ICARE

Current TV services are evolving rapidly; mid- and longterm convergence of TV and Internet will definitely change the way we all watch TV. On one hand, it will offer the end user more new interactive and pleasing capabilities; on the other, broadcasters and operators will face a new value chain where newcomers can take advantage of the Internet and software technologies to offer end users customised advertising and targeted content, associated with personalised content. This profoundly affects the business model of current broadcasters who still adopt a relatively static end-to-end approach. Cloud architecture and services are the key aspect of this enticing new business model for future TV programme makers. Dematerialised infrastructure and software-intensive systems will offer newcomers affordable solutions to compete efficiently against traditional broadcasters. The ICARE project intends to explore this domain by demonstrating a way of using the cloud to transport, process, deliver and protect content over a distributed, non-proprietary and adaptive architecture.