• CEPro_logo_blue-new
  • TOPICS
      • News
        • People & Places
        • Product Briefs
      • Projects
      • Events
      • Control
        • Central Vac
        • Energy/Power
        • HVAC/IAQ
        • Interfaces/Devices
        • Lighting
        • Motorized Shades
        • Whole House Systems
      • Audio/Video
        • Audio/Video
        • AV Accessories
        • AV Racks
        • Cabling
        • Displays
        • Furniture
        • Headphones
        • Home Theater
        • Media
        • Mounts/Lifts
        • Multiroom AV
        • Projectors/Screens
        • Speakers/Subwoofers
        • Wireless AV
      • Security
        • Access Control
        • Alarms/Sensors
        • Services/Platforms
        • Surveillance/Cameras
      • Business Support
        • Associations/Buying Groups
        • Cell Phone Boosters
        • Distributors/Reps
        • Operations
        • Recurring Revenue
        • Research
        • Sales/Marketing
        • Software Services
        • Tools/Testers
      • Networking
        • Cellular
        • Devices/Equipment
        • Wireless
        • Wired/Installation
      • Markets
        • Builders
        • Commercial
        • Design
        • Europe
        • Outdoors
        • Resimercial
        • Wellness
      • CE Pro Hub Pages
        • Bose
        • Savant
        • Inside Sound United
  • PRODUCTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Reports/Downloads
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Webcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Integrator Jobs
    • Digital Edition
    • CE Pro-iQ
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • CEDIA SHOW UPDATES
    • CEPRO PRINT EDITION
    • CEPRO DIGITAL EDITION
    • CEPRO NEWSLETTERS
  • DISCOVER
    • CEDIA Expo
      • September 29 – October 1
        Dallas, TX
      • VISIT SITE
    • KBIS
      • February 8 – 10
        Orlando, FL
      • VISIT SITE
    • Total Tech Summit
      • October 26 – 28
        Orlando, FL
      • VISIT SITE
    • Commercial Integrator
      • VISIT SITE
    • Security Sales
      • VISIT SITE
    • Tech Decisions
      • VISIT SITE
    • Campus Safety
      • VISIT SITE
    • Design Well
      • VISIT SITE
    • KBB Online
      • VISIT SITE
    • AV-iQ
      • VISIT SITE
    • CE Pro-iQ
      • VISIT SITE
  • Search
  • TOPICS
    • News
      • People & Places
      • Product Briefs
    • Projects
    • Events
    • Control
      • Central Vac
      • Energy/Power
      • HVAC/IAQ
      • Interfaces/Devices
      • Lighting
      • Motorized Shades
      • Whole House Systems
    • Audio/Video
      • Audio/Video
      • AV Accessories
      • AV Racks
      • Cabling
      • Displays
      • Furniture
      • Headphones
      • Home Theater
      • Media
      • Mounts/Lifts
      • Multiroom AV
      • Projectors/Screens
      • Speakers/Subwoofers
      • Wireless AV
    • Security
      • Access Control
      • Alarms/Sensors
      • Services/Platforms
      • Surveillance/Cameras
    • Business Support
      • Associations/Buying Groups
      • Cell Phone Boosters
      • Distributors/Reps
      • Operations
      • Recurring Revenue
      • Research
      • Sales/Marketing
      • Software Services
      • Tools/Testers
    • Networking
      • Cellular
      • Devices/Equipment
      • Wireless
      • Wired/Installation
    • Markets
      • Builders
      • Commercial
      • Design
      • Europe
      • Outdoors
      • Resimercial
      • Wellness
    • CE Pro Hub Pages
      • Savant
      • Bose
      • Inside Sound United
  • PRODUCTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Reports/Downloads
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Webcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Integrator Jobs
    • Digital Edition
    • CE Pro-IQ
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • CEPRO PRINT EDITION
    • CEPRO DIGITAL EDITION
    • CEPRO NEWSLETTERS
    • CEDIA SHOW UPDATES
  • DISCOVER
    • Cedia Expo
      VISIT SITE
    • Commercial Integrator
      VISIT SITE
    • Security Sales
      VISIT SITE
    • Tech Decisions
      VISIT SITE
    • Campus Safety
      VISIT SITE
    • Design Well
      VISIT SITE
    • Total Tech Summit
      VISIT SITE
    • KBB Online
      VISIT SITE
    • AV-iQ
    • CE Pro-iQ
M
POPULAR SEARCHES
News
Projects
Control
Audio Video
Security
Business Support
Markets
SUBSCRIBE CEDIA EXPO CEPro-iQ
Audio/Video | CEPro 100 | Media | Projects | Sponsored Content
December 10, 2020

200-Foot Yacht Is Ideal Application for Modulus Media Server

Boca Tech and Automation installs 2 Modulus Media M1 servers and 10 MX1 Clients to capture and record streaming content for later viewing while out at sea.
Jason Knott  

Jeff Galea of CE Pro 100 company Boca Tech & Automation found a unique application for Modulus Media M1 servers to record streaming content while at port for on-demand viewing while at sea.

Article:
Audio/Video | CEPro 100 | Media | Projects | Sponsored Content
December 10, 2020

200-Foot Yacht Is Ideal Application for Modulus Media Server

Jeff Galea, president of Boca Tech and Automation (BTA) in Boca Raton, Fla., was waiting to find the perfect application to deploy Modulus Media servers for a client, and he finally found it in a unique marine application. Indeed, the application is so ideal he is installing two Modulus M1 media servers on a single vessel along with 10 MX1 clients.

The Modulus Media M1 and MX1 media servers are unique in the market because of their ability to capture the recording natively streamed content after decryption, avoiding potential digital rights management issues. In simplified terms, a streamed signal undergoes a series of processes as it is sent to a hardware device, including decryption, decoding, rendering and compositing. Modulus Media captures the stream in rendering, then splits the audio and video, multiplexes it back together for recording. That process enables the streaming content to be recorded in the background while the user is watching something else.

For Galea, the uniqueness of the product required finding the right application.

“In the era of streaming media, I kept asking myself why anyone would ever want to record Netflix, when you could just log onto Netflix and watch it? I thought recording streaming media content onto a media server just added a layer of complexity,” recalls Galea.

“Of course, Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services remove programming content all the time, so recording it to your media server would preserve that access, but still, there is plenty of other available content to watch.”

CE Pro 2022 Product Guide

CE Pro's 2022 Product Guide showcases some of the latest and innovative solutions from manufacturers serving the custom electronics industry in a cross-section of categories.

Download the guide now!

But then came this particular marine application. The 200-foot vessel requires access to the streaming media options such as Netflix or Amazon Prime while out at sea, where Internet access is limited or often non-existent.

“The idea was to invest in something state of the art for this vessel, which would allow guests onboard to watch Netflix originals or Amazon Prime while they are out in the middle of the ocean,” says Galea.

The solution entails two headless Modulus M1 media servers serving content to 10 MX1 clients which are inputs into a 64×64 matrix switcher along with traditional sources such as DirecTV and Kaleidescape. When the ship is in port and has Internet connectivity, the Modulus Media servers do multi-channel recording of streaming media collections and store them on the hard drive with the ability to be replayed out at sea.

Boca Tech & Automation, a CE Pro 100 and HTA Certified integration firm, worked closely with Modulus Media to develop several of the key features necessary for the success of the installation, including batch recording and multi-channel recording capability, which is key because the ship might be in port for only a few days, but out at sea for a week. Since the Modulus Media servers currently only record in real time, it means it takes one hour to record a one-hour show, so that is why the multi-channel recording capability is so important.

“The idea was to invest in something state of the art for this vessel, which would allow guests onboard to watch Netflix originals or Amazon Prime while they are out in the middle of the ocean.”

— Jeff Galea, Boca Tech & Automation

In addition, the vessel is used for charters – so it was important that new users are able to easily use the system without the risk of deleting content, and that the user interface was integrated into the existing touchpanel-based control system. Because the MX1 clients could be routed anywhere in the vessel via the video matrix switch, the native Bluetooth paired Modulus remotes could not be used. 

The BTA and Modulus engineering teams developed a new user interface which they dubbed “hotel mode” that solves this problem nicely.  The new interface is customized to match the branding of the vessel and also supports a simplified navigation system that works well with a control system.

Another newly developed feature is the ability to auto-detect the duration parameters of the recordings. That feature eliminates the need for a person to have to manually cue up a new recording after a previous recording is complete. “This marine application makes a lot of sense; there is no other company competing in a marine application use case like this. Nobody else can do it and it could become a very big market for Modulus,” he comments.

Home Movie Recording Libraries

Another use case the team at Boca Tech & Automation stumbled upon for the Modulus Media servers is importing home movies.


Related: Modulus Media Stream-Recording Patent Spurs Media Server Comeback

 “I also love the fact that you can put home movies on it. Once you import home movies or DVDs on to other media servers, they are locked in there. You can never get them off again. It’s like putting them inside a post office mailbox and you can’t retrieve them. The Modulus Media server is a secure way to distribute home movies with or without a video matrix switch,” says Galea, who uses 4K-based media servers such as Kaleidescape most of his home theater projects.

“I could see using the Modulus Media server to normalize the content into a single library. You could have content from Amazon Prime, content from Netflix, and a personal library of home movies all mixed together. That could be a good niche. People don’t want to have to search for content in a particular streaming service. They just want to find the content, no matter where it came from. The Modulus Media server can consolidate it all together,” he adds.

Modulus Patented User Interface

One way the server enables the user to find content more readily is via its user interface. The company has a patent for its the “slot machine” design of its on-screen user interface that allows users to gain fast access and organize their content. While not a good fit for this particular application, Modulus Media also has a design patent for its backlit remote control that includes voice, an air mouse, a QWERTY keyboard, IR learning, RF, Bluetooth and even a headphone jack.

“The user interface is gorgeous. They have got great graphic art,” says Galea.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Knott
Follow
Jason Knott:
Jason Knott is Chief Content Officer for Emerald's Connected Brands. Jason has covered low-voltage electronics as an editor since 1990, serving as editor and publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He joined CE Pro in 2000 and serves as Editor-in-Chief of that brand. He served as chairman of the Security Industry Association’s Education Committee from 2000-2004 and sat on the board of that association from 1998-2002. He is also a former board member of the Alarm Industry Research and Educational Foundation. He has been a member of the CEDIA Business Working Group since 2010. Jason graduated from the University of Southern California.
View Jason Knott's complete profile

ARTICLE TOPICS

Audio/Video • CEPro 100 • Media • Projects • Sponsored Content

ARTICLE TAGS

CE Pro 100 • Home Technology Association • Media Server • Modulus • Netflix

SHARE

Share On Facebook
Share On Twitter
Share On Linkedin
Share On Whatsapp
Share Via Email
Copy URL
← Previous Article Next Article →
Article Audio/VideoCommercialControlDesignEventsISELightingMarketsOutdoorsPress ReleasesProductsResimercialWellnessWhole-House Systems

KSCAPE RAIL Lighting/Audio Solution to Debut at ISE 2023

KSCAPE notes that its new model of RAIL integrates Casambi for the ultimate ‘plug-and-play’ light audio system solution.
Article Business SupportNewsSoftware/Services

Portal API Integrates with iPoint

Portal.io opens its API to other business management software solutions, and announces its first integration is with iPoint.
Article Audio/VideoCommercialControlDesignEventsISELightingMarketsOutdoorsPress ReleasesProductsResimercialWellnessWhole-House Systems

KSCAPE RAIL Lighting/Audio Solution to Debut at ISE 2023

KSCAPE notes that its new model of RAIL integrates Casambi for the ultimate ‘plug-and-play’ light audio system solution.
Article Audio/VideoDesignLightingMotorized ShadesProjectors/ScreensSpeakers/Subwoofers

Technology Has Become an Interior Design Statement All Its Own

From LED light fixtures to loudspeakers to shades, access control and keypads, to solutions used as ways to conceal technology, design was on everyone’s minds at the recent CEDIA Expo in Dallas.

SHOW NEWSLETTER

Sign Up

CE Pro

Subscribe Sign Up

Content Types

News
Products
Projects
Companies
Downloads
Webcasts
Podcasts
Events

Specials

IntegratorJobs
CEDIA EXPO
CE Pro 100
CE Pro Summit
Awards Programs

Company Info

About
Contact Us
Customer Service
Media Solutions & Advertising

Subscribe

Magazine
Newsletters
Digital Edition

Connect

Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
YouTube
RSS Feed

Categories

AUDIO/VIDEO
AV Accessories
AV Racks
Amplifiers/Receivers
Cabling
Displays
Furniture
Mounts/Lifts
Multiroom AV
Projector Screens
Speakers/Subwoofers
Wireless AV
CONTROL
Central Vac
Energy/Power
Interfaces/Devices
HVAC/IAQ
Lighting
Motorized Shades
Whole-House Systems
NETWORKING
Cellular
Devices/Equipment
Wireless
Wiring/Installation
SECURITY
Access Control
Alarms/Sensors
Services/Platforms
Surveillance Cameras
BUSINESS SUPPORT
Associations/Buying Groups
Distributors/Reps
Operations
Recurring Revenue
Research
Sales/Marketing
Software/Services
Tools/Testers
MARKETS
Builders
Commercial
Design
Europe
Outdoors
Wellness
FOLLOW US ON
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

© 2023 Emerald X, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

  • ABOUT
  • CAREERS
  • TERMS OF USE
  • PRIVACY POLICY