ESSENTIAL CONTENT SOURCES
TAMING TOO MUCH CHOICE David Meyer, Technical Research Consultant, CEDIA, examines the complex landscape of today’s content sources. Over the last several years, the quality of AV systems has improved markedly, aided significantly by superb display technologies, HDR video, and immersive audio. But what’s changed even more than the systems themselves is the content we play on them, and more specifically, where it comes from and the extraordinary vastness of choice. How do users find the content they want, and how can integrators help to curate content for their clients? And how does the way we access content impact video distribution systems? Streaming media has proven the single most disruptive change to content delivery into the home. It’s also overwhelming, with the sheer scale of content creating a paradox of choice. YouTube alone can make your head spin, with around 2,000 years’ worth of content uploaded every day (I’m not kidding!) but that’s not why we design and install AV systems. Integrators design systems to optimise content with high technical quality, even if that only comprises a modest portion of the users’ viewing time. Make the best look its best. The good news is that such content is in abundance, from a number of sources, and the choices therein can be quite personal, or determined by geographic availability: • Terrestrial broadcast — ubiquitous and habitual. And importantly, free for users to access.
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• Cable/satellite — there’s also an element of habit here with some users, but it may also be required as part of a home connectivity package, or as the exclusive means to access some desired content, especially sports. • Spinning discs — this is still the source of the best quality picture and sound. UHD Blu-ray boasts an unrivalled 80-108Mb/s compressed stream for artifact-free video with HDR, and high-resolution immersive audio. Great for enthusiasts, but (unfortunately) may still not be compelling enough for those that just want the convenience of choosing a movie from a huge, scrollable menu, and not have to buy and store discs. • Media server — a local server such as network attached storage (NAS) can be great for a plethora of media files, including home videos, backups/rips of disc-based content for easier access, or other recorded content, managed via an app such as Plex. Alternatively, a proprietary hardware system like Kaleidescape can offer the quality of UHD Blu-ray but with the convenience of IP distribution and GUI operation. Brilliant for the high-end cinema. • IP streaming from the internet — this is gradually displacing all of the above for most users. Yes, quality varies but an increasing amount is fantastic. During a CEDIA/CTA working group call last year, Joel Silver of ISF said of some Netflix content, “it didn’t
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offend my eyeballs.” To the rest of us, that means it’s great! Traditional broadcasters are also typically offering parallel IP services in recognition of the shifting trends. All a user needs to diversify their content is a decent internet connection (preferably 50Mb/s or higher downstream), a modestly priced streaming device or ‘smart’ TV, and a fistful of provider subscriptions to access a world of content. Whatever the case, the home’s occupants might need help with curation to help them find content. Minimising the number of source devices really helps with this, as does an intuitive control system. That brings us to the question of video distribution. For a household that’s transitioned to all IP, a distribution system probably won’t be needed at all. Instead, simply install one’s choice of media streaming device to each display, or using a TV’s onboard apps, but that largely depends on the internet connection and availability of the user’s most desired content. Otherwise, for the distribution of cable/satellite or disc-based content, the use of a matrix switch or AV-over-IP system is still extremely common and recommended. Either way, be user focused. Keep it simple. Their enjoyment is the measure of success.
JULY 2021 27
