Ensequence And Civolution Announce Automatic Content Recognition (Acr) Integration for Interactive Second Screen Viewing Experiences

Posted by Richard Kastelein in Breaking News on December 01, 2011  |  0 Comments More from this author  |    |  Follow Richard Kastelein on: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube

Ensequence and Civolution today announce an automatic content recognition (ACR) product integration to enable the synchronization of TV content with interactive content on connected devices including tablets and smartphones. The integrated solution consisting of Civolution's watermarking technology and Ensequence's iTV Manager® platform identifies what viewers are watching on their televisions or PCs and enables programmers and content publishers to create, manage and deliver immersive two-screen experiences for TV shows and commercials.  

Civolution's VideoSync - 2nd Screen product allows for the automatic identification of the TV channel being watched and the content being played. Upon identification, it enables accurate time synchronization between content played on a TV set and supplementary content on a portable device such as a tablet or smartphone. The Ensequence iTV Manager platform enables the creation of the interactive content and handles the timely and synchronous delivery of the content to trigger real-time interactivity. The watermarking technology used for ACR handles distribution delays seamlessly and also supports time-shifted viewing.

"These are exciting times for the media industry. We are really pleased to bring such innovative interactive experiences to the market with Ensequence and respond to consumers' appetite for TV interaction," said Jean-Michel Masson, SVP Watermarking Solutions, Civolution. "Already nearly fifty percent of consumers are using portable devices while watching TV at home. By  enabling precise synchronization between the TV programs and commercials on the main viewing screen and the interactive content on a secondary device, we are enhancing the user's overall TV viewing experience, offering a richer and deeper level of engagement."

The Ensequence iTV Manager® platform is designed to make it simple for programmers and advertisers to drive consumer engagement across as many platforms and as many networks, shows and ads as they choose while increasing their revenue. iTV Manager enables the rapid creation, management and deployment of a high volume of uniquely branded, video-rich experiences quickly, affordably and dependably across cable, satellite, telco, and connected devices, including tablets and smartphones. The rapid scale that Ensequence provides helps programmers and advertisers generate incremental revenue and manage their businesses more effectively and efficiently.

"Automatic content recognition is bringing new possibilities to our industry and we are excited to offer this innovative capability to our customers,'' said Aslam Khader, Ensequence Chief Technology and Product Officer. ''By integrating with Civolution, a leader in digital watermarking and fingerprinting technologies with implementations around the world, our programming and advertising customers are able to drive deeper consumer engagement with shows and commercials."