Arroyo Video Solutions Provides Video-on-Demand for Cable Companies

By George Walsh, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

High tech isn't just for business applications anymore; it's also made our entertainment options more diverse. Digital media has brought forth cable T.V., DVDs, CDs, MP3s, broadband Internet connections, and other convenient options. Relatively new on the scene is the ability to pick and choose television programs on demand - without missing a single minute of our favorite show, movie, or sporting event. One of the companies that's pushing forth into this new digital frontier is Arroyo Video Solutions at 4473 Willow Road.

"Arroyo is a developer of video-on-demand server technology," says Rick DeGabrielle, Arroyo's president and CEO. "If you've ever ordered content on demand from a television cable network, you'll be familiar with this type of capability. Right now, most cable companies offer around 2,500 hours of content. Our software operates in a manner similar to that concept but with many more features. You can experience content when you choose to, with the ability to pause, fast forward, and rewind. Video on demand is a service that all of the cable companies will be offering in the near future. Arroyo builds the technology that streams that content to viewers."

In addition to streaming video content, the company's Arroyo OnDemand software is capable of delivering music, advertising, personal video recording, and online gaming. It is currently deployed in about a dozen locations in North America and is used by six of the top ten cable providers in the U.S. Among these cable companies is Time Warner, who has the system installed in Portland, Maine and Wilmington, North Carolina. Comcast is another notable cable provider that Arroyo serves.

As for the future, Arroyo has many plans. "The market for the type of service that we enable is increasing dramatically based on two factors. The first is the increasing amount of content that's available and the other is the sheer number of media streams that will be presented," DeGabrielle says. "Comcast, for example, will provide between 1.2 and 1.5 billion streams of video content this year. A majority of what's available is free content that includes movies, reruns, special features, music videos, and radio stations. I think we're going to see is the whole concept of personalized entertainment taking hold. People will have much more control over what they watch and when they choose to watch it." Next year, for example, some cable companies will be introducing a service where you can turn on a program that's already in progress and start it over from the beginning so that you don't miss anything. It won't even require an external personal video recorder.

Arroyo was founded in 2002 by Paul Sherer, the former CEO of 3Com and Drew Major, one of the original founders of Novell. The company employs around 50 people overall with 38 working in Pleasanton. The Pleasanton location handles development, testing, and customer support. Arroyo also has offices in Utah and the U.K., as well as sales and support personnel throughout the U.S. The company's headquarters has been located in Hacienda for the past year and a half, but has always called the Tri-Valley its home.

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