Allows
Vongo Subscribers to Easily Discover & Experience
Video Downloads
Seattle, WA
January 12, 2006
thePlatform™, a leading provider
of digital audio and video publishing solutions, today
announced Starz Entertainment Group LLC (SEG) chose
thePlatform Media Publishing System™ (MPS) to
deliver subscription and pay-per-view based digital
video downloads via its new Vongo(SM) internet media
portal. With MPS, SEG can efficiently manage movies
in multiple genres and deliver them in Windows Media
format, in multiple bit rates, to PCs and portable devices.
In addition to managing content, MPS makes it simple
for SEG to associate rich metadata with content, enabling
Vongo customers to easily discover and receive personalized
media based on their selected preferences.
Vongo is a new video download application
and service for broadband that delivers movies and other
video content over the internet for playback on Windows-based
PCs, laptops, and select portable media devices, as
well as on a TV. Vongo uses thePlatform MPS to manage
the publication process across devices, giving consumers
flexibility and control over how they view their desired
content.
“thePlatform Media Publishing
System makes it easy for us to effectively manage myriad
content choices and keep track of how they are consumed,”
said Richard Brownrigg, vice president of technology,
advanced services for Starz Entertainment Group. “We
selected MPS based on its ability to securely and flexibly
manage our content no matter which device consumers
use.”
“The world’s leading content
providers are recognizing the promise of internet Protocol-delivered
content over broadband and other non-traditional delivery
networks,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO
of thePlatform. “MPS is a proven solution that
makes it easy for companies like SEG to capitalize on
this trend with high-quality consumer service offerings.”
SEG uses MPS to streamline the entire
broadband video publishing process for Vongo in the
following ways:
- Content Ingest and Management: MPS can import
content metadata from media files or producers can
add additional metadata to media objects that can
store multiple media files in different formats
and bit rates. Using the MPS Remote Media Processor
(RMP), a Web-services module that lives behind the
SEG firewall, metadata is uploaded automatically
into MPS.
- Content Policy and Business Rules: SEG sets usage
rules on its video content via MPS’s built-in
support for Windows Media Digital Rights Management
10 (WM DRM). MPS, together with WM DRM, enables
SEG to set categories and control the policies for
how content is accessed and experienced by subscribers,
whether on PCs or portable devices. Using RMP, content
packaging and encryption happens behind the Vongo
firewall, ensuring the highest level of security
on premium media files during the publishing process.
- Publishing: MPS automatically publishes content
in Windows Media Video 9 for delivery over broadband.
Using RMP, media files move directly from the SEG
encoding facility to its chosen content delivery
network (CDN) provider.
- Reporting: Using MPS’s built-in reporting
capability, SEG receives detailed reports on the
quality of end-user experiences, including which
content is most popular. This data enables SEG to
test new content genres and programming, and to
constantly refine its service offerings.
- Integration with Business Systems (BSS/OSS):
Through the MPS Software Development Kit (MPS-SDK),
MPS integrates with notification services and Vongo’s
internal and third-party billing, credit card processing,
and authentication systems. Via a powerful set of
Web-services based interfaces, MPS automates and
customizes all aspects of the media publishing process,
facilitating integration through third party tools,
including video encoding systems.
About thePlatform
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform™ is an industry-leading
provider of digital media publishing solutions. The
company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media
Publishing System™ (MPS), is a comprehensive solution
for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With
thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media
anywhere – over any network, to any device. Leading
customers include Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, Court
TV, Microsoft, National Geographic, Scripps Networks,
The Wall Street Journal Online, and Verizon Wireless.
Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration
are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services
MPS-SDK.
For more information visit www.theplatform.com. |
