Viaccess-Orca, Harmonic team for OTT SaaS/VR
September 7, 2016
Content services protection, delivery, and enhancement specialist Viaccess-Orca and video delivery infrastructure provider Harmonic have teamed up to bring two fully integrated solutions to IBC2016.
At the show, a new end-to-end video software as a service (SaaS) for OTT applications, as well as a new multiview app for the virtual reality (VR) environment, will be shown. Featuring advanced technologies from both companies, the solutions increase monetisation opportunities for pay-TV operators.
By integrating Viaccess-Orca’s Voyage – TV Everywhere as a service (TVaaS) platform with Harmonic’s VOS 360 professional cloud media processing service, the two companies are offering pay-TV operators a flexible and comprehensive OTT solution that runs entirely on the cloud. Operators can now easily and cost-effectively deploy live, on-demand, and time-shift video services without having to install hardware on-premises.
The turnkey ecosystem streamlines video management, security, and service delivery tasks, handling everything from contribution to transcoding, packaging, scrambling, and distribution of live and time-shift content to connected devices. This enables operators to launch and monetise new, broadcast-quality OTT services in hours, instead of months. Based on a ‘pay as you go’ service model that eliminates the upfront CAPEX, the SaaS solution enables operators to grow their business over time as viewer demands, technology, and market conditions evolve.
Viaccess-Orca’s Voyage – TVaaS comprehensive OTT platform is at the heart of the integrated SaaS, providing content, subscriber, and device management tools; best-in-class security for any device; and broad business model and content monetisation support, allowing operators to comply with content owners’ individual requirements and maximise ROI. Harmonic’s VOS 360 is a native cloud-based media processing service ensuring superior quality of experience. Built upon leading public cloud infrastructure platforms, the VOS 360 service makes it easy to prepare and deliver content from anywhere in the world, with complete geographic redundancy and operational resiliency.
Viaccess-Orca and Harmonic have also leveraged their innovation and expertise to launch a new multiview app for the VR environment. The app uses space-related UHD content from Harmonic on a Samsung Gear VR headset with Viaccess-Orca’s Connected Sentinel Player, to simulate a live 360-degree VR environment that provides synchronised, multiple perspectives for a richer VR experience.
“Given the dynamic nature of the OTT environment, pay-TV operators are looking to partner with technology providers skilled in data management and experiences, content protection, and delivering high-quality, exciting video experiences to consumers on a broad range of devices,” said Chem Assayag, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Viaccess-Orca. “Harmonic and Viaccess-Orca both bring a very high level of innovation to this collaboration, enabling safer, immersive video experiences to be enjoyed by end-users, with better video quality and advanced features like 360-degree viewing on VR headsets, along with increased savings and monetisation for operators.”
“Harmonic end-to-end content preparation is being leveraged to optimise both the classical contribute, transcode, package, scramble, and deliver live, and time-shift content to all connected devices, as well as for the VR experience,” added Bart Spriester, Senior Vice President, Video Products at Harmonic.