The media industry has undergone a drastic change in the past decade. A shift to a more software-centric platform has become crucial for the broadcasters. The rapid growth of video-on-demand services has put a lot of pressure on the broadcasters to switch their services into a more flexible, agile, cost-effective, and technology-friendly one. This constitutes the main reason for various broadcasters opting for cloud playout options for launching their live television channels on various OTT platforms.
What is meant by cloud playout solution?
The term playout traditionally refers to the transmission of TV or radio channels that are produced by a broadcaster to terrestrial networks that are responsible for delivering content to the viewers. Cloud playout solutions are basically virtual interfaces that automate on-demand as well as live content ingestion, scheduling, media asset management, cross-platform delivery, and encoding in a complete cloud setup. It will ingest live feeds, receive playlist from your media library, download graphics and media asset from storage, and play out the channels on mobiles, connected television and the web seamlessly.
Why should different businesses opt for cloud-based playout options?
Thanks to the large upsurge of OTT traffic and the ever-changing dynamics of content consumptions the broadcasters have to consider overhauling their traditional television playout model that is hardware-based into a more technology-friendly and digitized version for the purpose of constant delivery and ease of scaling videos.
Hardware-based television playout systems with their custom-built systems for each channel are slow, expensive, and non-flexible. The need for adapting and becoming more flexible has become irresistible for broadcasters in this increasingly challenging and complex business environment. The only way of achieving this scalability and flexibility is opting for cloud-based hd playout and gradually and eventually picking up the speed towards success. The cloud playout option can help OTT channel providers and the media companies to deliver their services and content faster and efficiently.
What are the benefits of cloud playout solutions?
• Faster deployability:
The most significant benefit of cloud playout solutions is that they offer a fast go-to-market. In minutes, you can create new services. Broadcasters can quickly create new channels or adapt existing channels with minimal lead time. This makes it easier for broadcasters to make changes and respond to market conditions in an efficient manner.
• Infinite Scalability:
A cloud-based playout system offers another advantage: the ability to scale according to changing market requirements and business plans. The cloud allows broadcasters to quickly set up new channels and evaluate their viability before they commit to on-premises services.
• OpEx Model:
You can scale up or down in accordance with your ability. This is a pure OpEx model. It allows you to quickly test new markets and then immediately take them down, with no financial penalties. Various media companies get the opportunity to quickly launch new services and pay on an OpEx basis, rather than making large upfront infrastructure investments.
• Transparent flow of work:
Cloud computing environments allow customers to be more involved in their operations and have greater transparency. Broadcasters can have access to playout workflows using web browsers anywhere on the planet. A stable connection to the internet is the only requirement.The above-mentioned reasons are enough to be able to deduce the importance of adapting to cloud playout solutions. Yes, playout solutions powered by cloud master control are what broadcasters need to maximize profits and minimize expenses.