SeaChange used ANGA COM to outline its vision for a next-generation CMS (Content Management System) that it says will be available commercially by the end of this year. The system will converge linear and non-linear workflows, remove metadata duplication and ensure that there is a single copy of metadata for content assets. It will also provide metadata quality validation and enrichment.
The new CMS will be an extension to the AssetFlow CMS that SeaChange sells today. It is aimed at service providers, broadcasters and other media companies globally and covers all video assets including advertising. It will be available to use with a SeaChange or any third-party service delivery backoffice, and will be available for implementation on-premise or in the cloud.
“You need very qualified metadata to improve the user experience and feed the recommendation and search engines so users do not have to spend five minutes finding content,” a spokesman points out. “That is more important as content catalogues become larger. There is also operational complexity that comes with managing all the different content formats, made worse as the volume of content grows. Reducing this complexity will save money.”
This product will make it easier to cope with more content formats and the different business and rights rules – like release windows and network or device restrictions – that are present in an increasingly multiscreen world, the spokesman said. “Complexity is increasing and operators are under pressure in terms of their operations.”
The new system will ensure there is only ever one version of the metadata for the same piece of content. So if you ingested an HD version of a show and the SD version was only made available to you two weeks later, this second asset would be ingested but the metadata would not be duplicated. The metadata could be combined, where appropriate.
Users will be able to manage the entire workflow, from ingest to distribution, from a single dashboard. The system will be highly automated but it will be easy to intervene manually, like if there are errors.
The ANGA COM demonstration cannot be called a proof-of-concept but was an outline of the product vision. SeaChange is currently developing the new CMS platform, which will receive a product name at launch.
