Competency:
Digital Media 

We have developed an extensive range of software expertise across an ever-growing spectrum of CE platforms, so our client partners can get software up and running without getting snagged on variables of the underlying chip set. Our staff experts have a proven ability to master any platform, and to leverage that platform’s capacity to enable the target applications to perform.

Devices keep getting smarter and more connected. Lohika develops solutions to support the emerging generation of media applications and widgets that can be hosted on these devices based on distributed content and metadata.

Solutions

• CD/DVD navigation and playback (including CSS, region protection, and parental control) on x86 and CE platforms
• Set Top Box application development at native platform and widget level
• Cross-platform mobile application development (visual communication, location-based services)
• Digital Rights Management (DRM)
• Product development (feature extension, refactoring, porting, and integration)
• Professional services (software customization for third parties)

Expertise

Customers

• We created a team for Sonic Solutions to implement and deliver a CD/DVD content playback and navigation platform across a range of embedded devices. Our pioneering Linux-based solution is now widely used in a broad array of new products.

• We developed cross-platform mobile applications including Visual Voice Mail and Conferencing that run on Blackberry, iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Nokia devices.

We bring years of experience developing all aspects of the DLNA stack for serving, rendering, and controlling media throughout the home network. Building on this foundation, we are moving into seamless in-home media functions, from aggregating content across devices to personalized views that make it easy for consumers to enjoy and share media.

Solutions

We deploy DLNA, UPnP, DTCP-IP compliant networked products/SDKs for CE manufacturers that store, share, discover, stream, and play back local and network-based content:

• Digital Media Player (DMP)

• Digital Media Server (DMS)

• Digital Media Rendered (DMR)

• Media Content Protection / Digital Rights Management

• Porting DMS/DMP/DMR software stacks on particular CE platforms, integration with hardware capabilities

Expertise

• Media player (DMP): development of media frameworks, filter based/pipeline architecture, filters, stream parsers, demuxers, live content playback (network/inet/cable), client-side trick playback
• Media servers (DMS): content discovery, identification, indexing, sharing/ and streaming (URI, UPnP, SSDP, HTTP, HTTPU, HTTPMU, SOAP, XML, RTP/RTSP), server-side trick modes, DLNA compliance
• Porting DMS/DMP software stacks on CE platforms, integration with hardware capabilities (codecs, HDMI, SPDIF, RC, graphics rendering, hardware acceleration etc) at dedicated API level, development of software/firmware update stack
• Content Protection and Digital Rights Management (DRM): WMDRM-ND, WMDRM-PD, DTCP-IP, DTCP-IP Move, hardware acceleration on CE platforms, OS robustness.
• Media formats: MPEG TS/PS, MPEG-2/4, H264, VC1, AVI, ASF, JPEG/MJPEG, MP3, AAC, WMA, AC3, LPCM and others
• OS: Linux / embedded Linux /Windows 2k/XP/Vista
• SQLite for aggregating metadata and usage data, managing data import/export from distributed sources
• CE platforms:
  • Broadcom: BCM974xx, BCM33xx
  • Buffalo LT-H90
  • ST Micro STB (7109)
  • Pace HPC20

Customers

• We began working three years ago with Rovi (formerly Macrovision) to prepare a framework and SDK to enable customers to create a fully functional Digital Media Server/Player on Broadcom-based devices. This framework supported the DTCP-encryption/decryption algorithms and streaming, leveraging hardware acceleration, along with a firmware update capability to streamline software modifications. Based on our successful work together, Rovi extended their partnership with Lohika, engaging us to provide professional services. Rovi had new targets, including large CE companies, and wanted to license and implement the technologies they developed. Lohika delivered a cost-effective consulting arrangement to bridge the gap between Rovi’s new technology and the companies’ capacities.

• Working with both Sonic Solutions and TiVo, we designed and implemented an interface bridge that allows users of Sonic Central to interface with TiVo home DVR products. As part of the TiVo2Go offering, this allows users to record TiVo content onto a DVD for viewing at a later time.

The user experience of connected media is only as good as the backend infrastructure that prepares and distributes the content for their devices. We bring an extensive background in scalable encoding and transcoding solutions as part of our overall service delivery platform offerings. This enables our partners to support broadcasting and streaming optimized for target platforms, ranging from mobile devices to over-the-top HDTV and 3D screens.

Solutions

• Online video optimization for sharing and streaming (for PC’s, CE devices, and mobile target platforms)
• High-performance content management services
• Online advertising
• Personalization systems
• Toolchain optimization for media services pipeline

Expertise

• Live video streaming and capturing software (IP-cameras, web cameras, network video servers, CE): HTTP, RTP/RTSP
• AV content transcoding & splicing
• Media formats: MPEG TS/PS, MPEG-2/4, H264, VC1, AVI, ASF, JPEG/MJPEG, MP3, AAC, WMA, AC3, LPCM and others
• Programming languages: Java, JavaScript, PHP, HQL, SQL, XSLT
• Web application infrastructure: J2EE, AJAX, Spring Framework (Spring MVC, Acegi-Security), Hibernate, REST web services, XSD/XML/XSLT, JMF, Canoo WebTest
• Web servers: Apache Tomcat, Apache HTTP Server

Customers

• Betawave (formerly GoFish) wanted to create an online community around its rich media content service. We built a portal for this site that now serves as the basis for the entire personalization experience. This consists of a complete media content management system, a personalization engine, and numerous components to support integration with third-party feeds (e.g., Amazon), advertising, and search engines.

• Kiptronic provides a dynamic ad insertion and campaign management platform to leading rich media publishers. We brought our expertise in splicing, transcoding, and general media processing to create modules for a complete toolchain. This enabled Kiptronic to easily insert content with mixed resolutions and aspect ratios in the Windows Media Framework.

Computer vision is a foundation technology for the new breed of applications that provide optimal image quality in any setting; real-time image synthesis based on live action; and tracking and recognizing people and objects. Our cutting-edge expertise in this area enables our client-partners to address the rapidly growing realm of augmented reality that integrates mobile applications with the physical world for practical and entertaining solutions.

Solutions

• Real-time video stream analysis (motion detection, pattern detection)
• Object/face tracking and recognition
• Interactive video stream conversion
• Interactive video special effects
• Embedded image enhancement
• 3D object tracking/animation
• Augmented reality applications

Expertise

Customers

• Logitech introduced a range of video effects based on face and feature tracking that are currently shipping with their industry-leading line of webcams. We also developed a face-tracking solution to replace Logitech’s original technology, outperforming a number of top tier third-party competitors.

• We developed a range of learning and gaming applications for Leapfrog’s FLY Fusion Pentop Computer on FLY Paper, leveraging the proprietary SDK that supports capture and digitization of user actions. Through the SDK, we interfaced close to the hardware level, improving specific application capabilities, as well as enhancing the overall Pentop development environment.

• 3VR Security was seeking to extend their system for creating searchable databases based on face recognition. In particular, they wanted to enable live video capture over the Internet across a broad range of video formats. Working as a standalone team, we designed and implemented a flexible framework that enabled us to support several video streams (such as MPEG and MJPEG), optimized for a range of IP/Web cameras (for example, Sony and Axis).