Leapstone provides must-have options for IPTV
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At a pace of three-to-four software releases per year, five-year old, Somerset, NJ-based Leapstone Systems introduced its latest this week, which includes functionality essential for all U.S.-based IPTV providers: blackout management.
Among other features in Release 6.5 of Leapstone’s Communications Convergence Engine (CCE) suite, blackout management is just one example of the complex functionality required to deliver competitive TV services. Mostly sports programming related, the new feature gives service providers a simple tool for implementing mandatory blackouts of sports programs while providing alternate programming during blackout periods.
“ESPN has a lot of rules and regulations for how they allow content to be managed, so we do a lot of things that allow service providers to manage them,” said Jenny Byers, vice president of sales and marketing at Leapstone.
The CCE suite consists of a content management system for both mobile and IPTV service and a service broker that handles session-oriented multimedia and IP services. “Deployed together they make up our service delivery platform,” Byers said.
The CCE acts as a centralized management layer that works on top of leading IPTV platforms like MicrosoftTV and other Web services frameworks.
Other new options include Flexible Broadcast Packaging and Broadcast Listings Options, which allow service providers an automated means to localize channel lineups for the same service package and to also restrict channel information display for customers who wish to restrict content listings.
CCE Release 6.5 supports standards-based, automated interfaces to third-party content providers for uploading and creation of a comprehensive video-on-demand content catalog. Service providers can use this feature to offer differentiated video services.
Leapstone also has improved customer care integration for call centers and self-service portals and made personalization features like parental PIN resets, credit limit adjustments simpler and did the same for purchasing promotional content such as VOD and the related billing and settlement processes.
“The selling point is, if you believe you have to offer differentiated services then you have to have a platform that will allow you to stay independent of the access domain,” Byers said. “Even for simple thins like integrating IPTV and Caller ID.”
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