Today, NewTek and Wowza Media Systems have just announced their media distribution system MediaDS, a real-time media encoding and live streaming video delivery platform. MediaDS merges NewTek’s live production hardware with Wowza’s streaming software in a 1RU footprint. This allows producers of multi-channel content networks to stream video directly to viewers in real time.
MediaDS supports all existing and emerging SDI, IP, and hybrid workflows, with multi-format processing allowing supported source types to be used on each channel interchangeably. Streaming signals are acquired through direct input with 3G/HD/SD-SDI hardware connections over IP via NDI, NewTek’s Network Device Interface technology, and from other sources such as TCP/IP, webcams, and USB capture devices.
Each streaming channel includes a customizable web page with support for HTML and CSS editing. This ensures that the on-screen experience can adhere to any organization’s brand guidelines. MediaDS also provides embed codes that allow the Wowza Player to be inserted into existing web pages.
A channel configuration feature allows producers to optimize audio and video for their viewers. Through multiviewer monitoring, local operators can observe all video streams in real time and manage image and sound quality with integrated waveform and vectorscope displays, tools for independent color correction, and multi-channel control for audio levels. Producers can also enable adaptive bitrate streaming by encoding stacked channels from the same source into different renditions as a grouped stream.
For scalability and enterprise deployment, producers can connect multiple MediaDS either through local area networks or remotely over IP if their viewers are distributed over large geographical areas. According to Dave Stubenvoll, CEO of Wowza, this “introduces new opportunities for distribution, expansion, and content monetization.”
MediaDS’s features include:
- 4 SDI inputs supporting up to 3G 1080p
- 4 independently streaming channels
- Support for Facebook Live, MS Azure, YouTube, and Wowza CDN
- Wowza Streaming Cloud and custom RTMP configurations
- NDI technology supporting input and output over IP
- NewTek’s real-time production tools