RCN has deployed SeaChange International’s content workflow management software to streamline video-on-demand content and metadata processing operations.

RCN, a customer of SeaChange’s VOD systems since 2003, has created a single, centralized content processing operation based on SeaChange’s AssetFlow to support its VOD libraries in Boston, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Previously, content preparation was conducted manually in each of those markets. At RCN’s central processing location, all content is ingested into the AssetFlow system, which automatically formats the content for viewing, adds the appropriate metadata, and localizes the content to incorporate site-specific information for the particular market in which it will be available. Prepared content is multicast to each of the other VOD sites.

AssetFlow directs all of RCN’s received content into SeaChange’s Universal Media Library, a massively scalable storage server that supports all of the content and metadata processing. The UML stores all VOD content along with the associated metadata and any variations for each local market. The UML also provides a critical back-up function thanks to its NAS design, which allows it to deliver content to any market should a local site go down.

Jason Nealis, senior director of video engineering at RCN, said, “We’ve been able to move faster and radically reduce the workload that goes into supplying content for our world-class on-demand offering, which we anticipate will also allow RCN to realize operating cost savings.”

Venkat Krishnan, vice president of products at SeaChange, said: “Simply by eliminating the redundancies in its processing functions, RCN was able to affect an 80 percent reduction in the amount of work and cost required to prepare its content for viewing. And by leveraging AssetFlow’s rules-based automation, RCN has streamlined its processing even further, freeing up significant time and resources and dramatically cutting associated costs.”