At NAB 2013 Infostrada presented SmartVOD, a new cloud-based turnkey solution that enables broadcasters, MSOs, retail chains and content owners to cost-effectively create their own video on demand services or market their premium video assets across multiple platforms. It includes a dedicated video storage facility, advanced management software, and the multi-platform customer interface. “Video on demand is the fastest growing market for premium content – the recent success of services including Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, and Sky On Demand have proven that consumer behaviour is evolving with the choices that new technology provides,” said Peter Bruggink, chief technology officer, Infostrada. “For premium content media owners, carriers or retailers, distributing with video on demand is a strategy to market video assets beyond their existing fixed infrastructure. SmartVOD is a cost-effective platform that allows them to launch and manage a video on demand business that can quickly deliver a profitable return.” SmartVOD is a white label platform that can be customised for any brand. It provides storage, management software, and a customer interface all in one system, and includes advanced automated financial management. Since the platform is cloud-based, initial investments are low, which makes the platform accessible to more content owners. Broadcasters and MSOs can use SmartVOD as an instant ‘go’ proposition, or as an add-on to their existing set-top box based VOD services or catch-up TV services. Content owners can use the SmartVOD platform to market content directly to consumers, while retail brands can use the solution to extend their limited in-store media offering with the unlimited library that VOD can offer. Current users of SmartVOD include Pathé and RTL. www.infostrada.com
