www.amagi.

com

BROCHURE

CUMULUS
Cloud Broadcast Platform
Managing the entire broadcast toolchain encompassing
content preparation, playout, delivery and monetization.

Amagi.
Reimagine TV.
Nextgen cloud
technologies and
the emergence of
multiscreen viewing
are changing the
way TV networks
approach
broadcasting.

The TV broadcast industry is witnessing three key developments- the

way TV content is delivered, the way it is consumed, and the way it is
monetized.

Cloud for TV broadcast

Advancements in cloud technologies have opened new vistas for
dramatically improving broadcast efficiencies, reducing costs, and
building scalable operations. Owing to its inherent cost advantages over
traditional models, use of cloud infrastructure for storage, playout, and
delivery is rapidly gaining momentum as the way forward.

Emergence of multi-screen environment

Smart phones, tablets and other personal devices are already integral to
audience lifestyles. As a result, TV content is not restricted to television
sets alone. Catering to viewers across the multi-screen environment is
imperative to businesses today in order to stay relevant and competitive.

Targeted advertising
As viewers see their smart devices as an extension of their own
personalities, and with TV content moving to multi-screens, targeted
advertising is poised to offer better value for advertisers. Be it on
traditional TV or personal devices, ability of broadcasters to offer targeted
advertising will distinguish them from others leading to audience and
advertiser retention.
As the above trends lead and influence strategies of TV networks, lack
of cohesive platforms that addresses all these needs will slow down TV
networks in their response to industry requirements.

www.amagi.com

Page 2 of 7

Cloud
Broadcast
Platform

Amagi, the pioneer in cloud-based broadcast infrastructure, has created

a comprehensive cloud broadcast platform, CUMULUS, to power TV
networks of the future. Offered as Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model,
CUMULUS is a broadcast toolchain on the cloud ecompassing content
preparation, storage, playout, delivery, and monetization across both
linear and non-linear broadcast formats on a single platform.
CUMULUS is built on a global, secure, and reliable architecture provided
by Amazon Web Services (AWS), lowering CAPEX and OPEX for TV
networks.

Content
Preparation

Advanced
Playout

Content
Preparation
Access best-in-class
providers through an
integrated App Exchange
and manage all the
content preparation
workflows with ease.

Delivery

Monetization

As the entire broadcast workflow moves to the cloud, CUMULUS allows

broadcasters to access multiple third-party broadcast apps through an
App Exchange module to perform a variety of services. They include
scheduling, Electronic Program Guide (EPG) management, rights
management, viewership analytics, ad traffic and delivery, regulatory QC,
and subtitling, to name a few. With CUMULUS, broadcasters can choose
the required services and best-in-class providers, and dynamically stitch
together a workflow of their choice.
Media Asset
Management

Regulatory
QC-Edits

Voice-over/
Dubbing

Subtitiling/
Closed captioning

Ad Traffic/
Scheduling

Ingest/Meta
data edit/Marking

Automated QC

Presentation
Scheduling

Rights
Management

EPG Creation

Transcoding

Archival

CUMULUS offers centralized content storage and archive, providing

TV networks with transparent, total access and control of their assets.
Leveraging AWS Glacier, CUMULUS provides an integrated archival
workflow with instant retrieval of archived assets.

www.amagi.com

Page 3 of 7

Advanced
Playout

Channel playout as part of the CUMULUS Cloud Broadcast Platform is

powered by Amagis proven cloud playout system, CLOUDPORT.
CUMULUS packs in it CLOUDPORT 3.0 for multichannel playout of both
live and nonlinear feeds. The next-generation CLOUDPORT channel
playout are Intel-based servers on the cloud, offering broadcasters
even better control over their operations. By hosting a broad range
of advanced playout capabilities from Amazon Web Services
infrastructure, CLOUDPORT 3.0 enables TV networks to launch new
channels in less than four weeks.

Launch channels in
less than four weeks
with a reliable and
scalable multichannel
playout system that can
be installed at the edge
or on the cloud.

Using CLOUDPORT 3.0, broadcasters can support the entire playout

workflow, from channel branding and graphics to subtitling, traffic
and scheduling, compliance recording, quality control, multichannel
monitoring, and more.
In addition to delivering content to operator headends and teleports for
further distribution, CLOUDPORT 3.0 also offers automated transcoding
and delivery to different VOD and OTT platforms, enabling broadcasters
to address the growing consumer demand for multiscreen viewing.
Full-screen graphics and HEVC support ensure a high-quality viewing
experience for broadcast subscribers.

CLOUDPORT 3.0 Platform-specific Features

CLOUD PLAYOUT

Multi-channel monitoring
MCR playlist edits
Live switch-in control
Live streaming
Graphics workflows
Compliance recording
EPG transcode and delivery
OTT transcode and delivery
Dynamic ad-insertions
Asrun/billing
Viewership ratings and analytics
Geo-blocking content
Local ad-insertions

www.amagi.com

NON-LINEAR PLAYOUT

VOD scheduling
VOD transcode (Platform level)
EPG transcode and delivery
Automated QC
VOD delivery
Dynamic ad-insertion
Content rights/Geo-blocking content
Reporting

OTT PLAYOUT

App integration
Transcode/transux
(Platform level)
EPG transcode and delivery
VOD delivery
Secure streaming
Dynamic ad-insertion
Reporting
Viewer analytics
CDN delivery

Page 4 of 7

Amagis CUMULUS is equipped with a military-grade AES 256-bit VPN

platform-wide encryption. It is Firewall protected, both on the cloud and
at the operator affiliates preventing any Denial of Services (DoS) attacks.
Also, content on CUMULUS is stored in an encrypted form.
TV networks can manage and monitor the entire playout through an
advanced Web-based UI from any remote location. Amagi guarantees
99.99 percent SLA for all playout, making CLOUDPORT 3.0 on
CUMULUS platform a reliable, scalable and cost-effective playout option.

Delivery
Broadcast efficiently
with the flexibility
to deliver content
through cloud, OTT
or traditional delivery
mechanisms such as
satellite and fiber.

CUMULUS brings unparalleled flexibility to broadcast operations. It

supports a broad variety of content delivery methods which makes it
easy for broadcasters to distribute content in tune with market needs
and technology limitations associated with geographies they operate in.

Delivery methods supported for

traditional linear playout
Live feeds through third-party systems such as Zixi
Direct distribution to affiliate headends through AWS
Direct Connect
Fast File Transfer to CLOUDPORT 3.0 edge servers
installed at affiliate headends
Fiber transmission to affiliate headends

Delivery methods supported

for non-linear playout

CUMULUS supports VoD transfer via

H.264 format to OTT operators
CableLabs VOD to cable, satellite, and IPTV operators
Prores format to Apple iTunes

Delivery methods for OTT linear playout

Multi-bitrate HLS streams to CDNs that are further distributed to
consumer apps
HLS streams to OTT operators

www.amagi.com

Page 5 of 7

Monetization

Targeted advertising for content monetization on both linear broadcast

and OTT completes the broadcast toolchain on CUMULUS.
Central to targeted ad-insertions in both broadcast formats is Amagis
patented content watermarking technology. Amagi watermarks are
invisible, and inaudible signatures that are inserted into content feeds.
The watermarks facilitate frame-accurate ad insertions in comparison to
traditional triggers such as DTMF and SCTE-35.

Insert targeted
ads on both linear
and non-linear
feeds to monetize
the same content in
multiple markets."

Ad-insertion for linear feeds

In case of linear broadcast model, Amagi deploys its award-winning
STORM Ad-insertion servers installed at operator headends to insert
local ads. These watermarks are recognized by Amagi ad-insertion
servers and the watermarked ads are replaced by local ads received by
the ad-insertion server. It supports transfering local ads both via cloud
and satellite trickle bandwidth. Amagi STORM is also compatible with
DTMF and SCTE-35 cue-tones.

Amagi Watermarking Workflow

WATERMARK
Content for Transmission

Transmitted Content

WATERMARK Server
(Installed at TV Network)

WATERMARKED Content
(Invisible, inaudible watermark inserted)

STORM Ad-insertion Server

(Installed at affiliate headend)

Inserted Local Ad

Ad-insertion for OTT feeds

Amagi THUNDERSTORM dynamically inserts ads on the server side,
simplifying the delivery of personalized and targeted ads on premium live
and linear OTT feeds.
THUNDERSTORM performs instant, server-side ad insertion, providing
TV networks with an effective approach to OTT ad insertion compared
with the traditional method of inserting mid-roll ads on the client side.
Since ads are stitched at the server level, making them compatible
across various screens, THUNDERSTORM eliminates the need to create
device-driven OTT ad streams.

www.amagi.com

Page 6 of 7

About Amagi
Amagi is the worlds largest platform for delivering targeted TV
content and advertising anywhere across the globe. Every month,
Amagi delivers and plays out more than one million advertising
seconds and thousands of hours of content for many leading
broadcasters. Amagis patented core technology delivers new
market access, content localization, and advertising revenue
streams for broadcasters at a fraction of the cost when compared
to existing traditional satellite and fiber based delivery models.

E-Mail Contact

cloudandme@amagi.com