Product Description

The latest example of Mobilesoft’s innovation is the Home Media Centre (HMC). The first implementation is with Video Ezy, Australia’s largest DVD rental chain. The HMC has been designed to take the video rental business into a new paradigm, more in keeping with today’s lifestyles.

The solution builds on the successful DVD video rental model. Instead of four or five DVDs, a customer can take home up to 30 encrypted movies on a small portable storage device – an IPOD, flash memory, portable hard drive, etc. At home, the portable device is plugged into the HMC and the movies are ready for viewing.

The customer is billed only when a video is viewed. The content supplier manages charging and all charging parameters are programmable, to adjust to the requirements of each supplier.

HMC Brochure (pdf) HMC Promo Material (pdf)

Designed for Users

Advantages for users include:

• The HMC will download movies in minutes rather than the hours taken by IPTV and Video On Demand over broadband;

• No payment until movies are viewed, so movies can be taken home “on-spec”;

• Elimination of the top-five customer turn-offs identified by customer surveys:

  1. Returning DVDs

  2. Late fees

  3. Scratched disks

  4. Unavailability of popular movies

  5. Too small a range of movies

• Increased mobility by downloading recorded content or direct streaming of free-to-air TV to personal media players such as IPODs, etc., for viewing anywhere, anytime and

• Content can be pre-ordered over the Internet and downloading kiosks can be located in public places remote from a video store, in a mall, for example 

Technically Challenging

Developing a new concept in video rental demanded all of Mobilesoft’s experience in ‘taming’ technology and bringing to market leading edge products. The major problems to be solved were:

• delivering content rapidly, 

• providing a viewing experience more in keeping with today’s lifestyle and

• satisfying the Hollywood Studios’ demand for extremely tight security. 

Security the Key

With the history of unauthorised copying in the entertainment industry, security is critical to this service. Mobilesoft is using its ADAPT®TV product to augment best-of- breed security products providing:

• anti-tamper detection, to protect the HMC from physical intrusion. If tampering is detected access to the contents is limited or totally wiped;

• secure downloading of the application software and the operating system to enable upgrading the unit with additional features;

• two-party authentication and encryption and

• Studio-approved Digital Rights Management and Video Output Copy Protection;

Proof of the level of security is that Mobilesoft’s HMC has been approved by the Hollywood Studios.

The HMC platform can be licensed internationally and tailored to each content supplier’s business model. Wherever installed, the unit is locally branded and sold or rented to the supplier’s customers. Video Ezy is currently running a user trial. Following a successful trial the HMC will be released to the market.

Innovation

The HMC Architecture & Specification document (pdf) is classed as 'Commercial in Confidence' and is available to judges on application to Consensus.

MobileSoft Innovative Solutions (pdf)

A Unique Concept

The HMC concept – bringing the video store into the 21st century – is unique worldwide. The Hollywood Studios, who meticulously inspect all new media distribution models before approving them to distribute the Studios’ content, tell us they have seen nothing else using the same distribution technique.

The Studios have approved Mobilesoft’s model and product.

New Service Delivery Models

The HMC generates a business advantage for video store chains by expanding the successful video store marketing model.

• It expands the developing ‘socialization’ of the video store demonstrated by the large growth in sales of ancillary items – coffee, snacks, apparel, etc. Although the downloading of pre-ordered video selections will only take a few minutes, customers will have time to browse the store and purchase other merchandise.

• The HMC opens new service delivery avenues. Locating downloading kiosks at other locations can bring new customers. Sites such as shopping malls, supermarkets and possibly even railway stations reach new customer sets.

Empowering Users

The HMC delivers a wholly new experience in home entertainment – mobility! Home entertainment got its name because it could only occur in the home. Today it is mobile, just what customers generation are seeking. Consumers can now record and download content to their Personal Media Player (PMP) – Ipod, Portable Playstation (PSP), PDA or laptop. Using the HMC it is one press of a button. It can then be viewed it anywhere and anytime.

Not only that, with your PDA, PSP or laptop and a wireless or wire broadband Internet connection you can:

• Contact your HMC over the Internet and tune it into a free-to-air TV channel, 

• Stream the broadcast to your PMP and

• Watch a program live from anywhere in the world.

Earth Shrinking Potential

The HMC has a market everywhere there are video store chains and telephones. With its low-level communications requirement, its flexibility to easily change the services offered to match the market and its appeal to users, it will find it a ready market worldwide.

Performance

Eliminating Users’ Top Five Gripes

It’s not often a new product can completely eliminate the five most frequently voiced complaints from users. The HMC does just this. The five top gripes determined by Video Ezy user surveys are: 

1. Returning DVDs

2. Late fees

3. Scratched disks

4. Not enough copies of popular movies

5. Not a wide enough range of movies

With the HMC, all of these have gone.

The Market

The market for the HMC is video rental chains. Each store must install support systems such as pre-ordering, Digital Rights Management and billing. The Mobilesoft Home Media Centre has its first customer – Australia’s largest video store chain, Video Ezy. A user trial is currently underway. The HMC concept has aroused interest in the video store industry internationally. Three international companies approached Mobilesoft by the end of the first month after its public announcement.

Market Entry 

The key requirement is a product with a high level of security which can gain the approval of the Hollywood Studios. Without this approval, the Studios will not allow their content to be distributed. Mobilesoft passed this milestone by carefully studying the problem, selecting best-of-breed media security products and developing its own software to fill the gaps.

A second barrier is access to patents. Mobilesoft and its partners have patents registered in several of the key process areas.

Extensive Range of Services

The Mobilesoft platform is very flexible, more features can be added simply through programming, and securely downloading, the new operational software to a user’s HMC. Thus different video store chains can employ different marketing strategies.

For example, one video store chain can offer a basic unit for a basic price and let the user expand the HMC with chargeable options. Another could, say, rent a more fully featured unit and announce upgrades to the HMC and the services offered, at regular intervals.

This flexibility will create a strong demand for the HMC.

Industry Benchmark

The HMC sets the benchmark.

• The HMC does not require high-speed communications.

• The HMC can have features added in the field.

• Downloading content is fast. The HMC will download 30 titles in under 10 minutes. Downloading the same number of titles over broadband through IPTV or VOD would take hours, if not days.

Enthusiastic Users

The product is only just becoming available but the responses received from the initial test group have been enthusiastic. The HMC is being seen as a major step forward in the delivery of home entertainment.

It makes getting content much easier because titles can be ordered and taken home ‘on spec’. Viewing is more flexible with the HMC’s ability to download or stream to portable media players - PMPs. Charging is more accommodating as the customer is charged only when a movie is viewed.

Potential

Satisfying an Expanding International Need

As more and more nations are raising their standard of living, home entertainment is a market that is growing rapidly everywhere. Many video rental companies are looking to gain competitive advantage and grow their customer base by providing more choice, more function and a user interaction which matches developing lifestyles.

The HMC has been designed to satisfy a need that is the same the world over. Its ability to tailor the unit’s function to the distributor, to work with low-speed communications and to provide the security the Studios require to safeguard their product ensures an international market.

The platform will be licensed internationally and tailored to each content supplier’s business model. Wherever sold, the unit is locally branded and sold or rented to the supplier’s customers.

Identified Prospects

Mobilesoft sees a large international market for its product. There have been three approaches from overseas companies by the end of the first month following the public announcement.

Mobilesoft is arranging calls on these prospects in the near future.

Industry Expertise

In exploring international markets, Mobilesoft has aligned itself with a leading company in the industry. The company is noted for its innovation in the video rental business. A partnership of Mobilesoft with its HMC and an industry leader will make a major mark on international markets.

Other information the judges should know

Mobilesoft Ltd, an ASX listed company, is a specialist provider of communications- enabling solutions that manage the delivery of data in complex, mission critical, transaction oriented environments over wired or wireless telecommunication networks. Mobilesoft can provide all components of a solution. Its solutions are usually communications and application software, but, when required, Mobilesoft designs and builds specialist hardware as it did for the Home Media Centre, Tabcorp and UniTAB solutions described below.

Mobilesoft’s greatest skill is using new technology to satisfy customers’ needs and solve customers’ problems. Throughout its more than ten year history Mobilesoft has developed solutions for many of the major companies in Australia. Companies like Telecom Australia, CBA, Transfield and Tabcorp have come to Mobilesoft because they have data communications problems in their key operational areas.

Mobilesoft developed leading-edge solutions for them based on the then current technology. The solutions are designed to last. All but one of the solutions described below are still in production today – in spite of massive changes in telecommunications over the last decade.

In its twelve-year history of early exploitation of new technology, Mobilesoft has been a pioneer in many markets, even on the international stage. These have included portable wireless data communication, network acceleration technology, highly secure monitoring in hostile environments, commercial SMS texting and now, using the latest technologies to revolutionise the video supply industry worldwide. 

Mobilesoft demonstrates that entrepreneurial Australian companies can be world leaders in delivering innovative solutions.