices. Juniper predicts that the number of users will rise to 240m by 2014. The report found that this dramatic growth would arise from a combination of both increased smartphone penetration and, critically, an increase in the usage of live and on-demand Internet TV and IPTV services.

Of course, TV content is no longer confined to a TV screen in the home, and mobile TV adds another exciting dimension to consumers’ viewing experience. Mobile TV allows viewers to access real-time content whenever and wherever they want, meaning consumers can watch events, such as sports or breaking news stories, as they happen, and interact with that content as they watch. As the likes of Sky invest more in mobile access, the TV industry will be encouraged to see the rising mobile TV usage figures. 

Content providers would however, be wise to ensure that in offering consumers a multiscreen experience, each of the devices used are able to interact with each other. At present, devices are all too often treated independently, with mobile devices receiving cut-down services via the cloud. Content providers and device manufacturers need to work together to enable companion devices to ‘connect’ to TVs and STB’s to achieve a fully converged user experience.

What would you vote for?

As TV viewers get to grips with a new era of interactive TV delivered by hybrid STBs and connected TV’s we’re also seeing developments in the smartphone market. A new ruling by Ofcom means that viewers will now be able to vote on their favourite TV Shows via mobile applications.

TV shows such as the X Factor and Big Brother have always encouraged viewers to interact via telephone and text voting. But now smartphones are set to get in on the action too, with the development of voting apps.

Ofcom is keeping a close eye on developments. Viewers will be clearly notified of the costs and in order to keep everything fair, the app should only be one of several voting possibilities so that consumers are not pushed towards a particular platform.

It’s almost a surprise that this has taken so long, although the highly publicised fake phone-in scandal in 2007 may well have played a part in the delay.

This is another interesting new development for the mobile and TV industries and as app developers look to create new content, perhaps more interactive apps can be shared between the TV and mobile. What new apps would you like to see?