Vidgo IDs Two OTT Tech Partners
Though there are lingering questions about pricing, packaging and a precise launch date for an OTT TV service being developed by Vidgo, the company has revealed two key technology partners – Float Left and Harmonic – in tandem with this week’s NAB show in Las Vegas.
Among them, Float Left and its Flicast platform will help Vidgo bring its coming virtual MVPD service to major platforms such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, web browsers, and iOS and Android mobile phones.
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Vidgo has also tapped Harmonic’s VOS media processing platform, including encoding and transcoding via the vendor’s VOS SW Cluster, to help underpin its OTT services. It will also use Harmonic’s PURE Compression Engine, a software-based media processing technology that will help Vidgo deliver high video quality across screens at the “lowest possible bitrates.”
Though specifics about Vidgo’s offerings are yet to come, it does plan to offer a lineup of more than 40 linear channels and a “robust” VOD library under a no-contract model that’s also free of box fees. Vidgo, which had once planned to introduce services sometime in 2016, currently expects to launch a beta version of the service this summer across “all major platforms.”
Still unclear is how Vidgo will be able to differentiate amid a competitive mix of virtual MVPDs that includes Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, DirecTV Now, fuboTV, and Hulu.
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