How to Capitalize on Media Assets in the Cloud
When people think of the cloud, they often think of it as a data storage solution or a platform for sharing files. However, the reality is that the cloud offers much more than just basic storage and sharing capabilities. For the Media and Entertainment industry (M&E), the cloud represents an ‘infrastructure as a service’ that can be tailored to meet specific needs and requirements.
A significant advantage of using the cloud in the M&E sector is the increased traceability it offers. By storing and managing media assets in the cloud, companies can authenticate and audit their content more efficiently, giving them greater visibility and control over their assets. Additionally, the cloud streamlines workflows and enables media teams to process content faster, making it easier for editors to get to work on projects right away. The cloud allows teams to operate from anywhere, collaborating in real-time and increasing their productivity. It also provides a level of flexibility that traditional on-premises infrastructure cannot match, making it an essential tool for media companies looking to compete in today’s fast-paced and dynamic industry.
As more archiving moves to the cloud, it makes less sense to store new assets on hardware; recording directly to the cloud is now a more viable and efficient option for media companies. Hardware is a costly component of production, and if teams are already working in the cloud, it becomes less efficient to move assets around on physical storage.
Managing Production Logistics
Direct-to-cloud systems are quickly becoming the go-to solution for media companies – they significantly improve efficiencies and reduce unnecessary manual processes. Rather than managing the transition of files from a server and then moving those to the cloud, direct-to-cloud systems remove the need for hardware-based workflows, saving operators’ time, reducing costs, and improving overall production output.
Managing the logistics of production can be challenging. However, the automation that direct-to-cloud workflows bring can help alleviate issues. With this technology, teams simply need cameras and an encoder on site, eliminating the need for complex hardware setups. Direct-to-cloud workflows provide production teams with the agility needed to respond to changing circumstances quickly. With this level of automation, media companies can significantly increase their efficiency and improve the overall quality of their production, delivering better content to their audiences in less time.
To fully leverage the power of the cloud, M&E organizations need to ensure that their content is accessible and actionable throughout the media chain. To facilitate this, metadata holds a vital role. It essentially attaches information to individual files to describe various aspects, such as date of creation, location, format, resolution, and other specifications, and is used to organize, manage, and automate media processes along the chain. By ingesting media content with the right associated data from the start, all subsequent actions on that piece of content are optimized.
Addressing Workflow Challenges
Processing a high volume of media content can be incredibly resource intensive. And while the use of metadata can streamline processes, scalability presents another challenge for production teams. Every unnecessary process in the cycle adds wasted resources. To address this challenge, companies need to think about return on investment (ROI). This requires a well-designed ingest system that allows users to define file-naming conventions and rationalize metadata, ensuring that operators and editors have all the information they need when assets hit the central production network. By using the right data and systems, media companies can manage large volumes of content more effectively, reducing costs and improving overall efficiency.
Capture2Cloud allows users to record ISO streams directly to the required codec, for editing and file delivery workflows. The latest version enables users to rewrap an SRT stream to new file formats, such as QuickTime MOV or MPTS. It also matches timecodes and syncs audio and closed captions, saving time further along the chain.
Cloud-based ingest delivers adaptable tools for data processing. With Capture2Cloud, users can record to a hi-resolution format that can be transcoded downstream for streaming deliverables. It also enables the creation of proxy versions for faster remote post-production workflows. Capture2Cloud has features that will manage the encode, scheduled ingest and playback, from single streams to multiple ISOs.
More than 50% of companies surveyed by PWC in 2021 said they are not achieving a substantial return on their cloud investments, despite 51% of IT spend focusing on cloud. Meet us at Cloud Expo Europe, 8-9 March, Excel London, to discuss capitalizing on cloud ingest for media assets and new ways to optimize your content workflows.