SeaChange unveils entry-level solutions to put small cable and telco/IPTV system operators on a fast track toward capturing on-demand and multichannel television advertising revenues. The digital television leader’s VOD Now and Spot Now solutions economically deliver SeaChange’s trademark reliability, scalability and extensibility for operators with less than 20,000 subscribers and startup advertising operations.

VOD Now: A new standard in on-demand performance

SeaChange’s Axiom On Demand open content delivery platform – the intelligence behind billions of on-demand streams delivered globally – is at the heart of VOD Now. SeaChange Axiom software fully automates the intensive behind-the-scenes VOD processes from content propagation, to subscriber and stream management, to performance reporting and monitoring. Beyond VOD, SeaChange Axiom software also provides the foundation for adding SeaChange’s growing range of content navigation, gaming, DVD and ad targeting applications.

Another VOD Now advantage is its fault-resilient storage and streaming with SeaChange’s core MediaCluster video server technology. MediaCluster uses off-the-shelf disks and memory to provide VOD Now customers with as few as 50 and as many as 1,400 simultaneous MPEG-2 or MPEG-4/H.264 standard-definition and high-definition streams. SeaChange conserves storage with its patented single-copy approach, so only one copy of any video asset is required to meet any number of concurrent stream requests. VOD Now is available in configurations with up to 5,000 hours of storage. Motorola, Scientific-Atlanta and a wide range of IP settop boxes are fully supported.

One-stop-shop for on-demand television

SeaChange has also partnered with TVN Entertainment’s VOD Complete service for small market systems. VOD Complete offers a fully customizable and scalable solution that features an optimized programming selection from TVN’s 8,000 hours of standard-definition and HD programming, marketing and reporting services, as well as integration with VOD solutions providers like SeaChange.

Four small operators are already turning on VOD with TVN and SeaChange, including Hood Canal Communications in Union, Wash.; Nortex Communications in the Dallas/Ft. Worth DMA; Rainier Connect in Tacoma, Wash.; and Thames Valley Communications in Groton, Conn.

Spot Now: High performance multichannel advertising

SeaChange Spot systems deliver billions of dollars of local multichannel ad revenue for cable and telco operators around the world. The new Spot Now is a comprehensive, automated solution for reliable advertising insertion at the lowest operational expense and highest quality. Using spots loaded through an encoding station and schedules provided from an ad traffic and billing system, Spot Now handles every task necessary for fulfillment without operator intervention. Designed and packaged for any operator wanting to launch linear ad-supported content, Spot Now supports up to 48 insertable standard definition channels, or 16 high-definition channels. Operators can purchase Spot Now in 12 channel increments, enabling them to grow economically as their ad-supported business grows. For operators who grow beyond the 48 channel capacity of Spot Now, SeaChange has a program to migrate customers to a traditional SeaChange Spot linear ad insertion system.