Kyle
So hearing about Israeli startup Vidimind got me thinking, how cool would it be if Nibletz could own it’s own TV service. You could get a cool Android powered Nibletz TV service box for your home, and then use that box to stream tv, access tv apps and games, all the while under the brand “Nibletz TV”. Pretty bad ass huh…
Well that’s exactly what Vidimind does. This innovative Israeli service allows any company to purchase it’s white label tv service. The service is offered through an Android powered set top box. The box can be plugged into the TV or shared via wifi to smartphones and tablets in your home as well.
Through Vidimind the end user gets a robust tv service via their set top box. The company, or brand, gets access to vital subscriber data and can offer subscribers custom data as well. Brands and companies can offer deals, promotions, contests and more through the Vidimind box giving companies an advertising vehicle, in the living room, that’s rivaled by nothing else available on the market today.
With the power of the internet, Android and a set top box, any company in the world can become a tv service operator.
We got a chance to interview the team behind Vidimind. Check out the interview below:
Play it Forward from vidmind.com on Vimeo.
What is Vidmind?
Vidmind is an end-to-end Over-the-Top (OTT) TV solution, enabling operators, broadcasters and retailers to rapidly monetize a world of entertainment at minimal risk. Vidmind enables the opportunity for any company to become a pay-TV operator today, offer consumers more choice and make TV into something that has never been seen before.
In layman’s terms, how does it work?
Vidmind is a ‘white-lable’ hosted pay-TV service for operators. Actually it works in 3 simple steps: operators get our set-top box, brand it and retail it out to their customers, granting them access to a rich, multi-screen experience.
The Vidmind solution has two main components:
1. The Vidmind platform – this is the control center for operators. Using a cloud-based infrastructure, operators can provision the service, manage media content and target specific subscriber segments with deals and promotions. Comprising patent-pending technology, the Vidmind platform is our own magic factory. This is where content is ingested, transcoded, encrypted and delivered. Operators can manage subscriber settings, gain insights on specific subscriber segments and tailor content offering to them.
2. Vidmind for your Device – this is how we spread the magic. We offer Android-based set-top boxes, PC, mobile and iPad applications. The VidMind cloud platform recognizes the device type and optimizes content based on contract agreements and platform resolution. The Vidmind experience is seamlessly transferable across devices and networks. It includes live HD-TV, VoD, Media streaming, social features and a TV app market.
Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
Vidmind was founded by four veterans of OTT video pioneer GooMe interactive
Danny Peled, CEO
20 years of experience in management, content-creation and technology have shaped Danny’s perspective on what TV should be like. Formerly the Founder & CEO of GooMe, a pioneer in providing OTT video solutions to operators, Danny started his love affair with media content as a radio music Editor in Chief and later, an executive TV Producer. Naturally, he is a closet DJ and a total music buff, but also a semi-pro jogger.
Dror Kraus, COO
At Vidmind, Dror champions the art of making things work. That is, making many things work efficiently and simultaneously. With over 14 years of professional Telecom experience, working with both vendors and service providers, Dror’s domain ranges from project management and operational management to post-sale and business development. Formerly VP operations at GooMe interactive, Dror holds Integrated B.A degree in Business and Behavioral Science.
Ofer Herman, VP R&D
Ofer is leading the super-talented Vidmind development team and is responsible for both the vision and execution behind Vidmind’s patent-pending technology. Ofer’s track-record in managing the development of OTT platforms and back-end solutions was gained in companies like GooMe and BeInSync. A graduate of Maamram, the IDF computation unit, Ofer started his career as a developer at Comverse and holds a BS in Computer Science.
Dov Brand, VP Products
Dov is commanding Vidmind’s product definition, making sure we keep users at the center of the Vidmind experience at all times. Notwithstanding Lego construction engineering as a child, Dov has over 14 years of hands-on experience in defining and developing software and hardware products ranging from mobile devices to OTT platforms, at companies like Modu, Comverse and Emblaze Mobile. Dov holds a BA in Communication and Engineering Science.
Where are you based?
In beautiful, sunny Tel Aviv, home to some of the world’s most innovative startup companies.
What’s the startup scene/culture like where you’re based?
Israel has been dubbed “Start-up Nation” and is home to a vibrant, competitive start-up scene. Incidentally, many global companies operating in the video solutions for operators space have originated in Israel.
How did you come up with the idea for Vidmind?
While working at our former startup, GooMe Interactive (http://www.linkedin.com/company/goome-interactive) we have developed a few standalone OTT solutions for large operators like Orange and Vodafone. It was then we’ve spotted the gap in the market for an end-to-end OTT video solution and decided to form a new company, Vidmind, to address that need.
How did you come up with the name?
We wanted to convey the idea that TV as we know it is changing and the new OTT model enables any company to become a pay-TV operator overnight. We felt that the concept was so revolutionary that the traditional broadcasting industry really needed to ‘open its mind’ or otherwise become OTT video-minded. From there the concept evolved into ‘VidMind’ and for a while we were all wearing T-shits with the words ‘Vid your Mind’ printed on them. The mind part of the name refers to the back-end platform we provide and the ‘vid’ part refers of course to the video content. We believe that once operators and consumers alike will ‘vid their mind’ that is, experience our platform, they would never want to go back to old-time TV. ‘Vid your Mind’ and as the song says ‘the rest will follow…’
What problem does Vidmind solve?
Internet is changing the TV market dramatically. As consumers, we are already looking for a better experience, at a lower price. The cloud will soon make ‘TV everywhere’ a reality. We will still watch TV and play video games together. However, we will not necessarily have to be in the same room to do it. Our TV will become social and we will consume content on multiple screens simultaneously. We will discover new movies and games on our mobile devices, push them out to bigger screens and communicate with our friends as we watch them. We will curate our own video ‘channels’ and follow those of celebrated public figures and brands.
This wind of change is already disrupting the traditional TV value chain. Cable and satellite operators, broadcasters and content providers, retailers and mobile network operators are all in a battle to retain their profitability.
Vidmind was born to address this new reality. With Vidmind’s open cloud-TV platform, operators, broadcasters and retailers can rapidly introduce their own branded TV service, and monetize a world of entertainment at minimal risk. Vidmind’s mission is to level the TV playfield for everyone, offer consumers more choice and operators a business model that makes sense.
We want to delight users, empower operators and be open.
What’s your secret sauce?
We are dedicated to delighting users, empowering operators and being open.
What’s one dilemma you’ve encountered in the startup process?
Dilemmas are part of our daily lives. The majority of dilemmas we encounter are development related. For example, early on we had to decide on whether to use HTML or Android framework for our set-top box. HTML is much more common so it would be easier to find experienced developers, but the Android would enable the Apps market, as implemented in Kindle Fire. Another major dilemma was which parts of our solution should we develop in-house vs. outsourcing to 3rd party in order to achieve the full end-to-end solution. We decided to focus on the core components of the solution, like the service delivery platform. We chose to develop some non-core components such as the multi-DRM manager, when we couldn’t find a 3rd party that met our standards.
What’s one challenge you’ve overcome in the startup process?
Finding the right OEM partner to build our dream set-top box with was a huge challenge. We’ve tested 20 different vendors before choosing our current partner.
Who are some of your mentors and business role models?
We’ve always found Amazon, led by Jeff Bezos to be an inspiration. “There are two kinds of companies: those that work to try to charge more and those that work to charge less. One will be second.” Bezos famously said. Amazon is constantly looking for ways to make their service more efficient and cut costs for their customers. As an Amazon Web Services partner we see Bezos’ philosophy in practice. We believe all services pricing should work like this.
Another role model for us is that of Salesforce.com , led by Mark Benioff. Salesforce is another partner of ours and we aspire to revolutionize the TV business model in a similar way to that in which they have revolutionized CRM.
What’s next for Vidmind?
Eventually all TV services will gravitate towards the Internet. Hopefully by that time, Vidmind will be a dominant player in this market.
We have only just launched our solution at IBC. There are many more features and functionalities in store that we are currently working on developing. We would be happy to stay in touch and keep you posted as we plan to announce them later this year, most likely at CES in November.
Linkage:
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3 Israeli startups are coming here, are you?
So is it Vidmind or Vidimind? Good post but needs editing.
it’s = it is