TMD announces extensions to Mediaflex platform
A massive challenge facing broadcasters and content owners today is serving the ever-expanding number of devices and platforms on which consumers expect to be able to view their choice of media. TMD is addressing this with extensions to its Mediaflex platform which allow content preparation and delivery to be planned and executed as an automated just-in-time supply chain.
Each delivery platform requires the content to be prepared to a unique combination of screen resolution, codec, wrapper, content protection, delivery stream and supporting metadata. This packaging operation is a massively complicated undertaking in its own right. Add to this the need to support multiple languages in the content and in subtitles, and rights issues which mean some content may only be available on a subset of platforms. It is clear that this operation can only be supported by a sophisticated, highly automated workflow.
The TMD approach starts by looking at the rights information and tracks metadata throughout the workflow to create content for the right platforms, devices and languages, to be delivered to the delivery network at the right time. Workflows are developed by users based on business analytics and intelligent decision-making based on metadata.
“The need to monetise content through multiple platforms is a business need,” says Tony Taylor, chairman and CEO of TMD. “So the right approach is a business solution, underpinned by embedded technology, just as any other business would regard its supply chain. That is why TMD Mediaflex, with its powerful workflow engine and business analytics, is best positioned to deliver real efficiencies.
“The business approach also allows the broadcaster, or its enterprise management applications, to develop an understanding of precisely which resources are required for each process,” he added. “That means that financial directors now have a real understanding of what it costs to deliver content to each platform to set against the potential rewards.”