ABI Research released their latest report on mobile TV, forecasting accelerated worldwide adoption in 2012 and predicting up to $20 billion in revenues by 2015.

Many believe the last hurdle for cable operators and other service providers to provide live TV on mobile devices is the real-time transcoding of programming from the bandwidth-hefty MPEG-2 into the bandwidth-thrifty MPEG-4/ H.264, but this isn’t entirely the case.

Service providers are quickly learning that transcoding isn’t the hardest part of mobile video—it’s the integration and management of all the equipment to perform the variety of necessary video processing functions. While it’s certainly possible to cobble together transcoders, ad splicers, etc. into a viable solution, the cost and complexity of managing these devices is a tremendous headache, and reliable becomes a significant factor.

To address this obstacle, RGB has developed the Video Multiprocessing Gateway (VMG) as an “all in one” solution multi-screen video using a single management system. Rather than assemble multiple independent “pizza box” transcoders, ad inserters, etc., service providers can take advantage of the chassis-based VMG and its family of flexible modules, each devoted to a specific application, such as transcoding. Service providers can populate a multi-function VMG with any mix of modules for transcoding, ad insertion, etc. they require and easily manage everything with a single user interface. This modular system also allows for easy, license-based upgrades, while the carrier-class platform ensures superior reliability. The VMG is currently involved in several multi-screen video trials and the feedback is both positive and helpful in further refining the VMG to make it the ideal solution for mobile TV.

As we approach accelerated adoption in 2012, be sure not to count out 2011. Subscribers’ appetite for mobile video may likely accelerate faster as the popularity of mobile devices, such as the iPad and iPhone, continue to proliferate. The key to ensuring that service providers can scale their limited trials into a ubiquitous service are innovative new products like the VMG that take video processing to a new level.

RGB Networks has made an exciting move today, acquiring RipCode, Inc., a provider of solutions for mobile IP video. With the addition of RipCode’s mobile delivery capabilities to RGB’s carrier-class Video Multiprocessing Gateway (VMG), RGB can now offer a very unique solution to all operators migrating to a three screen video environment.

As service providers navigate the complexities of delivering video to TVs, PCs and mobile devices over a single, converged network, we believe the unmatched simplicity, reliability and scalability offered by RGB’s integrated chassis solution will quickly set a new standard for multi-screen delivery.

We invite you to visit our website for more details on the acquisition and our new three screen offering.

The theme for this year’s Cable Show was centered around “Putting the Future in Focus” – an obvious, yet relevant topic for the ever-evolving and forward-thinking cable industry. At RGB, we were eager to put the future of our three screen video delivery on display as we demoed our Video Multiprocessing Gateway (VMG) to attendees in Los Angeles.

But we aren’t the only ones talking about three screens. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to open up a cable, telecom or even mobility publication without reading something about the recent three screen invasion.

A recent Nielsen Report on three screens puts online video consumption up by 16% since last year and states that “active mobile video users grew by 57% from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the fourth quarter of 2009, from 11.2 million to 17.6 million.”

“It seems that, for the foreseeable future at least, America’s love affair with the TV will continue unabashed,” said Matt O’Grady, Nielsen Company media product leader. “We seem to have an almost insatiable appetite for media, with online and mobile programming only adding to it.”

And while analysts and reporters alike agree that consumer demand for three screen video is hitting its stride, it’s the companies that enable its delivery who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes, focused on the future of three screen video before the idea hit the mass market.

Here at RGB, revolutionizing three screen delivery has been in the works for a long time. Products like the VMG, launched last year, address the complex challenges that video providers inevitably face as they race to deliver their content to three screens.

Ramin Farassat, Vice President, Product Marketing & Business Development for RGB, discussed these challenges and examined RGB’s three screen approach at this year’s Cable Show for Broadband Gear Report’s Tech Live segment.

Farassat explains how RGB’s integrated transcoding platform enables video providers to now bring in the video only once to the network, perform all video processing functions, and distribute it to as many different types of devices as needed – such as TVs, PCs and mobile devices including iPhones and iPads – all within a single chassis. Check it out.

And be sure to stay tuned as we continue to play a lead role in the three screen revolution.

RGB is a co-sponsor of the upcoming Next-Generation Access Architecture (NGAA) for Cable webinar, hosted by Heavy Reading Senior Analyst, Alan Breznick.

Leading cable operators are exploring new ways to pump digital video signals cost-effectively through the cable modem termination system (CMTS), which would enable greater use of IP video and narrowcasting. The goal is a new, super-dense “CMTS on steroids” architecture that can separate upstream and downstream signals logically, rather than physically, resulting in significant operational benefits. The architecture also allows for a more logical modularization than the previous M-CMTS implementations, resulting in increased deployment flexibility. Implementation of this architecture would be a fundamental change from the way that cable operators have traditionally delivered video to the home.

How will this proposed Next-Generation Access Architecture work? What would be the costs of its implementation? What are the pros and cons of this approach? Join RGB Networks in addressing these questions and more.

When: Tuesday, May 25, 9:00 a.m. PT (12:00 p.m. ET / 17:00 GMT); the webinar will run for 90 minutes.

Where: Register here for the webinar.

What: Under the strong leadership of Comcast, the cable industry is now developing specs for a new class of dense, multi-service networking gear that would drastically increase QAM capacity while simultaneously slashing power needs and space requirements in the cable headend. Known as the Converged Multiservice Access Platform (CMAP), this super-dense, do-it-all networking device would replace traditional CMTSs and edge QAM modulators, forming the heart of the proposed Next Generation Access Architecture (NGAA) that Comcast is now developing. As a result, the new CMAP platform would allow cable operators to support far more narrowcast and multicast services than they can today, including those fed by DOCSIS, VOD, and switched digital video (SDV).

Why Attend: With the help of Jorge Salinger, Vice President of Access Architecture for Comcast, this webinar will explore the possibilities offered by CMAP, the technical challenges raised by it, the answers to those challenges, and the platform’s potential cost and power savings and other benefits. In particular, this session will cover the different CMAP pieces and options, including the modular implementations that several vendors are now creating for the architecture’s Access Shelf and Packet Shelf components.

After a line-up of successful events including IPTV World Forum in London, CANITEC Expo in Monterrey, Mexico, CCBN in Beijing, ANGA Cable in Cologne, Germany and The Cable Show in Los Angeles, the end of the spring trade show marathon has finally arrived! Despite ash clouds, rain and the tail end of tough times, all events showed an uptick in attendance and enthusiasm, with operators seeking us out to help them address several important video processing issues, including:

• The ongoing digital transition
• The continuing rollout of HD and VOD services and the accompanying demands they place on bandwidth
• The need for advanced advertising solutions to generate new revenues
• The start of three-screens delivery with its many complexities

Of course some of these topics aren’t new—we continue to encounter them as advancements in digital video spread around the world. However the delivery of any video to any device through advanced video transcoding is still fresh and definitely exciting (not to mention challenging).

Along with the rollout of new services, a recurring theme at the various trade shows over the past two months has been the need for cost-efficient solutions that streamline deployments. Whether an operator is delivering to one, two or three screens, they are seeking the most bang for their buck, and their requirements demand the operational simplicity and cost-efficiency uniquely provided by RGB’s high-density, integrated platforms.

If you attended any of these recent events, we’d love to hear your thoughts—what’s your take on the hot topics for your region? What did you learn?

Are you attending this year’s Cable Show? If you’re working on a transition strategy to a three screens environment, you’ll want to talk with us at booth #1255 to learn about the advantages of our integrated, scalable solution.

At the show you’ll see demonstrations of RGB’s Video Multiprocessing Gateway (VMG). The VMG incorporates advanced transcoding and transrating, among other advanced processing capabilities, and we will highlight several multi-screen scenarios including:

• Transcoding MPEG-2 programs into H.264 and displaying them in appropriate formats on a PC, iPhone and iPad
• Transcoding a high definition (HD) MPEG-2 program that consumes 15 Mbps into lower bitrate H.264 streams
• Transrating an H.264 HD program running at 7 Mbps so that it only uses 4 Mbps without any loss of picture quality
• Transcoding an H.264 HD program into a standard definition (SD) program in MPEG-2

RGB will also be demonstrating some groundbreaking ad insertion developments in the area of EBIF and digital overlays in conjunction with partners OpenTV, ARRIS, Unisoft, Sigma Systems and others. Stop in the CableNET pavilion to catch this demonstration at OpenTV’s pedestal.

See you at the show!

Before the IPTV World Forum we discussed how U.S. service providers are meeting the challenge of funding new services through the use of advanced advertising and the impact it’s having on Europe’s cable, telco and satellite providers. At the show we received many questions regarding advanced advertising, demonstrating that this revenue-generator is gaining attention worldwide as the content delivery environment continues to evolve.

And now with a new Parks Associates report stating that in 2010 targeted ads will top $130 million, we feel more affirmed than ever. CED covered the Parks Associates report last fall, focusing on the predicted return for pay-TV providers that have invested in advanced and addressable advertising. With the work that’s being done and the progress that’s being made, not to mention the global attention it’s attracting, it’s possible to predict the attainment of such an impressive goal as early as this summer.

“Major U.S. cable television operators, direct broadcast satellite TV providers and telcos have identified advanced advertising as a key revenue opportunity moving forward,” said Heather Way, research analyst at Parks Associates. “In the short term, digital TV operators continue to ramp up their investment in advanced advertising solutions as a pre-emptive move to sustain ad revenues. In the long term, the investment serves to grow the advertising business segment.”

As long as consumer demand for VOD, DVR and other advanced services continues growing, the need for advanced advertising revenues will likewise grow in order to offset the cost of expanding these services. What can be intimidating to service providers is the investment—and in this economy, who can blame them?

But the proof is in the profit. And the only thing better than $130 million is $4 billion—which is what Parks Associates is predicting as soon as 2014, with advanced advertising revenue accounting for nearly 12 percent of total cable, DBS and telco TV ad revenue.

A lot of work by many throughout the industry has gone into pushing through the challenges in this developing area, with CableLabs and the SCTE leading the charge and a dedicated group of technology innovators joining in. RGB is excited to be a part of this growing ecosystem and we look forward to demonstrating some of our ad insertion developments in the area of EBIF and digital overlays at the upcoming Cable Show in conjunction with partners OpenTV, ARRIS and Unisoft. Please visit CableNET where you can see our demo, or stop by our booth #1255.

At ANGA Cable today, RGB has announced the availability of our new BNP3xr for European operators. What makes this announcement so significant for this market is the product’s support for DVB-CA, a key international standard for the secure delivery of video services. By integrating encryption support into the BNP3xr, we eliminate the need for a separate scrambling device, which simplifies your network architecture and eliminates wiring and management headaches. RGB is working with all of the major conditional access vendors to ensure seamless operation.

Stop by our stand—B50—and take a look.

As we wrap up our third appearance at CANITEC Expo, the largest cable TV show in Mexico, we agree with Federico Baumgartner, the Mexican Manager of the Latin American Pay-TV Advertising Council, that the market is showing tremendous growth opportunity.

We spent three days talking with operators from Mexico and throughout Latin America, and we found the most interest in our solutions that help them make a smooth transition to digital and increase their revenues through the addition of HD, VOD and ad insertion. We look forward to our continued work with our many customers in the region to expand their networks, as well as assisting new customers with their network upgrades.

We also enjoyed the move to Monterrey, Mexico with its easy access and beautiful mountains. We hope to return to this location again.

Hasta la vista!

Reading through various news reports and, dare it be said, this very blog(!) – it’s quite clear that there is growing consumer appetite for services such as video-on-demand (VOD). Indeed, Informa has predicted that by 2012 some 909 million homes worldwide will have access to VOD. That equates to almost 4/5 of the world’s TV households!

With ANGA Cable just around the corner, this is a topic that is inevitably going to rear its head again. However, while there’s most certainly a huge market opportunity there for operators, there are also some hurdles that need to be overcome before this can be realized. Namely, how can operators relieve network pressure to cost effectively deliver premium video content with pristine quality?

The answer to that is simple—optimize your bandwidth!

Node splitting, switched digital video (SDV), digital terminal adapters (DTAs), MPEG-4/H.264—all are used to reclaim valuable bandwidth. There is one approach, however, which offers a future-proof route to capacity expansion that requires little maintenance or outward expenditure—transrating. This technology provides the quickest and most economical means for operators to achieve significant capacity expansion to support bandwidth hungry services, such as VOD, without affecting the quality of the picture transmitted. For more information, read this article from the December ‘09 issue of the Broadband Journal or watch our demonstration.

RGB employs patented transrating technology in our products today, which you can see in action at ANGA next week. Come on over to stand B50 and we’d be happy to show you our before/after VOD transrating demo so you can see the technology for yourself and the quality of the output that it provides.

We look forward to seeing you there!