Harmonic teams with Tata Communications for HEVC support
Harmonic has announced a collaboration with Tata Communications to add HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) support to Content Transform cloud-based video transcoding and delivery. This move enables the broadcast industry to migrate its existing archives to Ultra HD.
Content Transform, a cloud-based video service from Tata Communications, uses Harmonic’s ProMedia file-based transcoding technology to deliver multiformat video over Tata Communications’ network and datacenter infrastructure to broadcasters around the globe. This gives broadcasters, content owners, and media services companies access to carrier grade transcoding, on demand, which they can then use to repurpose content to a variety of next-generation devices, ranging all the way from smartphones to large Ultra HD displays.
“Together, Harmonic and Tata Communications are offering a reliable carrier-grade encoding and transcoding service that provides Tier 1 operators with easy access to HEVC support with the capacity, speed, and security required for delivering high-quality web and mobile services,” says Sameer Kanse, business head of Tata Communications’ Media Services. “Our Content Transform service leverages Harmonic’s ProMedia broadcast-quality transcoding to provide the industry with an end-to-end, secure delivery model for accelerated file transfers, reducing their capital expenses while at the same time maintaining a high-quality service for viewers.”
By embracing the next-generation HEVC compression standard, Content Transform allows operators to realise a 50 percent bandwidth saving and video quality advantages, in a timely and cost-effective manner. Relying on this cloud-based, HEVC-enabled video transcoding and delivery service, broadcasters can provide higher-resolution video, including Ultra HD, to multiple screens using the same bandwidth. Tata Communications’ private cloud enables broadcasters to cost-effectively transcode large libraries of video assets without making a significant CAPEX investment in new hardware or their own onsite private cloud.
“The cloud-based service offered by Harmonic and Tata Communications makes carrier-grade encoding and transcoding a reality,” says Ian Jefferson, vice president, strategic alliances, Harmonic. “The service is highly secure, efficient, and reliable. After deploying the cloud-based transcoding workflow, powered by Tata Communications and Harmonic, broadcasters can easily streamline their multiscreen operations without compromising quality or security, especially when they need to repurpose their content for Ultra HD.”