SeaChange Launches Streaming, Storage Solutions to Enable New CDN and Multiscreen Strategies

VOD and advanced advertising technology provider, SeaChange International, on Wednesday launched new streaming and storage solutions: 1) the Universal Media Streamer (UMS), a flash memory-based server which it says supports multiple video formats and delivers 5,000 video streams in a single 1RU chassis, and which it bills as "designed to reduce operating costs and increase performance in a smaller footprint as operators deploy more flexible content delivery network (CDN) architectures and multiscreen video"; and 2) the Universal Media Library (UML), which it says provides up to 144TB of raw storage in a compact 5RU Matrix Storage Array. According to the company, both products will be showcased at the upcoming NAB show in Las Vegas and will be available for order in the second half of the year.

According to SeaChange, its support for CDN's and multiscreen video is occasioned by consumers' changing media consumption habits: the company cites Nielsen's latest A2/M2 Three Screen Report, which shows broadband and mobile video viewing continuing to increase, with Internet users watching 53 more minutes of video online, and with a 53% increase in Americans who watch video on their mobile phones, in the third quarter of 2009 versus the prior year. "SeaChange supports the opportunities for CDN's through a combination of open software solutions with high performance and flexible storage and streaming resources," Lev Vaitzblit, SeaChange's VP of engineering, servers and storage, said in a prepared statement. "Operators must be able to manage a flow of content in multiple versions and formats from ingest to delivery seamlessly and cost-effectively. With the combination of comprehensive software products such as our AssetFlow content and metadata workflow management solution, along with our new generation UMS and UML resources, SeaChange is helping operators further leverage their SeaChange backoffice to evolve toward CDN's that will support a true anytime, anywhere video experience."

According to SeaChange, the new UMS provides integrated support for multiple streaming formats, such as constant and variable bit rate SD and HD, HTTP and Adobe Flash, making it ideal for multiscreen video delivery to TV's, PC's and mobile devices, including the iPhone. While eliminating spinning discs from the edge of CDN infrastructures and reducing the costs of disc resource and maintenance, the company says, the UMS is also unrivaled in stream capacity per rack unit. The server is available in 3TB and 6TB configurations that are billed as being able to store up to 1,500 and 3,000 hours of MPEG-2 video respectively. SeaChange claims that the UMS offers a unique intelligent block caching algorithm, which caches frequently accessed blocks of a video asset to minimize access to the CDN and maximize flash memory lifespan, thus resulting in higher quality of service and operations cost savings.

SeaChange bills the new UML, meanwhile, as providing a solution for the massive storage requirements inherent in multiscreen delivery. According to the company, it is a CDN-class library storage system that provides the scalability, density and reliability needed for 24/7 operation, and features a "unique" chassis design consisting of six blades that are serviceable even while in operation: each blade module contains 12 top-load drive slots that enable simple drive replacement without impacting operations, the company says.

According to SeaChange, the UML can work in concert with the company's AssetFlow software to function as a network attached storage platform, capable of storing enormous amounts of content in multiple formats while also providing a temporary storage area to support content operations such as production and content creation archives, automated quality assurance, and transcoding. The UML can also store all processed content packages prior to delivery to multiscreen destinations and distribution outlets, the company says, along with any related production content.

SeaChange says it plans to introduce a broadcast version of the UML at the upcoming NAB show. It describes it as an IP hub optimized for tapeless infrastructures, and capable of functioning as a play-to-air server and production storage platform for non-linear editing systems. With edit-in-place support, the UML enables content manipulation during ingest, SeaChange says, and paired with the company's MediaClient software codecs, play-to-air MediaClusters or standalone edge servers, it meets playout requirements for any size broadcast environment.