BAYSIDE, CALIFORNIA, August 15, 2018 – Pioneering SaaS-based streaming solutions provider StreamGuys will treat IBC2018 attendees to a technology preview of powerful new network DVR-like (nDVR) functionality for live streams. SGrewind technology lets broadcasters automatically retain a rolling window of content from their live stream, giving their audience the ability to rewind, pause, or restart a stream from the beginning of a program. StreamGuys will take the wraps of the new capabilities in stand 8.A59 at the exhibition (September 14-18 in Amsterdam), where the company will co-exhibit with ENCO.
SGrewind will be a feature of StreamGuys’ enterprise-class, cloud-based SGrecast live stream repurposing and workflow management system, which offers broadcasters a comprehensive platform for recording live streams and transforming them into revenue-expanding side channels and podcasts. The new feature gives listeners and viewers more control of their live streaming experiences by letting them pause and resume streams without missing any content; rewinding for a fixed time period; or starting the stream at a specific segment, similar to a television electronic program guide (EPG).
“SGrewind is another powerful step in SGrecast’s mission of helping broadcasters flexibly and easily repurpose the content they’re already producing, so they can engage their audiences in new and exciting ways,” said Jason Osburn, executive vice president, StreamGuys. “Media enterprises are constantly looking for new ways to differentiate their offerings against their competitors, and SGrewind provides effortless tools to give their audiences more convenience and control over how they consume live streams.”
SGrewind technology supports a wide range of audience-empowering use cases. A listener could pause a live stream in the radio station’s mobile app because of poor connectivity when getting onto a subway or elevator, then resume the stream from that point when subsequently re-opening the app. A viewer could access a broadcaster’s live stream and jump back to the beginning of the most recent news, traffic or weather segment, providing quick access to what interests him or her most. In another example, someone listening to a news segment but only partially paying attention could rewind 15 or 20 seconds to focus on something they missed.
SGrewind-enabled live stream control will be available through StreamGuys’ advanced media players as well as third-party players and apps. SGrewind will be supported in StreamGuys’ managed, embeddable SGplayer, while compatible players with rewind controls can be also generated from within SGrecast. An SGrewind API and URL-based control strings also allow customers to integrate SGrewind support into their own players and custom mobile apps.
Broadcasters with fixed schedules will be able to bring them into SGrewind to generate EPG-like controls. Rewindable streams will be available in both HLS and MPEG-DASH formats. Audio stream support will be available in the initial SGrewind release – currently slated for Q4 – with video support to follow.
“As we start talking to customers about SGrewind, they keep surprising us with additional use cases that we didn’t envision right out of the gate,” said Osburn. “We love helping them turn those unique ideas into reality, and we look forward to officially unveiling the technology at IBC2018 to get even more feedback as we finalize its initial feature set.”