Swedish quality assurance specialist Agama Technologies is helping Microsoft reposition its Mediaroom integrated IP-based TV platform for emerging combined IPTV and OTT services by developing a complete end-to-end digital TV monitoring solution for the platform, to be unveiled at the IBC 2012 trade show in Amsterdam next month.
The Agama DTV Monitoring Solution provides continuous and real-time monitoring and quality assurance for all forms of video delivery, from service creation to consumption. It will provide operators using Mediaroom with end-to-end visibility from headend to home, with a detailed view of service quality across the delivery network and the ability to generate reports comparing services, regions, DSLAMs and other infrastructure components.
“Parts of our solution have already been deployed for a few years in Mediaroom environments with several operators, primarily to monitor in headends and post A-server network locations," said Mikael Dahlgren, CEO at Agama Technologies. "But, now we take the next step and enable these operators to benefit from our full end-to-end solution."
The move, which involves Agama becoming a Mediaroom ecosystem partner, comes at a time when Mediaroom has been losing momentum after having dominated IPTV and been adopted by major Telcos the world over. It was widely predicted in 2004 at the outset of IPTV to become totally dominant in the field, and yet while it is still is the number one IPTV platform, Microsoft has failed to make a similar impact in the new world of OTT that is being led by the likes of Apple, Google, Netflix, and smart TV makers like Samsung.
Early this year, Microsoft suffered its first major Mediaroom defection when BT Vision, an early Mediaroom customer, appeared to be ditching the platform. This reflected a change of direction for BT Vision, which launched in 2006 as a hybrid IPTV/DTT service but is now being recast as an IPTV/OTT combination aligned with the UK’s recently launched YouView connected TV platform. BT seemed to have decided Microsoft had moved too slowly to reposition Mediaroom for the new OTT/IPTV era, but at least the incorporation of Agama’s monitoring platform, which already has a number of OTT customers, is a sign that Microsoft is serious about catching up.
