Telestream, a provider of workflow automation, media processing, quality monitoring and test and measurement solutions for the production and distribution of video, has announced the next generation of its IQ Video Quality Monitoring Solution for OTT streaming and linear TV applications. Designed for service providers, streaming TV providers and direct-to-consumer broadcasters, the solution now provides comprehensive Ad-Insertion Monitoring for enhanced visibility, alerting and diagnostics for ad-based streaming video operations teams.
The company notes that OTT advertising has the potential to greatly increase revenues for streaming providers, but it adds complexity to an already complicated OTT streaming workflow. When a problem occurs, diagnosing the issue is very difficult causing providers to lose millions in advertising dollars, says Telestream.
The company says its IQ Video Quality Monitoring solution protects the ad business model by monitoring and auditing the ad-insertion workflow, making sure ad opportunities are present and without error. The IQ solution provides meaningful data, metrics and alarms in real time, pinpointing where the issues are occurring in the workflow so errors can be quickly resolved before they affect the viewer. Automated alerts, simplified dashboards and analytical reports help operations teams proactively and effectively manage the ad-insert workflow.
“Ad-insertion on streaming networks can be complex and is increasingly a top focus for streaming operators,” said Matthew Driscoll, Director of Product Management, Telestream. “Our goal is to provide a single pane-of-glass dashboard for advertising workflows. Simple trending graphs and metrics confirm ads are present and working properly. When things fail, we highlight the area of focus so our users can isolate the issue quickly and use diagnostic information to restore services.”
Telestream says its IQ Monitoring Solution checks for the following:
• Is ad frequency dropping or meeting targets?
• Are ad opportunities in the linear source also available for OTT playout?
• Are clients able to reach the ad servers and does the ad play correctly, with correct format, duration, alignment?
• Is the quality of the ad video, audio and captions good?
“Occasionally advertisers will question whether their ad played or had issues,” added Driscoll. “With our new Ad-Insertion Monitoring solution we provide valuable information about ad events, including the date, time, duration and thumbnail images that provide confirmation that the ad played as expected.”
As streaming video services rapidly increase, Telestream notes the IQ Monitoring Solution introduces additional enhancements to help operators scale, including:
• Monitoring QoE of DRM encrypted streams
• Enhanced on-demand scheduling to monitor live and VOD services
• New lightweight ABR mode which reduces CDN monitor traffic
The latest generation of the company's IQ Video Quality Monitoring Solution is available now. Learn more at www.telestream.net.