EEG has expanded the virtual iCap Alta Platform to include SCTE-35 insertion capabilities for injecting SCTE-35 Digital Program Insertion Cues directly into MPEG transport streams.
The SCTE-35 broadcast standard allow broadcasters to place real-time messages into their video stream with a wide range of essential signals for distributors, including when to insert local advertisements into programming, archiving/repurposing restrictions, and indexing information.
With the MPEG in/MPEG out architecture of Alta, the SCTE-35 Insertion Module provides offers adopters the ability to generate SCTE-35 messages from SCTE-104 commands and insert them directly into the real-time MPEG stream. The SCTE-104 formatted commands can come from any device or vendor over a network, providing ultimate flexibility for program scheduling, MPEG encoding, downstream splicing, and more.
Common applications for SCTE-35 insertion include:
- regional -- or even personalized -- advertising control
- DRM-type assertion of downstream distributors rights,
- lack of rights to playout content on Web/TV Everywhere systems,
- metadata markup for segmentation, for scenarios such as a chapter, episode, or inning marker that can be used to easily segment the program later for redistribution of clips through set-top box or Internet video on demand.
The SCTE-35 inserter is licensed as an additional component of the virtual Alta encoding platform. It is controlled through an easy-to-use browser-based configuration interface, or can be controlled through other software via API.
In just one example of many live applications, at sporting events a mobile production truck can be outfitted with a drop-in SCTE-35 inserter that will work with any other vendor’s streams, allowing an on-site producer to insert SCTE-35 messages. By recording cues live as a program is recorded, broadcasters can realize myriad opportunities for maximum monetization of ad breaks for the content in real time, as well as in future playout online.
EEG’s introduction of iCap Alta in early 2016 has extended availability of the award winning iCap Network to virtual IP and 4K video workflows, as well as integrated playout systems such as Imagine Communications’ VersioCloud™ and Zenium™. The virtual Alta encoder offers broadcasters and distributors a smooth transition from hardware-driven workflows to software controlled environments for closed caption and SCTE-35 insertion. iCap Alta technology is available as a standalone virtual machine or a software library for custom integration.
“EEG’s SDI encoders have long been recognized as a dependable solution for converting VANC SCTE-104 into SCTE-35 messages in the process of converting the baseband signal to a compressed signal,” says Bill McLaughlin, VP of Product Development for EEG. “Alta is the ideal platform for streamlining this process in virtualized IP video workflows: Now with the SCTE-35 Insertion component, Alta users have access to a complete, easy-to-implement solution for inserting SCTE-35 messages directly into a transport stream.”
Visit EEG at Booth #1444 throughout NAB Show New York 2016 to experience Alta, and learn more about the complete range of available solutions.