In order to answer market's pressing demands for reliable and consistent means to locate quality video content anytime, anywhere and anyhow, onTV has specialised in delivering high quality, up-to-date metadata feeds on TV content available online. The initial content of the feed is centered on TV series in US and the UK but is being extended to other types of video, as well as other countries and languages. It is onTV's goal to be the main supplier of metadata as new professionally produced online content and formats develop.
More generally, onTV Europe's business objectives and expertise in TV metadata have arisen from the following perceived market trends and needs:
- The accelerating uptake of digital television and radio and of other digital content services, platforms and devices is greatly increasing the need for improved information ("metadata") about television and radio programmes and other forms of digital content. When viewers are faced with many tens, hundreds or thousands of channels of programming as well as a widening range of on-demand content, it is no longer feasible to browse through grid-like programme schedules or search the web for all available broadcast and online channels.
- When you add the ability to capture, digitally record and share programmes, films and other content, consumers are faced with yet another level of choice. Viewers need to be able to quickly and conveniently identify and access, from amongst millions of available content items, those few that best meet their personal preferences.
- Broadcasters, terrestrial, cable, satellite operators, telcos and digital television hardware and software vendors all have an interest in ensuring that viewers are able to benefit from the greater choice arising from the digitalisation of television and from the advent of digital storage as a means of adding value for viewers. One key to unleashing this potential lies in industry-wide open standards for programme/content information.
Through active involvement in the Metadata Working Group of the TV-Anytime Forum, onTV Europe Ltd. has developed a high level of expertise in standards-based TV metadata. We were especially involved in the development of the TV-Anytime Metadata XML Schema which allows for far more precise programme description than has hitherto been possible. Colin Moorcraft, onTV's Technical Director, was the XML Editor of the TV-Anytime Metadata working group until it completed its specifications; he is a member of the management committee of the Joined-up Metadata for Media Playback (JuMMp) industry forum. onTV is a member of TVA Europe, a regional body that promotes the commercial deployment of TVA-compliant services.
Our initial focus for putting our expertise to work has been in the development of onTV:meta, our television metadata management system, which is squarely based on the TVA metadata standard. It offers all the forward-looking functionality and interoperability of the standard, together with the flexibility and power to cost effectively address immediate TV metadata publishing challenges - including those associated with proprietary and legacy formats.