Qligent to debut virtualized VOD analysis at NAB

Feb. 12, 2019
At the 2019 NAB Show in April in Las Vegas, Qligent will debut its Vision-VOD solution for virtualized assessment and verification of file ...

At the 2019 NAB Show in April in Las Vegas, Qligent will debut its Vision-VOD solution for virtualized assessment and verification of file-based content throughout the video on demand (VOD) delivery chain, including the last mile.

"What makes Vision-VOD unique in the marketplace is that providers can not only ensure the quality of their VOD files, they also gain valuable feedback and insight into bigger questions like whether viewers are able to access and consume the content with its intended quality and integrity," said Ted Korte, CTO of Qligent.

Vision-VOD is designed to allow users to determine the scope of the testing they want to perform, which specific VOD parameters they want to evaluate, and at what point in the chain they wish to monitor. At the front end of the content delivery chain, files can be analyzed and verified for such attributes as media container conformance; quality of experience (QoE) of video, audio, and content metadata; and captions, loudness, and other regulatory compliance. At the back end, Vision-VOD analyzes VOD parameters such as manifest verification, adaptive bitrate (ABR) compliance, download rates, lost segments, and latency.

"The key to Vision-VOD is our unique deployment of virtual probes that extend monitoring and analysis out to the last mile," said Korte. "These probes serve as virtual end-users that access and play selected files at various points across global IP networks and markets. By sampling the video in different places, these virtualized probes gather data that informs content owners about file defects and network performance issues that could affect viewability, as well as other metrics which impact the audience engagement for that video."

Vision-VOD probes file access the same way - and in the same place - a user would access the content. The solution's analytics engines then process that data set into reports to project a clearer picture of the likely user experience for that file at the time of testing.

"Consider a scenario where a program is made available for on-demand viewing, and initial metrics show a certain number of people watched that content," said Korte. "That's great, but what if a thousand more people had tried to view that same content but gave up due to network performance issues they encountered? Vision-VOD gives providers a level of technical insight about their VOD user experience that they wouldn't otherwise have even with viewer feedback. Then, armed with this actionable information, they can then take proactive steps to protect their revenue streams, preserve customer loyalty, and ensure an optimal viewing experience worthy of their brand."

Vision-VOD is available as a standalone, on-premise solution or distributed, SaaS-based offering with a choice of pay-as-you-go pricing models for deployment in the cloud, on virtual machines, or hosted by a third party. Vision-VOD also has an API for third-party party integration. Users of Qligent's flagship Vision platform can also add Vision-VOD to their existing deployment.