Pavlin Rahnev, PlayBox Neo founder and CEO, summarizes a successful year.
Rule 1 in the broadcast media business: Listen carefully to customer feedback.
Rule 2: Respond constructively and promptly with enhanced products or services.
It is a formula we implemented right from the introduction of the AirBox playout automation system in 1999. AirBox and its successors achieved global success, powering over 19,500 TV and branding channels in more than 120 countries.
Today’s multichannel multi-platform multimedia world provides huge opportunities for content owners and broadcasters. Our role is to provide the tools necessary to ensure that the routine tasks of content ingest, pre-transmission processing, scheduling and playout are handled with a maximum of financial return and a minimum of fuss.
Trade shows such as CABSAT in Dubai, Broadcast Asia in Singapore, NAB in Las Vegas and New York, as well as IBC in Amsterdam, still prove useful venues at which to talk one-to-one with customers about how best to support their requirements in an industry which sees operational flexibility as vital. Most of our customers continue to opt for on-site installations based around a standalone channel-in-a-box or multiple AirBox Neo-20 systems, supplemented by cloud-based Cloud2TV when required to add operational flexibility.
Q1 2023 saw the latest expansion to the software connectivity of our channel branding and playout servers with support now provided for the Arion newsroom system from SNews Broadcast Solutions. Arion’s News Graphics template generation and its playout are directly integrated with our TitleBox Neo-20 graphics processor. The combination allows newsroom staff to concentrate on their core activity without distraction, saving time and maximizing production efficiency.
Among the advances PlayBox Neo introduced during 2023 was a new interface to the Emergency Alert System which gives broadcasters in the USA increased flexibility when airing emergency alerts and reduces the need for potential advertiser make-goods.
Media Gateway, which we introduced in 2022, won a Best of Show award from TV Technology magazine during the April 2023 NAB Show. Media Gateway allows the entire process of playout routing and decoding to be handled in software. Installable onsite or in the cloud, it eliminates the capital cost needed to operate hardware routers, codecs and related devices.
We were also pleased to receive official certification of Dolby Digital Plus Professional encoding for the PlayBox Neo Suite Live Encoder. Integrating the latest Dolby software libraries, the Dolby Digital Professional and Dolby Digital Plus Professional implementations are now available as individual licenses.
2023 was a good year for customer projects in the Americas, APAC and MENA. Many thanks to our customers for their ongoing loyalty and trust in our technology. With the joint efforts of our distribution partners worldwide, our product development colleagues, sales, marketing and administration team, PlayBox Neo continues to lead the way in smart media solutions. Looking ahead, we see efficiency, reliability and flexibility as the key priorities across the entire media industry, freeing creative staff to concentrate on what really matters: Content is king, always was and always will be.
About PlayBox Neo
PlayBox Neo (www.playboxneo.com) is a globally active leader in the design and manufacture of broadcast media playout and channel branding solutions, powering over 19,500 TV and branding channels in more than 120 countries. Building on 23 years of successful innovation, the company pioneered the development of high-efficiency server-based and cloud-based playout to support every scale and type of one-to-many communication.
PlayBox Neo broadcast products and cloud solutions cover everything from live playout to fully automated transmission. Users include national and international broadcasters, start-up TV channels, webcasters, interactive TV and music channels, film channels, remote TV channels, corporate information channels and disaster recovery channels.
Available for all PlayBox Neo systems, the optional ASM&TS (Annual Software Maintenance & Technical Support) subscription offers extended 24/7 support and software upgrades, ensuring maximum operational reliability and future-proofing. With its commercial headquarters in Europe, PlayBox Neo has offices in the USA (PlayBox Neo LLC), Singapore (PlayBox Neo Asia Pacific), India (PlayBox Neo India), and the UK.
Full year-end review here
