Envivio will introduce a virtual, all-software headend at this year’s IBC.
According to the company, it will revolutionise the way video providers, including satellite, terrestrial, cable TV, broadband and wireless IP networks deliver live linear and multi-screen video services to all screens.
With the innovation, video providers can now deliver traditional TV and multiscreen services from a single encoder, significantly reducing their total cost of operations compared to a “silo” approach. Envivio’s virtual headend is designed to leverage cloud and IT tools to perform upgrades and updates, making any operator more agile.
Envivio’s solution is performance optimised for Intel architecture, so the output quality is enhanced for every device and every stream, whether it is SD, HD, or HDR UHD.
The operational improvements are delivered in three Envivio products. The first, Envivio Muse, is a video software processor that is available as software/virtual instance or embedded in a server. It supports MPEG-2, AVC, and HEVC, from SD to UHD with the latest audio coding and advanced statistical rate control (SRC).
The second, Envivio Spark, is a new all-software multiplexer that enables integration with legacy transmission equipment. As an advanced IP gateway, it demodulates, descrambles, and de-multiplexes for signal reception and for distributing the live channels over IP networks. As a multiplexer, it ingests the various channels over IP produced by the headend and performs multiplexing, scrambling, and signal modulation as required for each type of signal transmission.
The third, Envivio Guru, is a network management system that monitors each service end-to-end, rather than providing the random snapshot other network management systems offer.
Significantly, unlike the traditional headend, where a proprietary interface is required between the encoder and the multiplexer, there is no interface with Envivio: a control module is embedded in Envivio Muse.
Envivio’s exclusive advanced statistical multiplexing technology requires 1Mbps (30% less bandwidth) for the same reliable video quality normally transmitted in 1.5 Mbps.
The converged all-in-one headend can deliver live or offline content in all current formats and provides advanced functionalities such as content replacement (ads or blackouts), live stream monitoring, seamless input switching, and a complete service view. All of these enhancements are delivered with up to 67% less rack space required while using up to 40% less power.
The advantages for operators implementing the all-software headend include the ability to monetise targeted ads; advanced content protection for premium services; no consumer premises equipment development is required; the software is CDN, device, format, and back-end agnostic; and it can operate on public or private clouds, using standard IT architecture and tools needed to scale up to customer demand.
Julien Signés, CEO, Envivio, said: “The most demanding video service providers around the globe trust our solutions. We can significantly reduce costs, hardware needs, and even energy consumption without sacrificing video quality in both the TV and multi-screen worlds.
“We believe we have just raised the bar for the whole industry.”
Envivio will be at Stand 1.D73 at IBC2015.
