DPG Media Launches Digital Channel With Qvest.Cloud’s Q.Air

With the cloud-based playout solution Q.Air, which is based on Qvest Media’s multicloud management platform Qvest.Cloud, the Belgian media company DPG Media’s daily newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws (HLN) launched its new digital channel HLN Live.
The cloud-based playout automation Q.Air is orchestrated with the multicloud management platform Qvest.Cloud and runs on the AWS cloud infrastructure. Q.Air combines cloud applications from various manufacturers for ingest, playout, automation, and graphics in a ready-to-use, scalable, and expandable package solution that enables the multiformat and multiplatform distribution of video content.

Integrated cloud applications of the SaaS solution include HMS Media Solutions’ playout automation Makalu, Singular.Live’s graphics software Singular and the live video streaming application Wowza. Makalu furthermore supports dynamic ad insertion into live OTT streams and digital broadcasts which helps generate additional advertising revenues for DPG Media.

Video content for HLN Live emerges in close cooperation between HLN’s online video team and the news channel VTM Nieuws. Q.Air’s cloud functionality facilitates the close collaboration within DPG Media.

“Q.Air provides DPG Media editors with every feature that is needed to report live from current events within a very short time. Content can be managed location-independently and from different users while technical processes are automated and run in the background of the cloud”, says Ulrich Voigt, head of design at Qvest Media.

Ingest, transcoding, and proxy creation are fully automated after the content has been uploaded. The subsequent traffic planning and graphics insertion for real-time on-air design of video content is also realized with Q.Air. Ready-to-broadcast content is automatically played out to the according devices and multiple external service providers.

Sven Van Vlem, innovation manager at DPG Media, said: “HLN Live is a prime example for innovation. We had maximum freedom regarding the technical framework while planning our new digital channel. After a few tests, Qvest.Cloud and Q.Air quickly turned out to be our first choice. Next to the set of interconnected cloud applications, Q.Air provides us with exactly what we expect from a cloud solution: high scalability, the basis for creative collaboration, a quick and intuitive user workflow, marginal technical administration efforts, as well as high cost-efficiency and transparency.”

After the integration and product training courses for the responsible editors by Qvest Media, HLN Live started its regular operation in April on hln.be.