SmartLabs announced new powerful Client Application Framework (CAF) for set-top-boxes

With SmartLabs Client Application Framework, STB vendors and service providers might benefit from fast and easily customizable user interface (UI) applications which turn any STBs into powerful graphical media console. The framework works over all existing popular STB platforms, and it might be easily integrated into new ones...

SmartLabs develops a comprehensive portfolio of software solutions for IPTV, satellite, terrestrial, and hybrid STBs. With SmartLabs Client Application Framework, STB vendors and service providers might benefit from fast and easily customizable user interface (UI) applications which turn any STBs into powerful graphical media console. The framework works over all existing popular STB platforms, and it might be easily integrated into new ones.

SmartLabs Client Application Framework (CAF) is a compact software platform that can be bundled with a growing number of modules for deployment of attractive interactive TV services. As many network operators deploy on more than one STB model (often from more than one vendor), SmartLabs Client Application Framework provides the essential common denominator which is required to deploy services to every subscriber the way that minimizes cost of development and speeds time-to-market. SmartLabs Client Application Framework enables services to run on multiple generations of STBs from many vendors by protecting services from the different STB hardware configurations.

Client Application Framework Advantages

• Compact and Light: Optimized application design provides best performance on both low-end and high-end STBs.
• Native UI navigation experience: UI applications work very fast in terms of navigating or browsing lists, changing forms and screens, redrawing interface elements. It allows users to navigate through client application assuming 100% native and expected response from the UI.
• Extended Presentation Capabilities: animation, 2D, 3D, scrolling lines, flying objects, others – are 1. Possible, 2. Easy to add, 3. Works fast. It allows even slow box looks like modern game consoles.
• Application Builder Framework: documented, standard-based APIs to build custom UI applications and to integrate UI applications with any server-side SDP or middleware.

Client Application Framework Benefits

Please find below how STB vendors and service providers benefit from SmartLabs Client Application Framework.

For STB Vendors:

• Powerful application framework over STB's hardware and operating system
• Designed for interactive TV services instead of common browsers
• Alternative to browsers as an application framework and substitute browser fee in STB
• Standard built-in 'default' applications
• No software development headache for STB vendors
• Cross-platform – easy to push new STBs to the markets

For service providers:

• One UI applications across all STBs and other client devices connected to digital TV interactive services
• Standard built-in ‘default’ applications for immediate service delivery
• Resources and tools to customize or even redesign UI using wide range of prebuilt widgets and standard APIs
• Third-party services integration
• Transparent integration with server-side middleware and other back-end applications through industry-standard APIs
• Cost-effective solution (substitute browser and middleware 'per subscriber' fees)

Client Application Framework deliverables

The framework is provided with a full set of software and documentation required to start application development immediately:

• Framework software integrated within selected STBs
• A set of standard 'default' applications, i.e. basic TV and VoD services, EPG, etc.
• Source-code samples with step-by-step instructions
• APIs documentation and Programmer's guide
• 24x7 support and troubleshooting

Client Application Framework in action

Please see how we develop our own Client TV applications using Client Application Framework for STBs. With this powerful framework, you can benefit from prebuilt applications which we provide 'as is' as a part of the framework, or create your own ones.