BT Media and Broadcast has teamed up with cloud video company M2A Media to provide a cloud connectivity solution for the BT Tower in London. The BT Tower is a telecommunications tower, which also used to host viewing galleries and a rotating restaurant.
The companies used a proof-of-concept trial to combine traditional fixed broadband infrastructure with cloud media services.
BT Media and Broadcast fed content through BT Tower's Broadcast Switch encoders using secure reliable transport protocol, an open-source video transport method that supports low-latency, high-performance streaming. Content was then routed via the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud network using M2A Connect, which is M2A Media’s cloud IP transport product designed to handle events-based broadcasting. The companies monitored confidence levels from device end points.
Marcus Box, CEO and co-founder of M2A Media, said in a statement BT Tower is the central hub for content distribution to U.K. and European broadcasters, and M2A Media’s partnership with BT is driving change in broadcast technology.
“In an era when there is an insatiable appetite for content, providing broadcasters with a flexible method to access their rights is more important than ever before,” he said.
The M2A Connect trial is another step in BT Media and Broadcast’s cloud integration strategy. Last year BT launched its smart broadcast network Vena, which allows users to add automation, efficiency, end-to-end control and visibility across media ecosystems.
Aside from developing in the broadcasting sphere, BT partnered this year with Rackspace Solutions to enhance its managed cloud services for enterprises.
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Cloud integration is hardly a new development for content distributors, particularly for streaming services. BT stands out in that it’s using cloud video technology to improve the durability of linear broadcasting.
“We’re seeing a growing demand from our customers for cloud media services, and our collaboration with the M2A team is allowing us to keep pace with this fast-moving market,” said Faisal Mahomed, director of BT Media and Broadcast.