ARCATA, CALIF. — SaaS-based streaming solutions provider StreamGuys has unveiled what it considers to be “a significant upgrade” to the company’s cloud-based live stream repurposing, rebroadcasting and podcast management system.
Soon available is SGrecast 2.0, and its release will be showcased at the 2018 NAB Show from April 9-12 in Las Vegas, where StreamGuys will co-exhibit with technology partner ENCO in booth N3824.
“As radio broadcasters continue to expand their footprint in the podcast space and repurpose a greater percentage of their live content, improvements to their content creation and management workflows can deliver significant savings in cost and effort,” says Jason Osburn, EVP of Humboldt County-based StreamGuys. “While SGrecast 2.0 brings new efficiencies to customers both large and small, many of its features will be particularly valuable to enterprise-level broadcasters with 24/7 live content to process and multiple operators using the platform.”
Foremost among these new features are AudioLoggers, which enable repurposing of content on-the-fly while it is being recorded.
Complementing SGrecast’s existing ability to archive content based on pre-determined schedules, AudioLoggers record streams 24/7 and automatically segment the recordings based on specific metadata in the stream, changes in stream metadata, or user-configured time intervals. For example, the AudioLogger feature can leverage metadata changes to distinguish between different programs and songs, or to detect ads within a show and create segments around them. Producers can then use SGrecast’s visual publishing interface to join related segments together, graphically place markers for dynamic ad insertion, and publish the combined result for rebroadcasting or podcasting.
“AudioLoggers make it easier for users to produce ad-free versions of content from live broadcasts, into which fresh commercials or sponsorship messages can be inserted as the media is repurposed,” says Osburn. “They also free users from depending exclusively on a schedule, giving them more flexibility if actual on-air timing diverges from expectations as may happen with live shows.”
SGrecast 2.0’s side channel workflow enhancements include the separation of recording and rebroadcasting functionality, enabling changes to one aspect’s schedule or configuration even while the other is active. A side channel’s recording settings can be edited while its rebroadcast is live, or conversely its rebroadcast parameters can be modified without waiting for recording to complete.
“Broadcasters may have different users responsible for uploading content than those who are allowed to edit it, particularly in larger media organizations,” adds Osburn.
