34 March 2017
Migration – birds do it , we Tou-can
Migration is about survival . Lots of things migrate . Birds migrate , whales migrate , even humans migrate . In fact , historically , migration has been recorded as long as 3,000 years ago by ancient Greek authors including Homer and Aristotle , and in the Book of Job , for species such as storks , turtle doves and swallows .
One thing unites all these migrators — the desire to survive and prosper in a way that was better than before .
For animals , migration carries high costs in predation and mortality , including from hunting by humans , and threats to migratory birds have grown with habitat destruction and disruption . Which leads me to the broadcast industry . If you have been around as long as I have , you will have no doubt witnessed the migration from analogue to serial digital , which was triggered by businesses wanting to improve quality , easily standardise platforms and save costs . Then , there was the migration from SD to HD , triggered by engineers who expected viewers wanting to see quality improvements . And , of course , to put several buzz words in one sentence , the continued migration of HD to 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) and the use of IP delivery , which is being triggered by viewers who now want quality over multiple platforms in real time .
An example of progress to IP migration is a major telco who recently went from a baseband ingest workflow in Singapore to an IP routed , monitored and delivery solution in Australia . This , very cleverly , is one of the first managed IP solutions that allows for switching and redundancy while enhancing the user experience . That ’ s real migration with real benefits .
So , much like the birds , we have continued to evolve and continued to migrate from analogue to digital , lower to higher resolution , CRT to flat screen plasma and LCD . However , unlike the birds , we do not always see the benefits before we start to migrate . This poor vision and planning can be very costly . It is also something the birds would never do — they ensure the food will be there when they migrate ; so they know , if they make the journey , they will survive and prosper . So what do we need to learn about migration ? Well , I could go on about how SD-SDI infrastructure was such a cost saving , how it gave us greater flexibility or how demand for HD provided improvements in compression algorithms , which led to ISPs managing media , and how broadcasters used and are using low-cost channels to open up new opportunities . Or even how over-the-top ( OTT ) enabled broadcasters to compete on new media platforms and how managing delivery to multiplatforms with analytics is key in the market . But you probably know all of that . The thing is , there are lots of technology reasons why we could migrate but not always why we should migrate .
We must remember that there has to be immediate and obvious benefits to the end-user , also known as our consumers or our viewers . Otherwise , as my giant video disc player will testify , it is technology for technology ’ s sake .
So what can you do to ensure you are identifying all the right benefits that will help you migrate successfully ?
Well , make sure all of your technology and SI partners are experienced , not just in broadcasting but also in all the associated markets that are now
part of our spectrum , including IT and telecoms .
Partner with companies that understand your business and can provide you with a competitive advantage through the timely adoption of innovation with minimal risk of disruption , and who can de-risk your first-mover advantage . Partner with companies and organisations that can help safely take you to where your competitors have not gone yet .
But do not lose sight of your past and what made you successful then — leverage that in moving to your future unique value proposition . Ultimately , you are only as good as your offerings , solutions , your people ’ s knowledge and how they bring this to bear on your customers to produce better outcomes for them .
So , in short , migrate because it will make life better . Migrate because it makes sense and migrate with the best possible planning , vision and help . This way , we can prove to the storks , turtle doves and swallows that Toucan ( two can ) play at that game . q
PATRICK SO Director – Asia Operations , Magna Systems and Engineering