NewTek and Wowza announce real-time media encoding and live streaming video delivery system

NewTek and Wowza Media Systems have announced the immediate availability of MediaDS, a real-time media encoding and live streaming video delivery system. MediaDS is a hardware and software solution merging NewTek’s live production technology with the Wowza streaming software in a 1RU footprint.

The result is the industry’s first end-to-end streaming solution to allow producers to launch their own multi-channel content networks from their production site and deliver a live video stream directly to their viewers.

“Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for video producers to deliver content to their audience, whether that is within the walls of a building, across a campus or around the world,” said Dr. Andrew Cross, president and chief technology officer for NewTek. “Our partnership with Wowza means that not only do you have a solution that can encode video, but MediaDS also allows you to distribute that content as well, either to local viewers or globally.”

“The MediaDS is a powerful end-to-end solution for content producers, and it introduces new opportunities for distribution, expansion, and content monetization,” said Dave Stubenvoll, chief executive officer for Wowza Media Systems. “By bringing together the best of NewTek production technologies and Wowza streaming technology in a single offering, we empower content creators with the ability to scale their productions and stream to any player, device, or audience anywhere in the world.”

For enhanced scalability, producers can also create a virtual CDN or edge network by connecting multiple MediaDS together – either through a local area network, or remotely over IP to cross wide geographic boundaries.

Signature Online Experience: MediaDS also allows organizations to extend their brand and exposure beyond actual video content. The system not only acts as a media server, but also will host all required content – including web pages which are independently customizable – for audience viewing, to ensure that the on-screen experience adheres to organisational brand guidelines. Embed codes are also available to insert the Wowza Player into existing webpages to complement your current web presence.

Extensive Channel Configuration: MediaDS ensures the optimal audio-visual experience for viewing audiences right from the system by introducing another layer of quality control into any signal flow. With support for dedicated multiviewer monitoring, a local operator can observe all video streams in real time or focus on a specific channel full-screen, and manage image and sound quality with integrated waveform and vectorscope displays, independent color correction tools, and multi-channel audio level control available for every stream. Producers can also stack multiple channels from the same source, and encode them into different renditions as a grouped stream to enable adaptive bitrate streaming.

MediaDS highlights include:

• Video player for each channel provided by locally hosted web pages
• Support for external streaming to Facebook Live, Microsoft Azure, YouTube, Wowza CDN, Wowza Streaming Cloud and custom RTMP configurations
• Integrated NDI technology supporting live input and output over IP
• NewTek’s real-time video and audio production tools
• 4 SDI inputs supporting up to 3G 1080p