London, UK and Leuven, Belgium – July 1, 2020 - THEO Technologies, creator of the High Efficiency Streaming Protocol (HESP) and video playback solutions, and Synamedia, the world’s largest independent video software provider, today launched the HESP Alliance. Streaming video vendors and media companies are invited to join the alliance. The goal is to fast-track the roll-out of cost-effective, immersive, broadcast-equivalent streaming experiences by building an ecosystem around the HESP protocol.

Introduced at NAB 2019, HESP leapfrogs current streaming protocols by removing the need for trade-offs between latency, scalability and viewer experience. It delivers sub-second latency, as low as 400ms, at scale, as well as near real-time sub-100ms zapping times. This results in an unparalleled viewing experience over standard HTTP-based Internet infrastructure and CDNs. Notably, HESP also reduces bandwidth costs by as much as 20% compared to current solutions such as the Common Media Application Format (CMAF) combined with chunked transfer encoding (CTE).

The HESP Alliance aims to accelerate standardization and large-scale adoption of HESP. Alliance members can license the technology; integrate it into their video packaging and playback solutions; and develop and share extensions to drive further innovation. A certification program for HESP-compliant solutions will ensure interoperability and provide peace of mind for media companies deploying HESP-based streaming services.

The first HESP solutions will be available in Q4 2020. They will include an independently developed THEO Technologies HESP-enabled video player and a Synamedia HESP-certified packager. These will be followed by more third party solutions in 2021, giving operators, broadcasters and OTT streaming services a choice of components.

“Synamedia and THEO Technologies share a common goal: to innovate fast and support customers with affordable video network solutions and protocols that deliver game-changing broadcast-equivalent streaming experiences to viewers. The HESP Alliance has been established to realize this ambition,” said Samie Beheydt, Principal Engineer at Synamedia and a Director of the HESP Alliance.

“Innovation and continuously challenging the status quo is in THEO’s DNA. The HESP protocol developed by our team establishes a new baseline for video delivery. This will help video service providers to boost engagement with unparalleled viewer experiences stemming from improvements in latency reduction, faster zapping times, and scalability. Since the public launch of HESP last year, momentum has been building. With today’s launch, together with Synamedia, we are establishing a forum where the video streaming industry can cooperate to further advance the HESP standard and fast-track the market roll out of HESP-compliant solutions. Close collaboration between leading industry vendors and media companies will drive change and benefits for everyone in this fast-evolving industry," said Steven Tielemans, CEO at THEO Technologies.

About THEO Technologies  

We aim to make streaming video better than broadcast by providing a portfolio of solutions to media companies around the world, enabling them to easily offer exceptional video experiences across any device. Our multi-award-winning THEO Universal Video Player is trusted by hundreds of leading pay-TV and OTT service providers, broadcasters, and publishers worldwide. Our technology innovations include the High Efficiency Streaming Protocol (HESP) and Enriched Media Streaming Solutions (EMSS).

Twitter: @THEO_player

LinkedIn: THEO Technologies

About Synamedia

We’re helping service and content providers around the world to deliver, protect and monetize video content so they can win in the age of Infinite Entertainment. We do that with the world’s most complete, secure and advanced end-to-end open video delivery solution. Our portfolio features award-winning video network services, best-in-class anti-piracy solutions and intelligence, and video platforms with fully-integrated capabilities including cloud DVR and advanced advertising. And we’re trusted by over 200 top satellite DTH, cable, telco and OTT operators, broadcasters and media companies.

Synamedia is backed by the Permira funds and Sky.

Twitter: @SynamediaVideo

LinkedIn: Synamedia