PlayBox adds powerful streaming solutions to market-leading integrated playout platform

Rounds out product line to provide complete solutions for content delivery, including managed services and professional support

London, UK, 08/12/21 – PlayBox Technology has added an extensive list of new products to its acclaimed integrated playout platform. These encompass the complete spectrum of content delivery, with particular attention to streaming and to content and subscriber management.

Interest in streaming and live content is growing from a broad range of organisations, from ISPs to sports groups and houses of worship. To meet this demand, PlayBox has introduced AirBox Connect, a software-defined streaming solution, designed to be used in house or in the cloud. For those who prefer to outsource content delivery, AirBox Connect+ is a full managed service for live streaming, including asset management, advertising integration and CDN integration as well as live streaming software.

To meet the needs of those who stream from remote locations, PlayBox has also developed a highly compact, highly portable streamer, the AirBox Mini, built on the extremely powerful NUC / Mini PC platform. When performance is critical, the Eurisko hardware encoder provides very low latency outputs in SDI, H.264/5, SRT and NDI.

To complete the content delivery technology, PlayBox has also added two vital management layers. The media asset management solution is about far more than simply tracking content: it gives simple access to powerful workflow design and implementation tools, to ensure the automated playout and streaming is accurate, consistent and intuitive.

Complementing the asset management is a subscriber management layer. Designed specifically for OTT services, this CMS is readily tailored to create a bespoke platform to manage revenues, whether the service is advertising or subscription funded. Both link seamlessly with PlayBox’s traffic system.

“What we are saying with these new products, alongside our proven and popular systems, is that PlayBox is the one-stop shop for streaming and broadcast playout,” said Philip Neighbour, COO at PlayBox Technology. “We can now provide everything you need – apart from the programmes – whether you choose to host the hardware, run it in the cloud, or let us provide a complete managed service.

“Alongside these headline new products we have also added new functionality across the complete ecosystem,” Neighbour added. “This covers all the areas you will need, like compliance recording, digital rights management and ad placement. We can add newsroom functionality, disaster recovery, and cloud content storage. To get you on-air or online, we also have a professional services team that can provide everything from training and consultancy to wiring and configuration.”

Drawing on more than 15 years’ experience and innovation in integrated playout, PlayBox Technology now delivers over 20,000 master entertainment streams every day. Its core products were developed to meet the real needs of broadcasters and content streamers, focusing on reliable automated and unattended operation, with an intuitive user interface supporting manual interventions when required.

Central to everything PlayBox does, Channel in a Box is an integrated playout platform designed for hybrid SDI and IP environments. It is capable of serving multiple channels, at resolutions up to 4k Ultra HD. All functionality is implemented in software running on standard IT hardware, with tailored user interfaces implemented in HTML5.

“Streaming channels are applicable to so many organisations, and getting it right brings the promise of new brand recognition and potential revenues,” Neighbour said. “At PlayBox we have all the industry experience, which we are happy to share with you to develop your bespoke solution to realise your goals.”