(Cedar Rapids, IA) A groundbreaking pilot project to present datacasting content to Raleigh-area viewers was announced today by broadcast industry pioneers, Decisionmark Corporation, a media technology company, and Capitol Broadcasting, owners of DTV Plus and WRAL-DT. For 30 days, the prototype will allow WRAL-DT viewers to schedule, download and watch their favorite datacast content via WRAL-DT's TitanTV program guide, which was developed by Decisionmark.
This is the first time a datacast content schedule has been entered into a station's online guide making its datacast content accessible for download at the click of a button.
"The QuickCast solution demonstrates viewer-friendly datacast content delivery, which is important in leveraging our digital content and increasing viewership. It gives us a platform to strengthen our relationship with the viewer", said James F. Goodmon, president and CEO, Capitol Broadcasting, owners and operators of WRAL-DT in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Jack Perry, president & CEO of Decisionmark, says that it's essential for industry leaders to help viewers understand the possibilities created by the conversion to digital TV broadcasting and the nascent technologies becoming available to them. "We are proud to join Capitol Broadcasting's DTV Plus to further the success of the DTV transition by demonstrating the very real capabilities of datacast scheduling and downloading via our QuickCast system."
For this project, WRAL uses its existing TotalCast application and encodes a variety of programming and content made available at various times of the day. By simply clicking on a QuickCast icon on the TitanTV guide's "WRAL On-Demand" tab, WRAL viewers can capture available datacast content of interest to them. To capture the content, viewers must own a B2C2 datacast USB tuner.
Viewers also have the option of selecting available content that was previously aired, such as WRAL News, Football Friday and Headline Saturday. One day, according to Decisionmark, it is feasible that viewers would be able to choose yesterday's primetime network shows, helping both the networks and local stations increase viewership by allowing viewers to watch programming that they may otherwise have missed.
The TitanTV guide not only makes the content easily accessible, but makes the QuickCast datacast content easy to navigate and provides viewers with accurately updated content schedules. This is made possible by broadcasters using a Decisionmark online scheduling application that allows them to update program schedules in real time, including datacast schedules. The program was even designed to be Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) compatible. This means that broadcasters can enter program schedules and ensure the data gets seamlessly fed to their PSIP generator.
About the TitanTV guide
The TitanTV guide is a "mini" version of the more comprehensive TitanTV.com, created for individual broadcast stations. The QuickCast project reinforces TitanTV as the resource for content listings in the digital age. It is the only guide that is updated by broadcasters themselves, making it the most accurate guide on the market, which is increasingly important to downloading and recording content. The TitanTV guide has been placed on over 800 TV broadcast web sites.
About TotalCast
TotalCast is a complete datacast solution including server software for content preparation and client software for receiving and displaying datacast content. TotalCast was developed by DTV Plus and has been in service at multiple DTV stations since 2001. More information is available at www.dtvplus.com.
About Decisionmark
Decisionmark is the foremost online software and information provider to the broadcast industry, delivering the most accurate, complete, real-time information anywhere regarding signal coverage, reception, programming and viewers. For consumers, Decisionmark offers the only real-time, household-level online programming guide. Decisionmark is a profitable, privately held company, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Visit its web site at www.decisionmark.com.
About Capitol Broadcasting
Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. is a diversified communications company which owns and/or operates WRAL-TV, WRAL-Digital, WRAL-FM, Microspace, the North Carolina News Network, DTV Plus, and Wolfpack Sports Marketing in Raleigh, NC; WJZY-TV and WWWB-TV in Charlotte, NC; WILM-TV in Wilmington, NC; WRAZ-TV and the Durham Bulls Baseball Club in Durham, NC; and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Baseball Club in Myrtle Beach, SC.