According to AWS, the new Elemental Media Services “eliminate the need to procure expensive equipment for video data centers”. It adds that these services automate what were previously complex, labour-intensive processes that manage on-going video operations.

“Projects that once took months or years—such as standing up 24x7 live broadcast channels, converting a library of VOD assets for distribution, or streaming a high-profile live event—can now be completed in a fraction of the time with AWS Elemental Media Services,” states Alex Dunlap, General Manager at AWS Elemental. “Additionally, by using AWS Elemental Media Services, video providers can also incorporate personalized advertisements into streaming video using advanced techniques to generate additional revenues with their video content.”

The five services are: 

• AWS Elemental MediaConvert: for formatting and compressing VOD; 
• MediaLive, an encoding solution for “broadcast-grade” live video; 
• MediaPackage, to prepare and protect live video streams for delivery to internet devices; 
• MediaStore: high-performance storage; and 
• MediaTailor, which is for targeted advertising insertion.

“For the better part of six decades, professional-grade video workflows were limited to a few major industry players who could afford to build and maintain customized infrastructure that would be updated only once or twice each decade,” said Dunlap, GM at AWS Elemental. “These companies spent a great deal of time, money, and focus operating infrastructure with resources that could have been better spent creating great content and viewer experiences. We built AWS Elemental Media Services to let customers focus on delivering top-quality video reliably to any device, everywhere, without the undifferentiated heavy lifting of managing infrastructure.”

AWS backed the announcement with endorsements from BT, Pac-12 Networks, Fox Sports Australia, fuboTV, Cinépolis, and IMAGICA.