Pixel Power, the global automation, master control, playout, branding and graphics innovator, will focus on its game-changing approach to broadcaster’s business models and automated workflows at IBC2017. These forward-looking approaches to today’s challenges in fully virtualized and cloud playout solutions come as Pixel Power celebrates its 30th anniversary as a business dedicated to excellence through powerful software.
   

“For thirty years Pixel Power has always been a software company. From the very beginning, what set our products apart was the power, the resilience, innovation and the productivity of our software,” said James Gilbert, CEO of Pixel Power. “Of course, in the early days we had to build our own hardware platforms to support the software, but today COTS computing has caught up with us, so we are in a uniquely strong position to take our proven products and develop them as micro-services, inherently virtualized and cloud-native.”

Two new technology platforms, StreamMaster Media Processing and Gallium Workflow Orchestration are the foundation of the modular playout and automated production products. Specific functionality is built on top of these platforms by bringing in the micro-services required. This architecture allows identical software solutions to be built in a machine room on your premises, as virtualized functionality in a data centre, or in the public cloud.

The virtualized micro-services architecture allows Pixel Power to deliver completely new pricing models, to more closely align with today’s entrepreneurial media business models. It allows broadcasters to test new markets and channel ideas by only paying for what they use whenever they use it making it quick and easy to create pop-up or theme based channels for short times very quickly, easily and with a very different cost base. Users can licence either complete systems or specific functionality as perpetual licenses, or licensed per quarter or per hour. If you need some specific sophisticated functionality but only occasionally – which might be 3D DVE or 4k Ultra HD outputs – then you only pay for it while you are actually using it. The result is a much closer link between the cost of offering a service and its potential revenues, allowing broadcasters to make commercial decisions with a clear idea of the costs.

An excellent example of the practical utility of Pixel Power’s software solutions can be seen in one of the finalists for the IBC2017 Innovation Awards: ITV Phoenix. In this project, all the marketing materials for the channel are specified in the system’s database. From this information, Factory from Pixel Power automatically assembles all the versions and variations of each piece of content: as many as 1000 promos a month. The marketing department create the channel’s campaigns and determine what is needed for the broadcaster’s business, in marketing terms, and Factory handles the task of realising their vision.

“I started Pixel Power 30 years ago, and we continue to lead the market because we listen to what our users are telling us about workflows and requirements, and about the changes in their business model,” said Gilbert. “And we have the software skills – and enough flair in our own business – to implement what they want, offer them new ideas for the future, and price it in a way that meets their requirements.”

Pixel Power will be demonstrating its complete range of graphics, production automation and channel playout equipment at IBC2017 in its regular, prominent position in hall 7, stand 7.A31.