Comcast Tech Solutions rolls out cloud-based ad platform, new video player at NAB

LAS VEGAS — Comcast Technology Solutions used the NAB Show this week to roll out a trio of new products, including a cloud-based advertising platform, a new multiscreen video player and an end-to-end live-event streaming service.

Announced today, the Player Development Kit 6 (PDK 6) is a video player developed exclusively for Comcast Technology Solutions’ mpx Video Management System, built to optimize time-to-first-frame on browsers and to speed up ad loads.

PDK 6 was developed purely in HTML5 for modern web and mobile browsing standards. It delivers load times of less than one second during controlled conditions. 

“The video deployment ecosystem has changed dramatically in recent years, and PDK 6 is designed to take advantage of those changes for an optimal user experience,” said Bart Spriester, VP and general manager at Comcast Technology Solutions, in a statement. “In addition to offering a simpler user interface and faster time-to-first-frame, PDK 6 offers the easiest and most efficient opportunities for ad-supported monetization.”

NBCUniversal has been successfully testing an early version of the PDK 6 player, with plans for a full launch in the coming weeks.

Yesterday, meanwhile, the Comcast media services division also announced AdStor, a new cloud-based advertising platform built on a centralized cloud management architecture. The platform’s cloud-based workflow is designed to ease advertising ecosystem complexities that require content providers to adapt workflows to myriad set-top, VOD and OTT standards. workflow.

And earlier this week, Comcast Technology Solutions also touted the debut of live to IP offerings as part of its end-to-end live services portfolio. The division’s enhanced portfolio of live services now enables video content providers and global operators to reach consumers with linear and live events available for streaming on any device. 

“Comcast Technology Solutions has years of experience delivering live content via broadcast and now we can enable customers to benefit from this expertise across all screens,” Spriester added. “With our broadcast-quality infrastructure and flexible, modular solution set, content providers are equipped to meet rapidly evolving consumer demands for live content.”