STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Accedo, a global provider of video streaming software and services, is launching identity management functionality for its Accedo One SaaS platform and will showcase it during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

Accedo One supports user registration and authentication, something previously only possible through third-party integrations. This function makes it easier to manage registration and authentication on a single platform.

“Identity management is a critical building block for any video service. By bringing it natively into Accedo One, we are making it easier than ever for our customers to manage their subscribers, helping them to build, scale and evolve their video services,” Accedo CEO Markus Hejdenberg said.

The upcoming subscription management suite will enable media companies to manage the full subscriber life cycle within Accedo One—from sign-up to billing, retention and churn management. Accedo One will continue to support integrations with external partners in the identity and subscription space, giving customers the option to choose the solution that best fits their strategy, the company said.

See Accedo at IBC2025 in Stand 5.F80.

More information is available on the company’s website.

Amagi will demo its cloud-based media production tools at the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 14-17. 

Amagi will be showcasing its Amagi LIVE broadcast and monetization solutions at its booth, designed to cater to the dynamic needs of news and sports broadcasters. 

Targeting the growing FAST market, the company will also demonstrate new features to its one-stop modular SaaS platform for FAST, including new ad units such as overlays, badges, and picture-in-picture squeezes.

Amagi will also highlight the latest improvements to its Amagi CLOUDPORT cloud-based broadcasting solution, designed to change live automation and dynamic playlist management. With its fully redundant synchronized live automation feature, broadcasters can confidently run premium live sports events with a single operator. This multiregion solution ensures exceptionally high reliability, guaranteeing uninterrupted broadcast experiences for viewers worldwide, Amagi said.

Additionally, Amagi will preview a version of CLOUDPORT’s dynamic playlists feature, which offers sub-second playlist updates in real time, catering to dynamic environments where changes in promos and ads occur frequently. 

Amagi will also participate on several panels during the show. Baskar Subramaniam, Co-Founder & CEO, Amagi will be on the panel "Streaming Investor Economics: Interest Rates, Consolidation, and Growth," while Dan Marshall, EVP of Global SaaS Sales, will participate in "The Opportunities and Challenges of Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST)." Prashant Chaudhary, Vice President, Product Management at Amagi, will dissect the intricacies of CTV ad measurement and cross-platform buying in "The Complex Business of CTV Ad Measurement, Metrics and Cross-Platform Buying" at the Streaming Summit. Additionally, Joe Ashba, Director of Solutions Architecture, Amagi will be sharing his experiences on "Migrating services from ground to cloud."

Amagi will be in booth W2120 in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. 

TVU Networks has unveiled TVU MediaHub, a cloud-driven router for managing video signals in both IP and SDI environments.

As a cloud-based SaaS, TVU MediaHub’s cloud-centric and hybrid architecture supports limitless inputs and outputs, managing intricate signal matrices in both SDI and IP formats and will help advance media companies’ transition away from hardware-based solutions to cloud-based digital media workflows.

“TVU MediaHub is born from our collaboration with over 4,000 leading media companies globally,” said Paul Shen, CEO of TVU Networks. “As the demand for IP-based input and output sources grows, so does the complexity of managing increasing numbers of decoders and encoders. TVU MediaHub offers an innovative approach to handling, processing, and routing these signals. We’re thrilled to now offer this solution to a wider audience.”

TVU MediaHub accepts various input formats ranging from SDI, NDI, SRT, TVU Grid, to YouTube, and more, and can scale and direct outputs to multiple destinations in formats like RTMP, HLS, TVU Grid, Facebook, etc.

It uses resources on premise in data centers or in the cloud with TVU providing additional resources as needed. Its interface features an object-oriented visual UI, eliminating the need to train users. Monthly subscriptions start at $8.75/core monthly, with on-demand resources charged per minute during signal routing, TVU said.

TVU MediaHub is a key component of TVU Networks’ extensive broadcast ecosystem, integrating AI-powered ingestion, advanced graphics, and streamlined live production and ad management tools. 

“TVU MediaHub is more than a routing tool; it’s a portal to endless broadcasting possibilities,” Shen adds. “We’re eager to see how this platform will enable content creators and broadcasters to innovate and engage their audiences in novel, exciting ways.”

LAS VEGAS—PBS Distribution has expanded its relationship with Whip Media to include Whip Media’s new FASTrack tool. PBS Distribution—a joint venture of PBS and GBH Boston which provides premium content through multiple digital channels and video services—currently uses Whip Media's performance tracking and finance solution for their businesses. 

"Whip Media is excited to be working with PBS Distribution for the next chapter of its growth as it expands its footprint in free ad-supported streaming," said Carol Hanley, CEO of Whip Media.

We are pleased to be implementing Whip Media's new dynamic set of tools for our AVOD and FAST businesses", said PBS Distribution President Andrea Downing. "Creating an efficient workflow around performance data is important to the success of our business."

Whip Media's FAST & AVOD SaaS solutions include extensive streaming performance tracking, offering a complete view of partner performance as well as advancements in financial automation and reporting. PBS Distribution operates six subscription streaming channels — PBS Masterpiece (US and CA), PBS KIDS, PBS Living, PBS Documentaries and PBS America (U.K.) as well as numerous Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) Channels in the U.S. and U.K.

NEW YORK—Amagi will add TAG Video Systems’ advanced monitoring platform to its suite of cloud SaaS offerings bringing monitoring capabilities to content owners publishing on FAST channels as well as those deploying on broadcast platforms.

TAG’s solution seamlessly integrates into Amagi cloud and SaaS technologies, expanding their scope of operations with support for new delivery protocols, enabling new business models and enriching Quality of Service (QoS) for customers, TAG said.

"Our collaboration with Amagi demonstrates the adaptability of the TAG platform, easily integrating sophisticated monitoring capabilities into a wide scope of formats and delivery protocols,” said Ziv Mor, TAG chief growth officer. “We're confident that our combined efforts will give Amagi’s customers the tools they need to keep up with the industry’s most advanced technologies, keep them ahead of the competition and drive their business strategies."

The initial launch of the integration leverages TAG’s APIs to allow Amagi to monitor a large number of streams for key customers, TAG said.

"We are excited to collaborate with TAG Video Systems, a true industry leader known for its excellence in real-time media performance monitoring,” said Srinivasan KA, Amagi co-founder and chief revenue officer. “This partnership aligns perfectly with our commitment to delivering the highest level of service to our customers. TAG’s advanced all-software and cloud native technology will allow us to offer our clients more accurate and reliable services. and exceed their expectations."

TAG and Amagi are poised to explore deeper integrations and develop solutions for the media industry, TAG said.

More information is available on the TAG website.

PARIS—Wiztivi, a provider of solutions for multi-screen app development and cloud gaming, announced that its development Framework is available as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), enabling developers everywhere to write code once and natively render it across all major TV, mobile, web and game console platforms.

“Our expansion into the SaaS model is a strategic step forward, aligning our Framework to more adeptly address the pressing demands of the industry. This move not only enriches our offering but changes the market dynamic by making cross-platform development accessible to everyone. We are committed to offering solutions like this that drive our clients and the industry forward.” said Adhish Kulkarni, CEO of Wiztivi.

Wiztivi, has built its Framework to enable developers to create once and deploy natively across a wide range of devices, from smart TVs, set-top boxes, game consoles, to web interfaces with a consistent user experience. The Framework’s native rendering engine allows improved performance and covers all major OS platforms, including Samsung, LG, AppleTV, Android, HiSense and Linux, the company said. 

Enabling access to the Framework as a SaaS solution is an industry-first, according to the company. 

It offers flexibility and scalability for developers everywhere to leverage a cloud-based solution to compile and deploy their applications across multiple platforms. This solution opens the door for small and medium sized development houses as well as large system integrators to rapidly flex their delivery capabilities without the need for platform-specific expertise, the company reported. 

BRNO, Czech Republic—Encoding and transcoding software specialist Comprimato has unveiled an on-demand live framerate conversion solution as a cloud service for live broadcast.

The new offering is intended as a alternative to high-quality, motion-compensated real-time conversion requiring expensive hardware, the company said.

The company worked with motion-compensated-processing specialist InSync Technology to develop an uncompromising software alternative that runs on standard hardware and thus can be readily spun up in the cloud as needed, it said.

The result is a Comprimato Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for framerate conversion, offering different business models to match user needs, including paying by the hour. The service offers broadcasters and production companies needing to move signals between 50 fps and 59.94 fps territories an alternative to traditional approaches, it said.

Integration with Comprimato’s encoding and transcoding services means that signals from a venue can be encoded in any format, including JPEG-XS, JPEG2000, H.264 or NDI, then as a cloud SaaS processed and delivered to any destination worldwide, ready for broadcast, it said.

“This really does transform the market,” said Jiri Matela, CEO of Comprimato. “Broadcasters and producers just need to budget modest fees for signal processing when they need it, rather than invest six-figure sums in specialist hardware. It means more feeds and services can be carried from major events, and perhaps even more exciting it means sports and entertainment which could not justify the cost of live international broadcasting in the past can now step up alongside the biggest players.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

Broadcast technology traditionally has been delivered on bespoke hardware with software loaded onto it, a capital expense paid for up front and owned outright. However, with advances in platforming technologies in the cloud, virtually, and for download to commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, it has become more feasible for technology suppliers to provide solutions on a subscription basis — and many are doing so in response to customer demand. Over the past five years, the percentage of Chyron customers who are subscribers has edged up to the 50% point and soon will exceed it.

The ability to invest in technology on a subscription, or OpEx (operating expense) basis aligns better with many media organizations’ financial needs than does the conventional CapEx (capital expenditure) model. It prevents the scenario in which their relatively modest monthly or annual budget gets shattered every seven or eight years by the need for a major technology refresh with an enormous price tag. 

Instead, with the OpEx model, their budget and costs remain much more consistent and predictable. (In fact, the global pandemic has also had a role in driving adoption of the OpEx model, as financial uncertainty across markets makes the predictability of the model attractive.)

Gradual, Evolutionary Change
In addition to providing financial stability, subscription-based access to technology enables a steady evolution of tools and workflows. Rather than make staggered leaps to entirely new technologies every five to eight years, organizations can embrace change progressively, taking advantage of continuous updates to move forward in a more strategic and less disruptive manner. At the same time, media organizations can continue to leverage existing technology that still works for them, extending its utility rather than undertaking a wholesale replacement. 

Now, in some cases, a CapEx purchase may still be the right choice, particularly for a company with the budget to spend on a significant tech upgrade within the year. Especially for a high-end system that is expected to last for years, the up-front investment will likely wind up paying off. With the benefit of ownership, however, comes the burden of updates and maintenance. 

With subscription-based access to the latest technology, ongoing updates and some levels of service are built into the plan. And in an industry where technology changes and improves fairly quickly, it’s important to consider how long a CapEx investment will continue to provide value. Or, how long it will be before competitive pressures make an upgrade necessary.

Access to the latest and greatest technology is among the most significant benefits of the OpEx model. For larger businesses, it can enable ongoing innovation. Scaling up or down can be easier, as well, in the event of business growth or new opportunities — or if there is a need to cut back. The inherent scalability of an OpEx model offers flexibility in implementing new capabilities and workflows, whether for ongoing operations or new projects and opportunities.

Equal Opportunity
For smaller businesses, the subscription model lowers barriers to entry, offering easy access to software-based tools that otherwise might be inaccessible. Rather than pay the full cost up front, users pay a smaller amount monthly or annually for access. Already familiar to users of creative software, this approach allows a television station or sports broadcaster to position itself at the same level as larger players. Now with the same tools at its disposal, it can create the same look and feel without the high-end budget. 

What kinds of businesses should consider an OpEx investment? If they want newer features. or if they are migrating toward different video standards or different workflows, an OpEx model allows them to begin the migration sooner rather than later. They don’t have to have the capital in hand just to get started.

Even if a business is not looking for all the latest and greatest features, the OpEx model can serve as a way to keep options open. In comparison to the CapEx model, it’s a future proof way to invest in technology without spending a lot, and without being committed to a technology that might become outdated or outgrown.

To conclude, however, the best choice is the one that fits best with the organization’s business and technical requirements, and vision for the future. Both models have their place, and the decision is best made in a consultative way.

Our advice: Seek out a detailed overview of how each model could work for you. Ask questions: What will I get? What will I pay, and when? What will it cost now and what will it cost each month? What if I need to scale up down the road? What will that look like in each of these models? We’ve helped a lot of customers get answers to these questions and align their investment model with their business and technical needs.

BURLINGTON, Mass.—Avid announced that it will demo Avid | Stream IO, a new software-based platform for production ingest and playout available via subscription at this year's NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 16-19. 

The company says Avid | Stream IO features a flexible architecture that can be configured to ingest or play out IP streams and SDI streams, allowing content producers to migrate from legacy workflows and on-premises deployment to cloud and IP workflows at their own pace.  

The solution also offers flexible channel configurations, supporting popular video formats, codecs and resolutions, enabling media companies to leverage new and emerging technologies within their production workflows. Avid | Stream IO offers complete deployment flexibility, supporting both off-the-shelf certified hardware for on-premises studio environments and standard virtual machines in the cloud, the company said. 

The new platform also allows media companies to combine different ingest sources in a single configuration. For live entertainment and multi-camera productions, Avid | Stream IO supports all common production formats​ including SDI, Compressed IP streams—SRT / RTMP / NDI, with ​SMPTE 2110 due later this year​. Avid | Stream IO offers all the capabilities of the company’s hardware-based server solutions—AirSpeed and FastServe—while expanding support for emerging IP standards and higher-precision formats, such as 4K and HDR. 

Tim Claman, Avid SVP and General Manager of Video & Media Solutions, explains, “We’re very excited to announce Avid | Stream IO, our next-gen production ingest and playout solution, designed to help our customers bring their proven end-to-end Avid workflow deployments into the future. With a flexible software architecture that supports deployment on-prem or in the cloud, Avid | Stream IO is configurable for both SDI and IP, and supports high-precision formats 1080P, UHD and HDR, all at a lower cost per channel than traditional hardware-based systems.” 

Avid | Stream IO also supports Avid’s proven fast-turnaround workflows, including shot-listing, craft editing and logging—all while tightly integrating with Avid’s MediaCentral® production platform. 

Claman concludes, “We believe Avid | Stream IO will help production teams accelerate their content creation pipelines, both now and in the future, by delivering unparalleled speed, flexible deployment, and adaptable support for media formats.” 

Avid | Stream IO will be demonstrated at NAB Show booth N1221 and will be commercially available later this year, the company said.  

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Xytech Systems has announced that it will present the ‘new Xytech’—its revitalized vision for a cloud-driven future for media operations with its enhanced Media Operations Platform at the 2023 NAB Show in Las Vegas between April 15 to 19, 2023.

“We’re thrilled to reconnect with customers and partners at NAB Show 2023 to present our new Xytech Media Operations vision and focus on cloud-driven SaaS models that meet today’s media production demands,” Keith Buckley, CEO of Xytech Systems, said. “While the pace of change in media has evolved faster in the last five years than in the past 50, the tools used to create, manage, and transmit media have failed to keep up. Our Media Operations platform stands out as the most deeply integrated and comprehensive end-to-end solution that can help production teams manage their entire media lifecycle in the cloud.”

The recently upgraded version of Xytech’s Media Operations Platform will make its public debut at the NAB Show, showcasing the latest Granite software advances. These new updates ensure that Xytech can deliver the critical media operations resources that customers need to manage and deploy end-to-end video content lifecycles, the company said. 

Xytech also reported that customers looking to take advantage of workflows in the cloud can now make use of all the benefits that SaaS offers, thanks to the 400+ new features and 1000+ operational improvements implemented. 

This implementation was based on a staggering 14,000 hours spent researching and looking for ways to best optimize workflows and boost productivity, to deliver the best tools readily available today, the company reported. 

The latest enhancements and additions to APIs as well as integrations with OpenID, Azure AD, MS Exchange, Google Calendar, and MS SharePoint, also mean that production teams no longer need to switch programs while completing critical tasks. The solution enables them to work in a single platform to trigger workflows across the content lifecycle of production, from scheduling, crewing, asset management, billing, and accounts receivables, saving time while increasing productivity. 

Visitors to the stand will learn about the company’s latest upgrades in the cloud that serve the largest customers operating in the media space today and producers of all sizes across any industry with video operations. 

Meet Xytech Systems in West Hall (#W2949) for more information on the company’s core solutions, its latest cloud-driven innovations, and to get hands-on with demos of Granite. 

Learn more about Xytech’s solutions at https://www.xytechsystems.com/demo-request/

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Vizrt Group has acquired Flowics, a provider of cloud-native, browser-based, live, and interactive graphics platforms for content producers. With the addition of Flowics, Vizrt Group customers of all three of its trading brands; NewTek, NDI, and Vizrt, can advance their content creation capabilities through nimble HTML5 graphics, and rich live data integrations and more, the company said.

“In Flowics we recognize our own passion for helping customers deliver more stories, better told. Flowics does this by giving visual storytellers easy access to solutions that help them deliver more impactful and engaging content,” says Michael Hallén, CEO of Vizrt Group. “The Flowics software-as-a-service offer reinforces the leadership position Vizrt Group enjoys by providing content creators even more creative flexibility across all their channels and platforms.”

Flowics' customers range from esports to sports broadcasters and local TV stations, primarily in Latin America. The Flowics platform gives customers simple control over the creation, integration, and playout of HTML5 graphics for fast-paced productions and digital or multi-screen extensions.  These graphics can be made powerfully engaging through a wide range of external data sources, including sports statistics, timing and scoring, betting, weather, and finance information, in a code-free approach. Added to this, the platform makes the creation and playout of interactive media experiences intuitive for mobile, the web, social media and live streams, Vizrt said.

“Vizrt Group is world-renowned for its high-quality graphics,” says Gabriel Baños, CEO and Founder of Flowics, “so we are delighted that the Flowics platform will become a powerful extension to the Group’s offering. NDI and TriCaster were already a significant part of the Flowics story, so being able to build on that, as well as adding in Vizrt, means we can reach even more visual storytellers than ever before.”

“I’m excited to welcome Flowics, the team, and their customers, to the Vizrt Group family,” continues Michael Hallén. “This gives content creators the right tools to engage and interact with their audiences as they pioneer fresh content formats in new and emerging channels. Together, we offer the most comprehensive graphics solutions for storytellers as they seek to captivate their audiences.”

FREMONT, Calif.—Digital Nirvana has introduced MetadataIQ for News, a new variation of its MetadataIQ SaaS-based automatic metadata generation tool. MetadataIQ for News uses news-specific speech-to-text technology and machine learning capabilities to describe quickly the assets that appear in a news broadcaster's feed. As a result, editors and producers can find what they need and create news shows more efficiently, the company said.

With news providers getting multiple news feeds from bureaus and other providers, such as The Associated Press, there can be as many as 100 continuous feeds at a time, depending on the size of the news organization and making it difficult for humans to tag all that media. According to Digital Nirvana, many speech-to-text engines on the market that can produce decent output on general-purpose language, but they tend to falter when it comes to identifying names and places that are in the news.

Unlike those general-purpose STT engines, MetadataIQ for News handles just news content, ingesting all feeds in real time and applying a speech-to-text engine fine-tuned for news production. Digital Nirvana uses its MonitorIQ automated broadcast monitoring application to ensure MetadataIQ for News continuously improves. Every day, MonitorIQ records multiple news channels, including the audio, which contains the proper pronunciation. Then, using AI, MonitorIQ automatically identifies all names and places, and feeds all the data back into the STT engine's dynamically updated vocabulary. This process is what makes MetadataIQ for News unique and able to generate highly accurate output.

Two major news organizations — one in the United States and another in the Middle East — have been testing these capabilities in their live news operations, according to the company. They have found that applying ML technologies to their workflows yields automatically generated, highly accurate metadata more quickly and affordably than traditional methods, which translates to money, effort, and time savings. It also means better-structured, more detailed, and more accurate metadata and shorter content delivery cycles.

"We designed MetadataIQ to describe content from multiple cameras of a reality show. But news broadcasters needed an application that was built specifically to handle news content, which is constantly changing and therefore doesn't conform to general-purpose speech-to-text engines," said Hiren Hindocha, CEO of Digital Nirvana. "Because the application is continually training the engine to recognize new names and places, MetadataIQ for News ensures news broadcasters always have an accurate description of their content, even though there's something different every day."

Digital Nirvana will demo MetadataIQ at Stand 7.A28 at the 2022 IBC Show at the RAI Amsterdam, Sept. 9-13.

LAS VEGAS—At the 2022 NAB Show, April 24-27, Imagine Communications will introduce Imagine Aviator, a new cloud-native platform that allows broadcasters, MVPD and digital-first providers to plan, make and monetize premium-quality linear and OTT content from a single, unified platform.

Imagine says the new platform―designed to enable media companies to extract the maximum revenue potential from their assets—was designed for an ever-evolving future, and offers flexible subscription and SaaS purchase options that suit new business models along with an agile, cloud-based design that allows media companies to continue to deliver and monetize content no matter how consumer viewing habits change.

“We understand the challenges and complexities that premium brands have in today’s fluid media landscape,” says Rob Malcolm, chief product officer at Imagine Communications. “With Aviator, we are bringing together our experience and intellectual property in a unique, cloud-native platform that maximizes monetization of content across broadcast and OTT platforms today ― and readies media companies to adapt and thrive no matter what the future holds.”

Aviator combines the critical capabilities of scheduling, rights management, channel origination, live events, VOD, ad sales, ad placement, ad serving, campaign management, and more into a single cloud platform. It creates a converged solution that delivers linear programming and video-on-demand content with ads and triggers for local and dynamic ad insertion, making it easier for media companies to successfully monetize broadcast, OTT, FAST, pop-up and VOD content. Providing fully automated operation of thematic channels, the new platform also guarantees high audio and video quality on all outlets and supports the demands of premium services.

Running in the public cloud, Aviator requires only a web browser and internet connection to securely access and operate all aspects of the platform, allowing operators to access anywhere an internet connection is available. It can run either in a media company’s own cloud account, or in Imagine’s SaaS environment, where it is monitored, managed and maintained by Imagine, allowing customers to reap the benefits of operational efficiency, while maintaining control of all creative aspects of their content.

At launch, Aviator will include all the capabilities required to solve the complex needs of delivering premium-quality, sophisticated linear channels with unified origination—originating broadcast and OTT linear streams from a single playlist supporting ad insertion. Its ability to integrate content acquisition from live streams, file sources such as video clips, audio and captions makes Aviator the perfect tool for delivering live sports, news, and scheduled and unscheduled live events workflows, the company said.

“We will continue to add functionality on an aggressive roadmap schedule,” Malcolm adds. “Later this year, we will expand the Aviator platform’s monetization capabilities to allow media companies to sell their own ad inventory rather than limiting them to only plugging in a demand-side platform to fill available inventory. This will enable media companies to maximize their yield, which in turn allows them to afford more premium content rights.” 

At the heart of Aviator is Imagine’s “audience-first” ad placement engine, which will allow media companies to sell inventory by audience, by context, or by spot―regardless of the platform or delivery mechanism. New functionality will enable media companies to maximize revenue by targeting commercials to audiences accurately; delivering CPM/CPI-style metrics across all platforms, including broadcast; and monetizing scenarios that are difficult to plan in advance, such as extra time in sporting events and breaking news programming.

Malcolm continues, “As consumers find more ways to watch, the efficiencies of cloud play an important role, making it easier for media companies to address broadening advertising opportunities and create highly impactful and dynamic channels with genuine appeal to viewers. Some aspects of the TV landscape remain uncertain, but making content available on all screens in a way that allows our customers to achieve their full revenue potential requires convergence of content planning, origination and monetization. And that is exactly what Aviator makes possible.”

Imagine will demo Aviator at its NAB Show booth, C2122

The following op-ed is a preview of topics that Harmonic will discuss during the upcoming TV Tech Summit, March 31.

With so many showpiece sports events happening in 2022, video service providers have an opportunity to expand their streaming services around these highly anticipated occasions.

When it comes to streaming live sports, service providers are looking to grow their audiences and offer them the content they desire. Yet, to be successful, service providers need an infrastructure that can maintain outstanding quality and ensure reliable streaming at scale.

By adopting an end-to-end, cloud-based streaming platform, they can process content with increased efficiency, customize live and video-on-demand (VOD) programming, and increase their ROI beyond typical subscription-based models.

Adapting to the Evolution in Video Consumption 
Video consumption is evolving. Today’s viewers want personalized streaming experiences, and an increasing number of rights holders and content distributors are responding with direct-to-consumer (DTC) offerings. In the sports streaming market, there are a variety of DTC streaming platforms and services from sports clubs, leagues and governing bodies, media organizations, telco operators, and more.

Another major trend in the U.S. is skinny bundles, a slimmed-down version of traditional pay-TV television offerings. Skinny bundles often include many of the linear specialty channels that viewers love, such as ESPN, further fragmenting the sports rights marketplace.

As sports consumption shifts away from broadcast TV toward streaming there are abundant new opportunities to reach broader audiences.

Key Streaming Requirements 
One of the greatest advantages of video streaming is the ability to create digital experiences that cater to individual viewers. Personalized sports content is in high demand. A recent survey from Quantum Market Research found that 96% of British soccer fans are willing to pay more for a subscription streaming service that provides a personalized experience. 

Aside from personalization, delivering an exceptional quality of service is critical. Today’s consumers expect high-quality streaming services that are accessible anytime, anywhere and on any device, with low latency, a mixture of live and VOD content, interactive features, and flexible pricing.

Simplifying Sports Streaming With an End-to-End Cloud Solution
By deploying an end-to-end, cloud-based streaming platform service providers can simplify all stages of media processing and delivery, ensure exceptional-quality video experiences and stay competitive in an increasingly crowded sports streaming market. 

Cloud streaming platforms accelerate the time-to-market for new offerings, enabling D2C services to be launched in a matter of days. With a cloud platform, service providers can spin up and spin down operations as needed, without investing in hardware infrastructure. This aspect is especially beneficial for the sports streaming industry, as events might only last a day or two.

Managing the peak user demand while streaming live sports can be a challenge. Live streaming requires an ultra-robust and flexible operational workflow, and that’s where cloud-based streaming platforms greatly excel. As audience numbers fluctuate throughout live events, cloud platforms enable service providers to stream video at scale and deliver superior quality, including low latency.

SaaS platforms are based on a per-per-use business model that is cost-efficient for sports streaming. With a SaaS platform, the installation and maintenance costs that are typically involved with operating hardware infrastructure are greatly reduced.

Optimizing Resources and ROI With Cloud-Based Streaming 
Using the cloud for sports streaming, service providers can optimize resources, reduce costs and generate new revenue.

For instance, cloud-based streaming opens up the opportunity for ad-supported thematic streaming channels whereby viewers receive content based on their individual preferences. Through user data, service providers can offer targeted advertising and branded content based on viewing behavior and interests.

In addition, cloud streaming platforms can be used to convert live video into on-demand content for pay-per-view (PPV) or distribution to third-party broadcasters after the event is over, opening up another revenue source.

Having a cloud streaming platform with efficient video compression is important, as it allows for more users to stream video at a higher quality. Efficient video compression also reduces costs associated with the delivery of video to expanding audiences.

Cloud-based streaming is reliable and secure. With the cloud, service providers can reduce the  likelihood of a security breach and operational downtime, which is critical for maintaining viewer satisfaction during live events.

Unifying the Value Chain with SaaS and Cloud
Another benefit of adopting cloud-based SaaS for video streaming is that it unifies delivery to affiliates and distribution partners. With a cloud-based delivery model, rights holders can distribute content in overseas markets, increasing their reach and meeting increased demands for content without worrying about how to scale.

Conclusion
Live sports streaming is on an accelerated path for growth. During the pandemic, the demand for live streamed sports has reached record levels, especially as fans were kept away from stadiums. Service providers are now looking to capitalize on this trend and want to expand their subscriber numbers and address broader audiences. Live streamed sports offers a catalyst to make this happen. 

With SaaS solutions, such as Harmonic’s VOS360 cloud streaming platform, video service providers can simplify the delivery of live sports streaming services and drive new revenue. 

To register for the TV Tech Summit, visit tvtechsummit.com/march

CESSON-SÉVIGNÉ, France—Broadpeak today announced the launch of broadpeak.io, the company’s new software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform offering content providers, pay-TV operators and OTT service providers a way to deliver advanced streaming quality to their subscribers.

"Today is a very exciting day for the whole Broadpeak team, who have worked tirelessly to create this service and bring it to market," said Broadpeak CEO Jacques Le Mancq. "We've created a truly brilliant service offering that directly addresses the needs of anyone who streams video, and we're thrilled to show our customers everything broadpeak.io has to offer."

The new broadpeak.io builds on the foundation Broadpeak has developed since 2010. By offering an alternative to bulk streaming methods, the API platform will evolve to host several applications related to advanced video streaming. The first application available on broadpeak.io will support contextualized streaming needs with a blackout service.

Broadpeak is backing broadpeak.io with 24/7 customer support, resulting in a seamless service that is approachable for companies of all sizes.

More information is available on the Broadpeak website.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—TVU Networks today released a year end tally of business activity—all of which underscores 2021 as being a year of rapid adoption of remote production and cloud-based alternatives to traditional solutions across the entire media supply chain.

For example, the company saw a 243% increase in SaaS use this year compared to 2020 across all business sectors, including media, sports and entertainment, it said.

“The impact of the pandemic on the media and entertainment industry cannot be overstated,” said TVU Networks CEO Paul Shen. “It necessitated an evolution that would have taken a far longer time, roughly five years in our estimation, under business-as-usual conditions.

“Customers are seeing firsthand the advantages of adopting cloud-based solutions to enhance or replace their traditional broadcast workflows. As the cloud continues to disrupt production paradigms, the benefits are clear: lower cost, faster to air, increased flexibility and greater monetization opportunities.”

Expanding its portfolio of solutions that enable working remotely, TVU Networks this year unveiled new cloud-based solutions, including TVU Remote Commentator and TVU Channel, the company said.

TVU Remote Commentator enables sports producers and event organizers to add synchronized, real-time audio commentary from multiple play-by-play and color commentators located in separated geographies via the internet.

TVU Networks also launched TVU Channel, a cloud-native, pay-as-you-go playout solution that enables users to launch and manage live and VOD channels from a web browser. It offers SCTE ad insertion and third-party scheduling platform support and can be used to play out to social media, CDNs and OVPs. 

“The overwhelmingly positive response to TVU Channel since its launch in October has exceeded our expectations,” added Shen. “We have a major TV broadcaster that’s deployed the platform and is using it for all programming on a new channel it launched, as well as the backup channel for their existing on-premise channel to protect against any unexpected disruption. The platform is already supporting hundreds of thousands of viewers.”

IP network delivery also experienced a surge, indicating it as an M&E Industry preference for content distribution. Over the past year, use of TVU Grid, the company’s IP-based video switching, routing and distribution solution, increased 20% compared to last year, it said.

Use of the company’s content distribution platform to manage and distribute video also experienced accelerated growth with a 752% increase in the hours of downloaded video in 2021 compared to last year. Leveraging the company’s AI and cloud-based search capability, called TVU Search, broadcasters could find the clips they desired from massive amounts of footage gathered covering the Capitol Riot, the Impeachment Trial, the Summer Games in Tokyo and the Dubai Expo 2020, which is occurring in 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic, the company said.

TVU Networks also saw continued strong growth in its IP transmitter business as well as strong demand for TVU Media Services, which supplies equipment rentals for major events, live content search, clipping and data services. As it did for the Summer Games in Tokyo, TVU Media Services will offer broadcasters equipment rentals, 24/7 camera shots and other services for the upcoming Winter Games in China.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

PARIS—Dalet has unveiled the Dalet StoreFront, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) portal that allows the company’s customers to create a marketplace for their B2B clients, partners and affiliates, the company said today.

With the Dalet StoreFront, multiple users can access content stored on a Dalet MAM using advanced search tools. Search results are filtered to show only relevant material to a qualified client.

At the heart of the Dalet StoreFront is the Dalet MAM orchestration engine, which enables content preparation and delivery. The new storefront makes the shopping experience easy and maximizes exposure to inventory, boosts the likelihood content will be repurposed and enhances retail opportunities, said Dalet.

Nearly all Dalet customers, ranging from news networks that share assets across affiliates to sports leagues servicing licensees will benefit from the Dalet StoreFront, the company said.

“As audiences grow at a global scale, so does the need for more content. Maximizing exposure and facilitating discoverability of our customers’ new or untapped materials is more important than ever before,” said Luc Comeau, market director for MAM and Supply Chain at Dalet.

“However, with this opportunity for increased content ROI comes additional supply chain complexities. Dalet StoreFront enables clients to tap into a rich Dalet MAM inventory with greater efficiency and speed, resurfacing and monetizing otherwise dormant archives, all within the familiar shopping experience that today’s digital shoppers come to expect,” said Comeau.

Taking advantage of the familiar online shopping model and leveraging intuitive browsing to discover content, the Dalet StoreFront makes shopping easily actionable, the company said. It eliminates the back-and-forth exchanges necessary when email is used.

“Requests for content via email and disparate file delivery services are manually intensive and leave far too many opportunities to repurpose and resell content on the table,” said Comeau. “Dalet StoreFront identifies the shopper and presents all of the relevant content options they can choose from, ensuring maximum catalog exposure while keeping content rights intact.”

The Dalet StoreFront makes it easy to license content, the company said. Content owners identify and tag content rights for their licensees and establish rights for visitors and potential licensees.

Dalet StoreFront secures content inventory by keeping all source content under the control and management of Dalet MAM. Only after an order has passed through all checks, automated by Dalet Orchestration, can fulfillment happen, thus creating a segregated browse/shopping experience from the source catalog.

More information is available on the Dalet website. 

Stand A113, Broadcast India 2019, Mumbai: Cinegy, the global leader for broadcast playout software in the cloud, has announced that it will showcase its full range of recording, capture, archive, and encoding capabilities during Broadcast India, taking place at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, from 17-19 October.

Participating on its regional partner Setron India’s stand, Cinegy will feature its ability to maximise the multiple advantages of Secure Reliable Transport (SRT).

Cinegy Business Development Manager Andrew Ward said, “SRT enables users to locate content, tools, and services wherever their business needs them to be, whether that’s in the cloud, on rented virtual machines, on-prem, or at remote data centres."

Ward continued, “SRT is baked in to Cinegy software, including the license, which removes any concerns about whether users have the legal right, proper subscription, or adequate bandwidth to deploy the software.”

Cinegy will demonstrate the use of its SRT-enabled software to perform live, intercontinental playout from the company’s server in Nuremberg, Germany, to the trade show in Mumbai. Also on show is Cinegy software and SRT jointly used as a sophisticated tool for live news gathering.

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About Cinegy
Cinegy develops software solutions for collaborative workflow encompassing IP, capture, editing and playout services tools, integrated into an active archive for full digital asset management. Either SaaS, virtualizable stacks, cloud or on-premises, Cinegy is COTS using standard IT hardware, and non-proprietary storage technology. Cinegy products are reliable, affordable, scalable, easily deployable and intuitive. Cinegy is truly Software Defined Television. Visit www.cinegy.com for more details.

Cinegy PR Contact:
Jennie Marwick-Evans
Manor Marketing
jennie@manormarketing.tv
+44 (0) 7748 636171

AMSTERDAM—Signiant will introduce new capabilities for its Software-Defined Content Exchange (SDCX) software-as-a-service platform that simplify secure content exchange between companies at IBC 2019, Sept. 13-17, at the RAI Amsterdam.

The capabilities, first to appear in the Signiant Jet product, make it easy to automate and accelerate transfers of large files between geographically dispersed locations, the company said.

First introduced at the 2019 NAB Show, Jet leverages Signiant’s SDCX SaaS platform, also used in Signiant’s Media Shuttle solution used by a half million people to transfer and share large files. This large footprint means the platform is already connected to thousands of on-premise and cloud storage endpoints, it said.

The new Jet features to be unveiled at IBC 2019 include new content exchange capabilities with a mechanism for a secure cloud handshake to simplify intercompany transfers. The new capabilities allow Jet users to make storage endpoints private, discoverable or discoverable only to select partners in their supply chain, Signiant said.

Companies use a simple, secure web interface to request connection with a partner. Once accepted, specific jobs can be configured and mutually approved, making possible secure, automatic transfers between companies.

With simple, predictable pricing, companies of all sizes have access to Jet. The pricing model also makes it easy to cost share for intercompany exchanges.

See Signiant at IBC 2019 stand 14.B23. For more information on Signiant Jet visit the company’s website.

LONDON—Blackbird plc, a U.K.-based provider of the Blackbird cloud-based news production platform, has announced that digital news publisher TownNews has extended its adoption of Blackbird to 14 additional TV stations, bringing the total to 39 stations in 24 states. This is the third time the organization has expanded its use of Blackbird in less than 12 months, according to the company.

The additional stations are owned by seven broadcast groups that provide premium local news content to millions of viewers across the United States.

TownNews' TV news customers use the Blackbird platform in conjunction with the TownNews Field59 VMS to rapidly view, edit and publish video content in an SaaS cloud environment. 

In June 2018, Moline, Ill.-based TownNews launched the combined solution into 17 Meredith Corporation locations across 11 states. In December 2018, they extended this further into three networks owned by Block Communications.

"Our strong partnership with the successful TownNews group is growing quickly and has doubled the number of networks served within a year,” said Ian McDonough, CEO of Blackbird. “Blackbird and TownNews now serve 39 networks in 24 states which demonstrates our scalability. 

"The American news industry is evolving rapidly to accommodate digital consumption. This is where TownNews and Blackbird can add significant revenue advantages in speed and productivity. Commercially our partnership is a great example of a successful OEM strategy where Blackbird and TownNews land and then expand."

PARIS—Dalet has acquired the Ooyala Flex Media Platform business, a SaaS offering for digital media distribution workflows, for $4.9 million. 

The acquisition follows a turbulent period for Ooyala, as it conducted a management buyout from previous owner Telestra in 2018 and sold its online video platform business to Brightcove in February for $15 million.

Dalet, a French-based provider of digital media management and distribution technology says the acquisition will expand its customer base in News and Production workflows, and accelerate Dalet's strategic move to increase recurring revenue models, with a subscription/SaaS-based services offering.

Ooyala is “a perfect complement to our existing Dalet Galaxy five offering in our traditional markets, the Ooyala Flex Media Platform also opens opportunities for new customers such as corporate brands, telcos, leagues and sports teams, who are looking to simply manage their media assets,” said David Lasry, chief executive officer for Dalet. “The modern metadata management and orchestration capabilities of the Ooyala Flex Media Platform bring what these organizations need to lower TCO, improve agility and reduce time to market.

“Furthermore, Dalet’s proven products and services will enable Ooyala customers to augment and expand their Ooyala Flex Media Platform. We have a technology path forward supported by expanded, world-class professional services and customer success teams that can provide the know-how and expert guidance on scaling media operations to optimize the value of their Ooyala investment.”

The transaction involves sales, marketing and engineering, professional services and support. Ooyala’s customers include Audi, Fox Sports Australia, HBO Asia, Media Prima, National Rugby League, Turner Asia, TV2, Zomin.TV, The Picture Production Company, Sky Sports, and Smoke and Mirrors.

Jonathan Huberman, CEO of Ooyala will step down to “pursue other opportunities,” according to a spokesman.

“I am incredibly proud of what Ooyala has accomplished,” Huberman said. “Our talented research and engineering team has built a renowned technology platform that powers core media workflows for some of the world’s most iconic brands.

“Dalet’s strong market position and deep expertise in designing and deploying media workflows is an outstanding fit for Ooyala customers and technical teams. I am confident under their guidance, they will continue to innovate and grow.”

Today, broadcasters, production companies, post-houses and others involved in the creative process are adopting cloud and SaaS in droves as new technology assuages content security concerns and speeds file transfers. Recent articles from TV Technology authors Al Kovalick, Peter Suciu, and Signiant cloud and SaaS experts Rick Clarkson and Megan Cater are proof of what M&E businesses have discovered.

This informative ebook on the cloud and SaaS for M&E workflows examines:

• The role virtualization is playing in the evolution of media infrastructure
• Flexible ways to move and manage media files
• The state of SaaS as measured against the demands of broadcasters
• Considerations in choosing a SaaS partner
• The outlook for media apps and processes running in the cloud

Click here to download the full eBook.

NEW YORK—While the IT world has embraced software as a service and relied heavily on the cloud for offsite storage, the broadcast world has remained more apprehensive about moving away from on premise hardware and onto cloud-based systems. However, the last several years have seen greater endorsement from the industry vendors in what SaaS can bring to broadcasters, who are now beginning to embrace the model.

“When we launched Media Shuttle, our first SaaS solution, more than five years ago, many in the industry weren’t ready for SaaS,” said Jon Finegold, chief marketing officer for Signiant in Lexington, Mass. “In fact, it was common to hear from top media and entertainment execs that ‘we will never use SaaS.’ Fast forward to 2018, and Media Shuttle has surpassed the 400,000 user mark and is now the de facto standard in the industry for sending and sharing large files. From our lens, the state of SaaS in the industry is very strong.”

‘PAY AS YOU GO’

Mid-2018 could be seen as the transition era where ever more broadcasters and production houses give SaaS another look.

“We’re starting to see broadcasters understanding the need for buying software in different ways,” said Karl Mehring, director of product management for playout at Grass Valley. “The driver is the move from a load of equipment to a ‘pay as you go’ model, and that is something SaaS can provide better than other options out there today.

“This has really been driven by the adoption of the cloud and SaaS in other industries, where there has been a lot of success with it,” Mehring continued. “There will always be challenges with SaaS if you expect it to be same [as legacy broadcast equipment]. But that shouldn’t be a reason to always do the same thing when this technology offers so many benefits.”

‘FAIL FAST’

SaaS can have the added benefit of ensuring that what doesn’t work so well for a company doesn’t mean a large capital expenditure. With SaaS there is the ability to experiment—something usually not possible with onsite hardware.

“The primary advantage of the SaaS model is that the cloud offers the ability to be more dynamic with your business,” said Brick Eksten, CTO for playout and networking at Imagine Communications. “You can try new software with less risk when it comes to upfront costs. If you follow existing IT models of the ‘fail fast,’ then you don’t have to put a lot of expense into it.”

SaaS also allows broadcasters to adjust to ever-changing needs in production. For many businesses SaaS offers scalability and flexibility, which can be important for broadcasters that have variable workflows or are covering a major event, such as the recently concluded World Cup.

“For UHD with typical infrastructure this would be a barrier as you’d need to invest in a lot of hardware that would then go unused 90 percent of the time,” explained Olivier Karra, director for OTT & IPTV solutions at Harmonic. “With SaaS you can optimize your investment in these small windows.”

These small windows could be project-based productions, and it is more than just running remote software; it can offer other advantages that hardware-based solutions don’t so easily provide.

“SaaS allows for a virtual workspace in the cloud, with access data, publishing data and the ability to share metadata as well,” said Tim Claman, CTO and vice president of product management at Avid. “It is also a ‘pay as you go’ solution where multiple users can essentially ‘paint on the same canvas’ at the same time.”

It can also include both storage and compute power during those special projects and events.

“This allows for heavy use for a month or two, where you need a huge scale, but you can downgrade after the event is over,” added Todd Kelly, product marketing director at Aspera, a division of IBM. “What is important for broadcasters is to utilize a platform that will create no latency or bottlenecks when uploading a lot of content to the cloud. You want to make sure you can still run other things on your network, and not have SaaS impact the rest of your transfers or your performance.”

Part of this comes down to understanding how SaaS and the cloud do fit together, but shouldn’t be considered entirely one and the same.

“SaaS is a managed service that can utilize the cloud, and that has created some confusion,” said Karra. “The way we see SaaS as a cloud service can be different from companies that are simply trying to mimic what is running on premise in existing infrastructure.”

COST CONSIDERATIONS

A remaining downside to SaaS is the expense of moving large files to and from the cloud. While it does allow for flexibility and scale, broadcasters utilize far larger files than the IT sector, and as the cloud is geared for the latter, broadcasters may pay a premium in those peak usage times.

“Moving large data to the cloud and back is just very costly, so it is good for storage but moving content back and forth gets very expensive very quickly,” said Ian Fletcher, CTO for media at Grass Valley.

“One of the things you have to consider as a broadcaster using the cloud is what your end distribution model looks like,” added Imagine Communications’ Eksten. “If you are originating content in one country but distributing in another, the satellite costs may justify the transport costs of using the cloud.”

Understanding the costs and transport times with SaaS and the cloud is important, especially for those broadcasters that are only now adopting it.

“Video is very [data] heavy, and businesses that are attuned to IT content need to understand this, and that includes getting the workflows dialed in so that you can see the cloud as a benefit and not something that will slow you down,” said Avid’s Claman.

Then there’s the question of bandwidth.

“For smaller production houses you could hit your file caps,” warned Stan Moote, CTO for the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers. “That is the one thing everyone has to be careful about. Broadcasters can be savvy about understanding the magnitude of the file size when it comes to transporting it, but there needs to be an understanding of the costs of putting it in storage and getting it back out. This is why some recent statistics show that 40 percent of companies that went into the cloud came back out.”

There may still be some holdouts among broadcasters, but in the short term SaaS may co-exist with legacy systems.

“An important consideration for those looking at SaaS is how it will extend to on-premise operations,” said Shawn Carnahan, CTO of Telestream. “A lot right now is a hybrid. SaaS is increasingly driven by the workflow that often needs to be distributed via the cloud. Some of this may allow broadcasters to better utilize the premise resources or move the extra processing to the cloud.”

For some broadcasters the hardest part may be simply adjusting to SaaS and the cloud, even in this transition period.

“The biggest challenge with SaaS is always finding the 80/20 balance; it comes down to understanding which features and capabilities will add the most value to the most customers so that you can keep the balance of simple and powerful, which is key to a successful SaaS business,” said Signiant’s Finegold. “The media industry is in a very dynamic stage right now so there are always opportunities for new features and new services. The challenge is to focus on the things that matter most to the most customers—a never ending battle in SaaS.”

SIDEBAR: SaaS and Security

One consideration for broadcasters and production houses that are utilizing SaaS along with the cloud for storage is that data isn’t entirely on-premise. This is a legitimate concern given how Sony, HBO and others in the media and entertainment world have had content stolen or leaked. However, security is something all industries should think about regardless of whether SaaS is part of daily operations.

“More and more we’re seeing broadcast production integrated tighter and tighter with IT departments, but more importantly integrating better IT policies,” said Brick Eksten, CTO for playout & networking at Imagine Communications. “We are finally seeing better collaboration here, and while the broadcast world isn’t at the level of banking systems, I’m not really sure it has to be either.”

Taking cybersecurity more seriously is what matters however.

“It is absolutely critical and security hasn’t been taken seriously enough in the industry,” said Ian Fletcher, CTO for media at Grass Valley. “It has actually gone backwards in many ways. We’re used to systems that were disconnected, as for so long we worked on ‘air-gapped’ machines that weren’t connected online. Now with the move to SaaS every system is connected, but at the same time security isn’t always something that you can retrofit into existing infrastructures.”

Added restrictions could of course slow the workflow, especially when many different individuals or teams access the data. However, a cloud with the right security could allow for approved remote access to data and should help broadcasters overcome the barrier of distance.

“We’ve taken the view that regardless of whether it is a private cloud with a data center or the public internet you need the same type of security that you would see if you were doing banking online,” added Fletcher.

Treating data in the broadcast world with the same level of sensitivity as banking or health care is the logical next step.

“SaaS offers the ability to set up the legitimate users for the particular content; as well as their level of permissions where specific control can be granted,” said Todd Kelly, product marketing director at Aspera, a division of IBM. “Broadcasters simply need to organize the content so that they can make sure the right users have the right access. The user access model is the really important part. We’ve seen leaks, but most of it is due to operator error.”

DETROIT—Ben Manges has been working with the PR and media arm of the Detroit Lions since 2002; though back then, like most NFL teams, media production was a bare-bones crew of a few camera operators. Now Senior Director of Corporate Communications and New Media, Manges has witnessed an evolution in video production across NFL teams, moving from minimal staff who captured press conferences and occasional practice footage to multiple specialized content teams.

For the Lions, a central aspect of that evolution has been their use of Signiant Media Shuttle, a uniquely simple yet powerful SaaS solution that enables the fast transfer of media files to broadcasters across the state while meeting the NFL’s high media security protocols. The Lions have been using Media Shuttle since 2013, and in many ways are ahead of the curve.

“The NFL has been actively making sure that teams are in compliance with their file transfer security protocols; teams are highly discouraged by the league from using Dropbox, which a lot of people use,” says Manges. “Media Shuttle allows us to quickly, easily and securely make video files available to news outlets and partners and still be in compliance with NFL security protocols. It’s a reliable platform that we’ve used for several years, and something our media partners throughout the state are really comfortable with.”

2017 NEW MEDIA EXPANSION

In 2017, the Lions’ initiated a plan to further expand their video production staff to better serve the team’s internal and external media needs. Part of that transition was Manges’ appointment to his current role overseeing all content teams including editorial, social media and video production, and managing relationships with broadcast partners and other TV affiliates throughout the state.

One of the first priorities when Manges started was to make sure everyone was familiar with and actively using Media Shuttle. Many of their broadcast partners are located hours away and do not have the resources to travel to Allen Park, where the Lions’ practice facility is located, to capture footage. From a public relations perspective, the ability to provide them with resources to accurately tell the Detroit Lions’ story is vital.

“Establishing a rapport and building relationships with our TV affiliates and TV networks throughout Michigan is central to my role, and receiving content from us is first and foremost what they care about,” says Manges. “Media Shuttle gives us a platform to easily distribute video content and take our story to viewers who are interested in what the Lions are doing.”

SIMPLE AND FAST

Moving large video files quickly and securely over the Internet to multiple locations requires sophisticated software with smart acceleration technology and layers of security. But that’s only the core technology. Professional media file transfer software also keeps files organized, tracked and visible to managers; allows for multiple users, permissions and languages; and enables different types of workflows that involve collaborating with an unlimited number of people and organizations, both internal and external. Software that does all of that can get complicated. That’s where Media Shuttle really shines for Manges and his team—in its simplicity.

“Media Shuttle has been so successful for us because it’s such a user-friendly service,” says Manges. “A lot of other media file delivery services overcomplicate things. Media Shuttle makes something that should be easy, easy.”

Media Shuttle brings advanced capabilities often used in large-scale production to businesses of all sizes. As a cloud-native SaaS solution, Media Shuttle has the ability to scale to business needs and budgets, and its simple UI was designed to provide the best user experience for all parties, whether end users, IT administrators or media operations. And of course, it’s fast.

“More than anything, we appreciate that Media Shuttle is not only easy but it’s also super fast,” says Manges. “With the NFL, things are constantly moving and the fact that we are able to make this content available quickly without much effort makes everything that much easier.”

As the Lions look to the next season and beyond, they plan on creating and producing even more content for fans and further leveraging their Media Shuttle subscription for content distribution. They will be adding more users and more partners, and producing more content under tighter timelines. However, no matter how complicated the Lions’ media workflow gets, Media Shuttle will keep things fast and simple.

Megan Cater is Senior Manager, Digital Content for Signiant.

SAN DIEGO—Vigor Systems is rolling out a software-as-a-service version of its advanced linear local ad insertion platform, the Advertio Cloud.

The Advertio Cloud moves media delivery, scheduling and monitoring into the cloud and offers a number of subscription benefits, including monthly rental of server; access to the Vigor Cloud Portal via a desktop or mobile device; advanced overnight shipment of replacement servers; remote assistance from Vigor with systems setup; and ongoing support for portal, hardware and software updates.

New features to the platform will include a channel monitoring matrix; quick upload tool for ad media and CCMS schedules; scalable station infrastructure set up; and media and playout log monitoring from a central location.

The Vigor server included in all subscriptions is a high-density DPI ad server for SD and HD content. Current Advertio functionality supports MPEG-2 and MPEG4 AVC (H.264) in SD and HD formats as well as SCTE-30/35 DPI trigger commands. The unit also has interoperability with ad splicers, simultaneous ad insertion on up to 100 channels and 96,000 SD/36,000HD 30-second ad storage capacity.

Vigor will begin Advertio Cloud service roll out in March.

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—The internet has permanently changed how we do just about everything in our professional lives, from making travel plans to giving us the very tools we use to complete our work. As connection speeds improve geometrically, “the cloud” becomes an ever-more attractive place to do the real work of content creation, transcoding, distribution and storage.

So it is with software as a service (SaaS), a category of internet offering that was not available five years ago but now has key advantages for television and film operations. Let’s take a look at what it can do, then see where it might make sense for your operation.

Andrew Warman, director for cloud product management at Harmonic Inc.

“SaaS is a way for a third-party provider to host software applications and make them available to customers to use over the internet,” said Andrew Warman, director of cloud product management for Harmonic Inc. in San Jose, Calif. “It removes the need for organizations to install and run applications on their own data centers. Moreover, it takes away all the headaches involved with buying, provisioning and maintaining hardware, including the need to manage software licensing and deal with support issues. All these aspects of owning and operating hardware are replaced by a fee paid to use the services.”

This lack of up-front capital expense can foster experimentation and new video services, once SaaS is widely understood and the concept grasped.

“SaaS lends itself to a variety of operating models, including cases where initial cost of deploying conventional solutions is seen as risky, expensive and/or too time-consuming,” Warman said. “Launching a service is fast; there are no upfront startup costs, and operation of the hardware and software is handled by the service provider, reducing—if not entirely removing—these constraints. SaaS enables operators to launch and stop on-demand services, as needed, without paying for unused or under-utilized infrastructure when the service is dormant or if it is no longer necessary.”

AFFORDABLE ONE-TIME EVENTS?
Need a concrete example?

“Consider the situation in which a local broadcaster had an opportunity to air a concert or speech at a local venue,” said Steve Reynolds, chief technology officer for Imagine Communications in Dallas. “Normally, the capital expense to put in place integrated channel playout for what might be a onetime event would be too high. A SaaS model would allow [a broadcaster] to experiment with these types of live events.”

If you are a content creator with the chance to take on additional projects, SaaS can provide workflow efficiency as well as help you avoid much of the pesky capital expense to outfit new editing stations and in-house shared storage.

“SaaS not only allows scale-up capabilities, but provides one thing that typical CAPEX models do not provide, and that is scale-down,” Reynolds said. “A business can take on larger projects and grow as necessary. SaaS would allow a content creation company to grow incrementally, while optimizing its overall infrastructure cost and moving between CAPEX investment and OPEX based on its particular needs.”

For many broadcasters, their news programming is the focus of their operations. Where can SaaS fit into the production of local broadcast news?

“A news service will provide its stories in individual segments that are then distributed to the service’s customers—i.e., broadcasters—mostly in standard broadcast formats,” said Raja Srinivasan, product manager for Telestream’s Cloud offering. “However, many broadcasters also receive local news stories from stringers, or even from the general public. These feeds will come into the station in a variety of formats, and the cloud offers these providers a simple way to take their news stories and make them broadcast ready—maybe even adding [lower-third graphics].”

Srinivasan cited a recent project with Calkins Media, a New Jersey-based station group that used the Telestream Cloud Advanced Service on a “pay-per-minute” basis to allow Verizon to offer some of Calkins’ programming on-demand.

“Alternatively, a broadcaster may use cloud transcoding technology to supplement its in-house transcoding capabilities for those times when there is a peak in incoming material [such as a major fire or other event],” he said. “Calkins Media is an excellent example of a broadcaster that uses cloud transcoding in this way.”

Lawrence Kaplan, president and CEO of SVDI Corp.

ATSC 3.0 AND SAAS
ATSC 3.0 is coming and broadcasters are now planning on how and when to implement this new standard. How does SaaS figure into ATSC 3.0?

“One of the biggest changes in ATSC 3.0 is the inclusion of 4K-resolution video,” said Ian Hamilton, chief technology officer of U.S.-based Signiant. “With broadcast moving to a 4K future with ATSC 3.0, we expect a lot more 4K content to be produced for television. All this content will need to be moved through today’s globally distributed production ecosystems and supply chains. Sending these much larger files over IP networks, quickly, reliably and securely will be a major concern for broadcasters, and a proven SaaS solution like Signiant’s Media Shuttle will be the easiest, fastest and most economical means of doing so.”

SaaS is not necessarily targeted at big or small clients—it’s more about the needs and imagination of the client.

“On-demand access to an application as a service is a highly efficient, cost-effective alternative to a traditional software license,” said Lawrence R. Kaplan, president and CEO of SVDI Corp. in Sunnyvale, Calif. “SaaS enables consumption-based pricing—infrastructure on demand. SaaS-based access to an application would be a great advantage to any user who has an unpredictable requirement to process 4K files. Of course, dealing with 4K requires special consideration. SVDI’s Rally is an SaaS application hosted in a public cloud, but the processing resources and files being processed can be located anywhere. For example, it may make sense to process a 4K file on premises, rather than in a public cloud.”

Ian Fletcher, chief technology officer for media at Grass Valley

PLAN FOR CLOUD-BASED APPS
Some of what SaaS does sounds a lot like what a product will do, but it does it across the web. Ian Fletcher, chief technology officer for media at Montreal-based Grass Valley, suggested that getting the most from SaaS technology means planning cloud-based operations instead of specific hardware-dependant tasks.

“The most important thing to understand about SaaS and cloud technology is the difference between a true cloud architecture and simple virtualization; this is an area that is often misunderstood,” Fletcher said. “Many of today’s current cloud deployments are really nothing more than existing products running on VMs in a data center. Although this may have some benefits for certain types of customers, fundamentally it is still operating the same as conventional playout systems—all the broadcaster has really done is made the cable longer between him and his equipment room.”

If you are still unsure about how SaaS works, industry consultant Al Kovalick, founder of Media Systems Consulting, said that “flinging watts into the ether” will not be affected by SaaS but just about everything else will.

“All aspects of media workflows and applications will be affected, including MAM, craft editing, logging, review and approval, scheduling, video processing, office productivity apps, and many more areas,” Kovalick said.

Although the first word in SaaS is “software,” SaaS is more than just another way to edit or transcode video. Properly configured for your use, it can offer the chance to try new projects, reach new viewers and save on capital expenses. Or if you simply need to scale up what you are already doing, there’s probably a SaaS partner to help you get that done quickly.

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—The cloud continues to redefine the way that broadcasters and video production facilities are doing business as content moves from internal networks to offsite servers, while software as a service, or SaaS, is increasingly being used by both consumers and businesses alike. Cloud-based services such as Salesforce.com and Microsoft’s Office365 have changed the way software is used—offering subscriptions and pay-as-you go solutions over upfront purchases. Video streaming services such as Netflix have successfully competed with physical media content, while in the process being available on a plethora of devices.

Grass Valley debuted iTX On Demand at the 2016 NAB Show.

For broadcasters and video production facilities, this transition to SaaS can present new opportunities as well as a few challenges. While it means replacing older systems for cloud-based solutions, SaaS promises to offer greater scalability, potentially lower operating cost and even off-site backups and archiving of content. Getting everyone on board—or rather to the cloud—could remain the biggest challenge however.

“There is no reason everything can’t or won’t be an SaaS app in time,” said Al Kovalick, founder of Media Systems Consulting in Santa Clara, Calif. and cloud columnist for TV Technology. “What is holding it back is the existing programs that run on monolithic servers and workstations. The user interface also has to be HTML 5 to run in a browser, and it is already apparent not everyone is going to make that move anytime soon.”

One notable misconception about SaaS is that everything suddenly has to be moved to the cloud.

“That is not the case,” added Kovalick. “Just because it is an SaaS app doesn’t mean it has to run in the cloud. Clients can buy an SaaS app and put in on the Amazon Cloud or even a local server. It really just provides flexibility.”

COST FLEXIBILITY

As today’s budget belts continue to tighten, and facilities are forced to do more with less, SaaS could be a good fit, especially for those who need greater financial flexibility.

“We see SaaS as a solution where there are concerns over upfront costs,” said Scott Rose, senior director of product management for digital media at Grass Valley. “It works where the applications may be variable as well, or you don’t need it every month. If you are processing content or editing a variable amount, SaaS is a good solution as you only pay for what you consume.”

To address this changing workflow Grass Valley recently introduced iTX On-Demand, a new VOD/OTT solution that automates the VOD process while dramatically reducing prep time for both pre-recorded and live productions. It is available as an option with Grass Valley’s iTX Integrated Playout Platform, but can also be used alongside third-party playout solutions.

“This allows a broadcaster to take content and make it available for an on-demand platform,” said Rose. “It makes good sense for it to be through SaaS as the amount of VOD content can be wildly different throughout the year. If you knew the number of hours you’d use a solution it would make sense to build a system to do that job, but if you need to urgently scale at certain times then the SaaS model makes a lot of sense.”

TRANSCODING IN THE CLOUD

This year IBM-owned Aspera introduced new capabilities for its Aspera Files SaaS platform, including the Aspera Drive 2.0, which added sharing, distribution and exchange features to the desktop, and Aspera Files Mobile, which enabled clients to utilize Files Dropboxes from Apple iOS and Google Android devices over Wi-Fi and cellular networks. This new functionality builds upon Aspera FASP technology.

Francois Quereuil, senior director of worldwide marketing at Aspera

Aspera files is designed to improve bandwidth, according to Francois Quereuil, senior director of worldwide marketing at Aspera. “Aspera Files can be used to share and distribute content internally or with a third party,” he said.

The ability to use a cloud-based application could have other advantages beyond scalability and archiving. SaaS could also leverage cloud computing and infrastructure to transcode content for different devices.

Numerous vendors have offered solutions that include the ability to do encoding jobs with media that is or will be a cloud-resident. This includes Telestream Cloud, which debuted at the 2016 NAB Show as a video encoding SaaS that features support for the popular Apple ProRes video format, along with high-quality video transcoding for all formats and codecs, while also dynamically scaling response to customer requirements.

“All cloud services offer two things: compute and storage. For storage, Telestream Cloud is an attractive encoding service because, unlike other cloud services, it’s storage agnostic, ” said Shawn Carnahan, CTO for Telestream. “It supports the most common storage options, and now includes Aspera uploads.” 

The other advantage of Telestream Cloud is in its ability to provide the encoding service near stored files. “Since it runs on any cloud, the compute encoding engine is in proximity to the storage, increasing speed and lowering costs,” added Carnahan. “Telestream Cloud allows users to encode the video while it's being distributed and stored.”

This ability to transcode in the cloud is something that is being seen necessary given that content consumption isn’t limited to the big screen in the living room.

“The cloud is particularly well-suited to providing content that can be seen on numerous devices; think of how Netflix has to send out content to a range of devices,” said Aspera’s Quereuil. “SaaS apps can be used to crunch in different formats, but also add watermarking and color correction. This can help with the entire production process.”

The changing nature of content also makes SaaS very desirable, added Steve Smith, CTO for cloud at Imagine Communications in Dallas.

“The dynamic for how content is consumed has changed a lot in the past 10 years,” he explained. “Not only is their time and location shifting, but there has been an explosion of content providers, not all of which are 24/7. Some come and go, and SaaS offers this flexibility.”

OPEN SOLUTIONS

Unlike with many past proprietary technologies an advantage of many SaaS solutions is the ability to work with multiple cloud service providers including Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services and Rackspace, among others. This could ensure the flexibility that today's clients seek when opting to utilize the cloud, while options to use a private cloud and remote desktop could streamline the production process.

File sharing services such as Signiant’s Media Shuttle have also made the transferring of content as easy as dragging and dropping to a web page.

“With Media Shuttle, files are actually kept locally, yet our customers can leverage the transcoding services; and this can reduce power consumption,” said Michael Nash, senior product manager for Media Shuttle at Signiant in Lexington, Mass. “The cloud economy is thus one of scale. This is making it easier for companies to move large files, and the larger the files the more they need us.”

However, there are concerns that by utilizing an off-site technology, outages could become an issue. Whether this is overstated is still being debated.

“Workstations can also go down,” noted Kovalick. “People talk about the cloud as if it is the problem when there are connectivity issues, but to mitigate the problem you have to realize there are other ways to get that content. SaaS can thus be as reliable as anything else.”

In the short term there may still be hold outs, and that is to be expected, as this regularly occurs in times of transition.

“The broadcasting business has always been about making investment in technology and equipment, so we don’t expect to see a lot of facilities gutting the server room in the near future,” added Grass Valley’s Rose. “This move to the cloud will come more slowly; this is evolution not a revolution.”

Fig. 1: A multi-tenant Web app environment (2, 3)

Please nod if you enjoy installing standalone programs on a PC, Mac or Linux desktop. Again, if you enjoy reinstalling them after the machine is repaired or replaced. No nods? The process of installing and maintaining desktop programs is a pain. Not so with Web applications. A Web application runs in a browser that renders the application’s user interface and is sometimes called a “Web client.” The actual app logic is executed on a server, either on premise or in a remote cloud.

Web applications are popular due to the ubiquity of Web browsers on a variety of desktops, laptops and mobile devices. Apps can be updated without distributing and installing software to potentially millions of client computers.

I use a task tracker and accounting tool from Paymo and it sometimes automatically updates to the latest version while in use. Show me an installed app that does that.

BUSINESS MODEL
If you use Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Dropbox or YouTube you are using a Web app. Basic usage is free, but there may be fees for premium services. On the other hand, there are vendors that only sell Web app services (cloud-based) under the rubric of SaaS or “Software-as-a-Service.” This model is for rental, not for ownership; usually pay-by-the-month-per-user, or per-transaction or other fee models.

SaaS is a business model, not a technology. Some of the early adopters and evangelizers are Salesforce, NetSuite, Success Factors, Google Docs, Workday, Zoho, ZenDesk and others. These vendors built their business by offering SaaS Web apps only. They have no user-installed versions and apply the cloud for app execution and data store.

Then there are the major software players who are transitioning to a SaaS model for some products such as Microsoft (Office 365), SAP (ByDesign), and Oracle (Oracle Cloud).

What about media-specific SaaS vendors? There are no SaaS-only behemoths in the production/post/broadcast media space in 2015. This does not count Internet distribution players such as Netflix. One way to divide the Web apps media landscape is as follows:

• Traditional media software vendors with at least some SaaS services. Examples of these are Adobe (Creative Cloud), Envivio (Nuage), Signiant (Media Shuttle) and Sony Media Cloud Services (Ci).
• Many traditional software vendors now offer Web apps instead of standalone installed programs. The vast majority of these vendors don’t offer SaaS services, but they could. Many of the 2015 NAB Show vendors had Web app-based products.
• New wave of media software vendors that only offer SaaS products. Some of these companies also offer “private cloud” versions of their products. A variety of vendors run services in their private cloud while others may use Amazon or Azure compute/store resources. A few examples of this new breed are Aframe, Bright-cove (Zencoder), Encoding. com, Forbidden (Forscene), Generation Technologies (NIMExchange), Mediasilo (V6), Nativ (MLP), Piksel, Prime Focus Technologies (CLEAR), Sundog (Media Toolkit), Tedial (Evolution), ZooDigital and others.

Bottom line, Web apps are mature and SaaS is gaining steam in media. A few observers expect the NAB Show/IBC to become “media apps shows” over time. Sure, cameras, displays, control surfaces and other mediarelated devices will be present, but private cloud Web apps and public SaaS will have significant momentum.

A DEEPER LOOK
Of course, there are tradeoffs between installed programs and their Web app version. Here are some Web app (public cloud execution) benefits:

No daily backups by user, potential worldwide reach, patches and feature upgrades invisibly made, real-time collaboration, ability to run on “cheap” thin clients, and mash-ups are possible by combining panels/features from multiple Web apps.

On the other hand, there are some shortfalls:

Network required for accessing either local or remote cloud, round-trip latency to server may be problematic, network bitrate limitations, browser incompatibility and security.

For media apps, constrained access bandwidth poses the biggest problem (i.e. 4K editing). Usually the media is first uploaded to the server location, which could take days for some workloads. So it’s not always practical to use Web apps, which is one reason why Avid, Adobe and others do not yet offer full-featured creative apps only via SaaS.

That said, many proxy-based workflows are very practical and are the bulk of Web app use today. As Internet access rates increase SaaS (and Web apps) will become more common.

According to Cisco’s “Global Cloud Index,” by 2018, 59 percent of the total cloud workloads will be SaaS. They are also predicting in the same year that 28 percent of the total cloud workloads will be Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). With so much SaaS in the works, let’s investigate its underpinnings.

Fig. 1 shows three different methods to execute and deliver a Web app. The server execution can be local or in a distant cloud. Method one (far left) shows a 1:1 relationship between the app UI and the execution engine and database if present. There is no magic with this case; it’s similar to the desktop app-per-user model.

Case two shows a single application execution instance with a distinct database engine for each app. You may wonder how one app instance can serve so many clients.

The instance is built using the concept of a multi-tenant architecture. One instance may serve thousands of simultaneous tenants (clients). Clever use of metadata enables the execution instance to track the state of each UI. Each client thinks it owns the execution engine, but it does not. The database stores the UI state for each client. To scale for more clients, the same instance is installed on multiple machines (horizontal scaling).

Finally, case three in Fig. 1 shows the ultimate multi-tenant configuration. In this case, there is only a single execution instance and a single database engine. The biggest SaaS players (think Salesforce. com) use this model. Of course, there may be security and performance concerns using multi-tenancy, so you will need to ask pointed questions if considering this type of deployment.

Web apps and the SaaS model are the future of the media facility. Stay alert for developments in this area.

Al Kovalick is the founder of Media Systems consulting in Silicon Valley. He is the author of “Video Systems in an IT Environment (2nd ed).” He is a frequent speaker at industry events and a SMPTE Fellow. For a complete bio and contact information, visitwww.theAVITbook.com.

EMERYVILLE, CALIF. – When Aspera arrives in Amsterdam for the 2015 IBC Show, it will be bringing its portfolio of high-speed file transfer software and automation systems for the broadcast and media industries. Among these will be Aspera’s new SaaS platform, Aspera Files.

Aspera Files

Built on Aspera’s FASP transport technology, Aspera Files allows organizations to establish a branded web-based presence for the exchange and delivery of any size file-based media or data between end users across separate organizations, combining multiple storage platforms. Content can be stored and accessed in multiple cloud or on-premise storage systems, and can be shared via a drag-and-drop feature. Distance-neutral exchange of any size data over the Internet is also allowed.

In addition, Aspera will show a number of other products powered by the next generation of FASP. This includes the FASPStream, which expands FASP transport technology for live and near-live data streaming; the latest version of Aspera Orchestra, with new features to improve performance within high concurrency environments; and Aspera Direct-to-Cloud Storage, which is able to transfer large media formats from source directly to object storage destination with native I/O for all major cloud storage providers.

IBC 2015 will take place from Sept. 11-15 in Amsterdam. Aspera will be located at booth 7.B27.

Signiant Media Shuttle speeds

NEW YORK—For nearly 20 years, broadcast engineers and IT professionals alike have used the symbol of the cloud to denote the Internet in technical and workflow diagrams. This nebulous shape referred to the often hard-to-define physical space of the Internet, where hardware could be in multiple geographic locations, and connected via a multitude of differing paths.

Today, this space is home to cloud computing, where businesses around the world are using the Internet’s global connectivity and leveraging powerful new data centers to expand their businesses and services. Though providing fertile ground for e-commerce, not every business likes this model. Many media and entertainment organizations have been wary about moving their content out of their tightly controlled internal networks to offsite where it is under someone else’s control.

The concern is not over productivity software, but rather, control of assets as many media professionals are currently using cloud-based services such as Salesforce.com and Office365 in their facilities. These programs offer a new purchase model that offers cost and expense efficiencies that businesses cannot ignore.

“Businesses are asking for a pricing and packaging model that is OPEX, with low setup costs and scalability,” said Rick Clarkson, vice president of product management for Signiant, a Burlington, Mass.-based provider of cloud-based media transfer applications. Cloud-based services typically offer subscription-based services, managed via web portals that can dramatically reduce local hardware, software and staffing costs.

“These systems can be more reliable and less costly than managing all these elements in house,” said Jim Martinolich, vice president of integration technologies for ChyronHego in Melville, N.Y. Both ChyronHego and Signiant have been offering products for several years that allow media professionals to access cloud-based services.

ChyronHego’s Axis World Graphics system Broadcasters in particular have been wary about exposing their assets or their on-air systems to the Internet. Most have extensive firewalls and VPNs that manage any asset transfer in or out of their facilities. “Availability and security are valid concerns,” Martinolich said. He believes that concepts and terminology behind what cloud computing really means can be as nebulous, as well yes, a cloud.

Ian Fletcher, chief technology officer of digital media and workflow at Grass Valley in Montreal agrees.

“I think that there is a huge amount of confusion in this area,” he said. Fletcher said he sees some companies throwing cloud buzzwords around without fully explaining what they are doing in the cloud.

There are many challenges presented by entry into cloud computing for media businesses; from security and understanding the technology, to the financial pressures to pursue more efficient technologies. These all have media professionals taking cautious steps toward the cloud.

Ian Fletcher, chief technology officer of digital media and workflow at Grass Valley in Montreal “There is a huge difference between using the cloud as a way of storing files, effectively as offsite storage, and true cloud computing using the SaaS model,” Fletcher said. Software as a Service is one of three cloud computing terms that those venturing into the cloud need to know. He sees many IT vendors confusing people with the migration of facility computing to data centers as more an exercise in virtualization and cost cutting than leveraging cloud computing.

There are three basic components to full cloud computing, they are SaaS, Infrastructure as a Service and Platform as a Service. Here IaaS provides the hardware basis at the data centers, and PaaS is the platform or operating system for software programs to run. SaaS needs IaaS and PaaS to function and to provide the customer access to the service.

Several well-known broadcast and media production companies have begun to offer systems that introduce cloud computing benefits, but in looking closely, there are differing approaches taken by each vendor.

Martinolich said that with ChyronHego’s Axis World Graphics system, “Our service is completely in the cloud, with all of our servers residing in redundant data centers.”