S3 Group Helps Deliver on the Promise of TV Everywhere

written by: Richard Kastelein

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Published on Thursday, 02 August 2012 11:02

S3 Group, an international digital TV company that enables programmers and operators to accelerate end-to-end delivery of multi-screen TV, will be at IBC in September (Stand 3.B23) demonstrating their solutions for reducing the time-to-market and improving the quality of new product launches. Demonstrations will cover the TV platform lifecycle from requirements development through to device screening and will include some of the more recent advances in the highly successful StormTest(R) Development Center such as support for native HD testing, live perceptual video quality analysis and Connected TV testing. Another key area this year will be solutions for testing of companion devices and in particular how they interact with other TV devices around the home.

"Getting the second screen experience right is clearly of great interest to operators looking to offer compelling services and superior support to their customers. StormTest Development Center overcomes the challenges faced by programmers and operators wanting to validate second screen synchronization and ensure the successful interaction between these new devices and the existing equipment in subscriber's homes," said John Maguire, director of product strategy, S3 Group. "Today's operators and programmers realize they are facing a challenge in managing the growing complexity that supporting these new devices brings and we are here to help them tackle that challenge head on."

StormTest(R) Development Center enables programmers and operators to go beyond traditional, standalone second screen application testing and gives them the opportunity to automate the testing of the synchronization between the primary and secondary screens and any other inter-device interactions in order to ensure the highest quality of experience for end-users.

Typical scenarios that arise include:

• Viewers using their companion device as an enhanced remote control to set up a recording remotely and then playing it back on a different screen; -- Viewers starting to watch a movie on their companion device, pausing it and then deciding to resume their viewing on their main TV screen;
• Viewers configuring favourite lists on one device and having that list available on other devices;
• A viewer streaming a VOD movie on one device without adversely impacting the quality of service delivery to another device on the same home network such as the primary screen STB or the connected TV

As operators roll out services such as these on an increasing variety of companion devices, there is a corresponding rise in scenarios to be tested. Test automation plays a vital role as one of the tools to maintain high quality levels while simultaneously meeting aggressive time-to-market deadlines and avoiding a dramatic increase in the cost of testing.

StormTest Development Center enables operators to smoothly transition from manual to automated testing across multiple devices. This presents operators with the opportunity to implement effective automated cross-platform testing solutions, ensuring the consistent delivery of content to multiple fixed and mobile devices. The solution has been chosen by over 30 of the world's leading digital TV operators, broadcasters and vendors including the BBC, CableLabs, Mediaset and Swisscom.