Imagine Communications: anticipating a future that is already a reality today

IBC 2016 marks the European presentation of several Imagine innovations that offer generational advances in the way broadcasters, content owners and distributors and other media companies are able to mobilize, manage and monetize video content.

Charlie Vogt, CEO de Imagine Communications, began the presentation of new features at this IBC 2016, ensuring that the industry is experiencing a true revolution that is taking us from broadcast to direct consumption by the consumer in OTT environments; pay TV services and everything on demand; from local to cloud; from linear to streaming; and from general programming to targeted and programmatic programming.

As a curious note, Vogt shared with the journalists attending the IBC opening press conference a slide that he already used in 2013 in which he anticipated a series of forecasts: hybrid IP infrastructures, software-defined networks, cloud virtualization and the emergence of services (over the top). “Today, three years later, it is a palpable reality in the projects we are carrying out,” he commented.

In this new environment, Vogt wanted to highlight the work being carried out by the AIMS alliance (in which fifty companies participate) in order to accelerate interoperability and standardization.

IBC 2016 marks the European presentation of several innovations by Imagine that offer generational advances in the way in which broadcasters, content owners and distributors and other media companies are able to mobilize, manage and monetize video content. Those who visit its stand these days can check its proposals regarding live production, playback, multi-screen broadcast, advertising management and transition to virtualized environments and the cloud.

live production

SDI-IP hybrid multi-display and routing solutions enable media companies to transform live production operations and leverage commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) IT equipment without wasting investments in traditional broadcast technology or sacrificing results. Imagine Communications' production and contribution portfolio offers ultra-low latency encoding and decoding and uncompressed media delivery over IP transport, as well as support for Sony Network Media Interface (NMI) and intoPIX TICO intermediate compression for UHD operations. Imagine's live production portfolio also supports the latest UHD processing technologies, including up/down conversion and the latest standards for delivering media over IP networks, HDR image quality and precise synchronization.

Playout and multiscreen broadcast

Imagine Versio UHD graphics and playout workflow solutions now support IP-based uncompressed and compressed playback, advanced multichannel and UHD playback and branding. Also on display will be a new user interface, new automation features and the company's native and hybrid IP playback and master control solutions, which seamlessly unify playback, automation and graphics, supporting fully virtualized use of cloud environments.

Regarding the portfolio of solutions for multiscreen broadcasting, Imagine's proposals support transcoding and broadcasting of high density and high video quality for linear OTT and VOD services. A comprehensive DVR solution, including recorders and platforms, is supported by advanced storage optimization capability, enabling video service providers to meet various legal and intellectual property requirements, including private copying laws, cost-effectively. The company's next generation of dynamic ad insertion and unified distribution portfolios enable content distributors to consolidate and simplify their infrastructures to reduce costs and explore new monetization opportunities.

The comprehensive omniplatform advertising management portfolio features open, modular systems that help maximize advertising revenue. Key features include sales, scheduling and analysis for linear and non-linear delivery. The company will also demonstrate the innovative integration of playback and scheduling achieved through the unification of its Versio and xG Schedule solutions.

Transition to virtualized environments

At IBC 2016, Imagine's close collaboration with giants in the IT world such as Microsoft and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) stands out. Its booth will showcase Microsoft Azure Certified solutions based entirely on Imagine live encoding and playback systems, as well as cloud media services that leverage HPE's cloud-based virtualized and orchestrated networks.

Imagine is also introducing its next generation of offerings, including processing, playback and monitoring, powered by Zenium, the company's innovative workflow management platform.

Agreement with Siemens

Siemens Convergence Creators, a global multi-industry company that provides, among others, comprehensive OTT and TV everywhere solutions, and Imagine Communications, have announced at IBC a long-range strategic collaboration that will allow the signatories to join forces to offer an end-to-end solution designed to help content owners and video service providers (VSPs) maximize the revenue potential of their OTT video services.

A pillar of the agreement is the integration of Smart Video Engine, the modular and open online video platform from Siemens Convergence Creators, with CloudXtream, the media and advertising delivery solution from Imagine Communications to enable a complete, end-to-end solution for service providers. The combined solution provides a single point of sale for VSPs to offer VOD, live/linear and cloud DVR services using subscription, ad-based or hybrid monetization models.

RADS

New, the Regional Advertising Distribution System (RADS) is designed to provide broadcast, MVPD and cloud providers with the ability to increase advertising revenue through region- and location-specific ads by combining OTT (Over-the-Top) storable content delivery technology with dynamic advertising insertion and output from QAM-compatible transport streams.

National channel groups and broadcasters have traditionally been limited to a centralized generic advertising model, in which each transmission point in their distribution network received the same content and advertisements through expensive satellite links or on leased circuits. But as content providers migrate to more advanced terrestrial distribution infrastructure, the opportunity arises to increase monetization options by allowing advertising targets to be set for each region or even at a hyper-local level. Cable operators face similar limitations, requiring expensive and complex advertising joining technologies that allow advertising insertion at the local level.

RADS works by making it easy to create localized MPEG TS streams, which can be customized with specific ads targeting specific regions. The ability to create multiple MPEG transport streams selectively is what makes this possible.

The RADS solution comprises products from Imagine's unified delivery platform, which includes Selenium Video Delivery Edge (VDE) as well as the company's suite of Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) products. Selenium VDE, launched earlier this year, is an HTTP-to-User Datagram Protocol (UDP) gateway that converts ABR-based content into transport-stream formatted signals that are delivered to subscribers via set-top boxes. When used by content distributors, including cable operators and other VSPs, Selenio VDE enables the consolidation of legacy and next-generation networks into a unified operation, while allowing VSPs to modernize their ad insertion operations. As part of the RADS solution, Selenio VDE converts HTTP-based signals carrying region-specific advertisements back into MPEG transport streams, which are then moved to the regional advertisement zones. The system allows you to go from tens to thousands of flows.

Case studies

Among the success stories with which Imagine comes to IBC, the Danish TV2 and Turner Asia Pacific stand out.
Imagine has announced the installation of a new playout server and storage network for TV 2, a national channel based in Odense, Denmark. TV 2 uses Nexio+ AMP (Advanced Media Platform) and Imagine's shared solution to modernize the existing Imagine installation, adding greater capacity, resilience and performance. The installation has been designed to strengthen TV 2 with the possibility of increasing its storage capacity quickly and conveniently to accommodate future technological improvements, including Ultra High Definition (UHD) and other bandwidth-intensive services.

The new architecture in TV 2 requires four independent server systems. The first two are theoretically identical and provide primary and secondary channel transmission functions. The third, of similar configuration, is mainly used to capture traditional content on baseband media. The fourth and smallest system is used to test new workflows, certify new software, and serve as emergency support while the other servers are being updated.

Nexio+ AMP is an efficient, integrated server platform designed for capture and playback applications. It is built on the industry-leading server platform from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and enhanced with specialized software and hardware from Imagine Communications. Nexio+ AMP servers are supported by Imagine's high-bandwidth, scalable shared storage network, which manages content across multiple users and offers high levels of digital asset protection.

Por otro lado, Imagine ha instalado su sistema de referencia de Ventas, Derechos y Programación (Sales, Rights & Scheduling) en Turner Asia Pacífico, con sede en Hong Kong. La transformación de las operaciones de Turner implica que toda la gestión de campaña y planificación de Turner se hace a través de una única solución, ayudando a eliminar cuellos de botella y la necesidad de transferir información de un sistema a otro.

Access to the IBC 2016 Special in Audiovisual Panorama