Harmonic has developed new transcoding presets tailored for Netflix in a lin of transcoders that will set the table for content and service providers to simplify how they transform content into the required media formats for delivery to the streaming giant.
Harmonic said it has launched predefined transcoding presets for its ProMedia Carbon platform to prep video and audio into media formats optimized for Netflix, which ended the first quarter with 27.17 million U.S. streaming subscribers. This new capability creates predefined transcoding presets for Netflix in standard- and high-definition and MPEG-21-Frame video formats at various frame rates, as well as stereo and 5.1 surround sound audio.
"With its ability to store and recall parameters that assure transcoded content meets our stringent quality standards, Harmonic's ProMedia Carbon plays a significant role in the digital supply chains of our content and services partners," said Netflix director of content partner operations Christopher Fetner, in a statement. "Collaborating with Harmonic on the new transcoding presets for ProMedia Carbon, we're able to ensure content operators have greater ease when delivering to Netflix."
Harmonic’s ProMedia Carbon platform converts media content in an array of acquisition, editing, broadcast, Web and mobile formats. The product also handles PAL/NTSC conversions, logo insertion, color correction and multiformat closed-captioning processing. Harmonic's system is powered in part by technology that came way of its $15.5 million acquisition of video transcoding specialist Rhozet in 2007.
"Service providers today receive content from a wide variety of sources in many different formats. The challenge is to align the format and quality of that content, making it ready for distribution through Netflix, as well as other over-the-top (OTT) video providers," said Yoav Derazon, Harmonic’s director of product management for cloud services and transcoding.
The deal with Netflix comes soon after Harmonic identified multiscreen video, alongside High-Efficiently Video Coding (HEVC) and the budding Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP), as its core business growth drivers. To help it focus on those markets, Harmonic recently sold its cable access to Aurora Networks for $46 million.
