thePlatform Launches its Next-Generation Multiscreen Video Publishing System, mpx Beta

Comcast-owned white-label video management and publishing company, thePlatform, on Monday evening launched mpx Beta, which it bills as a "radically re-engineered video management system designed to deliver an unmatched combination of efficiency and scalability for publishing online video"; and also unveiled a complementary mpx Dev Kit. The launches were scheduled to coincide with thePlatform's 10th anniversary.

According to thePlatform, mpx Beta incorporates an entirely new and "intuitive" console for managing video assets; simplified and faster processes for publishing large video library across the Web, mobiles and set-top boxes; and advanced personalization features. The company says that it is also built on a new service-oriented architecture that provides additional reliability and scalability. "We're resetting the bar today," thePlatform co-founder and CEO, Ian Blaine, said in a prepared statement. "Our job is to anticipate and provide solutions that enable our customers to evolve their video businesses in the years ahead. mpx represents the culmination of all of our learning over the past 10 years, and we've applied the full resources of the company to develop an easy, streamlined and robust new system to meet the increasingly complex needs of the market."

thePlatform claims that several of mpx Beta's capabilities represent a "marked departure" from the approaches traditionally used by white-label video service providers. For example, the company says, most online video platforms use a basic linear process for managing and publishing video on an individual basis: while this approach was adequate during the early years of online video, thePlatform claims, mpx Beta provides more efficient and time-saving methods to serve companies with extensive video libraries, syndication requirements and other increasingly complex needs. Unlike other systems, according to the company, mpx Beta lets customers upload multiple media files simultaneously, and distribute video to Web sites, mobiles and other IP devices with "one-click publishing." It also uses a new and "highly efficient" non-linear "publishing profile," the company says, that considers a video's destination point first--in effect reversing the common workflow. According to the company, this "smart publishing" methodology automates the required steps for video management, including file creation, transcoding, thumbnail generation and more. thePlatform claims that the new tool's design "eases video publishing requirements, simplifies the process, and makes the system more accessible to a broader set of users."

Key features of mpx Beta, according to thePlatform, include:

• Increased efficiency: editors and producers have new tools for previewing videos, assigning the requisite metadata to video files, adding business policies and making publishing easy, the company says, adding that users can quickly upload multiple media files, apply new filter and search features to create specific views, and access files faster through a new console with an intuitive user interface.
• Personalized features: the company says that editors and producers can customize their video or media lists by adding/removing columns for quick assessment and sorting, establish specific metadata schemas with configurable panels and custom fields, and save optimal system management views with a new shortcut tool.
• Smart publishing profiles: the company says that customers can easily distribute video to Web sites, mobiles and other IP devices with one-click publishing. New publishing profiles consider consumer endpoints first, according to the company, and automate the required steps--including file creation, transcoding and thumbnail generation--for video delivery.

Key features of mpx Dev Kit, according to thePlatform, include:

• Video lifecycle management: thePlatform says that customers can easily ingest media directly into the system through the company's Watch Folders, Feed Reader and custom ingest adapters; access complete control over media objects, metadata, policies, advertising and more; publish media with pre-configured publishing profiles to simplify media delivery to any outlet; and use notifications to receive immediate insight into the process.
• Standardized API's: the company says that REST interfaces provide standard calls, including POST, GET, DELETE and PUT, that Groovy scripts can be used to build custom ingest adapters; and that Java clients make connecting to the mpx services easy.
• Complete documentation: according to the company, extensive documentation guides customers with step-by-step instructions, overviews of different services and detailed code samples. Procedures cover each required service interaction to accomplish tasks, the company says, and code samples are provided to speed development time.

According to thePlatform, a new service-oriented architecture (SOA) underlies mpx Beta and the mpx Dev Kit, in which each feature is created based upon its task within the larger whole, resulting in improved reliability and easier scalability. Any media objects added, changed, or managed in thePlatform's legacy media publishing system (mps) will seamlessly be reflected in mpx Beta, the company says, without additional system or service deployments. In addition, the company promises, customers can use mpx Beta with thePlatform's other online video tools and the company's ecosystem of partners (note: the company bills itself as offering "optimized content delivery network policies, advertising campaign system integration, support for all major video playback technologies such as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and others, reporting capabilities and more").

Both mpx Beta and mpx Dev Kit are being offered to existing customers at no additional charge, and thePlatform says that it will add new features and capabilities throughout the year. "In 2010 and beyond, consumers will be watching more video with longer durations across an evolving ecosystem of devices," thePlatform CEO, Blaine, continued. "Our customers, in turn, want to reach larger audiences to drive revenues and increase brand loyalty. mpx will enable them to address this growing opportunity in the years ahead."