Consumer’s experiences and expectations have come a long way since audiences first got their ears on the gramophone. Media experiences are all over the place and spread across multiple devices, but the interesting turning point was the shift from hardware expectations to the versatility of each device. Yes, there are some purists who, for example, will always want the best picture quality in a TV, but even those are willing to give it a second thought if the device isn’t ready to meet their media consumption needs.
Content is scattered across multiple platforms — through linear TV channels, OTT services and IPTV, so it’s no wonder people feel lost in the midst of all these sources. Nobody wants to constantly change HDMI ports every time they want a specific source, look for the right remote for the right device, or even have to download third-party apps every time they need a specific function to work on specific content.
The holy grail of all media experiences is a player with the ability to bring all these commodities together, allowing the user a simple, yet powerful experience with no hassle, a word that shouldn’t even be associated with entertainment. It should combine Linear TV, either by cable or satellite, IPTV and OTT.
Now, with OTT there might be a slight problem, as some services are not comfortable sharing their API, which means integration can be tricky, if not impossible. But even taking that as a casualty of war, these services are one navigational toggle away, and in cases like Amazon or Netflix, quick access buttons are already incorporated into a great majority of remotes.
Let’s take WeTV for example, WeTek’s Android TV broadcasting stack. We’ve built this solution with exactly that problem in mind and made a pretty good job of solving it, combining every signal into one single player. Of course, to take full advantage of the software, your hardware needs to be ready for the undertaking, and we don’t like to brag, but we have also solved that small detail by creating hybrid set-top boxes with satellite and cable tuners.
Getting back to the case at hand, WeTV is not only capable of receiving tuner and internet signals, but also groups channels from either source in every way the user sees fit. These can be seamlessly intertwined for zapping addicts or can be put into channel lists according to personal tastes, genres or even users.
And we all know the pain of trying to get to a certain content using the remote. Even when that remote is packed with a keyboard, the whole menu scrolling experience is tiresome and often frustrating. So, a good media interface needs to have voice command functionalities, not only to search for content but also take advantage of all those little tweaks like sound volume, catch-up and DVR.
Speaking of DVR, here’s a feature any modern player on the market must-have, and it shouldn’t even be related to hardware. Let’s imagine the set-top box you are using doesn’t have an available hard drive, or even (god forbid) an USB port on which to expand memory, the software should be ready to connect with your cloud account, so that the content you record can be available anywhere, for you to access at anytime.
WeTV took care of all these features and presents it in such a way, it could very well become your main app while using a device. How’s that for a premium feature in your service?
If you wish to know more about how WeTV could help maximize your business’ potential, contact us.
