Zixi to Demo Tech for Better Broadcast, Streaming Profitability at NAB Show

Zixi
(Image credit: Zixi)

WALTHAM, Mass.—Zixi has announced that during the 2024 NAB Show it will be showing a number of new features for its live streaming offering at its booth W1401 between April 14 to 17. 

During the event, Zixi will present a diverse range of product updates and will be showcasing improved live video delivery performance, scalability and cost performance on the Zixi Enabled Network, the industry's largest ecosystem for live video over IP.

According to Zixi, those advances will help users adapt to the current streaming focus on cost cutting and profitability by enabling organizations to achieve more with fewer resources. 

“Zixi will demonstrate groundbreaking developments in efficiency that enable our customers to realize a very healthy bottom line,” said Gordon Brooks, executive chairman and CEO, Zixi. “There are a number of large savings areas, including egress and compute, as well as the use of advanced analytics and machine learning to drastically reduce RCA costs.”

These advances include:

  • High-Performance Networking, leveraging DPDK to achieve remarkable throughput efficiency improvements while utilizing only a fraction of processing power.  This allows a Zixi Broadcaster to deliver 3x the amount of Zixi traffic versus previous versions and as a result the associated costs of compute is reduced by two-thirds.  Open-source alternatives require 3x the compute and therefore 9x the compute/costs versus Zixi using High Performance networking.
  • Dynamic Latency for the optimization of live IP video based on real-time network conditions. High value streaming applications require as real-time, ultra-low latency as possible. Unique to Zixi, Dynamic Latency automatically finds the lowest possible latency based on network conditions, where streams can still be delivered reliably, and adjusts the latency as network conditions change.
  • Error Concealment replaces video frames containing errors with skip frames while keeping audio in sync, overcoming situations where unrecoverable packet loss on input streams corrupts video frames. Error Concealment improves the downstream decoding and playback of video streams for customers deploying IRDs when there has been upstream packet loss creating some errors in the video stream content.
  • Timeline Normalization repairs timelines in the transport stream introduced by upstream encoding and processing, helping sensitive to timeline issue IRDs, dramatically improving stream ingest. Timeline Normalization improves downstream decoding and playback of video streams for broadcasters when there has been upstream packet loss creating some errors in the video stream timelines or timelines are not clean due to the video ingested being legacy protocols.
  • Required by Zixi’s broadcasters of 1M live events in 2023, Smooth Live Midroll Insertion makes it possible to insert an advertisement or a fixed length slate or blackout directly into the live stream output, making it simple for the customer to insert ads or promos in the cloud into a live event video stream when they do not need the full capabilities of, and inherent complexity of, production switching/editing or ad insertion software
  • Dynamic HTML Overlays will be showcased, making the transition to the cloud seamless without the need for additional on-premises hardware for these processes. Dynamic HTML Overlays makes it easy for broadcasters to overlay graphics, such a scoreboards or news tickers, to a live video stream in the cloud when they do not need the full capabilities, cost or complexity of production switching and editing software.

The company also reported that it continues to innovate with AI, ML and advanced analytics and will demonstrate the ability to track telemetry metadata across the life of the live stream journey even as video leaves and comes back to the SDVP.  Coupled with Intelligent Data Platform (IDP) capabilities including Auto Incidents utilizing Multi-Object-Correlation-Analysis (MOCA), this not only strengthens Zixi’s ability to quickly perform root cause analysis (RCA) for the quick resolution of issues in minutes, but also to optimize workflows by replacing weak segments of the distribution with different networks or by replacing blind segments of the distribution with Zixi optimized delivery, the company reported. 

Also during the show, Zixi Enabled Network ecosystem partners will be demonstrating their Zixi integrated offerings in the Partner Village. These include:

  • Ad Insertion Platform will demonstrate Zixi integrated ad insertion solutions for broadcast and OTT environments including the patented DAIConnect SSAI platform that allows content providers various methods to monetize live channels.
  • Encompass will be exhibiting Altitude Media Connect that provides a cloud-native high-performance, flexible and scalable platform for channel aggregation, encoding, packaging content and playout for streaming and OTT platforms.
  • Red5 will be demonstrating how users can utilize WebRTC and its real time streaming platform to deliver content to millions in milliseconds leveraging the reach of global Zixi Enabled Network along with support from Videon Labs.
  • Singular.Live will be showcasing how it leverages Zixi to deliver broadcast quality graphic overlays with ultra-low latency. The platform’s advanced feature set presents an array of possibilities, enabling businesses to enhance engagement and explore monetization avenues, particularly through the implementation of localization and interactivity. 
  • Videon Labs will be exhibiting the native Zixi integration in the Videon EdgeCaster EZ encoder, a powerful contribution edge encoding device designed for the point-of-production, delivering both low-latency and cost-efficiency with ZEN Master support for unified orchestration, management and control.

On Saturday April 13th, Zixi will sponsor and participate in the 2024 Devoncroft Executive Summit with many customers and partners discussing their experiences with the SDVP. 

On Sunday April 14th Zixi will present two thought leadership events, first in the Connect Zone Tech Chat Theater at 2PM, Senior Architect Ben Gaverick will present Managing Ultra Low Latency in Live IP Video Workflows, discussing necessities in delivering mission critical video content efficiently, especially in time-sensitive scenarios like sports broadcasting. At the Capitalize Zone Theater at 3PM, Zixi will host a panel with Zixi customers and partners, bringing together industry subject matter experts to discuss trends and challenges in cloud-based, live IP workflows.

For more details and to book a meeting please visit Zixi at NAB 2024

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George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.