RDK Video Accelerator – a quick guide for operators

As experienced System Integrators with one of Europe’s largest RDK development teams, we know how RDK’s Video Accelerator can help you accelerate development. We’ve helped other operators develop and deliver RDK devices to market, and here we share our insight to help you do the same.

Let’s start with some basics.

How do you use RDK?

Over 600 companies are currently RDK licensees, and RDK members enjoy royalty-free access to the code. Participation follows an open-source model with RDK Management (RDK-M) providing the necessary code management and infrastructure. However, RDK does not offer a complete software solution, so operators must add their user interface and network-specific customisations.

RDK comprises over 200 software components, giving operators incredible flexibility to customise the code to meet their product and network requirements.

As an operator, you have complete control over how you use the RDK code base, so you can change components or add and remove them as you see fit. To help you get started quickly, RDK supports several reference platforms.

VA or not to VA?

For some operators, especially those with significant scale, having complete control over all elements of the software stack is essential.

For these larger operators, starting development with a reference platform and then migrating to a target platform complements their internal development process.

However, this is complex and costly for other operators, and they are happy to sacrifice some flexibility for a faster, cheaper route to market. This is where RDK’s Video Accelerator comes into its own.

Does the RDK Video Accelerator give operators less control?

Even with the RDK Video Accelerator, the operator is still in complete control and can change any aspect of RDK they choose. That said, the further you deviate from the baseline Video Accelerator, the more time and effort you will need to invest, so it is a trade-off.

RDK-V is not a complete STB or smart media device solution, and even though the Video Accelerator is a significant step towards a complete product, the operator will still need to add some key components, which will vary depending on their network requirements.

A capable OEM can assist with many of these components. Still, for some components, such as the user interface, it may make sense to work with an experienced System Integrator or technology provider (like Consult Red).

Broadcast stack and Conditional Access

Due to security considerations, Conditional Access (CA) and other security-based components can’t be fully included in the RDK source code. RDK does, however, have core integration points to support CAS for both DVB and QAM. For broadcast event schedule metadata, either one-way or hybrid STBs, the operator will often want to add a broadcast stack, including integration with the accompanying CA as part of system integration tasks.

CA and broadcast support can be added to RDK-V in several ways. The best option will depend on the operator’s network and requirements, particularly to what extent one-way operation is needed (if at all). Integration of a broadcast stack is not dissimilar to the current situation with Android TV, and like Android TV, standard options and pre-integrations such as the one offered by DTVkit are available.

Operator Applications

Many operators have their own applications for self-care, news, weather, or to complement popular content and programmes. The operator may want to port these applications to RDK. The expedient options are to use HTML 5 or Lightning, where work can start in parallel using the Firebolt PC emulator.

In some cases where 3rd party applications must be supported, it may be necessary to add support for an additional application runtime engine. RDK can support this, and for an application runtime written in portable code, adding it to RDK requires a little more effort than adding a popular OTT application such as YouTube or Netflix.

Remote Device Management, Network and System Integration

Operator-specific development may be required to integrate all the operator’s backend systems. For instance, the operator may need network PVR, analytics, ad insertion, remote monitoring, self-care, watermarking, RCU support, or other systems. RDK has many packages, such as WebPA and TR-069, that can significantly accelerate this work.

• Compatibility: they can use variants of RDK as common solutions throughout the home for STBs, broadband gateways and IoT devices.
• No UI, app or data restrictions: the RDK license places no restrictions on user interface design, no applications that must be carried, no data is shared, and there is no relationship between RDK and the operator’s customers.
• Independent: there are no implications for the operator’s advertising and content business models.
• Production-ready hardware: with the Video Accelerator, RDK is available on production-ready hardware – reducing risk and time to market.
• Get to market faster with lower risk: while operators will need to add their own user interface and potentially customise Video Accelerator to meet their needs, they can work with experienced System Integrators like Consult Red to quickly and efficiently achieve this.