Ross Video and Verance announce aspect watermarking support for the Ross Video softGear platform

Ross Video, a global leader in live video production applications, and Verance, a leading global provider of standards-based watermarking solutions, announced the availability of Verance Aspect watermarking in the Ross Video software media processing platform (softGear).

Ross Video’s softGear provides broadcasters with the flexibility to adapt to changing programming needs through media processing microservices. The integration of the Verance Aspect watermark into the Broadcast Audio Processor based on the softGear platform will provide Aspect watermarking to a variety of television outlets.

The Aspect watermark works in both today’s 1.0 and tomorrow’s 3.0 broadcast environments and was selected to be part of the NextGen TV standard as a way to extend and maximize the reach of interactive television services in broadcast television. Without the Aspect watermark, NextGen applications can only reach the 20% of households that receive signals over the air. With the Aspect watermark, NextGen applications can reach 100% of households. For the same reason, the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband Television Association (HbbTV) adopted watermarking into its Phase 2 Application Discovery over Broadband specification published in September 2019.

By deploying Aspect within the softGear platform, programmers are able to activate interactive services through all distribution paths (including ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 over-the-air, cable/satellite, and over-the-top services) to reach 100% of smart televisions. Without the watermark, 80% of households are unable to receive these capabilities.

“We are thrilled to announce that our Broadcast Audio Processor and softGear platform will support the Verance Aspect Watermark,” says Wojtek Tryc, Director, TPM softGear, Ross Video. “Our partnership with Verance unlocks new opportunities for broadcasters to deliver new compelling features to NextGen TV customers.”

“Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to delivering innovative solutions that drive revenue and viewer engagement in today’s and tomorrow’s broadcast environments,” explained Nil Shah, CEO, Verance. “We are excited to partner with Ross Video and are pleased to expand our product suite and support our partners as they transition to NextGen TV.” BCS Bureau