Imagine Communications and Amagi Deliver Channels Everywhere at IBC2023

At IBC2023 (15-18 September, RAI Amsterdam, stand 2.A15), Imagine Communications will demonstrate its latest advances in cloud, on-premises and hybrid workflows, showcasing the significant strides being made in how channels are originated, delivered, and managed. Central to these advancements are groundbreaking developments in the company’s recently launched Aviator Orchestrator™ and integration between Imagine and Amagi to create compelling new solutions that enable media companies to deliver channels everywhere ― to all screens on all platforms for broadcast and over-the-top (OTT) applications.

The latest developments in the Imagine Aviator™ Plan, Make and Monetize platform enable management of Amagi’s CLOUDPORT cloud playout solution. Playlists can now be delivered to Amagi CLOUDPORT for execution, and playlist updates can be made via the Aviator user interface (UI), providing a seamlessly integrated solution that keeps all aspects of playout under the control of Imagine’s common user interface ― regardless of whether on-prem or in the cloud. This transformative, collaborative approach enables media companies to reduce training that would otherwise be needed for multiple UIs, mitigate operational risks and speed recovery from on-air issues.

Delivery of channels also receives a significant boost from Imagine and Amagi’s partnership, with integration taking a number of forms, starting with on-prem. Imagine’s industry-proven Versio™ integrated playout solution supports a wide range of workflows from simple branded channels to complex, highly interactive channels. Versio outputs simultaneous baseband and compressed streams, with the latter now able to be uplinked to the cloud and fed to Amagi’s THUNDERSTORM platform to support server-side ad insertion (SSAI). This new integration enables media companies to use Versio to deliver high-end FAST channels and OTT channels, as well as to reach all common connected TV (CTV), mobile, web browsers and other connected devices. 

Likewise, all cloud-based playout channels under the control of Aviator, including Amagi CLOUDPORT, can be delivered to Amagi’s THUNDERSTORM and downlinked to on-prem systems for delivery to broadcast endpoints over the air, on satellite or cable. This means the common Aviator user interface can originate all channels regardless of point of origin to reach all end points ― in the cloud and on-prem.

“The breadth and flexibility of our Aviator platform has been significantly extended by the latest innovations in Aviator Orchestrator and integration with Amagi ― powering new workflows and creating revenue-generating new opportunities for our customers,” said Brendon Mills, General Manager of Imagine Communications Playout and Networking. “Our ongoing development of Aviator underscores our commitment to enabling our customers to achieve meaningful improvements in content monetization by efficiently delivering channels everywhere.”

First introduced at the 2023 NAB Show, Aviator Orchestrator unifies on-prem and cloud multi-site workflows under a common deployment platform — enabling media companies to seamlessly control hybrid environments and optimize their resources across what they have on the ground and what they are doing in the cloud.

Imagine Communications will showcase Aviator, along with all the latest advances across its transformational plan, make and monetize portfolio at IBC2023, 15-18 September at the RAI Amsterdam, stand 2.A15.