A1 Croatia taps Appear for OTT channel encoding and distribution workflow

A1 Croatia has tapped Appear to transform and optimise its live OTT channel encoding and distribution workflow to include fully on-premise transcoding.

A1 Croatia has migrated its existing ABR transcoding and distribution platform to Appear’s NEO Series server-based transcoding platform, powering more than 300 high-capacity live channels to any device or platform across the region.

According to Appear, its server-based compression solution that is denser and up to 10 times more energy efficient than a pure software transcoding solution. The plug-and-play solution offers accelerated HEVC transcoding simultaneously with AVC transcoding, simplifying server deployment and operations which helps reduces TCO.

The NEO Series will manage software-powered video compression for the delivery of A1 Croatia’s live media experiences, supporting IPTV, OTT or combined applications. It can be deployed as appliances or software, delivering high-quality compression and packaging to ensure the secure and reliable content delivery. 

Its used by tier one telcos and operators globally to remove the complexities in traditional server-based solutions, with management, transcoding, and streaming functions all fully integrated into Appear hardware.

“Migrating to all-IP OTT distribution, Appear’s server-based NEO Series was the ideal fit for our live channel encoding and distribution,” said Vedran Krhač, head of TV and Video Services, A1 Croatia. “The NEO Series’ ease of integration, cost efficiency, and scalability means we can more effectively manage the transcoding and delivery of our live channels to our customers, while significantly reducing shipping and energy costs. Appear’s support team made the consultancy, initial installation and ongoing monitoring a seamless process.”

“We’re seeing more customers migrating away from the cloud when it comes to always-on, processing-hungry applications like ABR transcoding, due to the cost and resource efficiencies a server-based solution brings,” said Thomas Bostrøm Jørgensen, CEO at Appear. “Our NEO Series offers a seamless integration and easy future upgrade path, giving A1 Croatia the flexibility and stability needed to deliver its hundreds of live channels back on-premise. We look forward to working with them to help simplify their deployments and operations and reduce overall TCO.”