NTT DATA has announced the availability of NRT and Hyper, a pair of AVC encoding and transcoding solutions that optimise the bandwidth requirements for linear channels as well as Video on Demand (VoD) services.
Officially launched at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam, NTT DATA NRT is a solution for near real-time encoding that applies an "innovative process and approach" to the compression of linear channels, while NTT DATA Hyper is an automated batch transcoding framework for VoD and Over the Top (OTT) services.
"Rapid technological evolution, content distribution challenges and higher user expectations are transforming the broadcasting industry. As such, competing effectively in the OTT arena and optimising quality and efficiency of traditional channel distribution are some of the main considerations for broadcasters," said Riccardo Ferrari, Senior Manager at NTT DATA in Italy.
"When the quality and accessibility of content is the key success factor in the battle for audience share, and the main driver for future changes, every advantage helps.
"Whether it’s linear transmissions or content on demand, our solutions help ensure that quality is optimised for whatever device or transmission channel is used, while keeping bandwidth to a minimum. This means that broadcasters can cut transmission costs by between 20 and 40%, while users get the best experience possible."
The NTT DATA NRT encoding enables a reduction in the bandwidth required to transmit video content in linear mode, by providing near real-time off-line compression algorithms in AVC format. This is done with a constant and configurable delay making it "easy for broadcasters to factor this into their transmission."
For OTT services such as VoD, NTT DATA Hyper offers a software framework for automated batch transcoding. This enables the creation of ‘ultra-optimised’ encoding pipelines, and includes s features such as adaptive encoding techniques, grid computing architecture and psycho-visual pre-processing.
NTT DATA NRT was launched in June with its first deployment for Sky Italia. Other channel deployments are expected by the end of 2013.
"We are delighted with the solution we have developed together with NTT DATA. Its potential applications are numerous and provide us with a significant competitive advantage over other operators," said Massimo Bertolotti, Head of Innovation and Engineering at Sky Italy.
"NTT DATA NRT is an extremely valuable project to us, as we have always strived to invest in new technologies."
