MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—TVU Networks has introduced a new infrastructure-free, 24/7 channel solution, the TVU Channel, that allows the user to schedule live and VOD programming from a simple web browser.
The cloud-based solution can be used for playout via a traditional television channel, an OTT channel, a pop-up channel or distribution directly to social media – all at the same time and all without any added infrastructure, the company said.
TVU is billing TVU Channel as a product that makes building and managing channels as easy to learn as an online calendar. It also stressed that a wide range of organizations can use it to produce specialized channels.
The platform provides extensive support for ad insertion, including scheduled breaks, manual breaks and full SCTE passthrough.
“This is a game changer,” said Paul Shen, CEO, TVU Networks. “Channel enables you to launch and manage live, 24/7 content channels from your browser. With a 24/7 fully ad insertable channel, all your content can be monitored and monetized. We even made sure TVU Channel provides an as-run log, which is crucial to advertisers.”
Direct support from CDN, social media and online video platforms (OVP) is available. TVU Channel also interfaces with BFX, Wide Orbit, and most third-party ad scheduling platforms, the company said.
Because it’s cloud native, TVU Channel can be quickly deployed without complicated configurations or extensive training needed. The browser-based interface can be accessed through any laptop or smart device from anywhere in the world with Internet access.
Users don’t need to be located at a physical studio and TVU Channel can serve as a backup Master Control in the event a physical studio can not be accessed, TVU noted.
“This is the first in our product line designed for continual programming and not individual events, like live sports or live news coverage,” said Shen. “TVU Channel is ideal for any organization or individual looking to create their own channel or even back up their existing commercial channel. It isn’t just for TV. Radio stations, newspapers, magazines, churches, college and universities, amateur sports leagues, law enforcement and government agencies, and many other organizations could use TVU Channel to produce a specialized channel for their audience.”
The TVU Channel is priced as a pay as you go. It also integrates easily within the TVU Networks ecosystem: TVU Producer for multi-camera live video production and graphic overlays, TVU Search for AI-powered content search, TVU Transcriber for real-time closed captioning, TVU Grid for point to multi-point video distribution over the Internet, and the TVU One mobile transmitter and TVU Anywhere mobile broadcast app for live video sources.
In addition, video can be captured on a mobile phone, fed into TVU Producer on a laptop, graphic overlays created in TVU Producer, ads of any length inserted, and then pushed out to the channel for distribution to any playout platform. It also works with other edge devices for the ingest of live content via SDI/SMPTE 2110/NDI, as well as output for traditional linear channels, TVU said.
