Objective
PANTAFLIX sought a video technology partner that could provide key technologies for building a high-quality video-on-demand service.
This started from encoding and packaging video content, through to facilitating online and offline playback. Eager to continue using technologies they were familiar with, their ideal partner would develop agnostic solutions with tried-and-trusted integrations.
Challenge
Operating a pay-per-view service model differed from the typical subscription-based model of other over-the-top service (OTT). Therefore PANTAFLIX had to consider a digital rights management (DRM) licensing service with a suitable pricing structure to this model.
The chosen solution(s) had to support all major DRM systems to facilitate content protected playback across browsers, digital media players, smart TVs, and both iOS and Android devices. This would include protected playback for a new Apple TV app, downloadable from the App Store.
Working with Castlabs in delivering the jury previews for the Deutscher Filmpreis 2017 and 2018, Germany’s annual domestic film awards, PANTAFLIX knew of Castlabs’ industry knowledge, and product effectiveness to deliver movies and TV shows securely across a wide range of devices.
PANTAFLIX is a streaming service, where people living abroad can watch their favourite movies and TV shows in their own language from their home country, yet also titles direct from filmmakers and major international studios.
Year established: 2016
Region: Worldwide
Service: PPV, VOD
Solution
Following the Deutscher Filmpreis partnership, PANTAFLIX chose Castlabs as their technology partner, deploying:
- Castlabs’ multi-DRM license delivery network, DRMtoday, one API integration trusted to deliver billions of licenses worldwide to all screens.
- Castlabs’ PRESTOplay provides the versatility to create high-quality bespoke players for your customer’s preferred screens across Android and iOS devices, desktops, smart TVs, and browsers.
- Castlabs’ cloud-based video processing service Video Toolkit provides high-quality encoding/transcoding, encryption, watermarking, subtitle conversion, and packaging of video assets into on-demand DRM-enabled adaptive streaming formats.
In selecting these technologies, PANTAFLIX cited:
- “Hybrid Content” created by Video Toolkit – two manifests for streaming to DASH and Smooth Streaming clients at the same time, saving encoding and packaging costs for a second format.
- Scalable cloud-service for encoding and packaging content for MPEG-DASH, HLS, and Smooth Streaming.
- Ability to transcode and re-package large numbers of files, swiftly and securely, during peak service usage.
- Facilitating secure DRM-enabled playback across tablets, mobiles, laptops, desktops, as well as Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Smart TVs.
- Offline playback served on all devices including iOS, Android, and Windows.
- Future-proofed for 4K and UHD content.
- Compatibility with PANTAFLIX’s “rent and watch“ business model
- Providing a single integration to support management of PlayReady, Widevine and FairPlay Streaming DRM technologies
- Pre-integrations with third-party technologies, such as video analytics vendors
testimonial
Castlabs is a reliable and trusted partner to launch Pantaflix across all relevant platforms.
Rainer Knebel CTO
Result
PANTAFLIX launched an app for Apple TV, accompanying apps for other digital media players such as Android TV, Samsung TV, and Amazon TV. PANTAFLIX’s app would be available through the App Store, delivering protected playback of PANTAFLIX content with features including title purchases from iTunes.
Maintaining loyalty among your service users entails a consistent high quality of experience (QoE): minimal buffering, uninterrupted license delivery, premium playback features, the ability to watch content everywhere both offline and online. Further still, service providers have to satisfy the strict content protection demands of studios as part of content license agreements.
Using Castlabs’ agnostic video technologies for processing, protection, and playback facilitates a smooth end-to-end VOD service workflow, ideal for disruptive new OTT market entrants, and provides service users with the high QoE they expect.
Start your free trial
Looking for a comprehensive VOD solution to secure your video content? Take our solutions for a test spin!