MAM
Synamedia saves operators up to 50% of OTT costs with streaming aware machine-learning capabilities
MUMBAI: Synamedia, the world’s largest independent video software provider, today announced new automation capabilities for its Virtual Digital Content Manager (DCM) with Smart Rate Control that will save operators up to 50% of bandwidth and storage costs. Using machine-learning (ML) and Stream Video Quality™, Synamedia’s patented light weight and real-time quality metric technology, the solution automatically scales based on bandwidth requirements to minimize costs while providing consistently high video quality and without impacting the encoding computational complexity. It will debut at The 2019 NAB Showin Synamedia’s booth, #SU10125.
This new video processing technology automates the time-consuming activity of setting the quality level and cap bitrate by leveraging ML techniques. It can operate on the individual bitrate profile level, thus does not assume that two channels behave the same nor that the content of a channel is equally complex over the course of time, thereby providing greater flexibility and scale capabilities.
Currently, standard Adaptive Bit Rate (ABR) solutions leverage output profiles that are set to constant bit rates with varying picture quality. This can often result in more bandwidth usage than is required due to varying quality level targets, such as switching from a high impact football game to a more static interview. Synamedia’s Virtual DCM with Smart Rate Control and Automation scales as needed according to bandwidth requirements, minimizing distribution and storage costs while ensuring that the expected high-quality viewer experience will not be compromised.
Operators looking to deploy on a large scale quickly benefit from Synamedia’s automation capabilities because the need for trial and error testing is eliminated. This is particularly important when distributing sports content, which can be inherently complex to encode due to the many movement variations that would traditionally require individual encoding settings. Synamedia’s Virtual DCM with Smart Rate Control and Automation sets target quality levels and bitrate caps per the ABR bitrate profile for each channel in a network. It also automatically makes adjustments when needed, thus eliminating deployment time, increasing bitrate efficiency, and uncovering new routes to cost savings. It also supports both H.264 and H.265 coding and is future-proofed for future codecs.
“Today, competition is fierce, and no one is more keenly aware of that than our customers. They need a competitive edge and they look to us to help them discover one. Our new Virtual DCM with Smart Rate Control and Automation delivers on that challenge head first,” said Julien Signes, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Video Processing at Synamedia. “Operators tell us that our new automation capabilities are a first in the industry and can open up efficiency and scalability possibilities like never before. This is one of the many ways we help them win and keep viewers.”
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
