Disney has committed its ABC national TV network to using Imagine Communications for all of its playout, using its new cloud playout service.
Someone tried to turn up the volume on the announcement describing it poetically saying, “Sometimes it takes an icon to break the grip of the familiar, to pull free from the creativity crippling inertia of the way things have always been done,” and to some extent it has a point.
Getting one of the biggest channel properties on the planet to adopt a new way of doing things, will certainly drive a whole passel of channels in Imagine’s direction, and money, or rather lower costs, will have been at the heart of the decision.
The move will see Disney/ABC move its global programming playout, delivery and network operations into a unified cloud platform, on the back of Imagine’s VersioCloud channel playout package, (which integrates UI elements like branding and graphics, with automated playout functions). VersioCloud is software-based, powered primarily by Imagine’s Zenium workflow management software, and suitable to run on off-the-shelf cloud servers.
ABC says it is the first major network to make this transition, and that the process “establishes a foundation for how broadcast programming could be made, moved, managed and monetized in the coming years.”
If the entire supply chain in content distribution can be converted to IP, from the editing room all the way to the end-viewer’s screen, and cloud based IP at that, then a lot of efficiencies can be had between the diverse elements – with benefits ranging from adaptive bit rates to HTML5 UIs that can be altered in near real-time.
Consequently, getting one of the major networks to take the plunge is a good sign for the TV and video industry, which is having to make some fairly sweeping changes to cater for the rapid rise in demand for OTT and VoD services – with customers expecting a fully-fledged video service whether they are in a home cinema or enduring the commute to work.
So rising to meet this demand requires a fairly comprehensive platform, which Imagine hopes to provide using its software-only approach. This allows its systems to be hosted in either public or private clouds, with public clouds affording a scalable model that can be increased or reduced in-line with demand. Private clouds remain popular largely due to the in-house security management and data protection requirements that are often demanded in licensing agreements.
Imagine then provides customers with a cloud platform that can handle everything from ad-insertion and UI-tweaking, all the way through to the raw horsepower needed to encode the video in the first place. The company seems to be aggressively padding out its one-platform business approach, with recent acquisitions including RGB Networks (January, potentially as low as $12 million), and Kudelski’s OpenTV ‘s advertising business (October 2014 for an undisclosed price).
But encoding defines the quality of the picture and broadcasters and pay TV players will already be familiar with existing software only based encoding firms like Elemental and Envivio, and may not bow to pressure to turn its cloud production line into a single one stop Imagine shop.
Also announced at NAB by Imagine were deals with Verizon, HP and Cisco. Verizon’s Digital Media Services division, which focuses primarily on video delivery, will now be working with Imagine to help broadcasters and service providers deliver OTT streaming for linear content through the end-to-end platform.
“Broadcasters need to find quick and cost-effective ways to expand their audiences through multiscreen services,” said Charlie Vogt, Imagine’s CEO. “By combining our video management solutions with Verizon’s industry-leading content delivery infrastructure, we are creating a dynamic and powerful combination that helps broadcasters more easily and effectively deliver their linear programming directly to users, regardless of location or device.”
With HP, Imagine says it will help media and entertainment companies create cloud-based video delivery infrastructure. The pair say that a proof of concept model combines the Imagine cloud portfolio with HP’s rather large hardware, storage and managed cloud services.
Specifically, the project will combine Imagine’s VersioCloud channel playout package and HP’s Helion Managed Virtual Private Cloud (an open cloud solution hosted by HP), which HP hopes will help draw new customers to its data centers and managed platforms.
In practice, this combination should make it easier for the networks to roll out new channels in IP environments. “Media and entertainment companies face many challenges as they navigate a new age of IP, software-defined networks and cloud-based infrastructures,” said Robert Vrij, the SVP of HP’s Enterprise Group. “By matching the core strengths of HP with Imagine’s cloud-ready solutions, customers now have cutting edge options for transitioning their own data or broadcast centers to more efficient and scalable private clouds.”
In the same area of the market, Imagine also announced a collaboration with Cisco, focused on IP playout and hybrid-IP deployments. Imagine’s Zenium workflow manager and the aforementioned VersioCloud have now been certified to run on Cisco’s Unified Computing System (UCS), opening up the platform to Cisco customers – especially those looking to transition from legacy baseband technology to IP-based systems, who adopt Cisco’s cloud platform.
The deal will let customers use Imagine’s Magellan SDN Orchestrator to manage Cisco’s Nexus IP switches, to cater for pure IP or hybrid projects. Zenium is a software environment that lets users control designing, deploying and managing workflows, which can be customized on the fly.