Don't Forget What People Want

Looking through the latest specifications from STB manufacturers, TV makers and middleware providers, the list of amazing new features that will be delivered to the home user in the next 12 months is breathtaking.

Catch-up TV, download and play Movies, widget solutions, Web applications, VoIP and video calling, full Internet browsing, 3D interfaces, full integration into the home network with iTunes, support and video streaming and the list goes on.

I’m all for adding new features to the STB but let us all not forget the fact that most people want to just sit down and have an uninterrupted viewing experience. Any technologies we add, must not detract from this. New technologies must complement the existing service by offering the user choice and not detracting from the core viewing experience.

Chris Foulds, Release Manager, ANT

Middlewhat?

Multimedia Research Group has reported that the continued growth of the global IPTV industry, specifically in Europe, Asia and North America, rests squarely with “misunderstood” ‘Middleware’.

Our experience is that everyone has very different opinions of what exactly middleware is. Some have even confused what ANT Software offers in terms of user interface solutions with middleware.

Here’s our definition: Middleware is specialist computer software that extends the general capability of a system to enable and optimise specific usage. Let us know what you think…