OTT/IPTV/Broadcasting Middleware:

The future of TV is a unique experience on the big screen and across multiple displays; delivering what customers want to watch and also when and where they want to watch it. The delivery of video (VOD or Live Stream) to the consumer involves video content preparation (acquisition, ingestion, encoding, packaging, segmentation, DRM), distribution (publishing) via CDN, and then fulfillment. OTT middleware is a collection of de-coupled software services/components deployed on an application server that enables the authenticated consumer/subscriber(s) to view/play the video content (Live Stream, Video on Demand, and Catch up TV, etc.). A high level pictorial view of the OTT components is presented below:

HSC has a rich experience in building OTT / IPTV solutions. In the OTT Middleware space, our core expertise is in the following areas:

• Content Acquisition
  • Secure Acquisition of Media Files (previews & full feature) with multiple access options and handling Encoding workflows
  • Workflows for Live Feed Ingest from IRDs to Live Encoders and JITP / origin Server.
• Meta-Data Acquisition
  • Experience in automated Workflows to Ingest Meta-Data and posters from multiple sources and in multiple formats.
  • Good know-how of image processing for converting posters in standard sizes targeted for different screen resolutions
  • Experience in automated ingest of EPG. Handling crude custom formats as well as TVAnytime and XMLTV formats.
  • Experience in rating and recommendation engine. Along with Sync ratings and recommendations from external sources.
• Processing Workflows:
  • Experience in designing Encoding workflows for ABR Encoding for OTT and standard encoding for IPTV with a vast range of Encoders.
  • CAS / DRM workflows for multi-device policy.
  • Linear Transcoding with Native or Cloud Encoders.
  • ABR Streaming with Standard CDN Origin or Just-in-time-packaging.
  • Ad-Insertion for monetization.
• Monetization & Marketing:
  • Worked on multi-option subscription offerings.
  • Flexible subscription model permutations of SVOD, TVOD & AVOD
  • Offerings of vouchers and promotional packages
  • Campaigns targeting Social Marketing across various social platforms 
  • User engagement via social sharing
• Management & Control
  • Content Management System
  • Subscriber Management
  • Device Management: Multi-device policy, concurrent stream control on multiple devices, device identification for a companion app
  • Business Analytics
  • Operational Insights
• Design & Architecture: HSC has a rich experience in building robust, distributed, and highly scalable solutions. Our teams are capable of designing, implementing and delivering solutions with strong architectural foundations that are built to grow and undergo futuristic changes as the need arises. 

OTT Integrations:

• Media Headend Integrations:
  • Encoders: Elemental Cloud Server, AWS Media Convert, AWS Media Live, Zencoder, Encoding.com
  • DRM/CAS: Widevine, BuyDRM, Castlabst, Nagra, SecureMedia, Verimatrix
  • Origin/CDN: Limelight, Elemental Delta, Cloudfront, AWS Media Package
  • Ad-server: AWS Media Tailor, Google Double-Click, any VAST/VPAID compliant server
     
• ERP Integrations:
  • Integrations with existing user management & subscription management systems
  • Integration with existing backend systems like OSS / BSS / AAA
  • Integration with CRM for real-time mining of customer data
     
• 3rd Party Integrations:
  • Integration with Social Platforms like Facebook, Twitter
  • Integration with Payment Gateways, Wallets, Paypal etc.
  • Integration with Notification Push Cloud Services like AWS SNS, Firebase, GCP
  • Integration with IMDB / TMDB for metadata and other details from public domain