Artificial Intelligence meets television

3 Screen Solutions (3SS) recognized specialists in the use of AI technology to understand what’s inside a video, says they have joined forces to launch and co-commercialize a new pre-integrated AI-based end-to-end platform which enables unprecedented TV service personalization and a range of benefits for operators and their subscribers.

The AI-based solution comprises a wide combination of Machine Learning methodologies to recognize every visual and audial aspect inside a video, including faces, speech, topics, logos, and text. This deep content understanding and indexing of what actually makes up an item of video content enable user searches that yield highly diverse and accurate results.
 
Media Distillery’s technology is an ideal complement to 3SS’ 3READY front end and UI/UX solution which has rapidly grown in popularity among major operators. 3READY’s intuitive and adaptive UI helps subscribers easily discover and access compelling content, across content sources whether on connected TV, set-top box, games console, mobile device or browser.
 
The joint solution brings the era of true personal TV a big step closer, making it possible for the viewer to enjoy his or her own virtual linear channel tailored to his/her likes, embracing content from the operator or broadcaster, web, library, live, on-demand, catch-up, etc, all harmoniously presented.
 
Since the 3SS-Media Distillery solution is pre-integrated, operators can reap the benefits of accelerated deployment and launch of this advanced business-enhancing solution.

Watch Pierre Donath's speech at Google's Android TV workshop at Connected TV World Summit 2019

What differentiates Media Distillery’s AI technology is that it makes each item of content searchable by creating a very broad range of metadata, with a depth and variety beyond that which is typically available using alternative solutions. The result is that the operator gets Deep Content Understanding™ in real-time and on an unparalleled scale.

Thanks to the Media Distillery technology, viewers can not only search for a program by title, but they can also search by persons of interest, event or even search for recommendations by topic. The universe of content served by the operator is thus made hyper-searchable.

3READY has recently been further enhanced via the introduction of 3READY Assistant, which significantly deepens standard Google Assistant integration to give operators extra flexibility, and makes Google Assistant more powerful and functional for subscribers. Technical interconnection between Google and 3READY enables a wider array of operator-determined command options and with more granular context, further enhancing the user experience.

Voice assistants are primarily used to search, but “no results found” can frequently appear. However, the combination of voice search plus rich metadata made possible by the new 3SS-Media Distillery collaboration gives operators a powerful set of capabilities which can transform the act of searching, yielding superior user experiences and monetization possibilities.
The knowledge of what’s inside the content combines with the system’s ability to capture and interpret viewer actions and preferences.

The deep, detailed, accurate searching enabled by the joint solution is generations beyond what’s possible by using the traditional operator EPG, metadata and UIs to hunt for content. The days of “No results found” are numbered.

The solution helps operators become better content aggregators because they can gain a deeper understanding of the content they own and/or have rights to use, and will get a better understanding of all the possibilities to monetize it. Part of this is being able to provide an array of search results which is bigger, better and more finely user-tailored.

In parallel, the solution enables the operator to execute next-generation advertising strategies. Because the operator knows exactly what the viewer likes to see, relevant ads can be served which are tailored to his or her tastes and interests.

These capabilities help operators to realize maximum revenue potential from all their content assets, and from their businesses.

Helping the viewer find the content they really want, and displaying their content options with great variety in an attractive, intuitive, easy-to-use interface, will lead to subscribers spending more time interacting with the operator’s service. It will also encourage greater loyalty over the long term because the perceived value is very high.
 
3READY is highly flexible and pre-engineered to deliver today’s most compelling functional requirements. With its inherent automation and embedded A/B testing capability, 3READY empowers operators, broadcasters and content owners to introduce branded services faster with state-of-the-art application architecture ready to customize to business needs. Operators’ marketing objectives are thus supported while giving world-class entertainment experiences to subscribers.

Among several awards won by 3SS and its customers at the prestigious 2019 Connies Awards last week, 3READY Assistant was named “Best Use of Connected Technology”. At the same ceremony, Canal Digital was Highly Commended by the Connies Awards judges while Com Hem Tv Hub won the prize for Best User Experience and was also Overall Grand Prix winner.