Hesitate no more: Transition to cloud by tagging on best-in-class hybrid solutions & NDI the way to go!

By Shaun Lim

No matter what business you are in, any technology that promises to offer flexibility, scalability and cost-efficiency, is bound to pique your interest. For the broadcast and media industry, the transition to cloud-based broadcasting has been accelerating in recent years as broadcasters move away from the constraints of traditional hardware-dependent systems. In response, cloud solutions providers are striving to provide best-in-class solutions, and many are doing so via a number of high-profile collaborations.

TAG Video Systems, for example, recently announced a partnership with Tencent Cloud that allows customers to leverage Tencent Cloud’s infrastructure and suite of cloud services to deliver enhanced media services to viewers. 

Also working with the likes of leading cloud platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure, interoperability is a core priority for TAG, shared Golan Simani, Director of Cloud & Tech Operations.

He told APB+, “Our technology is built for flexibility and scalability, enabling smooth collaboration with providers such as Tencent Cloud, AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure to deliver best-in-class solutions.

“To achieve seamless integration, we maintain close partnerships with these vendors, continuously updating our M&E engineering teams on product developments and sharing roadmap plans. We identify optimal integration points between TAG’s solutions and cloud services, ensuring alignment. 

“For instance, we regularly update our certified instances to leverage the latest CPU advancements, reducing costs while integrating with external storage, data, and automation services for enhanced control.

“This collaborative approach ensures compatibility with emerging technologies while providing customers with robust support and workflow optimisation, eliminating concerns about cloud compatibility.”

Where Tencent Cloud is concerned, the APAC region has long been a key market and the company sees the partnership with TAG as another step in supporting the transformation and transition of media and broadcast companies to the cloud.

Specifically, it is addressing the need for greater scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency in an increasingly competitive media landscape, which is driving the transition to cloud-based workflows in APAC, suggested Liyen Gan, Customer Success Team Lead APAC, TAG.

“Our cloud-based monitoring solutions allow broadcasters to scale operations without requiring substantial upfront investments in hardware. Our platform’s adaptability is particularly valuable in the APAC market, where businesses seek cost-effective solutions while maintaining the ability to respond to rapidly changing market conditions.”

While acknowledging that challenges such as network reliability, data regulations, and latency constraints remain key hurdles for cloud adoption in some APAC markets, TAG is helping broadcasters in APAC navigate these barriers by offering hybrid workflow solutions.

From a licensing perspective, TAG offers a zero-friction model that allows customers to access all TAG solutions under a single license across multiple environments, be it on-premises or in the cloud. For greater flexibility, users can also choose between OPEX or a hybrid OPEX/CAPEX financial model.

“This approach aligns seamlessly with Tencent’s on-demand option, enabling customers to build dynamic environments with cost predictability,” explained Gan.

From an infrastructure standpoint, TAG’s MCS (Media Control System) facilitates hybrid environment management, consolidating data and bridging video formats between on-premises and cloud workflows. 

“As cloud adoption continues to accelerate in the region, TAG remains committed to delivering localised, tailored solutions that address these unique challenges while empowering broadcasters to innovate,” added Gan. 

Beyond innovation, TAG’s cloud monitoring system is also designed to deliver substantial cost savings by eliminating high operational costs and limited scalability. 

While traditional broadcast infrastructures require significant capital investments in hardware, on-premises servers, and IT resources for maintenance, TAG’s cloud-based solution leverages a pay-as-you-go pricing model that ensures customers only pay for the resources they use. These hybrid deployments offer the flexibility to maintain critical workflows on-premises while benefiting from cloud scalability and cost optimisation.

Gan continued, “Moreover, real-time monitoring and remote accessibility reduce the need for on-site maintenance. As the demand for over-the-top (OTT) video streaming grows, TAG addresses evolving needs with innovations like adaptive monitoring solutions to reduce infrastructure costs. 

“Our Central Error Display (CED) consolidates alerts and data-driven notifications, allowing operators to focus on critical issues efficiently. This approach enables broadcasters to manage an increasing number of channels with the same operational resources.”

TAG’s content-matching solutions further enhance quality control by identifying latency issues and content mismatches. By tracking video from capture to distribution, broadcasters gain a comprehensive view for their entire workflow, allowing for faster issue resolution.

“Whether in a cloud or hybrid environment, TAG’s monitoring solutions offer a scalable, cost-effective, and flexible approach to managing broadcast operations,” said Gan.

As cloud workflows continue to evolve, TAG also sees edge computing as a complementary force to cloud infrastructure, particularly for real-time monitoring and content delivery applications. 

Simani described, “Edge computing is playing an increasingly vital role in cloud workflows, particularly in media and broadcasting. As demand for low-latency, real-time content delivery surges, especially in live events and high-definition streaming, edge computing becomes crucial in reducing data travel distance, minimising latency, and enhancing viewer experiences.”

Moving forward, TAG plans to integrate its cloud monitoring solutions with edge computing capabilities, which will allow broadcasters to distribute processing tasks efficiently across cloud and edge environments. This hybrid approach, Simani explained, will improve performance for time-sensitive content while maintaining cloud scalability and flexibility.

Another area of focus for TAG, perhaps inevitably, is on AI-powered monitoring and automation. While TAG’s platform already provides real-time insights, AI integration will enhance automated issue detection and resolution, in turn reducing manual intervention and improving operational efficiency.

“As broadcasters continue to scale and innovate, the convergence of AI, edge computing, and cloud monitoring will enable smarter, more reliable, and more streamlined workflows,” said Simani.

Why live production is staying in the cloud

For Vizrt, cloud has been a transformational technology that the company has leveraged on to support live production from all corners of the globe. 

Drawing on Vizrt’s experiences in harnessing the power of cloud-based live production, Jon Raidel, Global Centre of Excellence Lead in Cloud & Live Production, Vizrt, told APB+, “With cloud-based productions, tools are hosted in the cloud and accessed remotely, which otherwise are likely hosted on-premises. Cloud typically offers more resilience, scalability, redundancy, and faster routes in and out – for instance, tools can be hosted in the data centre closest to where the operators are based or where the action is happening. 

“Tools can also be moved between different data centres as needed, rather than having to connect back to your on-premises tools, which might be a significant distance away and create latency issues.”

Moreover, Vizrt believes it has a winning differentiator that gives it a distinct advantage when it comes to powering end-to-end live productions in the cloud – Network Device Interface (NDI), a global video-over-IP connectivity standard developed by NewTek, now a brand under Vizrt.

Deeply integrated into Vizrt’s cloud-based workflows and solutions, NDI is a production-based codec that is unlike other IP contribution codecs.

Raidel explained, “NDI is specifically designed for live production, enabling high-quality, low-latency transport over standard networks, which ensures fast and reliable performance. As an IP-free protocol, NDI’s industry-wide adoption, supported by a robust ecosystem of certified products, enhances interoperability. NDI’s flexibility and ease of use provide broadcasters with the necessary tools to streamline their workflows efficiently.”

He was also quick to highlight how NDI unlocks new possibilities for broadcast production by leveraging cloud scalability and flexibility to enhance content creation and distribution. “Seamless integration, whether on-premises or in the cloud, empowers broadcasters to manage their content with versatility.”

For broadcasters who are still holding back on transitioning to the cloud, Raidel is keen to reiterate the host of benefits cloud can bring to live productions, and how this group of broadcasters are now firmly in the minority.

He referenced a recent CTO survey by media and technology association DPP, which reflected that investment in cloud is growing, with over 88% of CTOs affirming they have adopted cloud applications to great effect.

For instance, cloud solutions offer key flexibility for broadcasters to confidently manage multiple coverages of major events simultaneously. It also reduces upfront investment in hardware and maintenance, making the jump to cloud more accessible than other workflow options. 

Raidel added, “Cloud is also a positive option for redundancy, and it has the unique ability to be scalable during seasons of high demand. For production teams, it provides consistency in creating content at a high level.

“For operators, it offers them the ability to travel less, work more, and enables them to spend more time with family and less time on the road, which I have seen improve work-life balance immensely.”

With latency continuing to be a factor in live cloud productions, the cloud-based tools that Vizrt have introduced in the last few years have focused on intelligent optimisation, although Raidel emphasised how factors like content contribution signal flow is beyond Vizrt’s control when it comes to reducing latency.

“TriCaster Vectar (Vizrt’s cloud-based live video production system) has just two frames of processing latency, and for a button push it’s a half-frame, which is imperceptible to operators.

“We are also working with third parties to strengthen connectivity and interoperability with our tools. For example, with Viz Now (an automated deployment tool) we’ve recently partnered with Comprimato to deploy their live transcoder product for signal distribution.”

Such collaborations are likely to be key for cloud-based productions to be ubiquitous, as they serve to demonstrate to hesitant broadcasters on the merits and practicalities of transitioning to the cloud.

“As architecting a cloud-based workflow solution is unique to every broadcaster, the best way to ensure confidence in that transition is to work with providers and vendors who are willing to understand what is uniquely needed and what the particular broadcaster wants to achieve,” concluded Raidel.