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Apollo PublicTV Platform Launches NextGen TV Receivers

Product on display

Low cost and modular NextGen TV receivers expected to accelerate NextGen TV adoption

EAST LANSING, MI.; Jan. 06, 2020 – Apollo PublicTV Platform, a NextGen TV accelerator platform for public broadcasters, is releasing an Android-based, fully compliant NextGen TV suite of receiver devices meant to serve both B2B and B2C markets.

The receiver is capable of operating over both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 transmissions by employing a modular tuner approach. The receivers leverage MSU and Gaian Solutions patent pending 3-in-1 innovation in broadcasting 3.0 services over a 1.0 transmission.

Apollo PublicTV Platform receivers support all major 3.0 next generation capabilities such as Dynamic Ad Insertion, Interactivity, NRT, Receiver and Broadcast App, AEA, DRM and A/344, even when operating over an ATSC 1.0 Transmission.  

The receivers employ USB based plug-n-play tuners and can be ordered with either 1.0 tuner or 3.0 tuner or with both tuners. This allows for use with all NextGen TV capabilities when receiving in either native 3.0 with a 3.0 tuner or in 1.0 reception mode when operating with a 1.0 tuner; and is able to receive 3.0 services inside the 1.0 transmissions by leveraging Apollo PublicTV Platform’s 3-in-1 solution.

Today, ATSC 3.0 capable receivers are not available in home consumer devices, and professional and pre-production ATSC 3.0 receivers are costly.  Apollo PublicTV Platform will play a pathfinder role to accelerate 3.0 adoption across three dimensions of innovation, all in a cost-effective manner.  

Firstly, the 3-in-1 solution helps broadcasters start broadcasting 3.0 services inside of 1.0 transmission, liberating them from need for lighthouse stations or partnerships or expensive 3.0 broadcast chains.

Secondly, Apollo PublicTV Platform’s receivers’ hybrid and modular design allow consumers as well as enterprises to receive 3.0 services using an inexpensive 1.0 tuner-based receiver. The same receiver is built modularly to swap out the 1.0 tuner with a 3.0 tuner when the market adoption has picked up, resulting in reduced 3.0 tuner costs. This ensures that receiver costs are kept low, facilitating adoption of NextGen TV services here and now.

Lastly, the Apollo PublicTV Platform allows for broadcasters to quickly create carrier grade services to test market demand and evangelize consumers and local communities with a fresh breed of NextGen TV services deployable and marketable on low cost receivers.

Combined with additional Apollo PublicTV Platform capabilities in rapid app development, receiver middleware systems, audience analytics, and NextGen MCR, NextGen Broadcast (NGB) as a Service ensures that broadcasters can offer high fidelity, production grade 3.0 services today with minimal effort.

“The promise of NextGen TV is much closer with the availability of these low cost receivers,” said Susi Elkins, general manager at WKAR Public Media, a partner on the Apollo PublicTV Platform.  “Public broadcasters who want to experiment with NextGen TV, or test market readiness for their public service and business ideas, now have access to everything they need to move confidently ahead. The 3-in-1 solution, the low cost receiver, and various tools and API’s available on the Apollo PublicTV Platform, provide a clear path to the NextGen TV world.”

“Apollo PublicTV Platform is all about offering a variety of tools as cloud services so broadcasters and their ecosystem can innovate quickly and with a substantially lower investment to create and launch new services,” said Chandra Kotaru, CEO and founder of Gaian Solutions. “The coming NextGen TV economy will ensure overall growth of the broadcast industry and its long overdue integration with the digital transformation ecosystem. Public broadcasters are in a unique position to leverage NextGen TV opportunities. Apollo PublicTV Platform was designed to accelerate this phenomenon.”

“We are inviting all public broadcasters to begin their NextGen TV journey with us today as we strive to use our innovation lab and our College of Communications resources to build capability that helps lift all boats. We are proud of our partnership with Gaian Solutions,” said Prabu David, dean of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at MSU. “Gaian Solutions has been instrumental in conceptualizing, designing, developing, and operating the Apollo PublicTV Platform with WKAR at MSU. We are very hopeful this will put public broadcasters at the forefront of leading innovation in the NextGen TV space.”

“America’s Public Television Stations see great potential in the Apollo PublicTV Platform developed by Gaian in cooperation with Susi Elkins and her team at WKAR-TV,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO. “We look forward to working with them and with the public station community to make Apollo PublicTV Platform an accelerator of ATSC 3.0 adoption and of all the new service and revenue opportunities the NextGen broadcast standard holds in store for public television.”

Butler continued, “APTS intends to play an active role in familiarizing stations with the Apollo PublicTV Platform and ensuring that every station understands the transformative promise of ATSC 3.0 and the ability of Apollo PublicTV Platform to help make that promise come true for stations of every size.”
  ?WKAR at Michigan State University, Gaian Solutions, and APTS invite all content and spectrum based entrepreneurs, digital transformation agencies, broadcasters, and technology vendors to collaborate on Apollo PublicTV Platform, the new open platform for NextGen TV.

Summary
Features of the Apollo PublicTV Platform include:

  • Ability to instantly deploy low cost receivers to receive 3.0 services
  • Receivers can be used today with 1.0 plug n play tuner today
  • Transmission of 3.0 services can be over ATSC 1.0 broadcast leveraging Apollo’s 3 in 1
  • When 3.0 tuner prices fall, receiver investment is still protected as receiver supports plug n play 3.0 tuner as well
  • Allows every interested broadcaster to quickly start 3.0 trials, lab experiments, educational sessions and market facing evangelism activities

IMAGES

Related images and photos can be downloaded at https://flic.kr/s/aHsmK9keSm

To know more: Visit wkar.org/apollopublictvplatform or write to ash@gaiansolutions.com

Apollo PublicTV Platform

ABOUT GAIAN SOLUTIONS 

Founded in 2006, Gaian has a consistent track record of offering unique and technically savvy solutions to some of the most complex challenges and opportunities facing the media and entertainment industry. Gaian’s award winning platform serves millions of end consumers across OTT, OTA, Alerting and Omnichannel engagement domains. The Gaian differentiation in content delivery stems from application of analytics, AI, and ML in content related monetization for platform business models.

ABOUT WKAR PUBLIC MEDIA

WKAR Public Media is a division of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University. WKAR provides Michigan’s capital region and the global community with award-winning original programming and the best from PBS and NPR via television channels WKAR-HD, WKAR World, WKAR Create and WKAR PBS Kids; and radio broadcasts at 90.5 FM, 105.1 FM, AM 870 and WKAR Radio Reading Service. In 2018, WKAR was the first public broadcasting station to obtain an ATSC 3.0 experimental license from the FCC.

ABOUT COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION ARTS & SCIENCES

The College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University is a pioneer in the study of new communication technologies. Faculty in the college focus on a range of topics including computational communication, communication neuroscience, media psychology, extended reality, game design and mobility. Researchers have access to MSU Mobility Village, where ATSC 3.0 applications can be tested.

Contact
Ashwini Koppisetti, Head, Product Marketing, Gaian Solutions
(415) 624-7431 ash@gaiansolutions.com

Julie Sochay, Senior Director of Content and Communication, WKAR Public Media
(517) 884-4773 jsochay@wkar.org

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