IMAX to unveil new live streaming optimization tool at NAB 2024

IMAX Corporation will debut a new version of its StreamSmart enterprise software for live and linear workflows at NAB 2024, booth W1529. StreamSmart On-Air uses VisionScience — IMAX’s Emmy-award winning technology that uses AI to comprehensively map the human visual system — to preserve exceptional video quality on live content, while further reducing file sizes on top of existing optimization methods.

“StreamSmart On-Air is meeting market demand for cost savings and efficiency head-on, and provides immediate business results with zero operational risk,” said Vikram Arumilli, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Streaming and Consumer Technology, IMAX. “We’ve already saved millions of dollars for our customers’ VOD content with StreamSmart On-Demand – making the same technology available for live streaming events and sports is a game-changer.”

StreamSmart On-Air reduces bitrate of live streams, saving 15% or more on the cost of CDN distribution with no distinguishable difference to viewer experience. It seamlessly integrates into an existing encoding and packaging workflow for minimal disruption to the tech stack, and uses a simple manifest manipulation approach, making it codec, encoder, and configuration agnostic. NAB attendees can see live demonstrations of IMAX StreamSmart On-Air in the West Hall at the IMAX booth (W1529) and the AWS booth (W1701).

Additional IMAX highlights at NAB include:

StreamAware On-Demand

IMAX’s StreamAware software utilizes AI to monitor every pixel, ensuring pristine video streams and quality assurance for both VOD and live content. The latest release of StreamAware On-Demand features a new content similarity check, unique to the industry, that automates the comparison of two video files to determine if their content is identical and identifies the mismatch if they differ.

IMAX Stream

IMAX will soon offer StreamAware On-Demand and StreamSmart On-Demand combined in a single platform ecosystem. Both products use IMAX VisionScience technology to leverage data-driven optimization – StreamAware combines quality measurement with quality and compliance checks, and StreamSmart ensures premium quality while significantly reducing costs.