GatesAir, a Thomson Broadcast subsidiary dedicated to wireless content delivery, will introduce a new Intraplex software release to help broadcast networks and content syndicators efficiently manage local ad insertions through Intraplex Audio over IP and cloud networking systems. The new targeted advertising capabilities, fueled through precise metadata triggers enabled within the software, offer a compelling new reason for broadcasters to transition out of the satellite space and embrace the benefits of the cloud for bulk audio transport. GatesAir will demonstrate the new software release, available in June, at NAB Show 2024 in Las Vegas next week. GatesAir exhibits at W2730.
The new software capabilities are supported on the Intraplex Ascent cloud platform and IP Link 100c, 100e and 100n Audio over IP codec solutions. GatesAir introduced Intraplex Ascent in 2019 to reduce the costs of multichannel contribution and distribution between many locations. Ascent builds in all of the features that Intraplex IP Link Audio over IP codecs are valued for and reimagines them for enterprise-level deployments that benefit from scalable, IT-oriented architectures. For broadcasters using satellite for bulk transport today, moving to a cloud platform such as Ascent means much lower long-term costs and greater control of the operation without any sacrifice to reliable program delivery.
In a typical scenario, a customer’s Traffic Manager will interface with a headend-based IP Link codec or Ascent to trigger virtual metadata that activates local ads for network afilliates at defined times with exacting precision, and switch back to national programming at the conclusion of the local ad break. Triggers are scheduled within the Intraplex platform, which automates delivery to all affiliates without requirements for local manual intervention. Intraplex IP Link Audio over IP codecs or Ascent will automatically receive and activate triggers at local affiliates to manage the breaks.
“Broadcasters that use satellite for program syndication and large-scale content delivery are faced with new challenges from the recent C-Band satellite repack, from diminished capacity to rising operational costs,” said Keyur Parikh, VP of Engineering, GatesAir. “Ascent’s agile cloud architecture offers the bandwidth and high availability required for enterprise-level networks that rely on satellite today, along with simple scalability to new end points at much lower costs. Our new advanced local ad insertion feature introduces an important function to Ascent and our IP Link hardware codec platforms that will compel network operators still locked into satellite to migrate their operations to the cloud.”
GatesAir started rolling out its second generation of Intraplex IP Link codec solutions in 2020, including the new IP Link 100n hardware codec introduced at IBC. Receiving its North American debut, the IP Link 100n is a full-duplex, single stereo-channel codec for simultaneous reception and transmission of Audio over IP streams in STL (Studio-to-Transmitter), STS (Studio-to-Studio) and other networking applications for radio and streaming services. Same as Ascent and all IP Link products, the IP Link 100n is SRT-capable and integrated with Dynamic Stream Splicing (DSS) technology, a GatesAir industry-first innovation nearly ten years ago, which fortifies network path redundancy across two or more live streams for hitless protection against packet and link losses.
GatesAir will also preview wide-area audio networking applications that takes the Intraplex brand into new areas of content delivery outside of the broadcast space, including the retail and hospitality markets. The new applications, powered through the new software release and managed through Ascent, includes delivery of live audio streams and scheduled playlists to retail chains, hotels, restaurants and other businesses.