IBC 2011 Q&A: Andrew Burke, CEO Amino

Andrew Burke, CEO of set-top box vendor Amino, spoke to DTVE IBC Update to discuss the company’s plans for the show.

What has been the most significant development in pay TV technology since last year’s IBC?

The ability to complement existing TV services with a companion device to both manage and deliver OTT content. With Google TV and our own Freedom-based devices, operators can now quickly capitalise on consumer interest in OTT services without extensive re-investment in their existing set-top box deployments.

What is the biggest challenge currently facing the industry?

One of the key challenges for service providers is finding the right balance between traditional broadcast and OTT content delivery. Not just in terms of how to package these services – but also pricing, quality of service and, fundamentally, the right business model to drive consumer take-up and revenues.

What trends do you expect to emerge from this year’s IBC?

I think it will be the year of n-screen – the ability to mange and view content, both broadcast and on-demand, across multiple devices.

What will you be highlighting at IBC?

We’ve moved from evangelising about OTT and early product demos two years ago to a position where we’re now supporting a tier one operator commercial rollout and trialling with several other major players. We’re now extending OTT capability to our IPTV products – bringing together the best of IPTV in terms of quality of service and the flexibility and excitement of OTT. There’ll also be demos of our next generation user interface – bringing together broadcast, OTT social and participatory media in one holistic experience.

What are your priorities for next year?

We want to continue to capitalise on our lead in OTT – through continued support for the successful rollout of Telecom Italia’s Cubovision service and innovation around our IPTV devices where we have seen both customer and industry analyst affirmation of our value proposition.

Do you have any IBC survival tips?

Plan. Drink lots of water. Read the dailies for the latest news and when visiting booths don’t be afraid to ask difficult questions. Make sure you get an invite to the NDS party – and the following morning drink lots more water.