Telcos talk up multiscreen experience

IPTV WORLD FORUM 2009 – LONDON. Telcos are preparing to offer their subscribers a multiscreen experience, linking together the various devices that form their triple play package.

Christopher Schläffer, group product and innovation officer, Deutsche Telekom, said although IPTV, Web TV and mobile were currently separate, they would converge together. “Multiscreens is the next phenomena, the experience has to be the same on the TV screen, the PC or the mobile.” Schläffer predicted timeshifting and placeshifting would be commonplace.

Schläffer’s views were echoed by Francois Seligmann, director IPTV & New Projects, Orange who said the France Telecom-owned telco was in the process of creating a content everywhere universe. Seligmann gave the example of a subscriber being able to follow a football match on their mobile before transferring their viewing to the domestic TV screen.

An extension of the multiscreen approach was seen on the Ericsson stand where instant messaging applications were being run between mobile and main TV screens. The company has also introduced placeshifting – the ability to view a domestic pay-TV subscription out of home – to its IPTV ecosystem.