what we can learn from the vstbs in the field
TRANSCRIPT
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What we can learn from the vSTBs in the field
Erwan Nédellec – Orange Labs, June 2014
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Orange in a nutshell
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236 million customers worldwide
€40.9 billion revenue, and €1.873 billion net profit (2013)
165 000 employees
– 102,000 in France
4G in 10 countries
450,000 km of submarine cables
– enough to circumnavigate the earth 10 times!
IPTV launched in France 10 years ago
– 6.5 million digital TV (IPTV / satellite ) customers in Europe
Live TV & VOD services available in OTT on SmartTV and Xbox game consoles
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Virtual STB: the birth of a new buzzword?
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My proposal for two simple definitions
Virtual Set-Top Box [vur-choo-uhl] [set] [top] [boks] noun 1.A device which is not a Set-Top Box, but which acts as a Set-Top Box plugged on a TV set 2.A basic Set-Top-Box where most of the service execution environment - e.g. the web browser – is running in a cloud infrastructure
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A virtual STB as the first screen (e.g. living room)
Residential Gateway
TV Platforms
Internet
Managed Network
LAN
Solution Pros Cons Example
IPTV approach: o multicast o CAS (card-less or CI+ 1.4)
o Same UX as the STB o CAPEX reduction
o Technical fragmentation (on both side: telcos & CE) o Can be costly in OPEX
Elion + Samsung
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A virtual STB for the multi-room scenarios
Solution Pros Cons Example
o Headed (STB) vs headless (RGW) approach o Local PVR sharing o More natural for cable and satellite
o Standardized solution exists • DLNA CVP 2 • RVU Alliance
o Adaptation may be needed (content protection (DTCP-IP), transport protocol, transcoding)
DirecTV
Residential Gateway
TV Platforms
Internet
Managed Network
LAN
STB
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A virtual STB for the other rooms (e.g. not the living room)
Solution Pros Cons Example
o OTT based solution o CAPEX reduction o Keep the control of the STB for the living-room experience
oTechnical fragmentation o Scale up issue with large audience for Live streams (unicast) o OPEX costs (call center, lose of the control of the QoE)
Orange
Residential Gateway
TV Platforms
Internet
Managed Network
LAN
STB
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A cloud based approach
Solution Pros Cons Example
Cloud-based approach = IPTV approach + UI rendering in the cloud
o Same advantages as IPTV (multicast, content protection) o Less complexity on the device
o No standardized solution o Additional costs in the cloud o Need a good network access o Tricky for multicast support
Deutsche Telekom
Residential Gateway TV Platforms
Internet
Managed Network
LAN
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What have we learnt?
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We come from the same planetary system, but not from the same planet
Their goal is to keep their STB in the field as long as they can
Their goal is to sell as many TV sets as they can
Telcos CE
manufacturers
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A typical schedule for a content provider
Q1 Q2
Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 …
Year n Year n+1 Year n+2
Service A
Service B
Service C
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A typical year for a TV set manufacturer
Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov.
Engineers are developing
next year platform
Qualification of the new platform
New year model on
the market
Engineers are switching on the next year platform
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A typical year for a TV set manufacturer, and the impacts for the content providers
Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov.
Engineers are developing
next year platform
Qualification of the new platform
New year model on
the market
Engineers are switching on the next year platform
Visibility given on next year’s model.
Good support, but very
hard to get samples
Not always possible to
certify a service as QA team is qualifying new year’s
models
Good support, products are
available. But it is no longer possible
to set up co-marketing activities
on previous year model
Less support on previous year’s model
(which means
models sold until May)
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Our biggest fear is regression
We have faced regression with all our partners
Regressions are unfortunately unavoidable, but:
– It is more complex to identify regressions for a CE manufacturer with 100+ partners, due to the distance from Korea or US, than for a telco with its end-to-end controlled solution in its premises
– So, regressions are identified too late (after a firmware upgrade in some cases), and the probability of facing regressions is higher on CE devices than on a STB
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And when a regression occurs, the following questions come up straight away
1 2 3
Are we the only partner impacted?
Is the firmware already rolled-out?
Was it the latest firmware for that device?
Yes
Yes
Yes
+
+
Very bad news
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Firmware management is the second hot topic
As we do not control the device, we have no control on
– the features included in the firmware
– when the firmware will be rolled out
– which kind of firmware will be rolled out (mandatory or optional update)
Firmwares do not always behave the same way (differences between mid-range and high-end models within the same line-up)
We lack visibility on the scope of the firmware
– In almost all cases, there is no release note available for partners
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And last, but not least, the support is more complex
Today, we have representative configurations of households in our premises (STB + gateway)
– This is a really useful means of reproducing customers issues
When we rely on SmartTV, this is not possible
– Between 2 and 4 different platforms by manufacturer each year
– In some cases, there are several different firmware releases in the field for a same device
It is very hard for hotlines and technicians to help our customers
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What we need from CE and service providers for this to really work?
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Our ecosystem is not a long quiet river
Yes, STB represents an important part of the CAPEX for a telco, but relying on CE devices induce important cost side effects as well
Beyond the technical fragmentation (on both sides: telcos & CE manufacturers), and the certification process (a painful experience with some CE partners), all the operational aspects must not be underestimated
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And so, the challenge is huge…
IPTV providers want to limit the CAPEX for the STB but
– with a good QoE as it is today in IPTV
– with keeping the relationship with their customers
Improving the current situation on the OTT scenario is a prerequisite for us, before going further on the scenario where the SmartTV is replacing the IPTV STB
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Thank you