iStreamPlanet, a leading provider of live and on-demand streaming-video solutions, is moving its portfolio of media workload products and services to the cloud. The move is meant to help the company and its customers meet the growing demand for live events, live linear channels, and on-demand media assets across an ever-increasing number of IP-connected devices, offering scalability and cost reduction that do not exist with today's video workflow technologies. iStreamPlanet's portfolio includes a cloud-based workflow platform for live and live linear video; transcoding for video on demand (VOD); an advanced metadata framework service for authentication, authorization, and ID federation; and media encryption and license-clearing services.
"Current technologies and products simply cannot scale to meet the growing demand for more content, longer viewing hours, and high-quality viewing experiences across a plethora of devices," said Mio Babic, founder, president, and CEO of iStreamPlanet. "In working with some of the largest brands in the digital media industry to produce some of the highest-profile online video experiences in history, we've seen firsthand how expensive, cumbersome, and complex it is to keep up with digital proliferation. It is with those experiences and customers in mind that we are developing the next generation of media workload products and services."
iStreamPlanet's cloud-based products and services offer unparalleled scalability, security, and flexibility. One component of the portfolio is Director 5, a VOD media-processing workflow that can scale to support up to 1,000 concurrent encode and transcode jobs. Currently offered within a private cloud environment at the US-based Switch SuperNap, the largest data center in the world, Director 5 leverages the latest in virtualization technologies running on high-capacity hardware that are intelligently provisioned and performance-optimized as needed, and then automatically removed when no longer needed so that users pay only for what they use.
Additionally, iStreamPlanet has developed a cloud-based advanced metadata services framework (AMSF) designed to provide rich, device-customizable Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) and TV/VOD metadata, authentication, authorization, and ID federation for live and on-demand streaming of content for OTT devices. AMSF is a key technology solution designed to speed time to market for content holders looking to create rich applications in a secure, consistent manner across a number of IP-connected devices, including smartphones, tablets, and OTT devices such as game consoles and set-top boxes.
Director 5 as well as other iStreamPlanet cloud-based offerings are built on top of cloud technology from CloudSigma, a key strategic partner with presence in the Switch SuperNAP datacenter and in the European-based Interxion datacenter — both of which are close infrastructure partners of iStreamPlanet.
"CloudSigma is proud to partner with iStreamPlanet, an industry-leading innovator in the digital media space, to offer one of the most comprehensive sets of cloud-based media workload technologies available today," said Patrick Baillie, CEO of CloudSigma "The flexibility, scalability, and security content providers get via cloud-based technologies is the best way to meet the growing demand they face, and we are excited about the solutions that iStreamPlanet is bringing to market based on CloudSigma's media ecosystem in the cloud."
Director 5 and AMSF will be commercially available later this year with additional products and services coming in 2013. More information about iStreamPlanet is available at www.istreamplanet.com.
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About iStreamPlanet
iStreamPlanet is a multiplatform managed broadcast solutions provider committed to bringing high-quality video experiences to connected audiences around the world. With over a decade of managed broadcast experience, iStreamPlanet has built a comprehensive offering of video workflow and content management products and services. iStreamPlanet's innovative approach has been chosen by the world's leading sports, entertainment, and technology brands including NBC, Turner Broadcasting, AMC Networks, the United States Olympic Committee, AT&T, Microsoft, and others. Founded in 2000, the privately held company is headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in Redmond, Wash., and London. More information can be found at www.istreamplanet.com.