PANELLISTS
24
January-February 2017
Content producers not using new technology
TV and video professionals do not have the time to learn how to use the advanced technology that the industry has traditionally relied on , reports Forbidden Technologies in a recent survey . The overriding sentiment among 134 international participants working across a variety of roles in the production of video content and broadcasting , said Forbidden , is an industry under increasing pressure to produce more content over shorter periods of time , leaving little-to-no time for training or professional development . While more than 90 % of the respondents agreed that it is essential to keep up with , and use , new technology to be successful , most cited the lack of time as the key reason for not engaging in more training .
Archive to the cloud with Archiware
Archiware , a manufacturer of data management software , is offering users the option of archiving to cloud storage . With the newly released version 5.4 of the P5 suite , Amazon S3 cloud services are integrated with additional services to be added in future releases , said Archiware . Also new to the new P5 version is the integration of FFmpeg and ImageMagick into the user interface . These converter tools for video and image files respectively are now configurable within Archiware P5 . During the archiving process , a preview is created of video and image files in the specified format — bitrate , for example — and stored with the metadata .
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When streaming becomes more robust
In the past , the robustness of live video streams was dependent on the amount of bandwidth available on delivery platforms . That , however , has changed with technology . Millette Manalo-Burgos writes more .
Live streaming technology has advanced quickly over the years , and has come to a point in time where it has become relatively easy for broadcasters to stream live content . Many of them are now looking to boost the live streaming experience through advanced features , especially for sports applications , Chem Assayag , EVP , marketing and sales for Viaccess-Orca , tells APB .
He adds : “ Because streaming technologies and consumer expectations are constantly changing , broadcasters need a video delivery platform that enables them to adjust quickly and bring new services to market affordably . ‘ TV Everywhere ’ platforms hosted in the cloud offer a good solution , enabling broadcasters to manage all aspects of the content preparation and distribution workflow from transcoding to packaging , encryption , publishing , recommendations and delivery .
“ By deploying a complete cloud service for live streaming , operators can quickly and easily monetise their multi-screen offerings , keeping content safe via best-inclass security on every device .”
Aside from better security , Steve Davis , VP and general manager of Asia-Pacific for Ooyala , says that the biggest change to live streaming technology is the ease of building and deploying live streams .
New streaming solutions , for instance ,
According to Steve Davis ( left ), VP and general manager of Asia-Pacific for Ooyala , the biggest change to live streaming technology is the ease of building and deploying live streams . New streaming solutions , for instance , have reduced set-up time , enabling broadcasters to live stream an event in minutes versus hours or even days , he points out .
John Wastcoat ( left ), VP for business development at Aspera , an IBM company , says the explosion of Internet content delivery is creating the demand for open , file-based solutions in application software that are “ up to the challenge ”. For instance , Aspera offers FASPStream ( top ), a turnkey application software designed to enable live streaming of broadcast-quality video globally over commodity Internet networks with glitchfree playout and “ negligible ” start-up time .
have reduced set-up time , enabling broadcasters to live stream an event in minutes versus hours or even days , he points out .
Furthermore , cloud-based infrastructure has given broadcasters the ability to scale as they need and allow for easy syndication directly from their traditional , linear TV broadcasts — using their broadcast-grade equipment to multiple end-points , including new platforms such as Facebook Live .
Davis continues : “ And as the nature of streaming is online , measurement and the inclusion of real-time analytics allow for more personalised experiences and better insight for future content . Broadcasters can get real-time feedback to know how many concurrent users they have at any given moment , check the quality-of-stream to measure how it is impacting drop-off viewers and personalise ad loads — even the creatives themselves — to individual viewers based on their location , device and contextual viewing patterns .”
John Wastcoat , VP for business development , Aspera , an IBM company , says Internet broadband bandwidth is now increasingly available at production venues — thus opening the possibility for new live video transport solutions .
The explosion of Internet content delivery , he explains , demands open , file-based solutions in application softwares that are “ up to the challenge ”.
“ To enable efficient and costeffective live streaming , they must be capable of guaranteeing arrival rates over long distance or wireless Internet WANs having high round-trip time and packet loss without adding significant start-up delay or costly workarounds .”
Video quality has been the biggest change in live streaming , observes Chris Wagner , EVP at NeuLion . Video quality online is now better than what can be found on traditional cable TV or satellite TV — which was not the case years ago , he argues . “ Evidence of this is in 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) live streaming where you can get four times the quality of HD streamed to any type of connected device .”
The two key enablers that have made this a reality , Wagner identifies , are technology and business . For the former , new tools such as adaptive bitrate ( ABR ) streaming allow more costeffective streaming on the Internet . With ABR , streaming videos can be compressed and transported over the Internet , and then streamed at different rates , depending on each consumer ’ s broadband connection . “ Thus , the quality of the experience is better and the cost of delivery is much lower ,” says Wagner .
On the business side , he sees the Internet as a platform for broadcasters to better engage with their viewers by more personalised services . “ It ’ s now a one-to-one conversation . The old way of broadcasting with cable and satellite was one-to-many , so there wasn ’ t an opportunity to personalise the experience .
“ Over the Internet , however , broadcasters can create an individual stream for each user and users can tailor exactly what they want to watch .