Ran Oz
Chief Technology Officer,
Executive Vice President,
and Co-founder
Ran is chief technology officer of BigBand Networks, which he co-founded as a new breed of company combining advanced multimedia and communications technologies. He has been the primary visionary in the development of the company's products, now globally deployed and utilized for more and better services over more efficient networks. Under Ran's technical leadership, BigBand Networks is pioneering vital advances in digital television, on-demand and IP services, and moving the company towards leadership in the industry's next-generation network initiatives. Ran holds several patents in HFC networking, visual computing, media manipulation and other areas, and regularly presents on advanced technology topics at the most prominent broadband industry events. He is an electrical engineering graduate of the Technion Institute of Technology, and holds an MSEE from Tel Aviv University.
How is the traditional television experience changing?
Increasing numbers of consumers are demanding an experience that blurs the line between "lean-back" consumption of TV-based entertainment and "lean-forward" multimedia activities on their personal computers. It is not a single killer application, nor an intentional move towards new technology, that is driving this rapid change in consumer behavior but a merging of innovation, new types of content and changing consumer lifestyles. These market dynamics are fueling competition from alternative content providers, broadening service choices and providing opportunities for new consumer devices.
Are we going to see video content becoming more personalized?
Yes. Traditional TV-based entertainment is gradually evolving towards a more personal and flexible user experience. Similar to the personalization of content on popular internet pages like MyYahoo or MyAOL, consumers will one day have the freedom to choose what news, music or video content they want view, and at what times they view it. In addition, subscribers will have access to broader selections of content with the flexibility to view that content on a wide variety of fixed and mobile devices.
What technologies are emerging to enable differentiated services that provide greater personalization?
We're seeing deployment of switched broadcast systems that enables dramatic savings in bandwidth usage, does not alter the TV viewing experience, and allows the reclaimed network capacity to be used for delivering new and expanded tiers of services and content. Switched broadcast achieves these benefits by transmitting programs to geographic areas only when the subscribers in that group are in the process of watching them, instead of broadcasting all programs to all subscribers all the time.
Addressable advertising is another exciting technology that achieves a closer pairing between the interests of consumers and the promotional messages they receive. Ads can be selected and forwarded to subscribers based on viewing preferences, hobbies, interests, demographic information, and other relevant data.
Are subscribers going to have more freedom in choosing when to view content?
Video on demand is a great way for providers to attract new subscribers, and retain existing ones, because it empower viewers with more control over what programming they watch, and when they watch it. Other time-shifting solutions such as network-based personal video recorders allow consumers to join programs already in process without missing content.
Additionally, advances in cable modem networks, such as DOCSISŪ 3.0 and Modular CMTS (cable modem termination system) platforms provide subscribers with opportunities to quickly download broad content choices available on the Internet, at times when they want to watch it.
What role is BigBand Networks playing in transforming the television-viewing experience?
We're front and center in many of the advances fueling this transformation. For example, we invented switched broadcast and refined the technology to the point where it is now broadly deployed in two cable operators' networks. We're applying our innovation to addressable advertising, time-shifting and device-shifting, modular cable modem termination systems, and more. In other words, we're passionate about delivering any media to anyone, anywhere.