DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Imagine Communications, a global leader in video infrastructure, advertising systems and workflow management solutions serving media networks, broadcast stations, digital media, communication service provider and enterprise markets, today introduced CloudXtream™, a comprehensive cloud video platform for multiscreen video distribution and monetization. CloudXtream is the industry’s first cloud-enabled platform designed to meet the growing and complex array of video distribution requirements, including live video, video on demand (VOD), cloud DVR (cDVR), dynamic ad insertion (DAI), packaging, encoding, transcoding, storage management and cloud orchestration.
“Our industry is experiencing once-in-a-generation change and is at a powerful inflection point where vision and innovation are intersecting with reality,” said Charlie Vogt, CEO, Imagine Communications. “The control of content, device and timing is increasingly being defined by the end user. Our cloud video platform, CloudXtream, is designed for media networks, broadcasters and service providers to enable a better, faster and more affordable experience for consumers. CloudXtream is a modular platform design, enabling our customers to abstract value by deploying some, part or all of its functional capability.”
The initial components of the modular CloudXtream platform include CloudXtream cDVR and CloudXtream Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI).
CloudXtream cDVR
Video consumption is rapidly shifting from a lean-back, linear approach to a mix of linear and lean-forward, self-selected, VOD viewing, with no effective means of integrating the two – until now. Imagine Communications’ CloudXtream cDVR is the first end-to-end solution from a single technology supplier, accelerating the evolution to the lean-forward, multiscreen world of any content, any time, on any device.
“Content accessibility is a critical factor for any video service in today’s multiscreen world. Many consumers now expect to access their video service on almost any connected device, and video service providers are aggressively moving to address these evolving expectations,” said Brett Sappington, director of research, Parks Associates. “At the same time, a cloud-based approach to the DVR can also provide several other benefits including scalability, expanded storage, enhanced features, and new revenue opportunities.”
CloudXtream cDVR provides consumers lean-forward flexibility, with cloud-based content readily accessible from any location and on any device. The wide variety of options like rewinding, restarting and replaying scenes, allows consumers to easily time-shift and consume their self-selected content at their convenience.
For broadcasters, CloudXtream cDVR enables the creation of incremental paid service offerings to their subscription-based OTT businesses, as well as enabling user-centric personalization and management of content. Subscribers can be offered new, revenue-generating services such as increased storage and enhanced time-shift options, an unlimited look-back window, start-pause-stop of both linear and VOD content, and concurrent recording of simultaneous programs.
CloudXtream cDVR offers Pay-TV providers benefits such as reducing or eliminating costly truck rolls associated with home-based DVR/set-top boxes. CloudXtream also gives Pay-TV providers the ability to deliver robust content within or outside of their traditional footprints. Fresh and relevant advertising can be provided to viewers, enhancing the value of ads and helping maximize the monetization of content.
For mobile operators and the emerging group of over-the-top video distributors (OVDs), CloudXtream offers the industry’s first fully integrated platform for cloud video to support cDVR, as well as linear and VOD content. This will greatly accelerate time to market for these providers, allowing them to move quickly from concept to launch by providing the end-to-end platform to ingest, manage, package and distribute content.
CloudXtream Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)
Monetization of video content remains one of the biggest challenges for VSPs, which are often unable to capture the maximum value of advertising avails across linear, online/OTT and cDVR offerings. Ads can go stale quickly, are replayed repetitively, or have little or no relevance to the viewing audience. Imagine Communications’ CloudXtream DAI solution helps resolve these challenges with the one of the world’s most advanced advertising management capabilities, supercharging the monetization of video content and improving advertising relevance.
“The value of an advertisement can be reduced or discounted altogether when it is stale, not the optimal ad for a particular avail, or the ad is not relevant to the viewer,” said Sarah Foss, vice president, Product Management, Advertising Management Systems, Imagine Communications. “The advertising ecosystem works best when viewers and advertisers see the value of relevant ads, which increases monetization opportunities for VSPs.”
Imagine Communications’ CloudXtream DAI solution allows VSPs to maximize advertising revenue from both linear and nonlinear/online advertising. Suited to a host of content distribution environments, CloudXtream DAI can be used by broadcasters, cable MSOs, mobile operators, OVDs, telcos, and satellite providers across a variety of service offerings, including the CloudXtream cDVR solution, other cloud DVR or time-shifted content applications, video streaming from any Internet-centric or on-demand source, as well as other nonlinear or linear operations.
Manifest manipulation is made possible across all event types, including live, VOD, pre-record cDVR, hot-record cDVR, and blackouts. In addition, state-of-the-art decision and analytics tools to help maximize value for all ad placements. Standards-based and proven in live deployments, CloudXtream DAI offers a distributed architecture for independent scaling and redundancy.
The CloudXtream cloud video platform offers flexible pricing including XaaS models. CloudXtream is powered by Zenium™, Imagine Communications’ next generation workflow manager that empowers companies to design, deploy, maintain, manage and scale software-defined workflows.
Visit Imagine Communications’ Booth 2702 at NAB 2015 to see these cutting-edge CloudXtream technologies in action, download the new white paper “The New Television Experience”, and visit www.imaginecommunications.com for more information.
About Imagine Communications
Imagine Communications Corp., is a global leader in video infrastructure, advertising systems and workflow management solutions serving the media networks, broadcast stations, digital media, communication service provider and enterprise markets spanning 185 countries. Today, nearly half of the world’s video channels traverse through more than 3 million Imagine Communications products deployed around the world. Imagine Communication provides the most complete end-to-end video solutions and is innovating to deliver the most advanced IP, cloud-enabled, software-defined network and workflow solutions in the world. Visit www.imaginecommunications.com for more information, and follow us on Twitter @imagine_comms.