Imagine Communications to highlight IP at CABSAT

Imagine Communications will showcase market-ready solutions that demonstrate the operational, productivity and commercial benefits of moving to software-defined architectures at CABSAT. Presentations will include virtualised and cloud playout automation, multiplatform distribution and integrated advertising management. Imagine Communications will also be showing comprehensive technology to meet the demands of ultra-high definition (UHD) production.

CABSAT 2016 is the first major international exhibition since Imagine Communications announced the expansion of its strategic relationship with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). The collaboration closely integrates Imagine Communications’ video portfolio with HPE’s storage, computing and networking technology and leverages HPE’s world-class data centre systems integration capabilities. The two companies are working together to accelerate the transition to IP-based, software-defined virtualised facilities that are the future of the media and entertainment industry.

“Many vendors will be looking for IP at CABSAT this year, and we look forward to talking about the fruits of our work with Hewlett Packard Enterprise,” said Paul Wallis, Sales Director Middle East and Africa, Imagine Communications.

“It is really important that broadcasters, content creators and service providers are clear about how they can begin to realise some of the benefits of moving to a more agile environment today.

“We are focusing our attention on helping our customers make the transition to IP in a thoughtful and gradual manner, but also in a way that allows them to begin reaping productivity and cost-efficiency benefits at the very start of their journeys,” Wallis explained.

Imagine Communications’ focus at CABSAT 2016 will be to demonstrate the intersection of innovation and reality by featuring future-focused solutions that are currently being deployed in production environments around the world. Imagine Communications will demonstrate how it is helping media companies of all sizes gracefully move to next-generation technologies at their own pace and with a focus on operating in hybrid networks to preserve and extend today’s investments in baseband.

Making its debut at CABSAT 2016 is xG Schedule, a next-generation cloud-based scheduling and planning management system for linear, on demand, OTT and Internet. xG Schedule features an intuitive user experience with native multi-language support, including Arabic, for true multi-platform scheduling. With an open API, xG Schedule is seamlessly integrated into the Landmark portfolio, including Landmark Sales, Landmark Rights & Scheduling, and Broadcast Master, as well as third-party sales and rights solutions. Imagine Communications will be demonstrating additional critical components of its end-to-end advertising management platform, including Broadcast Master, a flexible, cost-effective system for growing television operations in the Middle East and Africa. The comprehensive suite of modular and scalable rights, sales, scheduling and media management solutions enables broadcasters to drive productivity and revenue with the tools to automate and manage their daily operations.

The company will showcase the Versio integrated playout solution, deployable on both conventional platforms and in the cloud, as well as Nexio Motion and Nexio Insight. Additionally, Imagine Communications will demonstrate its Nexio Channelbrand, the company’s multi-channel branding platform, which features cross-platform animation builder capabilities that enable an integrated approach to graphics template creation and allow for simplified and streamlined workflows from creation to air.

Also on display will be solutions based on the Selenio family of processing, compression and transcoding products, including recently introduced modules that support UHD production and delivery. The company’s UHD portfolio supports UHDTV1 and 4K resolutions, High Dynamic Range (HDR), Expanded Color Gamut, and High Frame Rate. SelenioFlex File enables on-demand workflows for content distributors ready to deliver UHD services today.

Reflecting the need for a managed transition from traditional architectures to software-defined networks, Imagine Communications will also feature products at CABSAT 2016 that bridge the SDI and IP domains, including Platinum routers with integrated multi-viewers. Imagine Communications’ family of Platinum routers and the Magellan SDN Orchestrator are critical components of hybrid SDI and IP infrastructures, ensuring operational transparently by facilitating the seamless management of both SDI and IP signals.

Imagine Communications will also be featuring its relationship with Microsoft for the Azure Media Services Premium Encoder. This collaboration, introduced at NAB2015, is a cloud solution for large-scale, on-demand encoding workflows, providing agility and scalability for multiscreen deployments, allowing media companies to stream high-quality content to any device, anywhere in the world.