Broadpeak And Inca Networks Partner To Provide HBC With IP Video Delivery Solution

Broadpeak® and Inca Networks have partnered to provide Minnesota-based internet service provider Hiawatha Broadband Communications (HBC) with a reliable and scalable IP video delivery solution.

The subscriber management and user experiences are powered by Espial's Elevate Cloud IPTV platform, which is a TV-as-a-service solution that enables HBC to offer IPTV and app-based TV services to its customers. AMT served as the reseller on the project, ensuring a quick and seamless deployment.

"HBC operates an advanced fiber-optic network that delivers gigabit broadband, feature-rich telephone, and video services with a selection of more than 300 channels, VOD, and extensive local high school and college sporting events produced by HBC Studios. Recently, we deployed IP ABR delivery for its ability to support OTT video, amongst other benefits," said Jim Kronebusch, vice president of technology and engineering at Hiawatha Broadband Communications. "Broadpeak and Inca Networks provided us with a future-rich solution for preparing and distributing video content via IP applications."

HBC is using Broadpeak's BkS350 Origin and Packager to ingest live video channels sent by the Inca adaptive-bit-rate (ABR) transcoder 3840. The ABR transcoder 3840 was developed with reliability and resilience in mind. It uses Inca Networks' globally deployed hardware transcoding engine, validated against thousands of broadcast streams worldwide, to transcode MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 AVC video sources into frame-aligned, multibit-rate outputs in MPEG-4 AVC using less than 200 watts in a 1-RU, power-efficient chassis. Video operators experience seamless and rapid deployment when configuring Inca Networks' products thanks to VidiOS™, an award-winning and sophisticated web-based user interface with extensive management and monitoring tools.

Upon reception from the Inca ABR transcoder 3840, the BkS350 packages the video content in the requested ABR format (i.e., HLS or MPEG-DASH) and sends it to Broadpeak's BkS400 video cache server for streaming to subscribers. Broadpeak's BkM100 supervises the BkS350 and BkS400 servers in addition to managing the streaming requests and redirecting them to the servers. Through a pay-as-you-grow business model, Broadpeak's solution helps HBC to distribute IP video without making a large upfront investment. Broadpeak's software-based solutions were easily deployed on hardware provided by HBC via virtualized machines.

"Broadpeak's solutions are part of a strong partner ecosystem that makes IP video delivery simple and affordable for operators," said Jacques Le Mancq, CEO at Broadpeak. "Working with Inca Networks and Espial, we are helping HBC deliver high-quality video on any device and on any network with maximum scalability and minimal investment."

"The Inca ABR transcoder 3840 is a powerful option for operators looking to launch new multiscreen services," said Robert Bell, CEO at Inca Networks. "It delivers beautiful, frame-aligned video at a market-leading cost per stream, while providing operational efficiency through Inca's stream monitoring and analysis tools. Operators such as HBC can confidently launch OTT services to generate additional revenue and expand into new geographies when working with established market leaders such as Inca Networks, Broadpeak, and Espial."

Mick McCluskey, vice president of product management at Espial, said, "Elevate is a flexible and open platform that was easily integrated to HBC's media processing components provided by Broadpeak and Inca Networks for rapid deployment of IP-based services."

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