Australian Stan streaming service now operates a custom, cloud-based production and playout system for its Stan Sport live and on-demand sport package, based on Grass Valley’s GV AMPP.
Stan streaming service in Australia is now operating a cloud-based production and playout system for Stan Sport, its live and on-demand add-on sport package. As a managed service provider, Telstra Broadcast Services (TBS) worked with Grass Valley’s GV AMPP (Agile Media Processing Platform) to create a system tailored to meet Stan’s business and operational needs.
Stan Sport is now using GV AMPP to deliver UHD coverage of live sports such as the UEFA Champions League, to their subscribers. AMPP is a scalable SaaS platform of cloud-based management tools, elastic services and intelligent systems that combine to recreate broadcast workflows, where and when they are needed. It is used to manage the distribution, timing and processing of digital media, and the identity of and connections between devices. This is the first use of AMPP for cloud-native live sports in the Asia-Pacific region.
Simultaneous Live Channels
At peak times, Stan can manage 32 simultaneous live channels to bring every Europa League game to Australian fans and, for the first time, key Champions League matches, live in UHD. Instead of building out a physical infrastructure, TBS provisions each channel for the duration of the game, while Stan Sport operators manage each of the channels from a customised interface using a standard web browser. Furthermore, the operators can access the channels from anywhere with a public internet connection.
AMPP Replay Express integrates with the entire cloud system for live video production
Being able to customise the platform’s channels in this way for Stan Sport is due to the flexibility of AMPP. It means TBS can open opportunities for new revenue streams, for instance, by enabling media companies like Stan to develop and deliver new customer experiences.
Cloud-native applications like GV AMPP are built from the start to run in a public cloud. They allow access, support scalability and allow developers to deliver new services with more agility. A cloud-native environment depends on continuous integration, orchestrators and container engines. However, for organisations that want to use certain capabilities of the cloud such as higher availability and scalability, without completely redesigning existing applications to use cloud services, a cloud-based migration approach may be simpler to achieve. For example, migrating in-house web applications to AWS or Azure servers results in cloud-based applications.
Cloud First
As a managed service provider for AMPP, TBS has access to Grass Valley services and the company’s global customer pool. As Stan’s requirements are at the intersection of traditional linear and streaming services, the combination of AMPP and TBS’s hosting and connectivity services has helped to set up a hybrid environment to support them.
Media asset management is native to the GV AMPP platform
“We wanted a truly cloud-first system to deliver the flexibility that is essential to meet Stan’s requirements,” said Carl Petch, Chief Technology Officer, Telstra Broadcast Services. “We recognised the potential of AMPP when it launched in 2020, and we’ve seen several other successful global deployments. As a managed service provider for AMPP, with our first live customer streaming in UHD, we look forward to seeing what we can achieve with Grass Valley using the public cloud environment, our networks and their software.”
John Hogan, Chief Technology Officer, Stan said, “Getting premium live sports content to our subscribers in the most efficient and reliable way, without sacrificing quality, is a key focus for our business. Our experience with AMPP and TBS is that they are delivering a straightforward, reliable, robust system that meets our operational requirements. It has enabled the Stan Sport team to deliver the premium, edge-of-your-seat content we are known for.” www.grassvalley.com
