FDS and Global Eagle Deliver First Hollywood-Approved Content on Business Flights
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APEX Insight: FDS Avionics today announced a licensing agreement with Global Eagle, allowing it to offer content from five of the six big Hollywood studios via its do CAPSULE wireless IFE platform for business jets.
Life is good for business jet passengers. Minimal lines, direct routes and comfort on board come with the package. Generally speaking, the entertainment options on board are less abundant. FDS Avionics aims to change that, announcing today the availability of movie packages for its do CAPSULE streaming entertainment solution. The new offering delivers up to 360 movies as an add-on module for the hardware, delivered as part of a flat-rate licensing scheme.
Key to the value proposition is getting Hollywood studios on board. To help on that front, FDS engaged in-flight entertainment provider Global Eagle, which foster relationships with the movie studios central to securing the coveted streaming approvals.
“Studios are quite rightly protective of their intellectual property and will only allow their content to be exhibited if they are confident in the DRM,” – Amir Samnani, Global Eagle
Amir Samnani, Global Eagle’s senior vice-president, Content Services, highlights the value his company brings to such relationships based on its history working on secure content delivery. “Studios are quite rightly protective of their intellectual property and will only allow their content to be exhibited if they are confident in the DRM (Digital Rights Management) solution and the physical security of the content,” he said. “As a major content service provider for commercial aviation, we naturally have very strong relations with many content owners. By creating the CAPSULE product, we meet a need in business aviation, grow the market for our content partners, and leverage our existing expertise in content delivery.”
The largest Hollywood studios and content distributors have agreements with Global Eagle, allowing HD and SD movies and TV shows to be shown aboard business jets and at the fingertips of business passengers using the do CAPSULE. FDS is taking orders for the streaming content, which will begin shipping shortly aboard its IFE platform.
By preloading the content to the onboard streaming hardware, an aircraft operator can deliver a broad selection of titles without requiring real-time connectivity to passengers. It also opens up additional content selections not available in other streaming services.
“As screen quality improves and onboard systems grow in power and capacity, even more content will be made available in HD,” – Amir Samnani, Global Eagle
For the rest of the traveling public there is additional good news from this announcement: The focus on HD content in the deal is expected to spill over to the commercial aviation industry, causing the number of HD selections on commercial aircraft to increase. Samnani expects that pattern to continue, “As screen quality improves and onboard systems grow in power and capacity, even more content will be made available in HD and passengers will notice a step change in picture quality. It’s happening.”