3 Screen Solutions Launches Android TV Enhancements Through Google Partnership

3SS has launched a new product and service offering called 3READY Assistant, enabled by its existing 3READY Android TV Operator Tier Custom Launcher.

This enables operators to create their own commands to trigger a range of actions in the app for viewers. Such commands range from customer support related actions including billing queries to PVR instructions and management of advanced parental control features. Operators can also define and customize these options in any Google Assistant compatible language.

“Android TV-based deployments are now widely acknowledged as capable of delivering game-changing entertainment experiences to viewers, alongside myriad operational advantages to service providers, as exemplified by Com Hem TV Hub,” said Kai-Christian Borchers, 3SS Managing Director. Borchers was referring to the earlier deployment of Android TV by Com Hem, Sweden’s largest cable operator. 3SS played a key role in project development and systems integration for Com Hem’s TV Hub, a hybrid set top box (STB) based on Android TV. 3SS also supplied its 3READY Android TV client with custom launcher to control the STB.

Borchers added that the new 3READY Assistant would enable service providers to differentiate their offerings from competitors further through greater customization and more advanced discoverability of content. A key part of the product is continuous enhancement, with new commands and functions being regularly introduced into its “vocabulary”, according to Borchers. “3READY is making the Google Assistant more useful for operators, helping them transform the way people think about and interact with their pay TV service,” he added.

In addition to enabling new custom device actions, 3SS claims to be one of the first providers to have introduced cloud-to-cloud based Google Assistant integration. This new cloud-centric system configuration option offered by Google differs from conventional device-centric integration projects. Cloud-based Android TV systems enable the operator to manage service delivery more transparently on multiple devices in parallel with the STB. Additionally, the operator can control up to three watch actions which the user can select from within the Google Assistant. With on-device implementations, only one watch action can be presented.

3READY Cloud-to-Cloud Integration also enables operators to remotely optimize and personalize search results, and benefit from faster search results.—Broadcast Bridge