PlayBox Technology UK, the leading channel in a box provider for media companies worldwide, has provided an upgraded playout platform for Al Qamar Television’s Moon Channel. Al Qamar is an Arab-language, faith-based service based in London with a global streamed audience.
As Al Qamar grows in output and audience, it needed to move to an updated integrated playout system. PlayBox provided a turnkey solution, including core content servers as well as the playout software, all on standard IT hardware, and all within a standards-based architecture.
“As a digital first channel, our goal is to use as much automation as possible, to ensure that our budget can be devoted to content,” said Ali Ansari, director at Al Qamar. “PlayBox provided the complete solution. They could also demonstrate that it is reliable and secure, and that it is simple and intuitive to operate.”
PlayBox Technology delivers more than 20,000 master content streams every day, from news and entertainment to civic and faith services. Drawing on its 15 years of experience of innovation in channel in a box technology, it has developed a highly advanced playout engine, capable of serving multiple channels and platforms at resolutions up to 4k Ultra HD.
The turnkey solution includes content servers, scheduling and graphics tools. Operationally, all functionality it accessed through intuitive and tailored user interfaces implemented in HTML5.
“Our playout software is ideal for live streaming services like Al Qamar,” said Ben Gunkel, sales manager at PlayBox Technology. “The automation is highly reliable, so the channel can schedule and forget, and the simple user interface makes it easy to intervene when the content requires it.”
