Barix is now shipping SoundScape, the company's fully integrated live and scheduled streaming service that allows audio content providers to centrally manage and distribute branded music and advertising over IP networks.
- The SoundScape concept has evolved into Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) that brings together cloud-based content management, end-point playout, and global monitoring capabilities.
Service providers can launch a SoundScape service with a subscription and IP audio players at each end location, and immediately begin delivering music and advertising to restaurants, stores, hotels, and public facilities. The upfront, "pay as you go" price model, along with SoundScape's scalability, allow for future expansion, while features such as dynamic ad insertion for each location enable revenue generation that can accelerate return on investment, according to the company.
Systems integrators can focus on a centralized integration strategy for in-store radio and other audio-over-IP delivery platforms. SoundScape brings together integrated audio distribution, remote device management, dynamic content scheduling, system-wide reporting and monitoring, hierarchical user management, and multi-format audio playout using Barix's rock-solid Exstreamer SoundScape IP audio players.
"With nearly two decades of experience designing professional IP audio decoders, we observed the challenges that systems integrators experienced when combining many disparate components from multiple vendors — and how costly these systems were to maintain over the long term," said Joan Anton Parilla, product manager at Barix. "We also saw a potential for new features to ease maintenance efforts and related costs, which are a major problem in the industry. We have worked diligently on these enhancements to ensure a fully developed, integrated solution for integrators and service providers."
With initial SoundScape deployments now in progress, Barix managing Director Frank Frederiksen is bullish on the benefits that an integrated audio-over-IP platform can bring to in-store radio.
"By integrating all the desired functionality in a turnkey service — and holding the intellectual property to all system components — Barix can deliver a system that is functionally superior at a very attractive cost," said Frederiksen. "The feedback from our beta customers has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are excited to go live with our first Barix SoundScape deployments in the United States and Europe. Our goal is to ensure everyone can take advantage of the future in business music and advertising delivery."
