Alcom expands the scope of its headend video service that helps operators across Finland and Sweden to deliver broadcast and streaming services with competitive quality and efficiency.
Finnish telco operator Alcom runs a white-label headend video service called Play+ with an IPTV architecture. The company is currently aiming to expand its service portfolio, deliver higher-value services and capture new revenue opportunities in the Nordic region. Alcom’s goal is to enable mid-size operators across Finland and Sweden to deliver broadcast and streaming services with competitive video quality and efficiency.
In pursuing that goal, Alcom has chosen to include Harmonic’s XOS Advanced Media Processor in its pipeline. “We chose Harmonic’s XOS media processor as the foundation of our IPTV architecture mainly for its performance and wide set of features, which gives us the tools to deliver very high video quality,” said Patrik Pada, TV team leader at Alcom.
By consolidating a varied range of media processing tasks such as playout, branding and encoding into a single appliance, the XOS media processor helps improve efficiency at Alcom. The microservices architecture built into the processor means the appliance can be used for either broadcast or streaming applications, and adapted to multiple deployment environments. Over time, the same architecture enhances roll-out of new features and helps scale the system.
Content-Aware Compression
Moreover, the XOS media processor’s AI-powered EyeQ content-aware encoding makes it possible to save on bitrate while maintaining video quality. EyeQ optimises video compression using the function of human vision to deliver high quality viewing on devices at low bitrates. It can assess and adjust encoding parameters without increasing latency.
For example, human eyes are able to detect individual shapes, changes in contrast and motion before texture in a video image. By weighing the importance of these sensitivities against less relevant elements in a video frame, EyeQ optimises the balance between video quality and bandwidth.
An Agile Integration
The containerised cloud architecture of the XOS media processor is constantly adding features. Patrik noted, “With a software-based, playout-to-delivery system, we are better assured of the flexibility and scalability we will need as we further expand our white-label service across the region.”
In this case, Harmonic’s is integrated with the Origin and Media Server from Agile TV, a scalable, high performance TV-as-a-Service. Alcom has implemented a hybrid system with XOS using a RESTful API designed for sharing with other Harmonic cloud and SaaS solutions. To maintain simplicity and flexibility, users are able to configure, control and monitor from external systems. Using this integrated Agile TV solution, Alcom can supply efficient, high availability video services.
Regional Opportunity
CEO at Agile TV Koldo Unanue noted, “Alcom is strengthening its market position in the Nordic region with vast reach and promising growth opportunities. By combining our origin server expertise with Harmonic’s video quality, we’re empowering Alcom to maximize revenue opportunities through its white-label video service.”
“Alcom’s headend service gives regional operators in the Nordic market an opportunity to differentiate their service by delivering crystal-clear video programming,” said Tony Berthaud, senior vice president, sales, APAC and EMEA at Harmonic. “With valuable density and AI-driven encoding, Harmonic’s XOS media processor is helping Alcom set a higher standard for video quality in the Nordic market.” www.harmonicinc.com
