Arqiva and MediaKind have now announced the next stage of the companies' partnership with the launch of Arqplex, a new hybrid content processing service that the firms contend is set to transform headend services for broadcast and OTT networks.
The fully managed headend-as-a-service has been designed and developed for a broad range of broadcasters and network or video platform operators, including leading global, regional, and national broadcasters and regional cable and satellite network operators.
The Arqplex service provides secure and reliable content aggregation, encoding, multiplexing and packaging for content distribution. The partners say the platform will unify OTT and broadcast operations, reducing complexity, increasing efficiency and delivering rapid speed to market for video service providers.
Platform history
As noted by the partners, the Arqplex pltaform is underpinned by decades of experience in broadcast and broadband services for tier-one service providers. The partnership combines MediaKind’s cloud-native multiplexing, encoding, and packaging headend media processing technology, known for delivering globally renowned content quality and distribution reliability, with Arqiva’s expertise in managed services, systems integration and connectivity.
Arqiva’s operational teams fully manage and monitor the new Arqplex service, delivering real economies of scale to headend operations. Through MediaKind’s cloud-native headend software, Arqplex will deliver broadcast-grade service levels to OTT operations.
The service utilizes Arqiva’s global content network to collect content from any source, whether satellite, fiber, cloud, or the internet. It also includes options to manage ad insertion and catch-up functionality for customers. The companies contend the highly scalable and flexible Arqplex service is built on a cloud-based subscription model, removing the need for large capex investment in the latest technology advances.
Customers can have technology upgrades and patches securely applied as soon as they are available, removing the need to source and install updates. Media service providers can use AWS public cloud, an alternative cloud provider or Arqiva’s data centers. Where customers opt for cloud processing, operations can be sited in the region most appropriate for their services.
The Arqplex service also integrates seamlessly with other products across the Arqiva portfolio. The existing Arqplex roadmap is now set to be extended further, with Arqiva and MediaKind integrating a range of partners to expand the service's capabilities. Arqiva has already begun the process of migrating existing headend customers to the new headend-as-a-service offering.
QUOTES
“We have an exceptional heritage in aggregating and processing content for broadcasters. Arqplex is the next chapter in this journey. With viewers fragmenting across platforms making things more complex and costly, our solution radically simplifies the headend operations of broadcasters and OTT operators. Using cloud technology and partnering once more with MediaKind, our market-leading managed service solution will be a game changer for broadcasters and platform operators across the globe.” -- Shuja Khan, CEO, Arqiva
“We are delighted to announce our first offer from our partnership with Arqiva and introduce a new hybrid content processing service that will streamline content delivery. Underpinned by peerless infrastructure, cloud and processing development and service knowledge, Arqplex combines MediaKind’s market-leading media processing technology with Arqiva’s service management expertise for complete assurance. Increasingly our customers require the tools to be agile and ultra-responsive to the media and entertainment market’s continuous evolution. Arqplex is hybrid to the core, secure and ensures a cost-effective means of content delivery, allowing both operators and broadcasters to focus on creating new, exciting, and differentiated content.” -- Allen Broome, CEO MediaKind
