The Flow Center
Welcome to the Flow Center
Here we present The Flow Center, which is the core of our Media Asset Management system. We will also preview our user interface to give you a better understanding of what we offer in practice. At the end of the page you find an overview of available modules that can be added to the Flow Center.
TRUSTED BY
The Flow Center
A leading MAM & Distribution system
The Flow Center is the key solution for any company looking for a Media Asset Management (MAM) or a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system. Ultimately, it enables its users to manage and distribute their content in the most efficient and adaptable way. We at Flow Works have built this software in-house for nearly 20 years and confidently say there is no correspondence on the market. The Flow Center is a mature system that is extremely flexible and can be integrated to various digital ecosystems. It works in all sorts of media-centric environments ranging from production, post-production and broadcasters to agencies of all kind, internal marketing teams, web-tv and even online-publishing and sales.
VISUAL PREVIEWS
Preview Media Assets as visuals
Flow generates thumbnails (in jpeg) or video previews from any file format. Flow reads all media file formats, incl. RAW formats, that can be ingested directly from the camera to the Flow system.All your content automatically appears as visual previews in the gallery view, making it quick and easy to browse through content and for example drag-and-drop selected content to Flow Projects or Flow Rooms for sharing with others internally or externally.
A Hub for each Media Asset
The Media Container
Each media asset has its own Media Container in which all information related to it can be found in one clear view. This includes: descriptive, technical, rights, usage, status and version information (language, brandings, subtitles), versions, related content, contracts, etc. All the information listed above also becomes a search criteria and therefore is searchable through the search function in the Flow system.
The Flow Center
Contains and integrates six core functional engines
The Flow Center is the center of the system that binds together all other modules. The building blocks of the Flow Center are core modules such as the media databases, the user-engine, the rights-engine. It manages and creates the linkage and exchange between all other Flow modules.
Archive
The Archive is a browser-based user interface / operating tool of the Flow Center. The entire surface is built for easy drag&drop operability. The Flow Archive can be configured and customized down to the last detail.
Workflows
All editorial, technical, and administrative processes can be configured into automated workflows. This allows for efficiency as well as minimized errors. The included Flow Device & Workflow Manager -module allows its users to monitor and manage their machinery and workflows transparently.
Advanced Transcoder
One of the key professional features is the built-in high-level transcoding that works fully automated, creating optimised file versions and previews. This enables a stable and fast system operability and minimizes workload placed on Internet lines.
Integration
Any 3rd party device (API, XML, JSON, Watchfolder, QC, external transcoders, Edits, Schedulers, WANs, etc) can be integrated to build any desired workflow. Additionally, integrations to over 300 softwares used in production and post-production are available.
Distribution
From the Flow Center, users can publish and distribute their media assets in optimized file size to and from any channel or to multiple playout channels such as websites, apps, social media, OTT, VOD or CDN platforms.
Processing
Any technical alteration or management of the media ingested to the Flow Center is possible. The Flow Center includes powerful AI features, developed in cooperation with our leading customers, to for example extract and process speech and text in videos, as well as recognize and categorize objects in media assets.
All these functions are integrated into a single system, which allows for the creation and operation of highly automated processes and workflows. The Flow Center is created in a modular architecture, making it a very flexible and versatile system. Any combination of the core-engines plus our various Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) can be put together to target and resolve specific needs. As a whole, the Flow System offers unrivaled flexibility and ability to create customer solutions from a set of standardized components.
Grow your Flow Center over time
Scale without limitations
The Flow Center also allows for free scaling of the system. As the amount of users grows and new modules are integrated, the hardware-basis can be grown freely by adding CPUs, storages, users. The Flow Center can be installed locally on-site, at multiple locations as well as in the cloud or through a hosted system. Additionally, the Flow Center can be grown across locations. Create a de-centralized network across locations by integrating individual Flow installations that are situated in various locations. For this, the Flow-2-Flow module can be used to easily grow the network to combine own hardware with hosted or cloud services etc.
Pick & Mix to create your own Flow system
Flow Modules
Core
modules
Architecture modules
Publish & Playout modules
Monetization modules
The Flow Center is the core of the system that binds together all other modules. The building blocks of the Flow Center are key modules such as the media databases, the user-engine, the rights-engine. It manages and creates the linkage and exchange between all other Flow modules.
Designed and built specifically for editorial users, Flow Archive offers a wealth of editorial functions covering the entire workflow-chain from ingest, content management, project management, collaboration to publication and monetization.
The Device & Workflow Manager is a module that allows admins and techies to create, configure and manage even very complex workflow-chains autonomously. Admins can incorporate any 3rdparty device (QC), Transcoders, Edits, Schedulers, WANs, etc.) and use Flow Center +3rd party technology to build any workflow desired.
With Flow Rooms you can share a selection of materials with customers or other external partners. Rooms offer a broad selection of features: screening & approval by tick-in-the-box functionality, external download or upload of materials. Each Flow Rooms is easily accessible through a unique URL generated by the system.
Create Project folders and add content to the folders without creating any duplicates or copies. Flow Projects is optimal when working with others on shared documents or projects with a need for version control. A screening & approval feature is included as well as a commenting function. Share content externally by exporting to a Flow Room.
The basic component for a MAM system is Flow2Flow, a full featured connection between two Flow Center Core systems to exchange media, metadata, AI, transcodings, schedulings and all production and post-production informations to establish a fully structured workflow process over several locations with interactions from many users.
The Flow Cloud is a so called “online MAM” run by Flow Works. It can be hosted and driven in any cloud system. It is quick and easy to set up without high set-up costs. It scales freely to any size and is therefore ideal for either “entry-level” media asset management or for short-term projects. With the Flow Cloud the client avoids all the work and costs related to setting up a local system (incl. hardware, administration, connections etc.).
In Flow Host, Flow Works is establishing the media environment, handling all the administration and keeps the system running. This is preferable to organizations who do not have specialized IT staff or knowledge in-house and need to outsource this part to a specialist.
Flow Social allows you to easily publish on social channels by a drag & drop function. Feed your accounts with news, teasers, trailers, live events or any other message and point audiences to your offerings in other channels or on social itself.
Flow Web is for dedicated media-intense web platforms such as NewsTVs or vlogs. It’s an easy way to have changing and actual media on the client’s website without the need for re-programming it. This works for companies that have interactive webpages with audio-visual content that is frequently updated, such as blogs, vlogs, or company or product news. This is solution is optimal for live product presentations, even over CDNs with many thousand simultaneous viewers.
Flow Deliveries is the logical end-point of any MAM / PAM / DAM system: delivery and playout of content for monetization. While the overall Flow modules are geared towards cost-savings, Flow Deliveries provides highly/completely automated content delivery to customers, playout, portals or VODs. Using pre-fabricated “delivery workflows” to for example 70+ VOD portals.
Flow Media Market is a complete and specialized suite of technology and operating surfaces for content sales. It is designed for rights sellers, distributors and even footage-sales. Media Market is fully operational and used by some of Europe’s largest content rights sellers with a global customer-reach.
A Video-on-Demand (VoD) service is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device. The Flow VoD (video-on-demand) solution is for companies that monetize on video-content.
Different types of VoD solutions include:
- Transactional (TVoD)
- Premium PVoD)
- Catch-up TV
- Subscription (SVoD)
- Near video on demand (NVoD)
- Advertising video on demand (AVoD)
