Customer Success Story

Discovery counts on FlipFactory to reduce the costs of delivering to more than 10 VOD platforms, with 14 different languages and 8 subtitle languages

THINK cost-effective

What if you could easily repurpose your video content for new clients and delivery platforms, creating new ways to earn revenue? FlipFactory specializes in automating and simplifying the way you transform your video to any number of formats and brand content for easy delivery to any number of distribution outlets.

Whether you're repurposing a few hundred or a few thousand video clips a day, FlipFactory does all the work for you. Set it and forget it. Add just the functionality you need such as graphics insertion or subtitling. With prices starting at $5,495 for transcoding workflow automation, just THINK of your increased ROI.

Customer Case Study:

Discovery counts on FlipFactory to reduce the costs of delivering to more than
10 VOD platforms, with 14 different languages and 8 subtitle languages

Since implementing Telestream's FlipFactory, the Discovery Communications EMEA division's operating expenses decreased while new sales opportunities for programming have increased

Background
The Discovery Communications EMEA division is based in Chiswick Park, West London, where it services more than 50 channels throughout the EMEA region. While programming is produced by Discovery in London, channels are distributed by numerous pay-TV cable and satellite platforms as well as by a growing number of non-traditional VOD TV platforms. Each channel and platform has its own unique requirements including delivery formats, aspect ratios and subtitling.

The Challenge
With escalating demand for program delivery to VOD platforms, Discovery's linear tape-based dubbing and distribution processes were expensive and inflexible. In order to deliver a program to VOD platform, Discovery had to dub a file to tape and take the tape into an edit suite, manually remove the ad breaks, lay off the new conformed version to tape and then ship the tape to the VOD platform by courier. When creating and delivering multiple programs on a daily basis, the operational costs were substantial.

"The tape-based process was expensive, slow and limited the number of platforms we could reach," said Darren Breeze, Director of Broadcast Technology, Discovery Communications EMEA. "We needed a way to reach out to other platforms while meeting the different format requirements."

Discovery approached Telestream with a request to provide a solution to support the requirements of more than 10 different VOD platforms, incorporating 14 different languages and eight subtitle language versions. In addition, each VOD platform needed a specific combination of languages, aspect ratios, graphics, bumpers and promos inserted within the VOD packages.

The Solution
Three Telestream FlipFactory server systems were selected and have been in production in London since May 2008. FlipFactory allows Discovery to set up factories that automate specific processes to transcode, repurpose and customize each asset. Once factories are configured, Discovery VOD operators are able to submit program content to the factories for consistent, hands-free processing.

FlipFactory's Conform Engine is used to remove breaks from master transmission files stored in Omneon video servers. This creates a new 50Mb/s copy with continuous programming. Promos and bumpers can be inserted according to specific customer requirements. Further, audio channels can be added, and in multiple languages. This new mezzanine file gets transcoded to IPTV, VOD or other platform format requirements.

Depending on the target VOD platform, burnt-in subtitles can be added during the transcoding process using FlipFactory's Screen Subtitling option which refers to the Vertical Interval Timecode (VITC) values. Screen Subtitling enables support for any language requirement, even though the file now has discontinuous VITC timecode. Lastly, graphics, logos and standards conversion can be added in the final transcode pass with the factory configuration.

Discovery's completed program files are delivered with metadata to VOD platforms via Signiant's network-based delivery system. Because this is initiated with an automated xml message produced in Discovery's content management system, no input from operational staff is required.

The Result
Discovery's entry cost to test and deliver custom content to a new platform is reduced, making it easier and more cost-effective for the company to add new markets to VOD offerings. Further, Discovery no longer edits and dubs tapes as these processes are done automatically using FlipFactory technology.

"FlipFactory proved beneficial for our very first large foreign language transcode request. The cost savings on this job alone outweighed our infrastructure investment," said Breeze.

Since implementing Telestream's FlipFactory, the Discovery Communications EMEA division's operating expenses decreased while new sales opportunities for programming have increased.

The FlipFactory system was supplied and installed by Boxer Systems, Telestream's authorized UK distributor.

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