These days, most people don’t travel too far without at least one handy electronic gadget. Whether it is a laptop, smartphone or tablet, we are rarely without our devices and, for those of us who love TV and wouldn’t want to miss the Battle of the Blackwater of Game of Thrones or the latest episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the TV Everywhere trend is something we are watching closely. There are many who believe that HTML5 platforms represent the ultimate solution to this tricky problem.

Jaafer Haidar, vice president of mobile at Synacor (News - Alert), spoke at the recent Cable Show in Boston, Massachusetts about Synacor’s HTML5 platform, Carbyn, which  not only facilitates TV Everywhere, but also allows customers to play bills, get apps and even manage their DVR’s from any device. 


Synacor recently acquired tech startup Carbyn to be able to provide customers with the ability to enjoy a variety of entertainment content and HTML5 apps, including video, music, games, newspapers and magazines on one platform. Users simply sign into a subscriber account on any device running any operating system: iOS, Android (News - Alert) or Windows.

The Carbyn cloud-based solution creates meaningful engagement opportunities for customers whether they are cable, satellite or telecom users. The platform also integrates billing systems, making it easier for users to pay their bills on any of these devices. The HTML5 capability means that users do not have to use a myriad of different apps, but instead they can access all of this content through their browsers.

The platform also benefits pay-TV providers, as it makes their services more valuable to subscribers. Viewers can now access their DVR capabilities from anywhere, meaning they can record and watch programs while on the road, so they don’t have to wait until they get home from a business trip to see whether Sookie chooses Bill or Eric on the latest episode of True Blood. Me? I’m rooting for Sam…