Russia’s NetByBet Enhances Viewing Experience with Advanced Streaming Capabilities from VisualOn
VisualOn Enables Android Support and 4K STB Streaming for Wifire Service Offering
AMSTERDAM–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AndroidTV—IBC 2019, (#5.C40)— VisualOn Inc., the industry-proven video streaming solutions provider, today announced Russian telecommunications provider NetByNet’s use of the VisualOn Media Platform (VMP). The deployment enables NetByNet to seamlessly deliver compelling video playback experiences for its Wifire service across all Android-enabled devices, including smartphones, smart TVs and set-top boxes (STBs).
NetByNet aimed to provide the highest quality 4K video to its wide base of Wifire customers, but many were using Android AOSP STBs that did not support 4K H.265 HLS playback by default. Upgrading STBs would be costly and inconvenient for customers. NetByNet trusted VisualOn to find a solution to allow its customers to experience jaw-dropping picture quality without any hassles.
“Many of our customers were comfortable with their current devices, and we did not want to inconvenience them by forcing them to upgrade their boxes to get access to 4K. We tested a number of players, and the result was that the VisualOn player showed the best quality and stability. VisualOn worked closely with NetByNet to upgrade our service seamlessly, and we, and our customers, are very happy with the solution. In addition, VisualOn provides high quality SD/HD video playback, support of DRM from Verimatrix and an excellent analytics system,” said Anastasiya Kiseleva, Head of TV Development at NetByNet.
NetByNet and VisualOn engaged with STB manufacturer Sumavision and chipset provider Amlogic to develop solutions to support firmware and overcome limitations in order to reconfigure the encoder in a manner that supports 4K streaming. Consequently, the Android AOSP STB can play 4K resolution H.265 HLS video in smooth and flawless quality.
“NetByNet made the decision to offer 4K streaming services thinking that its existing Android STBs could play 4K video. Although that wasn’t the case, we were determined to find a way to provide a unified solution for playing UHD 4K across all Android devices of NetByNet’s customers,” said VisualOn CEO, Yang Cai. “By working with both technology vendors to adapt the existing technology to fit a new purpose, VisualOn was able to extend the lifecycle of NetByNet’s previous investment, avoiding any end user inconvenience.”
By utilizing VisualOn’s player, NetByNet has been able to transition from Linux-based set-to-boxes to Android TV and AOSP, resulting in lower qualification costs, unified user experience across STBs, easier support, and a lower cost for end customers.
To learn more about NetByNet’s use of VisualOn’s player and how the industry-proven client video solution supports all platforms, visit VisualOn at IBC Show Hall 5 Stand #C40, www.visualon.com/ibc2019
