Video server and software maker Concurrent Computer Corp. (Nasdaq: CCUR) is pushing deeper into the world of over-the-top (OTT) video by striking a deal to buy the intellectual property of TellyTopia Inc. , a startup that's been trying to help telcos and cable operators embrace Web TV services. (See Concurrent Snags TellyTopia Assets.)

Concurrent SVP of video solutions and chief marketing officer David King said his company bought the assets because TellyTopia "has a fantastic lead" with technology that gives operators access to professional "off-net" and user-generated content, and the ability to push it to multiple screen types. Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), a Concurrent server rival, is taking a similar approach with its recent purchase of ExtendMedia Inc. (See Cisco Buys Into TV Everywhere (Again) and Concurrent Upgrades for Mobile & PC VoD.)

Concurrent's not disclosing the financial terms of the deal, other than to say it's immaterial to its balance sheet. TellyTopia's two founders -- CEO Kshitij Kumar and VP Dr. Ram Srinivasan -- are joining Concurrent.

Concurrent's also getting its hands on video processing and caching technology from TellyTopia that lets operators complement their existing VoD libraries with premium video from third-party, off-net sources and archives. Concurrent also bought TellyTopia's Online Video Platform, which enables operators to convert IP-based Web video to run on traditional, non-IP cable set-top boxes.

TellyTopia, which competes with companies such as Clearleap and Related Content Database Inc. (RCDb) , has managed to score deals with a handful of operators, including SureWest Communications (Nasdaq: SURW), Baja Broadband LLC, and News-Press & Gazette Company (in St. Joseph, Mo.), during its four-year history. Those operators have been using TellyTopia to help bring in local content and couple it with advertising avails.

Concurrent is in discussions with those operators about how to proceed since Concurrent only bought the TellyTopia assets. "We'd like them to come into the Concurrent family going forward," King said.

Will 'Moveez' live on?
As future visions go, TellyTopia had also been applying its technology toward a service called "Moveez" that, it claimed, will allow Tier 2/3 operators to offer massive VoD libraries brimming with more than 100,000 titles and help operators contend with OTT competitors such as Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX).

But rather than calling on operators to build their own content distribution networks (CDNs), TellyTopia has advocated that they instead form partnerships with off-net video sources, ingest content from them, and them reformat titles for delivery to set-top boxes, PCs, and mobile devices. (See TellyTopia's Cable Pitch: Embrace OTT Video .)

TellyTopia was still developing the product for scaled deployments when Concurrent bought the assets, said Kumar, who is joining Concurrent as VP commercial solutions for video solutions. King said Concurrent will offer more details on specific product plans tied to the purchase within the next four to six weeks.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based TellyTopia, founded in 2006, has been running on undisclosed angel funding, counting Trilithic Inc. as an investor. In March, Kumar told Light Reading Cable that TellyTopia had been approach by potential buyers, and that it had already integrated its system with most legacy VoD systems, a group that includes Concurrent, as well as Arris Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRS), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), and SeaChange International Inc. (Nasdaq: SEAC).

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable