Zodiac teams up with MediaKind to extend life of set-tops

Software vendor Zodiac has teamed up with MediaKind to enable the latter’s MediaFirst TV user experience to run on any digital set-top box, new or old, via a software update only, according to Zodiac. 

The combined MediaKind and Zodiac solution enables operators to enhance their UX across the entire footprint with MediaFirst’s content discovery platform, deploy browser-based applications and OTT services deep into the legacy set-top footprint, including licensed Netflix, Youtube and Facebook apps, use advanced analytics to extend data collection, audience measurement and targeted advertising monetisation to all set-tops, and unify set-top and BSS/OSS environments, according to Zodiac.

According to the company, the collaboration can extend the life of deployed subscriber and network hardware with a new, remotely deployed/managed software platform.

The Zodiac platform focuses local set-top resources on running the best possible native or browser-based UX.  Metadata translation, multi-protocol support, BSS/OSS orchestration and other set-top functions are handled by the Zodiac cloud and messaged to set-tops via any network pipe available.

Zodiac’s software today runs over 130 different set-top models spanning a variety of vendors and chipsets at operators including Charter, Altice USA and Rogers.

“Video technology vendors have always tied new features with costly new cap-and-grow hardware deployments that only benefit the lucky customers getting a new set-top. With MediaKind, we have decoupled software strategies from hardware capex so the entire footprint can get the benefit of new features with a software download,” said Rich Neill, Zodiac’s EVP Engineering And Technology.

”We are thrilled to partner with Zodiac to enable MediaFirst, together with our recently announced MediaFirst client for Mediaroom, to address all of the roughly one billion set-top-boxes deployed around the world. This combination delivers an incredible value proposition for operators to evolve, adapt and shift to a next generation TV experience in an elegant manner” said Gowton Achaibar, COO and Head of R&D, MediaKind,

MediaKind will exhibit at IBC on stand 1.D61 and Zodiac will exhibit on stand 1.D11