Streaming Services and Media Cloud

Media Cloud is our OTT technology platform that makes sure that multimedia data can be transmitted over the internet in the desired quality. It provides a complete end-to-end solution so that you have a single partner for the entire chain, from you to the end recipient, without having to use the services of additional subcontractors.

The Media Cloud first prepares the video, for example a TV programme, to make it fit for transmission over the internet. For the transmission, we use our own Content Delivery Network (CDN), which makes sure that the content is geographically available where and when it is needed, so that a viewer who turns on his TV does not have to wait for data to load, for example.

By using modern methods to adapt the transmission rate to the instantaneous characteristics of the internet connection, called Adaptive Bitrate technology, we ensure smooth video delivery, even if temporarily reduced in quality.

The transmission can be accompanied by a number of other services. For example, content protection through DRM (Digital Right Management). The entire system is modular and you can either have the complete solution, including user applications, players for web and mobiles, and even applications for HbbTV, or you can use only selected parts of the chain.

We use our proprietary Ingest Workflow Manager tool to acquire content. With it, you simply get the source content to the platform and for processing.

The source content is automatically processed according to the attached manifest file, which lists the resulting qualities, method of protection, subtitles, audio tracks, and other information. Live streams are loaded from any location using mount-points. Another feature is automatic end-of-transmission detection and switching to a preset loop.

To broadcast over the internet, a video must first be processed and converted into special formats. In simplified terms, the process is referred to as video encoding. Our CRA Media Cloud takes care of all this. All you have to do is upload your video and determine where and how viewers should be able to play it. In any quality, up to 4K (also known as UHD).

The cloud-based encoding farm processes video content very efficiently and very quickly. The product is video content in modern HLS and MPEG-DASH formats and in adaptive profiles.

Renowned DRM systems such as Microsoft PlayReady, Google WideVine, and Apple FairPlay, take care of content protection. Timeshift, catch-up, and start-over functionalities are a standard. Video content is then stored in high-capacity, backup storage with protection against data loss.

With CMS, you can manage video content and metadata, i.e., from text to video, in the cloud. Conveniently and from one place. It has everything, from a video workflow overview to licence management and content display rules, to implementing business models. It is even fully equipped to integrate with third-party systems.

With CMS, you always have control of the entire ecosystem of your OTT services. On top of that, you will get lots of useful figures and statistics.

CDN stands for Content Delivery Network. CDN is a network of remote but interconnected servers that store broadcast content. The content is delivered to the user from the server that has the best conditions for transmission.

Its main advantage is the speed of delivery of video content to the end user and high resilience to high traffic bursts.

DRM, which stands for Digital Rights Management, refers to the technologies and methods that are primarily concerned with copyright protection and compliance with licensing terms.

Publishers and authors use DRM systems as defence against illegal copying, sharing, and distribution of TV shows, films, music, or even games. We use proven and widely used solutions , such as Google WideVine, Microsoft PlayReady, and Apple FairPlay.