Telecom Platform Deployment Featured Article

Imagine Communications, a digital video solutions vendor for content providers and system operators, revealed that its ICE Video Platform IPTV transcoder is now fully compatible with both 1.0 and 2.0 versions of the Microsoft (News - Alert) Mediaroom IPTV platform. This interoperability achievement will enable Imagine to support its IPTV customers’ transition to Mediaroom 2.0, ramping up the  deployment process overall.

The testing for interoperability was conducted by Tech Mahindra Corp. as part of the Microsoft Mediaroom Interoperability and Qualification Lab (IQ Lab) program, which aims at enabling seamless interoperability and compliance of headend equipment used in the deployment of Microsoft Mediaroom 2.0.

Microsoft Mediaroom is the Smart TV platform from Microsoft that facilitates interactive television usage and gives access to on-demand, live television programming. Millions of households across the globe subscribe to Microsoft Mediaroom-enabled TV services.

The Imagine ICE Video Platform is designed to facilitate fast channel deployment. According to its maker, ICE Video Platform makes an ideal solution for IPTV (News - Alert) service providers who need to deploy more channels with higher picture quality, and then rapidly and seamlessly add support for multiple devices such as tablets, PCs and smartphones.  

The solution is able to seamlessly integrate audio and video transcoding in the same platform as PIP (Picture in Picture) creation, multiscreen transcoding and multi-format media streaming. Available in a dense 1RU (Rack Unit) package or as a NEBS-compliant Blade System, the ICE Video Platform is highly scalable and reliable, according to a press release.

Imagine's multi-codec, multi-rate and multi-resolution ICE Video Platform is widely used in telecom platform deployments worldwide. Service providers around the globe have deployed the platform to be able to offer outstanding viewing experience to their IPTV subscribers. This video processing platform currently serves thousands of live streams to over 20 million North American households.

“As our IPTV customers and partners are planning their own migrations to Mediaroom 2.0, we're ready to assist that transition and ensure the highest quality of experience for their customers and subscribers. Best picture quality, system density and reliability are still the calling cards for the ICE Video Platform, but as the IPTV ecosystem continues its upgrade cycle, it's just as important to ensure we're meeting our customers' demands for flawless interoperability, so Mediaroom 2.0 qualification is critical,” Imagine’s Director of Market Development, Scott Solovei noted in a statement.

Just last month, Imagine Communications launched a system upgrade to its ICE Video Platform solution.