San Diego, CA, January 2, 2020 - Verance®, a global provider of standards-based watermarking solutions, today announced the availability of video watermark technology as part of its Aspect™ platform.

The Aspect video watermark provides a high-performance, commercial implementation of the ATSC video watermark specification. It brings enhanced capabilities to the Aspect audio watermark that has already been deployed by major broadcasters in the United States, including FOX, NBC and PBS. Both the audio and video watermarks support multiple standards and work in today’s ATSC 1.0 broadcast environment.

Together, Aspect audio and video watermarking solutions empower programmers with a highly robust and reliable solution to activate Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) at the lowest cost and with the highest reach of viewers, creating a path to maximize addressable advertising revenue. Key features of Aspect watermarking include:

o 100% Reach: Capable of activating DAI across all devices and distribution paths.

o Cost-Efficient: 10x cheaper than comparable, fingerprint-based solutions.

o Match Rate: 100% positive identification of live and time-shifted content, distinguishing between DVR playback and VOD.

o Frame-Accurate Timing: Enables the announcement, discovery, insertion and synchronization of ads with 1/500 of a second of timing accuracy.

o Psychovisual Imperceptibility: Tuned to be invisible to the viewer.

o Broad Functionality: Interoperable with existing and future DAI services including ATSC, HbbTV/DVB-Targeted Advertising & Project OAR.

Both watermarks allow the information required for DAI activation in a television set to pass through any distribution environment seamlessly, including over HDMI links and through existing distribution equipment and set-top boxes. Without watermarking, viewers receiving television service via cable, satellite and over-the-top distribution paths (over 80% of current U.S. households) will be unable to receive dynamically addressable advertising.

In trick play, a feature of digital video systems including DVRs and VOD systems, the video watermark complements the audio watermark. When trick play features such as fast-forward and rewind are activated and the audio is muted, the video watermark allows televisions to capture station identifier and time code information and insert a replacement ad with frame-level accuracy.

Joe Winograd, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer for Verance, explained, “The pairing of Aspect audio and video watermarks provides our programming and ecosystem partners with an accelerated path to capture revenue from addressable advertising. Together, they provide superior reach, reliability and performance capabilities, which is precisely why the ATSC and HbbTV standards include specifications for both watermarks.”

Verance is utilizing audio and video watermarking to demonstrate DAI, sports betting and leading interactive use cases at CES in Las Vegas from January 7 – 10, 2020.

Verance® Aspect™ is a global watermarking platform that powers broadband features on broadcast television by enabling sports betting, dynamic advertising and interactivity across all screens and distribution paths. Aspect supports new and existing industry standards including ATSC 3.0 and HbbTV and works in today’s ATSC 1.0 broadcasting environment. Leading programmers such as FOX, NBC and PBS are currently deploying Aspect.

Verance content measurement and enhancement technologies are at the forefront of innovation and set the industry standard for television, movies and music. Our solutions have been adopted by over 100 leading entertainment and technology companies and deployed in over 350 million consumer products worldwide. For more information, visit: http://www.verance.com