Analysis for 'Rovi'

• Rovi Beefs Up Connected TV Advertising With New Polling Feature

  Tuesday, October 16, 2012, 10:01 AM ET

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  Posted by Will Richmond

  Advertising on connected TVs is continuing to improve, as Rovi late last week announced a new polling feature in its Rovi Advertising Network. Jeff Siegel, SVP, Global Media Sales, told me that this is one of the top capabilities advertisers have been asking for. Advertisers will typically seek a viewer's opinion on something and as a reward will offer a coupon or other incentive.
  
  Rovi is a key player in the budding connected TV advertising market, as it both powers and sells ads for connected TV manufacturers Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, Panasonic. NPD recently estimated that 27% of TVs shipped in Q1 '12 had Internet connectivity. However that number can be a little deceiving, since not all these buyers will actually connect their TVs. Jeff explained that Rovi breaks the TV market into four buckets: total number of TV sets shipped, the percent of these that are connectable, the percent of these that are actually connected, and finally what they are used for.

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  Categories: Advertising, Devices

  Topics: Rovi

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• Rovi's Simon James Discusses UltraViolet Disc-to-Digital Initiatives [VIDEO]

  Friday, April 27, 2012, 9:19 AM ET

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  Posted by Will Richmond

  Last week at the NABShow, Rovi's Product Marketing Director Simon James came by the VideoNuze booth for an interview. Simon talks about how Rovi is helping jump-start UltraViolet's "disc-to-digital" efforts. At the show Rovi announced its TotalCode Enterprise 2.0, which supports the downloadable UV Common File Format. Simon also describes a recent deal with Samsung that allows Blu-ray owners to create a digital copy of their discs themselves, avoiding the step of going to a retail outlet. See video below (8 minutes, 5 seconds)

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  Categories: FIlms, Technology

  Topics: Rovi, UltraViolet

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• Advertising on Connected TVs Will Be the Next Battleground

  Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 9:51 AM ET

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  Posted by Will Richmond
  With the launch of Samsung AdHub yesterday, the next big battleground for video advertising is shaping up to be on connected TVs. That makes a lot of sense because as more video viewing occurs on connected TVs (or "Smart TVs as they're also called), audiences will further fragment from traditional linear TV. Connected TVs are projected to account for 155 million units by 2015, or 54% of all flat-panel TV shipped. By then over 500 million connected TVs will have been shipped. In 2011, approximately 27% of TVs shipped will be able to connect to a network. Advertisers have no choice but to figure out how to reach all of those eyeballs and TV manufacturers are now beginning to lay the groundwork.
  

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  Categories: Advertising, Devices

  Topics: LG, Rovi, Samsung, Vizu, YuMe

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• Irdeto Bolsters Blu-ray Security With BD+ Acquisition from Rovi

  Thursday, July 7, 2011, 8:52 AM ET

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  Posted by Will Richmond
  Irdeto, which provides software security services for digital media, is expanding its focus to Blu-ray discs, announcing it has acquired BD+ technology from Rovi. Irdeto's SVP of Product Martin Sendyk and VP of Technology Greg McKesey explained to me that the plan is to integrate BD+ with Irdeto's ActiveCloak for Media, in order to combat Blu-ray piracy in the initial period following a disc's release when the vast majority of its potential revenue is realized.
  

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  Categories: Deals & Financings, Technology

  Topics: BD+, Blu-ray, Irdeto, Rovi

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• Rovi Unveils TotalGuide xD Guide for Mobile Devices

  Wednesday, March 2, 2011, 9:58 AM ET

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  Posted by Will Richmond
  Rovi is unveiling TotalGuide xD this morning, a white label solution for cable operators to deliver interactive program guides to mobile devices. I got a demo of the new service last week from Sharon Metz, Rovi's VP of Vertical Markets and Chris Lee, TotalGuide xD's product manager.
  
  With TotalGuide xD, Rovi recognizes that cable operators will need to offer guidance to their wealth of programming choices on mobile devices that consumers increasingly rely upon to manage their busy lives. TotalGuide xD allows users to search for programs or browse a grid directory, discover programs using recommendations from a "six-degrees" feature reminiscent of sites like IMDb, share and receive recommendations from friends via Facebook, Twitter and email, schedule DVR recordings and manage their user profiles across devices.  
  

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  Categories: Cable TV Operators, Video Search

  Topics: Comcast, Rovi, Xfinity

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• Options For Moving Video From Smartphones/Tablets to TVs Keep Growing

  Thursday, February 10, 2011, 10:15 AM ET

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  Posted by Will Richmond
  Have you ever had the experience of watching video on your smartphone or tablet and feel like you'd prefer to watch it on your big TV? If so, there is a growing range of options to help make this happen, including:
  
  Skifta - an Android app from Qualcomm that lets you play local or cloud-based media on any DLNA-certified device.
  
  AirPlay - a relatively new feature in Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod) running iOS 4.2 or later with one-click ability send media to other connected Apple devices (e.g. Apple TV, AirPlay-ready devices, etc.).
  
  Rovi Connected Platform - Rovi, the digital entertainment infrastructure provider, just announced yesterday a new Android solution for CE manufacturers to allow their devices to move media around the home to connected devices.
  
  SnapStick - the intriguing start-up that lets users of any mobile device to "snap" their media over to the TV by gently flicking the device in the TV's direction.
  

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  Categories: Devices

  Topics: AirPlay, Comcast, Microsoft, Rovi, Skifta, SnapStick, Sonos

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• Rovi Media Cloud Aims to Turbocharge Connected Devices

  Thursday, January 6, 2011, 1:03 PM ET

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  Posted by Will Richmond
  Rovi is announcing its "Rovi Media Cloud" for consumer electronics companies and service providers to fully capitalize on the proliferation of connected devices. The rollout, following Rovi's recent move to acquire Sonic Solutions, underscores Rovi's march to become the premier provider of "under the hood" services that will transform connected devices from clever gadgets into a full-blown video and services platform.
  

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  Categories: Devices, Technology

  Topics: Rovi

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