The Munich-based company InterMedia Solutions will be presenting a scalable streaming media solution with remote encoding for the first time at NAB (22-26 April 2001 in Las Vegas, USA). The “Enterprise Solution” distributes encoding and control functions to different devices and is therefore scalable as required. For example, the video transmission of a live event can be controlled centrally, with the video data being provided simultaneously by several encoding boxes in various streaming formats and resolutions for transmission to the Internet. Because the encoders can be controlled via secure intranet and internet connections, geographically distributed encoding units can be controlled remotely via a control centre. This enables companies and streaming service providers to transmit rich media content to the Internet more cost-effectively, flexibly and securely – regardless of whether it is for live or on-demand applications.
InterMedia Solutions will present the Enterprise Solution together with encoding solutions from Pinnacle Systems at NAB, in the E-TOPIA Sector in the Sands, booth 2333/11.
Encoding files into web-compatible streaming media formats is computationally intensive and requires a drastic increase in CPU power as bandwidth increases. Even computers equipped with fast processors can therefore only generate a few streams at the same time, and at high resolutions only a single stream. Because the streaming application and encoder were previously installed together on one computer, several complete streaming stations with their own operators were always required to generate all the desired resolutions and streaming formats. InterMedia Solutions is now taking a new approach with the Enterprise Solution: streaming application and encoding are distributed to different devices. This means that the well-known i-CONTROL and LiVE-CONTROL authoring software packages from the Munich-based company can now control several encoders and thus generate streams with identical content in different formats and resolutions/data rates at the same time.
“In order to ensure a wide reach and enable as many Internet visitors as possible to enjoy streaming media content, video recordings of live events such as concerts and press conferences must always be provided in both Real and WindowsMedia formats and in different bandwidths. Until now, the creation of each individual stream was associated with high additional personnel and equipment costs. With the scalable Enterprise Solution, we can significantly reduce these costs because a single operator can create, monitor and control a wide variety of streams simultaneously,” says Ulrich Helm, founder and Managing Director of InterMedia Solutions GmbH, describing the cost benefits he wants to offer his customers with the Enterprise Solution.
Automatic activation of backup encoders
But it is not only costs that are reduced. With its automatic backup system, the Enterprise Solution also increases the reliability of transmissions. For example, additional encoding boxes can be kept available as a backup solution for live events. The software automatically recognises all disruptions in the encoding process and, if necessary, activates one of the backup boxes with the encoding settings of the failed box within seconds. Streaming service providers can thus guarantee their clients a largely uninterrupted transmission of events on the Internet at comparatively low additional cost. Before the end customer’s buffer is used up, the streaming signal has already been restored. Ideally, the customer will not notice the outage. The backup functions of the Enterprise Solution are independent of the streaming application used and can therefore also be used with software packages from other manufacturers.
The division of control and encoding to different stations also enables remote control for rich media. The operator determines in i-CONTROL or LiVE-CONTROL which video recordings and which additional information such as text, graphics and hyperlinks are to be shown and when. Using simple drag & drop functions, the operator simply moves the associated files or web library objects (for chats, external websites, feedback forms) onto the software timeline. All of these commands are transmitted to the various encoders via secure connections, which can therefore be located in completely separate geographical locations. This allows the operator to control the content at a live event on site, but the actual encoding of the signals is carried out in the Internet service provider’s data centre, which feeds the generated streams into the Internet.
Parallel encoding ensures higher speed
The Enterprise Solution offers further advantages when creating on-demand presentations. Here, the time-consuming encoding of high-quality, high-resolution streams represents a bottleneck in the prompt creation of content. The Enterprise Solution from InterMedia Solutions now offers the option of creating a stream by encoding it in parallel using several encoder boxes. The parallel processing of the stream significantly reduces the encoding time and speeds up the creation of on-demand presentations. This function is likely to be of particular interest to Internet TV broadcasters and companies with news-intensive web offerings, such as financial service providers and online banking portals.
Premiere at the NAB
InterMedia Solutions will be presenting and demonstrating the Enterprise Solution for the first time at the NAB trade fair in Las Vegas. Operators will control several Pinnacle encoder boxes via i-CONTROL and LiVE-CONTROL. The US video company is a development partner of InterMedia Solutions. Interested parties can find InterMedia Solutions’ rich media solutions at NAB in the Sands, E-TOPIA Sector, Stand 2333/11.
