Elemental Expands Software-Defined Encoding, Transcoding Capabilities with Statmux; Expanded Conductor Features

Elemental Technologies will take its software-defined multi-screen content delivery offering to the next level at NAB with the launch of Statmux, a software-based multi-codec, multi-resolution statistical multiplexer that brings new flexibility to content owners and pay TV operators who distribute content linearly as well as on-demand. Other features include end-to-end redundancy and multiscreen content delivery.

“We believe we now have an offering that enables pay TV operators and content providers of multiple channels to contemplate a unified software solution for their live linear needs as well as encoding and transcoding for multi-screen requirements,” says Aslam Khader, Elemental, chief product officer.

For example, the Stat-Mux multi-codec, multi-resolution support allows operators to mix and match different codecs within their workflows and delivery networks and thoroughly optimize bandwidth usage while putting forward new linear and OTT service offerings in a unified approach.

“Stat-Mux offers the broad ability to do multi-codec resolution either integrated within the encoder or through different encoders,” adds Khader.

Stat-Mux also can optimize cost savings as a user can distribute a set of linear channels over satellite and save bandwidth. In addition, they can also publish content to multiple screens as VOD files can be distributed to content-delivery networks (CDNs) or NVOD partners.

“Having a software-definied solution allows us to rapidly innovate and keep abreast of the market as everything is moving so rapidly and there are no real standards [for multi-screen delivery] so if you are not software-defined you are dead in the water,” says Khader.

Also new are expanded capabilities for the Conductor software that include bulk actions like allowing multiple channels to be stopped, started and edited simultaneously, simplifying management of hundreds of channels while ensuring configurations are synchronized. The combined capabilities of template-based channel configuration and secure authentication provide that all channels are configured with the desired settings. Manual or automatic failover switching with customer-defined conditions add a layer of redundancy control expected by pay TV operators.

“It optimizes the ways that the user can set up alarming, alerting, and other things as well as integrate with the stat mux,” says Khader.

Latin American pay TV leader Telecable (TCC) is using Elemental Statmux to optimize its linear video delivery. A Uruguayan service innovation pioneer in content distribution, TCC selected Elemental Statmux after exhaustive testing in which the solution delivered 15 to 20 percent bandwidth savings compared to TCC’s existing video processing solution. TCC is part of the Mexican telecommunications and media company Televisa,

“TCC is currently deploying Elemental Statistical Multiplexing on our DVB-S2 satellite infrastructure,” says Marcelo Coggan, chief technology officer for TCC. “Our investment in technology from Elemental is strategic as it positions us not only as a leading pay TV operator but also as a provider to a multitude of pay TV operators in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and other countries in the Southern Cone region.”

For more sophisticated 4K UHD TV and unified headend strategies, Elemental® Live encoders can ingest 4K UHD or HD content and transcode it into parallel HEVC UHD and MPEG-2 or H.264 HD and SD streams, allowing a single system to create multi-resolution channel statmux outputs from a single source.

“We are very fortunate that we have a rapidly growing customer base that spans all of the different market segments,” says Khader. “And the complexity of the whole environment is only getting more complex so technology needs to help simplify things. And that is another reason the unified approach is the way to go.”