- May 15, 2012, San Jose, California -
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced the latest addition to its ProMedia series, a solution designed to optimize the video production workflow for high-capacity multi-screen video, featuring the ProMedia™ high-performance file-based transcoding for video on demand (VOD) applications.
ProMedia leverages Harmonic's market-leading H.264 codec technology to deliver exceptional video quality without compromising transcoding speed, thereby enhancing the workflow for video content owners and service providers. This enables them to significantly increase the amount of content delivered per hour while adhering to processing schedules and video quality targets. ProMedia Xpress facilitates cost-effective transcoding of commonly used formats for mobile devices, personal computers, and connected TVs, allowing operators and media companies to effectively launch new services without sacrificing product quality.
ProMedia employs Harmonic’s new MicroGrid™ parallel computing technology, achieving significant improvements in transcoding performance compared to existing technologies. The MicroGrid approach to video-centric multi-core computing eliminates bottlenecks associated with traditional decoding methods. By utilizing all available processor core capabilities, ProMedia scales effectively, delivering substantial transcoding performance without the need for custom computer hardware.
Murray Macaulay, Senior Director of Multi-Screen Services, stated, “Service providers and content owners need to deliver VOD content across consumer PCs, connected TVs, and mobile devices under tight deadlines, while also meeting specific performance requirements for each adaptive stream format within Harmonic’s product line management. ProMedia meets these demands, enabling programmers to utilize Harmonic’s market-leading H.264 codec while maintaining the quality and value of their video assets, addressing the challenges of high-capacity multi-format OTT delivery.”
As part of the ProMedia multi-screen product suite, ProMedia is a complete file-based workflow solution that is a critical component for multi-screen operations, scalable from a few to hundreds of nodes, and ensuring the integrity of services required for a 24/7 on-demand environment.
When combined with the ProMedia packaging stream, ProMedia Xpress allows multi-rate H.264 assets to be packaged for target ecosystems, including Apple® HTTP Live Streaming, Microsoft® Smooth Streaming, Adobe® HTTP Dynamic Streaming, and MPEG-DASH with maximum speed and flexibility. Because ProMedia separates the transcoding and packaging processes, users can transcode an asset once and package it multiple times, reducing the need for repetitive processor-intensive tasks and easing the adaptation to changing delivery standards and protocols. Furthermore, the tight integration between ProMedia and Harmonic’s Omneon® MediaGrid™ shared storage system allows content to be stored and accessed over high-speed networks, eliminating delays in copying content to front-end transcoding nodes and enabling immediate delivery of transcoded content to downstream operations such as quality control, sales, delivery, or archiving.
Harmonic's comprehensive product portfolio for multi-screen production, distribution, and delivery solutions will be showcased at Harmonic's booth 212 on May 15-16 at Streaming Media East in New York. ProMedia is expected to ship in the third quarter of 2012.