Optime

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of VRex Immersive, a company building a VR platform for travel destination marketing. We help travel professionals use Virtual Reality for trade shows, sales offices and events.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Optime, and what were your goals?

For our platform's current version and the state of VR headset development and 5G connectivity, our focus was to implement low latency 360 degree VoD and Live streaming functionality into our VR apps with minimal delay. This was a great challenge as working with high resolution 360 video content can be tricky.

We needed a solution to be able to transmit 4K 360 videos and live streams over regular internet connections our customers have normally. The solutions on the market could not offer us the optimization and quality of video we needed with acceptable delay.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We had heard of Optime team through their past work in video, streaming and transcoding. The team has extensive experience and deep knowledge in telecom as well as video and software development. That combination right there was the deciding factor for us. Once we had several conversation with the tech lead and the team, we knew they could deliver what we needed.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Optime created an adaptive algorithm that divides full resolution 360 video into segments and versions. Then the video streams are transcoded, streamed, reassembled on the receiving end and integrated into our proprietary VR content player. The system also provides low delay and latency so that VR users feel comfortable consuming the content streamed to them.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Majority of the project was done by two developers and the project lead.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Real-world tests and experiments are pending at this time, but so far we have tested the system and it works flawlessly transmitting high resolution 360 video content both live and on demand with 2-3 second delay, which is very impressive for a complex task like that.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The project team was very easy to work with, communication was swift and responsive. We coordinated through Jira mainly and communicated with regular calls with the team. We received regular updates about the project and our developers were always in sync with the Optime project team.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

To me the most impressive and unique is the combination of skills in Optime ranging from Telecom and networking to Video and software development. The team has deep knowledge and experience in all of those verticals, which makes a pretty unique combination on the market.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I cannot say much about this topic as our task at hand was very unorthodox and requirements had to evolve and change on the fly (nature of startups and the processes within startups). Optime has always kept up with the pace of the process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Imagine Communications (www.imaginecommunications.com) develops advanced media processing, distribution and ad management products to help media companies make and monetize television content. Our customers are the innovators, influencers and idea-makers who inform, entertain and shape the way we experience the world. I am the VP of a department for Imagine Communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Optime, and what were your goals?

Together with our Networking team, Optime has been designing and developing software/firmware for Imagine Communications’ flagship media processing platform. This product synchronizes, processes, transcodes and distributes both compressed and uncompressed HD/ UHD/ 8k content across baseband or IP networks at ultra- low latency for various professional broadcast applications including television, film, and live events.

Our goals were to engage with a competent software service provider to help contribute to our media processing platform.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Imagine Communications chose Optime for their experience with advanced media processing and media codec applications deployed within time-critical/high-bandwidth networked environments.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Imagine Communications worked with Optime on a time and materials basis across several projects. The Optime team represented a single scrum team out of a total of four scrum teams. They developed business logic and embedded firmware using a variety of languages (mainly Java/Java Script, C, C++).

The main projects included a Multi-image Display Processor (https://imaginecommunications.com/product/epic-mv/) and our Media Processing Platform (https://imaginecommunications.com/snp-trusted-feature-complete-solution/). The Optime team also assisted with some sustaining work on several legacy products.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

On average, 8-12 resources including software developers, technical leads, architects, and scrum leads.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Optime was able to work collaboratively with our local development team. They were open and receptive to design suggestions and performance feedback and were able to adapt where required. Their team was able to meet our program objectives, and deliverables generally met all performance and quality objectives.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Their approach to designing and developing quality solutions in collaboration with other development teams has delivered consistent value to Imagine Communication's key programs. They worked with Imagine Communication's collaboration tools including MS Teams, Jira, and Confluence. Their delivery timelines met expectations.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Optime’s technical acumen with Windows and Linux-based embedded software and their ability to deliver time-sensitive processing and control software for low-latency media workflows were critical to the success of our programs.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

They were talented contributors who understood both the business and technical aspects of product development. A recommendation would be to engage them early in the development cycle to ensure they understand the high-level goals of any program. With a clear and common understanding of the goals, Optime will be prepared to make the best possible decisions and recommendations for the program while avoiding any inefficiencies or redundant effort.