Pay TV Providers Receive Unified Ingest Systems from thePlatform

SEATTLE – White-label video publishing company thePlatform has announced the cloud-based Unified Ingest Service to centrally manage all video and related metadata files is now available for operators who want to publish to subscribers’ set-top boxes and other IP-connected devices.

The Unified Ingest Service is a streamlined system that manages direct feeds from satellite transmissions, traditional video pumps, operator-owned content delivery networks and external CDNS for online video sources. It also provides centralized back-end resources to package, promote and sell video services.

It can ingest both video files and metadata. For video files, the system supports the industry’s shift to terrestrial delivery and on receiving one HD mezzanine file for both traditional cable delivery and IP delivery; provides advanced workflows to get files into formats needed for legacy STBs, next-gen STBs, game consoles, tablets, smartphones and more; and works with thePlatform’s mpx Accelerate service.

Metadata ingest centralizes and normalizes metadata from multiple soruces, including TV listings and program descriptions from metatdata providers like Rovi, Gracenote and Red Bee; episode and movie descriptions from both TV VOD Asset Distribution Interface ingest and online video sources; and complete cast and crew lists from IMDB or directly from networks and studios.

The Unified Ingest Service is available as a standalone service for pay TV operators, or as part of a broader suite of video publishing services from thePlatform’s mpx system.