How Jazler Software Built a Professional TV Automation Engine with Medialooks Video SDK
In the niche world of small and mid-size music TV channels, reliability and fast development cycles can define whether a product succeeds. Jazler Software learned this early. The company first entered television automation more than two decades ago with Jazler TV in the early 2000s, later expanding its video line with VideoStar, built on Medialooks technology but eventually withdrawn from the market following the loss of its creator, Christos Valasellis.
Christos had also started work on a new system — SOHO TV — initially intended for a custom project for his own channel. Although that version never reached the market in the form he envisioned, Jazler continued developing it, evolving the platform into what it is today: a cost-effective and modern automation solution designed specifically for music video channels.
SOHO TV follows the same philosophy that made Jazler’s radio automation software widely adopted: simplicity, predictable behavior, and a tight focus on what broadcasters actually need. While optimized for music video playback, the system supports scheduled news segments, live feeds, and on-screen graphics — flexibility that makes it practical even for small broadcasters without large engineering teams.
A Playback Engine at the Core
According to Pantelis Koukellis, Software Developer and Technical Support at Jazler Software, Medialooks Video SDK sits at the heart of SOHO TV. He describes it simply:
“It’s the playback engine — like the engine of a car. No need to build your own and lose time; you focus on the rest of the product.”
The SDK handles all core media operations inside SOHO TV: file playback, graphics overlays, and real-time compositing. For a small development team, this meant avoiding years of low-level engineering while still delivering performance and reliability that broadcasters expect.
As Pantelis explains, “Medialooks SDK plays all video files and populates them with the necessary graphics to achieve a rich experience.” That combination — solid playback + integrated graphics — became one of the defining qualities of SOHO TV.
Reducing Development Burden
Pantelis highlighted that the SDK allowed their team to focus on product features instead of infrastructure. Integration was straightforward, and the components proved stable in production.
“It offers fast development with reliable and stable functionality as a plug-and-play solution,” he said.
Instead of building a playback engine, a character generator, and graphics layers from scratch — and then maintaining them for years — Jazler could concentrate on workflow design, scheduling logic, and the user experience.
Tangible Results
With Medialooks, Jazler quickly implemented the core functionality needed to ship the first version of SOHO TV. Pantelis describes the result as “a fully stable solution,” even without using the full depth of what the SDK can do.
The business impact was just as significant:
- dramatically reduced development costs;
- faster time to market;
- fewer risks compared to rolling their own playback engine;
- a more professional and stable product for customers.
This stability is especially important in television environments, where automation runs continuously and downtime is not an option.
What Stood Out Most
One component that particularly impressed Pantelis was the Character Generator included in the SDK. He describes it as “state-of-the-art,” offering enough flexibility to create “a rich experience on screen” with minimal effort.
Beyond that, the SDK’s design made day-to-day development easier. It “does the heavy job reliably,” freeing the team to design features around each station’s needs rather than wrestling with codecs, frame accuracy, or real-time rendering.
Support and Documentation
Pantelis also emphasized the value of Medialooks’ documentation and sample projects. He sees them as a practical starting point for exploring the SDK’s capabilities — a way to quickly test ideas, understand implementation patterns, and evaluate how new features can be integrated.
Bringing It All Together
For a team with deep experience in broadcast automation, choosing Medialooks Video SDK wasn’t just a technical decision — it was a strategic one. SOHO TV reached the market faster, with fewer risks and a more dependable foundation.
With SOHO TV now running on a stable and proven playback engine, Jazler Software continues focusing on what it does best: building practical tools that help small and mid-size broadcasters deliver polished, professional television.