simplestream’s product update
An overlook on the Simplestream product roadmap, spanning across innovation, new features, and new enhancements.
Q4 2024
Audio Description Tracks
Media Manager, and all video streaming applications created via App Platform, now support audio description tracks (AD). AD is a form of narration which provides information about key visual elements in a programme via an audio track. AD can be invaluable to users who are blind or visually impaired and is fast becoming a regulatory requirement for streaming services.
Seamless Integration with Avatar World Group (AWG)
We joined forces with AWG to integrate a third-party subscriber and authentication service into our App Platform. This integration streamlines user access, content entitlements, and device flow, ensuring a seamless experience on connected TVs.
More importantly, AWG’s extensive network of integrations in the Latin American region and Africa enables further expansion of the App Platform, working directly with telecom providers, ISPs, and e-wallets, like Modo, broadening our reach in these markets.
Real-time Data Analytics from NiElson
We implemented the Nielson SDK across iOS and Android applications to enable analysis across linear (live) and on-demand TV viewing via TVs, mobile devices, etc. This additional feature helps verify content playback and provides confidence to advertisers that the viewing behaviour, quantity and quality is as they would expect.
APS Integration
To meet Amazon Fire TV's advertising inventory share requirements, our Amazon Fire TV app is now integrated with Amazon Publisher Services (APS). This integration enables seamless sharing of ad inventory and impressions with Amazon, ensuring compliance with their guidelines. For more details on the inventory optimisation policy, visit Amazon's Policy Center.
The APS integration offers the option to make APS a direct demand partner for advertising on the Fire TV app, with plans to expand to other Connected TV applications soon. This enables APS to generate additional advertising revenue.
Support for CPIX DRM
Our updated live and VOD packaging now supports DRM encryption using CPIX documents, which securely store the keys and DRM details needed for content protection. These are widely supported across the industry, ensuring seamless integration and enhanced security.
Q3 2024
Media Manager
App Platform
Pause Advertisements
To maximise potential ad revenue for our App Platform customers, we implemented a pause ads feature on all VOD content across mobile and web platforms. Whenever a user now presses pause when playing content, a static display advert will appear. Each subsequent pause event will trigger another, different display advert to appear.
*Please note: integration with Google Ad Manager is required for this feature.
Channel Studio
Syndication of Live Events to YouTube
Your platform can now syndicate individual live events or ongoing Channel Studio content directly to YouTube. For one-off events, syndication can be set up easily on an ad hoc basis. Meanwhile, 24/7 feeds from Channel Studio can continuously stream a curated mix of live and on-demand content. This new capability empowers partners to expand their digital reach, leveraging YouTube’s massive audience to boost visibility and drive higher engagement for their channels.
Schedule Live Events in Channel Studio
With Channel Studio you can now schedule live events directly into your channel lineup. Customers can register live events in the Channel Studio content library, including details such as duration and source URL. Once registered, the live event can be seamlessly added to a playlist and scheduled using the channel planner, just like VOD content. This feature simplifies live event integration, ensuring a streamlined and flexible approach to managing channel programming.
Other Services
UPDATED: Google Video Stitcher Integration – Mobile, Tablet, CTV + SSAI DRM
We have enhanced our SSAI for Live capabilities by integrating with the Google Video Stitcher API for applications. This integration allows live streams prepared with SCTE-35 markers to transition seamlessly to ad content during designated breaks, ensuring a smooth viewer experience. As the successor to Google’s Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) solution, Video Stitcher offers greater flexibility and advanced features for stream management. This includes robust support for DRM, which Simplestream has successfully implemented, even in mixed encryption environments, delivering enhanced security and compatibility for your streaming content.
Q2 2024
Media Manager
Samsung TV Plus Integration
Media Manager now supports seamless content synchronisation with Samsung TV Plus, ensuring compliance with their platform requirements. This includes video, subtitles, content metadata, and automatic insertion of black video for ad breaks. The integration also facilitates automatic file transfers via Amazon S3 buckets, streamlining the delivery process.
*Please note that enabling this feature requires a separate business agreement between your team and Samsung TV Plus.
App Platform
Seamless Remote Rebranding at Your Fingertips
You can now add more customisation to your streaming platforms with an easy-to-update splash screen that doesn't require lengthy app releases. Maximise this feature to promote new releases, highlight seasonal content, feature exclusive shows, and more, which ultimately gives you full control over your platform’s branding and overall user experience.
Vertical Video Player
We’ve added support for vertical video playback on both iOS and Android applications, following popular trends on TikTok and YouTube. To take advantage of this feature, assets must be ingested with the "orientation – vertical" parameter, and all assets within a playlist must be in the same orientation.
Customisable Dynamic Tags
Dynamic tags offer a powerful way to highlight newly ingested content, such as applying a "new episode" label. However, their current functionality lacks the flexibility to target specific categories of content. Instead, the tags are applied universally to all new ingests once enabled.
Imagine the potential: tagging fresh sports content, like football matches, while leaving other genres untouched. Unfortunately, without the ability to curate which content receives the tag, the "new" label may be applied indiscriminately, even to items that don’t merit the distinction. Fine-tuning this feature would provide a more tailored and impactful user experience.
Channel Studio
Other Services
Enhanced App Loading Speeds with Caching
We’ve supercharged the speed of our apps, making them up to 70% faster! This improvement comes from key performance enhancements, including optimised caching to reduce load times and a 30-minute cache recheck to ensure fresh content while maintaining speed for viewers. This update helps your streaming service deliver a smoother, quicker user experience, ensuring your content is accessible with even greater efficiency.
Device Limits
Our new device limits feature allows our customer to set limits on devices and streaming. This allows the customer to better control the way its users access the service and restricts account sharing. In addition, within the mobile and web applications, we created a new user interface for users to manage their devices.
Q1 2024
Media Manager
Updated Bulk Metadata Ingest
Updated Bulk Metadata Ingest is a new feature where Simplestream customers can now bulk export their content metadata, edit in a .csv or .XLSX files and re-ingest the newly updated metadata, with full validation, in a user-friendly interface. We also offer a way to manage this via Amazon S3 ingest as per customer need.
Improved and Expanded Multi-Language Management
Media Manager workflows have now been updated to allow for a seamless ingest of multiple language files and display of localised content based on user preferences.
This includes the ability to upload single files that cover all language variants, streamlining the localisation process. Enhanced support for multi-language assets ensures thumbnails, subtitles, and audio description tracks can be tailored effortlessly. Platform-specific management allows for precise localisation across different environments, while manual intervention tools make it easy to fix any mistranslations quickly and efficiently.
Enhanced Security: Improved Access Roles
The User Roles module in Media Manager is a self-serve feature that allows customers with authentication to assign roles and permissions per end-user. Additionally, the customer can assign a default role. A common use case for this feature includes assigning either enhanced or reduced privileges for VIP or Blocked roles, based on user behaviour. In addition, we’ve included an IP whitelist feature to add additional permissions when accessing the service from a whitelisted IP. ➡️ Learn more
App Platform
Improved Braze Integration
Braze™ is a powerful customer engagement platform that helps drive user retention and engagement through personalised messaging. We have developed an integration with Braze™ that allows you to send targeted push notifications for time-sensitive actions, such as special offers or important updates. This integration also helps re-engage inactive users, encouraging them to return to the app, and drives users to key content, enhancing the value of your app. Since users must opt-in to receive push notifications, the integration supports in-app messaging to explain the benefits and encourage opt-ins.
Compatibility for VIDAA, TiVo, and Horizon Apps
Simplestream now supports: VIDAA, Hisense’s latest operating platform, TiVo, the global connected TV platform, and Horizon, a device network owned and operated by Liberty Global, allowing you to reach even more users across new frameworks. Our App Platform offers a comprehensive suite of features for each of these platforms, all backed by our rigorous QA testing processes to ensure smooth delivery and optimal performance so you can launch with confidence.
Channel Studio
Other Services
SCTE-35 Marker Inserter
To expand your monetisation opportunities, the Simplestream team has developed a marker insert function for live and VOD content. If SCTE-35 markers are unavailable, our solution can turn flat file data into markers, so long as cue points are provided via an EPG, schedule, or metadata. This ensures seamless ad insertion, unlocking additional revenue potential for your content. ➡ Learn more
Coupon Management and Code Redemption
You can now create a dedicated, coupon-driven section on your OTT platform to launch promotional campaigns, manage code redemptions, analyse redemption stats, and generate one-time use codes. In partnership with retailers, this feature helps boost customer engagement, increase viewership, increase traffic to your video streaming platform and drive revenue.
HubSpot Newsletter Integration
We’ve added a new "Newsletter" navigation tab and page to the customer-facing watch site (available on the web platform). This feature allows users to sign-up for your streaming platform’s newsletter and receive updates on the latest shows, new releases, and more to keep users engaged.
The page integrates an existing HubSpot function, which makes it easy for your team to track sign-ups and view users' email addresses.
