The benefits of interactivity are clear. Interactive TV is proven to deliver enhanced viewer loyalty, increased program ratings and enhanced advertising effectiveness. Interactive television has evolved to provide a large variety of applications that engage viewers and let them play, purchase, provide feedback, cast votes, and request information.

In short, interactive TV truly enhances the television experience, and Softel powers it.

To effectively launch a new interactive TV app, developers, programmers and operators go through three primary stages; they:

1.Create and Test interactive TV apps through a headend to check that they stream correctly to all target viewer devices. Usability testing is just as crucial to ensure great interactive content
2.Verify that the applications are correctly interfacing with the interactive infrastructure
3. Playout the interactive TV apps, streaming them to a variety of platforms and middlewares to make interaction seamless and compelling for the viewer

Softel’s expertise in this space is unsurpassed. Softel’s MediaSphere™ interactive TV platform helps application developers, operators, and programmers test, verify and playout innovative interactive television apps. MediaSphere playout devices can even stream software upgrades to equipment in viewers’ premises.

MediaSphere is a widely deployed and trusted interactive TV platform installed at many prestigious operators and programmers such as the BBC, ESPN, MTV, Shaw Cable, Showtime, Starz, Technicolor, Time Warner Cable, Turner Broadcasting and many more.

In fact, MediaSphere TX, Softel’s award winning interactive TV playout solution, is relied-upon daily by more than 25 major operators and programmers to stream interactive TV to over 50 million households. Every week, MediaSphere TX plays out primetime t-commerce for broadcasters such as QVC, interactivity for the very biggest sporting events, and voting apps for blockbuster shows, like X Factor.

Softel also works closely with Canoe Ventures™, a joint venture of the leading cable operators in America that delivers the largest national interactive TV ecosystem, reaching 25 million households.

Right now MediaSphere systems stream interactive TV around the world, serving a variety of interactive apps, such as for:

• Polling and trivia
• Advanced Advertising
• Entertainment and games
• Interactive show guides
• Sports statistics and information
• News and weather services
• Game show play-along applications
• On screen shopping (“t-commerce”) for channels such as QVC™
• RFI applications