M2A Media to “demystify” cloud for broadcasting at NAB 2024

Cloud-based live video solutions provider M2A Media will demonstrate how to maximise the power and the scale of the AWS Cloud for news broadcasting at the 2024 NAB Show.

Large news organisations face significant challenges as the need to transition from traditional, labour-intensive, distribution workflows to automated, cloud-based workflows grows, the company said, adding that M2A’s solution for news distribution is focused on scalability, flexibility, cost-efficiency and real-time collaboration.

“News broadcasting is on the cusp of great change as it transitions towards cloud,” said Matt Hughes, chief commercial officer, M2A Media.

“As station groups look to align their news operations with the latest software defined solutions, M2A can provide proven technologies that offer the same robust set up as traditional methods. NAB Show 2024 presents the perfect opportunity to demystify the cloud for news broadcasting, while presenting the value and cost savings that come with digital transformation.”

M2A said its solutions include:

• the ability to create and edit events, add HLS destinations, monitor event health and publish to multiple outlets such as stations, social media platforms and networks, via a single events view
• route video sources, pre-set outputs by administrator, add or change new destinations in the routing view
• comprehensive monitoring, mirroring a standard media control room view with signal verification and pre-sets
• user defined video analytics exposing confidence feed diagnostics
• one network connection with access to the AWS Cloud serves all needs – no need to book satellite time or provision point-to-point fibre links

M2A’s news gathering solution uses M2A’s “market-leading” products: M2A LIVE, M2A CONNECT and M2A CAPTURE, all which will be available to demo during NAB Show 2024.

M2A LIVE is trusted by major broadcasters to deliver reliable, low-latency live streams of the highest quality to viewers worldwide across any device using the flexibility and scale of the AWS Cloud. Through the intuitive M2A console, M2A LIVE automates and orchestrates complex live event schedules, streaming billions of content hours each year. Customers also enjoy cost optimization via M2A LIVE’s pay-as-you-go model and the ability to scale resources and tailor features on demand. With M2A LIVE’s media services orchestration, customers are able to launch new event-based or FAST channels in minutes, dramatically reducing their time to market.

M2A will present Encoder-Based Ad Manipulation (EBAM) at NAB Show 2024. EBAM is the implementation of multiple industry standards, designed to help broadcasters increase revenue by inserting ad content at the encoder side of a live video workflow . It is a clean and secure solution that guarantees the placement and high-quality of regionalized ads and content, which will appeal to broadcasters and advertisers alike.

M2A CONNECT is a feature-rich product for scalable video aggregation and distribution. M2A CONNECT helps media organisations to easily orchestrate event-based or continuous acquisition and distribution through the AWS Cloud. The solution efficiently acquires live feeds from the source and pushes them to air or distributes them from rights owners to affiliates, reducing the need for physical hand-off points.

By harnessing the inherent flexibility of the cloud, M2A CONNECT eliminates the risk of hitting bandwidth capacity moments before an event or hurriedly extending costly satellite space. Broadcasters can tune capacity on demand, add or remove redundancy, and change feed routing rapidly through M2A’s API or through the M2A console. M2A CONNECT tailors resources to specific needs by the minute, thereby making operations more responsive and reducing spend and waste.

M2A CAPTURE is a suite of cutting-edge features designed to revolutionise the live content workflow.  With M2A CAPTURE, broadcasters can unlock new possibilities for content management and distribution. Capture TS empowers users to effortlessly record live inputs from M2A CONNECT, generating high-quality mezzanine files that can be stored for compliance purposes or seamlessly integrated into downstream workflows. Building upon this foundation, Capture Editor takes live content transformation to the next level, enabling broadcasters to quickly turn around video-on-demand (VOD) outputs while providing a comprehensive clipping console for seamless editing of live programming. While Capture ABR serves as an advanced adaptive bitrate (ABR) extraction tool, enabling swift conversion of live content from M2A LIVE into VOD formats.

M2A’s products will be available to demo during NAB Show 2024 at:

UK Pavilion, M2A Booth – West Hall: W2345

AWS Booth – West Hall: W1701