Liberty Puerto Rico infuses TV navigation with social smarts; unveils trend-driven, video-rich mosaics on existing STBs

Uses ActiveVideo CloudTV™ platform to expand STB functionality and features

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Apr 23, 2014, 05:20 ET

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico and SAN JOSE, Calif., April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty Puerto Rico and ActiveVideo™ today announced that they are showcasing at NCTA's The Cable Show a major advance in how viewers find television content in a social context, with the launch of a cloud-based personalized user interface that uses real-time viewing metrics to display program popularity.

Liberty Puerto Rico's Social Content Navigator enables content discovery based on what is trending across communities and in areas of personal interest. The cloud-based mosaic overcomes the limitations of single-tuner STBs to simultaneously display on a single screen up to eight different live video channels. Web-based metadata provides continuously updated rankings of viewership for each of the channels. Liberty has partnered with ActiveVideo to use ActiveVideo’s CloudTV(TM) software platform to make the Social Content Navigator available at scale on existing guide and UI platforms, regardless of device limitations. (PRNewsFoto/ActiveVideo)

Using the power of Cloud UIs, Liberty Puerto Rico is delivering to existing set-top boxes a video-rich personalized mosaic – named Social Content Navigator -- that enables content discovery based on what is trending across communities and in areas of personal interest. The cloud-based mosaic overcomes the limitations of single-tuner STBs to simultaneously display on a single screen up to eight different live video channels. Web-based metadata provides continuously updated rankings of viewership for each of the channels.

"The cloud is enabling cable system operators to quickly and cost-effectively reinvent services to meet the expectations of consumers," said Naji Khoury, president and CEO for Liberty Puerto Rico. "CloudTV is playing an essential role in our ability to combine unprecedented scale and service velocity in our deployment of new functionality, such as the Social Content Navigator."

Liberty has partnered with ActiveVideo to use ActiveVideo's CloudTV™ software platform to make the Social Content Navigator available at scale on existing guide and UI platforms, regardless of device limitations. By authoring the UI in HTML5, rendering it in the cloud and streaming it to any STB, Liberty is delivering Social Content Navigator functionality to all set-tops, including those that lack browsers.

"By using cloud TV's capabilities we're able to deploy our next-generation UI to all our customers at once, enabling our entire base to enjoy a rich user experience without the need of set top box change," explained Waldo Hooker, vice president of new product development at Liberty Puerto Rico.

Rollout of the Social Content Navigator has begun in Liberty's Puerto Rico system. Availability to all of Liberty's 250,000 subscribers in Puerto Rico is anticipated by the end of 2014.

"Cloud UIs are expanding the breadth of new services – including VOD, online video and others – that pay TV providers can offer on any device," said Jeff Miller, president and CEO of ActiveVideo. "Liberty Puerto Rico's Social Content Navigator mosaic shows how CloudTV can increase engagement with every customer without the cost or time-to-market delays of deploying new devices."

About Liberty Puerto Rico
Liberty Puerto Rico is a subsidiary of Liberty Global, with close to 500,000 subscriptions in 45 municipalities in the eastern, central and northern regions of Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.libertypr.com.

About Liberty Global
Liberty Global is the largest international cable company with operations in 14 countries. We connect people to the digital world and enable them to discover and experience its endless possibilities. Our market-leading triple-play services are provided through next-generation networks and innovative technology platforms that connected 24 million customers subscribing to 48 million television, broadband internet and telephony services at December 31, 2013. Liberty Global's consumer brands include Virgin Media, UPC, Unitymedia, Kabel BW, Telenet and VTR. Our operations also include Liberty Global Business Services, our commercial division and Liberty Global Ventures, our investment fund. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com.

About ActiveVideo
ActiveVideo® is a Silicon Valley company that harnesses the power of the cloud to accelerate multi-platform television experiences. The company's anchor technology enables Pay-TV Operators, Online Video Providers and CE Manufacturers to deliver advanced user experiences – irrespective of device dependencies - by rendering the UI in the cloud. The company's flagship platform – CloudTV™ - frees the service provider from device dependencies that limit reach and fragment user experiences across diverse device platforms. Using a "write once, deploy everywhere" approach, CloudTV eliminates the need to write content services and interactive ads for countless device makes and models, resulting in lower operational cost and faster time to market. ActiveVideo is based in San Jose, CA, with offices in Los Angeles and Hilversum, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.activevideo.com; find us at www.facebook.com/ActiveVideo; follow us at www.twitter.com/activevideo.

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xadFZ_46oM&feature=youtu.be
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140423/77794

SOURCE ActiveVideo