Wowza Media Systems announced that Uvault, a Wowza Streaming Partner, and CPC, a closed captioning solution provider, have joined forces to create a multiscreen real-time closed caption capture-and-delivery solution.
The custom application was built specifically for Wowza technology, and Uvault will distribute the service through its cloud-based content delivery network (CDN), which is powered by Wowza Media Server software. The technology will give broadcasters a simple out-of-the-box solution for complying with the FCC closed captioning mandate ahead of the January 2013 deadline.
"We've taken our cloud-streaming CDN to the next level. With only a minor investment, broadcasters can now comply with the FCC mandate and easily add closed captions to their Internet broadcasts," said Eyal Menin, president of Uvault Hosting. "Our partnership with Wowza allows us to deliver video to any screen. We're very grateful for their support in helping Uvault bring this innovative solution to market quickly."
Uvault's closed captioning service can tap into a broadcaster's live video system, extract closed caption data from line 21, and deliver it in sync to video players on computers, Apple and Android tablets, and smartphones. The service includes everything broadcasters need to stream closed captions to RTMP/HLS devices, including a closed caption data retrieval device, CPC software, and Uvault CDN services for fast expansion over the Amazon EC2 cloud network. The service integrates easily with most existing broadcast workflows, enabling broadcasters to output data to a Web media encoder and integrate seamlessly with Uvault CDN, delivering closed captions to end users on any device.
"The FCC's mandate, coupled with the growing number of playback devices, means publishers must be able to deliver closed captioning to multiple screens," said Dave Stubenvoll, Wowza Media Systems CEO and cofounder. "Wowza Media Server software — with its integrated live adaptive bitrate (ABR) transcoding and other content-anywhere features — will enable Uvault to deliver those captions to any device smoothly and synchronously."
Uvault began testing the new solution in April 2012 and plans to release the Flash-supported service in mid-May. Support for Apple devices will follow in June, and Android and Blackberry support will be available by August.
