Is Your Video Service Stuck in the Past? uC20 Can Help!

A new edition of UniqCast’s video service delivery platform uC20 is here, packed with features and enhancements to elevate your video service, engage your viewers, and unlock new revenue streams! 

We have been hard at work on this release for months solving technical challenges, thinking about our customers' requirements and following the market trends. And finally we can proudly announce that uC20 is ready to be put in production. In this blog you’ll get a glimpse of our design decisions, highlights of implemented solutions and the outlook on the industry trends which will influence our future development.

The Power of OTT/IPTV Platforms

Our design decisions are based on countless hours talking to our customers, analyzing trends, collaborating with industry leaders, and dissecting competitor offerings. Let’s summarize what we know about the current state of the art of the industry.

Content delivery platforms are playing a transformative role in the world of IPTV/OTT services, acting as the engine that powers content delivery and user engagement.

Here's how they impact the landscape:

• Content Delivery: Platforms provide flexible and cost-effective ways to access content compared to traditional cable, making it available on multiple devices and internet connections.
• Content Personalization: Algorithms and user data allow for personalized content recommendations and tailored offerings, enhancing viewer experience and loyalty.
• Widening Content Libraries: Platforms aggregate content from various sources, offering a wider selection of Live TV and VOD options compared to traditional providers.
• Monetization Flexibility: Diverse monetization models are available, including subscriptions, advertising, and in-app purchases, catering to different user preferences.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Platforms provide valuable analytics and insights into user behavior, enabling service providers to make informed decisions about content acquisition, marketing strategies, and service optimization.

Overall, video streaming platforms are revolutionizing the IPTV/OTT landscape by offering greater content choice, personalized experiences, and flexible monetization models, all driven by data-powered insights. They are creating a dynamic and competitive environment that benefits both viewers and service providers.

What is new in uC20?

In this new edition we address important challenges covering the following areas:

• Upgraded STB app and device support,
• Upgraded Apps for Mobile, Tablet, Web and Smart TV,
• Support for Apple TV devices,
• Integration with Bunny CDN,
• Improved backend for informed decision-making

Let's have a closer look.

STB App

While "smart" devices take center stage, STBs hold a unique position, mimicking the classic TV experience with their dedicated remotes and familiar layout. This "lean-back" approach still resonates with a large user base who prefer traditional TV consumption. We respect these preferences and prioritize delivering a consistent experience across all platforms. Check out our earlier video on Remoteless TV, that shows how video streaming services can be controlled from your sofa even if you don't have a remote controller. Here's what uC20 brings to the table for STB users and service providers.

Boost monetization

Utilize non-video ads (image banners) integrated seamlessly into your UI, providing you targeted advertising opportunities and additional revenue streams. The app supports placeholders (cards, banners) where you can insert image ads coming from your ad server, while ad server supports your campaign design and management processes.

Simplify parental controls

Streamlined content unlocking with fewer steps, reducing user interactions required to access parental content and settings.

Organize your channels

Prioritize specific channels within your lineup using weighted sorting for greater control over viewer experience or for specific content exposure.

Enhanced visuals

Enjoy faster loading times, smoother transitions, and improved UI elements for a more delightful viewing experience. More specifically, we improved initial load times, profile switching times, transitions and dynamic loading of images. We also added options for player resizing, allowing video aspect ratio preservation or stretching based on operator preferences.

Deeper insights

Gain valuable data on app, player, and API errors with the new QoE/QoS application monitoring layer, paving the way for service optimization. Upgraded Statia framework, gives you a deeper understanding of service performance and UX optimization possibilities.

Effortless integration

Your time to market for new Android STBs is even shorter now. We improved our integration processes for various STB providers with Android TIF support. TIF framework simplifies on-boarding for STB manufacturers and ensures efficient support maintenance in the future.

More choices: SEI Hybrid STB

Optimize your offer and costs with a wide selection of STB devices. We added full support for SEI hybrid STB through the Android TIF framework. This device supports standard DVB- T/T2 and DVB-S/S2 hybrid streaming that can be secured on our platform by industry standard content protection solutions such as Verimatrix DRM and others.

Apps for Mobile, Tablet, Web and Smart TV

Imagine your apps as the gateways to your content, held in your users' hands and watched for hours on end. Their designs are one of the key factors of user engagement, satisfaction and consumption. 

Recognizing this, you craft compelling experiences. But what if limitations in technology hinder your vision, preventing you from offering the best possible app designs? That is why we are relentlessly working on improvements of our apps because we feel responsible for providing this competitive advantage to our clients with every software release. Let’s see how uC20 improves your service from the App side.

Discover content easily

Explore a dedicated "All Channels" section with thematic categories for better organization and content discovery.

Purchase with ease

Access the new TV Store to purchase internal or external products through various payment methods, including prepaid, postpaid, in-app purchases and others.

Curate your content catalog

Highlight specific content or collections with branded content catalogs, top VOD rails and exclusive offers. This feature gives you more flexibility and focus with content promotions and marketing strategies in general.

Shortcut to your favorite content

Access your assets with ease. New application deep linking structure allows efficient navigation directly to specific app sections or content.

Enhanced security

Prevent unwanted screenshots with the new screenshot prevention feature as per your DRM setting.

Enhanced parental controls

Lock the screen during viewing, preventing unwanted access or actions, especially by children.

Manage your settings, stay informed

You can now include a self care portal by Magnaquest in your service, which provides features for registration and payment processes within the application flow.

Deeper insights across all devices

Just like with STB devices you get valuable data on app, player, and API performance for all Flutter apps through the upgraded uStatia framework. uStatia now covers Smart TVs as well, which unifies analytics across all device types.

Have freedom and power to design your brand and product

You can now customize application layouts and screens directly via the CSMS admin application controlling elements such as footer and header. The login page and VOD received some uplift in terms of expanded design options, giving you more freedom to design and align the interface layout with your brand. We also packed in a full support for Google fonts, which are commonly used for branding.

If you’re running a multilingual service, you’ll be interested in this new feature: Support for multilingual operators! Users can select their UI language from various language translations or apply different scripts such as Latin, Arabic, Cyrillic and others.

Apple TV

In today's competitive landscape, reaching dedicated viewers across diverse platforms is crucial. 

With uC20, your service now extends to coveted Apple TV devices, unlocking access to a highly engaged and tech-savvy user base. This port is based on the Smart TV framework optimized with navigation features specific to Apple TV. By delivering your content natively on Apple TV, you gain the advantage of its superior performance, intuitive interface, and seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem.

Smart TV Specifics

Smart TVs are transforming the living room into a hub of personalized entertainment, bursting with all kinds of content such as Live TV, VOD, Apps, Games, and Internet services. This treasure trove of opportunities presents a vast landscape for expanding your service and reaching new audiences. 

However, delivering a seamless, personalized experience that mirrors your STB offerings across a multitude of Smart TV models can be challenging. That's where UniqCast steps in, tackling the complexities of supporting diverse devices with unwavering commitment. Here's how uC20 empowers you to thrive in the Smart TV arena.

My Content page

Access bookmarks, reminders, and purchased content from a dedicated section just like you do it on STB devices.

Content highlights

Enhance engagement with featured live, catch-up, and VOD content.

Refined navigation

Sort and filter content effortlessly with new dashboard functionalities.

Communicate directly

Send in-app messages directly to your users .

Support for the latest TV models

Expand your service reach to the latest Smart TV models from Samsung, LG, and Hisense.

Delivery infrastructure expansion

In the world of TV streaming, every millisecond counts. Lag, buffering, and poor video quality can quickly send viewers scrambling for alternative entertainment. That's where Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) come in, acting as your secret weapon for delivering a flawless streaming experience. 

It can be quite challenging for a TV service provider to select the most optimal CDN partner. From the technical side the following parameters are important to consider:

• global reach: CDNs distribute your content across geographically dispersed servers, bringing it closer to your viewers no matter where they are.
• scalability: With a CDN, you should handle spikes in viewership effortlessly.
• quality: CDNs optimize video for various internet connections, delivering the highest quality possible based on each viewer's bandwidth.

At the end the choice is still yours. We can help you make a better choice by having ready the technical support for the leading CDN providers while also providing our own streaming elements so that you can build your local CDN by just using UniqCast. That is why we added support for Bunny CDN in the uC20, utilizing our unified CDN layer which allows for quick and easy integration of any CDN provider.

By partnering with Bunny CDN and leveraging their robust network, you can confidently deliver a superior streaming experience to your TV viewers, regardless of their location. Remember, a smooth and uninterrupted stream is key to keeping viewers engaged and coming back for more.

Backend Enhancements

In today's competitive streaming landscape, informed decision-making is key to success. Imagine having real-time insights into your TV service, empowering you to optimize content, refine marketing strategies, and proactively address issues.

In order to achieve this, your backend should constantly collect and report operational data. The system should cover all important KPIs, such as viewing time, content type, device type and service quality. It should also provide enough flexibility to implement changes easily once you identified desired service modifications, such as content promotions, advertising campaigns and UI modifications. Most of the data collected and knowledge extracted is very time critical. Especially when talking about service interruptions but also when talking about marketing strategies. Therefore, your backend must be flexible enough to allow you to act fast and independently. These were our guidelines when designing backend improvements for uC20.

Streamline operations

Manage multiple operators efficiently with the new "platform" concept that simplifies management across various operators residing on the same platform. For example, we moved EPG and language components from global to operator level to allow further customization of each service provider.

Content sources expansion

Enjoy access to a wider selection of content libraries. You can now also use MEGOGO as your content aggregator. This integration includes subscriber provisioning service, ability to populate your content packages from MEGOGO, support for EdgeCDN to dynamically generate links for MEGOGO’s VOD content and synchronization mechanisms to align content lists within packages with the MEGOGO’s content offering.

Payment flexibility

Your payment options with Magnaquest CRM got improved. We added additional flows that support subscriber registration, provisioning, registration and an option to embed external self care portal provided by Magnaquest.

Brand drivers from CSMS

You have greater freedom and more options when designing your service and brand. CSMS Admin module offers extensive UI layout customization options across all device types. New elements such as custom headers, footers and login screens were added. Using our new configuration screens you can easily expose certain content or thematic collections. Exposed content will then show in branded catalogs, VOD rails or as an exclusive selection to the user.

Measure performance

uStatia module gives you comprehensive insight into the service performance parameters. This edition adds clear Call Detail Record (CDR) reports to dashboards and new data visualization possibilities. The data can be aggregated and displayed in numerous ways such as per package or per content type so that you can design optimal offerings to your users. You can configure the module to automatically collect and transmit data in desired time intervals.

The Future of IPTV/OTT Platforms

IPTV/OTT platforms have revolutionized our viewing experience, offering content freedom and flexibility unlike ever before. But what does the future hold for these platforms? Check out one of our earlier blogs on this topic. Let's explore some exciting trends on the horizon.

AI-Powered Personalization

Imagine a platform that not only remembers your favorite shows but understands your mood and recommends content perfectly tailored to your preferences. AI-powered personalization will go beyond simple suggestion algorithms, leveraging data from diverse sources to create truly unique viewing experiences.

Data-Driven Content Creation

Platforms will evolve into data hubs, generating valuable insights into viewer behavior and preferences. This information will be used to inform content creation, tailoring offerings to specific demographics and ensuring maximum engagement.

Multi-device Interoperability

Seamless content consumption across all devices will become the norm. Platforms will ensure smooth transitions between smartphones, tablets, TVs, and even wearables, offering uninterrupted viewing experiences regardless of the device.

Live Commerce Integration

Imagine watching a cooking show and instantly purchasing the ingredients used. Platforms will integrate live commerce functionalities, allowing viewers to seamlessly switch between entertainment and shopping experiences.

Social Co-viewing

Watching TV alone is becoming a thing of the past. Platforms will incorporate social features, enabling viewers to co-watch content in real-time, share reactions, and discuss their experiences with friends and family.

The future of IPTV/OTT service delivery platforms is brimming with possibilities. By embracing these trends, these platforms can create truly immersive, personalized, and engaging experiences for viewers around the world. UniqCast is watching and following the trends so that you stay ahead of competition and firmly entrenched in the hearts of your users.

‍