Platform Overview

Senza is a multi-tenant SaaS platform that lets you run web applications in the cloud, rather than running them on client-side hardware such as streaming sticks or Smart TVs. It uses video streaming technologies inspired by the world of gaming to stream the user interface from a browser running in the cloud to an inexpensive device called a cloud connector.

Senza uses a number of patented innovations to guarantee low-latency. When the viewer presses a button on their remote control, the command is sent to the browser in the cloud and the updated interface is streamed back in the blink of an eye. Entire processing is moved to the cloud, and the cloud connector performs no local computation beyond decoding a single video stream.

Web Applications

When the viewer plugs in their cloud connector, it connects to a web browser running in the Senza cloud that loads your web application. As far as your web app is concerned, it is running in a perfectly ordinary Chrome browser and can do all the usual browser things.

Hosting your web application in the cloud has a number of advantages:

• You can run sophisticated web applications with access to the power you need on demand. Thanks to the cloud connector, the client side hardware requirement is extremely minimal.
• Everyone gets the latest version of your app consistently, and you can customize the experience for your users in real-time. No more fragmentation across a patchwork of locally installed apps.
• You no longer need to worry about juggling different brands of underpowered streaming sticks and smart TVs. There are no App Store approval processes or revenue splits as you are in control of the apps that you run.
• Because almost no processing is performed client-side, the cloud connector has a longer estimated lifespan. Contrary to Moore's law, the experience will get better over time rather than worse as cloud resources become cheaper.

Because it's just a browser, integrating your app to run on the Senza platform is straightforward and often requires minimal modification. See the Integration Overview page for more details.

Streaming Video

The cloud connector operates in two modes. When the user wants to interact with your app, it streams the user interface from the browser in the cloud. When they're ready to lean back and watch your video, it streams the video content directly from the CDN.

When the user is watching full-screen video, your app enters background mode and releases the cloud resources consumed by the browser. If they want to interact with your app again, they push a button on the remote and your app goes back to the foreground mode, picking up where it left off. These transitions are practically seamless to the user.

This allows you take advantage of the efficiency of the cloud. Your usage is only metered based on the amount of time when the browser is running, and you only pay for what you use. Because typical television viewing involves just a few minutes of time in the menus for every hour of video consumed, you'll probably only be running the browser a small portion of the time.

Pooling resources in this way allows us to offer Senza as a utility, in which we provision enough computational power to support typical consumption across all users of the platform. That's much more efficient than having to purchase expensive hardware, ship it to your customers, release it periodically or deal with it becoming obsolete.

Cloud Connector

The cloud connector is a very inexpensive client device that receives the single stream from the Senza cloud. It connects to the internet over Wi-Fi, outputs video to your TV over HDMI, and is powered by a USB cable. It includes a Bluetooth remote control whose key presses are forwarded to your app in the cloud.

The cloud connector is future proof for many years, because all it does is connect to the cloud and deliver your video content to the TV. The user interaction feels responsive and fast, as if the application was running locally.

The only software that runs on the cloud connector is the embedded firmware for handling button presses and decoding video. As an application developer, you'll practically forget that it's even there because there's nothing to install locally and everything happens in the cloud.

Security

Video streamed on the Senza platform is fully secure and encrypted at all times, with highly secure edge-based DRM keys. Even though the interface is rendered in the cloud, it is transmitted securely to the cloud connector.

No personal data belonging to your users is stored in the cloud connector. All personal data like subscriptions and preferences are managed by your own web app.

Cloud connectors are uniquely authenticated and authorized. Each one can be associated with a single one of your customers, so remembering usernames and passwords is a thing of the past.

Integration

See the Integration Overview page to learn more about the process of deploying your app on Senza.