Asia-Pacific Broadcasting (APB) Broadcast Technology Trends & Insights 2016 | Page 18

BROADCAST TECHNOLOGY Imagine a life without strings! Today’s nirvana, for a modern human being of the 21st century, has a new definition. A user experience at peace with all devices, without the barriers of wired or wireless, or the divisions of linear and non-linear; and to consider the possibility that the focus of humanity should be living a life unattached to decisions made by someone else. B Y ASHISH M UK M odern m en , w om en an d k ids seek a l if e where connectivity is a given and continuity is the result of such connectivity. Imagine an average working woman in the 21st century holding a kid in one hand, and a smartphone in the other. Rushing to the childcare centre and then to the metro to catch her train, her immediate objective is to go back to watch episode 10/season 5 of her favourite tele-serial, which she left half-way when she had to get ready for work. She wants to finish seeing this episode on the metro before she reaches her work. Also, she would like to record multiple episodes of the programme so that she can finish watching all of them in one go, in a binge-watching session with her friends over a weekend. A whole lot of strings are missing in this seamless interface. The show started on the TV screen, continued on the smartphone and may probably end during the lunch hour on the PC at her desk. There are no wires (or strings) attached for delivering data. The place to watch is no longer the living room, but anywhere. We can cater to the requirements of this average customer today, and it involves a variety of technologies. Streaming video is now available seamlessly, flowing from a single Content Management System (CMS), “A hybrid CMS would be able to seamlessly integrate the various services offered by a network, so that a customer, who is using multiple services, would enjoy a better viewing experience.” HER J EE which keeps track of each subscriber and her constant desire for content and continuity, regardless of the device. Several large TV networks have been implementing multiple distribution channels to spread their content, including digital terrestrial transmission (DTT), over-the-top (OTT), payTV and others. While the content creation process may use the same sources, distribution platforms could be very different. Traditional TV uses baseband signals with a set-top box (STB), while newer media such as OTT run TV over IP. To be able to provide this “continuous content” functionality, there is a complex chain of backend platforms and providers requiring careful management. If the same content needs delivery over multiple platforms, networks typically have separate infrastructure for each type of platform and manage them in the backend with various CMS.