Multiscreen’s a Busy Space

Believe it or not, "The Summer of Multiscreen" isn't just something we dreamed up on our own. It's real, it's big and it's happenin,' in pretty much all dimensions: operator rollouts, subscriber uptake and plenty of vendor activity.In the latest news on the operator front (as of this writing, anyway), Comcast is showing off its Xfinity multiscreen service at the FCC's newly launched Technology Experience Center. The MSO also teamed up with Skype in June to offer multiscreen HD video calls.Time Warner Cable's iPad app has been up and running for several months and has been getting constant updates and upgrades, including some recent bugs that the MSO is working hard to eradicate. Comcast's iPad app has also been getting updates, and has been downloaded more than 2 million times as of May this year. Cablevision's iPad app has also been doing well, and Cox launched its own mobile video app in March.Other providers are getting in on the act, too. Netflix recently teamed with Nintendo to stream content to the game company's handheld consoles, and Avail-TVN launched a managed multiscreen service in June. At the Cable Show, TiVo announced upgrades to its iPad app for cable.Speaking of the Cable Show, you couldn't throw a rock in any direction in Chicago without hitting some sort of multiscreen something. Offerings abounded from vendors including Alcatel-Lucent, Nagra, BigBand, SeaChange, thePlatform, This Technology, Panache, ARRIS, RGB, Imagine, and many more.Multiscreen also figured prominently at other shows and conferences, including NAB, CES, BroadcastAsia, the SCTE Canadian Summit, Canitec, ANGA, the SeaChange conference in April and last year's SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. The upcoming IBC show also looks like it'll have a significant multiscreen presence.So it's safe to say that multiscreen is a bit of a trend, and one that we'll continue watching closely.Ron Hendrickson is the managing editor for Broadband Technology Report. Contact him at [email protected].