Zappware, a solution provider for interactive television, have produced a browser platform for set-top boxes. The browser uses an XML-based page description language allowing broadcasters and content providers to re-purpose existing material or develop new content without having to use or learn proprietary system. Since XML is well adopted and understood throughout the industry, production houses can start using the icTV Gateway platform immediately.
The platform will be officially announced during IBC2004 and consists of a client mini-browser in the set-top-box and a scalable server infrastructure at the distribution point.
The server infrastructure translates high-level application data into code for the set-top box, whilst the mini-browser allows users to navigate and view content whilst using a minimal amount of the receiver’s resources. The system employs some clever caching technology to make the best of the limited bandwidth available for iTV applications of this type.
Zappware’s iTV solutions are currently employed on the MHP, liberate and MSTV platforms, in markets throughout the world.