NAB 2016: Ericsson Debuts MediaFirst Video Processing Suite
At its NAB 2016 press conference, communications giant Ericsson announced its MediaFirst Video Processing suite, the first product to emerge from its September 2015 acquisition of Envivio, which combined Ericsson's strengths in hardware compression with Envivio's software abilities.
The suite includes three elements: software-defined management for video processing operations that's able to span multiple platforms, advanced video encoding algorithms, and the ability to deploy on public clouds, private clouds, and custom platforms.
Noting the need for modular and customizable platforms, Frost & Sullivan analyst Avi Rambhia says solutions like this one will help content owners and broadcasters evolve their systems for efficient and seamless video delivery.
Ericsson also announced the expansion of its Unified Delivery Network (UDN) ecosystem, which gains 12 members. UDN is a global content distribution network that aggregates network capabilities and allows for improved over-the-top (OTT) delivery with last mile edge delivery, peering agreements that provide global reach, and rich data for personalized content and ad experiences. Ericsson introduced UDN in February and the Mobile World Congress.
The new members are China Telecom, Chunghwa Telecom, Dolby Laboratories, Far EasTone Telecommunications, Globe Telecom, Mavshack, Paramount Pictures, Singtel, SK Broadband, XL Axiata, Vubiquity, and Twentieth Century Fox. These join existing members Hutchison Global Communications, Telstra, AIS, Vodafone, Brightcove, DailyMotion, EchoStar, Deluxe, LeTV, and QuickPlay.
"UDN's disruptive business model has struck a chord with service and content providers that want more flexibility, visibility, and control over the delivery of high-quality OTT services," says Per Borgklint, Ericsson's senior vice president and head of business unit support solutions. "Ericsson, along with its partners, has successfully created a win-win content delivery play that drastically improves how a broad range of services are delivered to customers around the world."
Finally, Ericsson announced it is expanding its portfolio of video-on-demand and TV content discovery services to the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Already available in Europe, this portfolio includes over 10 million movies and TV show in 35 languages, and 1.7 million still images. The news follows Ericsson's acquisition of the U.S.-based TV metadata specialist FYI Television earlier this year.
"We believe that by combining Ericsson's capabilities and market leading position in Europe with FYI Television's U.S. expertise, we can offer our clients highly effective, innovative, and personalized content discovery solutions that will meet the growing demands of audiences worldwide," says Thorsten Sauer, Ericsson's head of broadcast and media services.
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