www.tvbeurope.com
Business, insight and intelligence for the broadcast media industry
April 2015
Defining our field of vision Evaluating the UHD ecosystem Internet of Things Women in broadcast Set-top box IPTV supplement Imagine where you could take your business... if technology didn’t stand in your way. An all-new blueprint for managing, moving and monetizing video content is here. The trusted leader in broadcast is bridging the baseband world to IP and the cloud — offering media companies an evolutionary path that aligns current investments with the network of the future.
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TVBEurope 3
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
EDITORIAL Executive Editor - James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com Editor - Melanie Dayasena-Lowe mdayasena-lowe@nbmedia.com Senior Staff Writer - Holly Ashford hashford@nbmedia.com NewBay Media, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN, England +44 207 354 6002 Contributors - Chris Forrester, David Fox, David Davies, Dick Hobbs, John Ive, George Jarrett, Adrian Pennington, Philip Stevens, Catherine Wright Head of Digital - Tim Frost Human Resources & Office Manager - Lianne Davey Head of Design - Jat Garcha Editorial Production Manager - Dawn Boultwood Senior Production Executive - Alistair Taylor Publisher - Steve Connolly sconnolly@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000 Sales Manager - Ben Ewles bewles@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000 Account Manager - Richard Carr rcarr@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000 Managing Director - Mark Burton US Sales - Michael Mitchell Broadcast Media International, PO Box 44, Greenlawn, New York, NY 11740 mjmitchell@broadcast-media.tv +1 (631) 673 0072 Japan and Korea Sales - Sho Harihara Sales & Project, Yukari Media Incorporated sho@yukarimedia.com +81 6 4790 2222 Fax: +81 6 4793 0800
Welcome
Defining our field of vision Exploring the challenges facing the widespread adoption of UHD e may be far from any widespread
W
SMPTE’s recent
adoption of UHD, but what we do
seminar that sought
have widespread adoption of is the
to provide insight
understanding of the numerous obstacles that
on how to navigate
must be overcome before we see the onset of a
the UHD ecosystem.
fully UHD-enabled ecosystem for TV production. This issue seeks to assess some of those
Elsewhere, we continue our
challenges: whether sufficient infrastructure is in
spotlight on females
place; the dearth of content being readied for
in the media and
this medium; the need for standards; issues of
entertainment
piracy; the shortage of video-centric equipment
industry with a
at the acquisition stage; and more besides. The
feature highlighting
Circulation NewBay Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, LE16 9EF, UK
perspectives we’ve assembled for this edition offer just a snapshot of the hurdles we as an
personalities who have provided inspiration for
Free subscriptions tvbe.subscriptions@c-cms.com Subscriptions Tel +44 1580 883848
industry acknowledge to be standing in the way
women throughout the sector. Sophie Wilson
of progress. With Gartner predicting that a third
offers her personal account of the pioneers
of all TV sets produced will be UHD by 2018 (as
whose efforts and contributions deserve
John Ive points out in his contribution), the race
recognition for the example they set to others.
TVBEurope is published 12 times a year by NewBay Media, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London, N1 8LN, England NewBay Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association
will be on to ensure that an enabled ecosystem is in place before long. The scale of the operation required to make
a selection of
The Internet of Things is also back on our radar, as we look at the business case for media entities seeking to cash in on the coming connected
this happen is not lost on anyone, which makes
world. No doubt, we’ll be hearing much more
the thrust of discussions at our TVBEurope 2020
about all of these themes at NAB, and I look
© NewBay Media 2015. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the copyright owners. TVBEurope is mailed to qualified persons residing on the European continent. Subscription is free.
conference even more pertinent, as companies
forward with interest to learning the nature of
continue to define their strategies to encompass
the insights being delivered and debated at this
Allow 8 weeks for new subscriptions and change of address delivery. Send subscription inquiries to: Subscription Dept, NewBay Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough LE16 7BR, England. ISSN 1461-4197
UHD, IP infrastructures, and beyond.
year’s show. See you in Vegas!
As part of this feature, we also attempt to
James McKeown
Printing by Pensord Press, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood NP12 2YA
demystify UHD Phase 1 and 2, and report from
Executive Editor
4 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
In this issue
40 In search of deďŹ nition We invite a selection of perspectives from across the industry as to the current barriers to the widespread adoption of UHD, covering areas such as infrastructure, piracy, and content creation
Feature
37
Sophie Wilson, director of sales and marketing at PHA Media, draws attention to the hugely successful women in our industry and recognises their important contributions to the broadcast sector
29 Supplement: Set-top box solutions for IPTV/OTT and hybrid This issue’s supplement, in association with ABOX42, looks at set-top box solutions for IPTV/OTT and Hybrid DVB, and the rigours involved in upgrading first generation IPTV solutions to the latest, third generation systems
6-8 Opinion and Analysis
53 TVBEverywhere
Setting the stage for consistent loudness worldwide. By Patrick Waddell, SMPTE fellow and manager, standards and regulatory at Harmonic
The changing behaviour of TV viewers. Dr Andreas Schroeter, co-founder and COO at wywy, examines the shift in TV viewing habits
55-58 Virtual sets forum
As Virtual Reality is becoming more commonplace, so there is a growing need for greater understanding of the technology. Just what are the challenges? Do enough designers understand what is required? Philip Stevens moderates
55
20 The Internet of Things
62 Data Centre
What does IoT really mean to the media and entertainment industry and what should service providers be doing to cash in? Adrian Pennington reports
Perceptions of the public cloud: a third of UK firms ban staff from using public cloud services, reports Connected Data
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6 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Opinion and Analysis
Setting the stage for consistent loudness worldwide By Patrick Waddell, SMPTE fellow and manager, standards and regulatory at Harmonic
at -30dBFS (decibels relative to full scale) or
audio loudness: the ITU-R BS.1770 standard
lower to avoid digital clipping.
released in 2006. Extensive testing by the ITU
All of these factors led to the inconsistent channel-to-channel and programme-to-
found matching results for human subjects and the BS.1770 algorithm.
programme loudness levels that irritated viewers he roots of the loudness drama reach back
and ultimately led to loudness mitigation
Perceived loudness
into the days of analogue television, when
recommendations and regulations. Within the
The ITU had created ITU-R BS.1770 to document
media consumers used mono-only TV sets
industry, frustration was fueled by the lack of
two critical audio measurements – objective
with tiny speakers. At the time, few broadcast
a loudness measurement method that was
multichannel loudness and accurate true peak
stations bothered to wire for stereo; audio was
reliable and matched to human hearing, as
levels – and establish a loudness measurement
a bit player while video took centre stage. The
well as the absence of an agreed upon set
unit expressed as ‘LKFS’ (level, K-weighted,
shift to digital audio changed this dynamic,
of interoperability points that could facilitate
against full scale), with the ‘K’ algorithm
opening the door to stereo and multichannel
program interchange.
accounting for the emphasis the outer ear puts
T
audio. Because even the least expensive
In the US, the ATSC addressed this problem
on low frequency (as documented in ISO 226,
home theatre-style sound systems offered
by establishing the S6-3 ad hoc group in 2006.
which updated 1930s research by Fletcher and
vastly better performance than analogue
This ad hoc group worked for close to two years
Munson at Bell Labs). A ‘gating’ function was
equipment, consumers began to invest in
before it presented a draft of what became
later added to BS.1770 to ensure that periods of
digital entertainment systems. At the same time,
A/85 to its parent Specialists Group, S6. S6 in turn
silence and low-level signals would not yield a
broadcast networks increasingly were converting their audio and video infrastructure to digital (often along with their conversion to HD). Management of analogue audio had been straightforward, but digital audio was another story. Analogue television audio had less than 40dB of dynamic range. With the shift to digital, the dynamic range of audio extended to more than 100dB, giving the creative community
too-low measure of perceived loudness.
‘A/85 was written to ensure that digital television provided uniform subjective loudness for all audio content, across and within channels, with a focus on the spoken word’
the opportunity to produce television content
‘true peak’ measurement is necessary to measure potential digital clipping. With reliable measurement of true peaks in the digital domain, operators can operate much more reliably in the upper range of digital levels. In providing a method for measuring true peak levels, BS.1770 also made it possible to set an accepted level (-24 LKFS) for
that could compete aurally with dramatic stories in the cinema.
While time-averaged measurement is key to loudness measurement, an accompanying
presented that draft to the ATSC Technology
program interchange. (The -24 LKFS value
and Standards Group (TG1) for balloting.
is suggested by A/85 and the ITU’s BS.1864
noise floor is no longer coupled to signal level.
Following the resolution of ballot comments, it
Operational practices for loudness in the
However, without meaningful signal alignment
was balloted at the membership level in 2009,
international exchange of digital television
levels built into the AES3 digital audio standard
and then published as ATSC Recommended
programmes, and the EBU suggests -23 LKFS.
(or other standards) to dictate interoperability
Practice A/85, Techniques for Establishing
A tolerance of ±2dB renders this 1dB difference
points and lacking an accepted and accessible
and Maintaining Audio Loudness for Digital
virtually negligible.)
loudness measurement method, sound mixers
Television. (A/85 has just won a Technology
and their producers used levels that varied
and Engineering Emmy Award).
Another positive change has been that the
by 30dB or more. Operators thus faced the
A/85 was written to ensure that digital
In 2010 the EBU PLOUD (production/loudness) group published its Loudness Recommendation EBU R128, which provides European markets
challenge of dealing with inconsistent levels from
television provided uniform subjective loudness
with a method for measuring and normalising
content suppliers, and advertisers had to spend
for all audio content, across and within channels,
audio using loudness meters instead of just
money on mixing commercials multiple times,
with a focus on the spoken word. It also
peak meters. Offering a series of documents
often with varying results, to meet the differing
examined audio measurement, production,
that are somewhat in parallel with A/85, but
program delivery specifications for each network
and post production monitoring techniques,
with a broader scope and focus on the full
and distribution mode (over-the-air, cable, and
recommending methods for controlling loudness
audio signal rather than specific elements,
satellite). Though operators could place audio
with an eye toward effective content delivery
this recommendation was designed to help
material almost anywhere within the 100dB
or exchange. It also formally adopted the first
users overcome the limitations of conventional
range, many chose to ‘play it safe’ and run
international standard designed to measure
audio metering.
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8 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Opinion and Analysis
Loudness control
and inefficient proposition if you plan to measure a 30-minute documentary in real time. Edit-based software solutions, capable of being
By Jon Schorah, director, Nugen Audio
used directly in the NLE timeline, were quickly developed to remove this handicap.
Since the initial introduction of loudness
The time constraint of having to measure the
recommendations in 2010 (EBU R128 in Europe)
entire section of audio has been significantly
and 2011 (CALM in the US), our understanding
alleviated by the use of faster-than-real-time
and adoption of loudness normalisation in
tools within the NLE; however, there is still
practice has come a long way. What was
significant room for improvement.
initially designed as a method of measuring
As well as workflow challenges, the loudness
and mitigating irritating loudness jumps
legislation itself has continued to evolve.
between commercial and programme content
Released last year, the new supplement EBU
has evolved into a set of tools and techniques
R128 S1 introduces alternative short-term
that are able to address many other areas
or momentary loudness delivery criteria for
of audio quality – including those related to
commercials, promos, and other short-form
dialogue intelligibility, listening environment,
Jon Schorah, Nugen Audio
and data compression side effects. Of course, it has not all been smooth
content. The consumer is also demanding audio that is ‘fit for purpose’ be it high-quality 5.1 audio
sphere so that programming could be
for the home cinema or consistent audio with
sailing. Initially, there was a rush to ‘solve’ the
broadcast as intended, rather than be subject
distinct dialogue for consumption in a mobile
loudness puzzle using real-time processing.
to the vagaries of ‘blind processing’.
environment. These diverse demands again
Whilst this did indeed provide compliant
Five years ago, real-time standalone
place increased pressure on budgets and busy
audio, the overall effect was something of
hardware metering was something of a
a disappointment in terms of audio quality.
default solution in broadcast circles. Loudness
Therefore, loudness compliance began to
measurement was based upon measuring the
updates to its loudness metering and correction
move into the creative post production
entire programme content – a time-consuming
tools at the 2015 NAB Show.
Today in Europe and North America, the standards
standards and recommendations to help prevent
and recommendations addressing loudness
loudness issues as they complete their transitions
measurement are fairly complete, and channel-to-
to digital.) For production, post production,
channel variation has been improved dramatically.
and broadcast facilities – particularly smaller
(Countries around the world are using the same
independent companies – the remaining challenges
production schedules. Nugen Audio will be releasing significant
‘Today in Europe and North America, the standards and recommendations addressing loudness measurement are fairly complete, and channel-to-channel variation has been improved dramatically’
have to do with establishing proper audio monitoring environments and selecting loudness control tools that don’t stomp on dynamic range. In the US, A/85 provides detailed guidance (and even downloadable test signals) that help users to align their audio rooms. In Europe, valuable practical guidance is available via EBU R128related documents, but it is critical that readers drill down through these to get the full picture necessary for proper implementation. In fact, as the audio industry and larger broadcast industry move forward, education and training will be the most important steps towards ensuring that digital audio is being produced, handled, and broadcast in a way that meets consumer preferences, as well as providers’ and broadcasters’ operational, compliance, and business requirements.
10 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Opinion and Analysis
The drive for CD migration How a deliberately-scratched CD can improve your audio library migration, by Christophe Kummer, managing director of NOA Audio Solutions
continually searching the market and testing models from many manufacturers. We have evolved a rigorous procedure for this, using a specially-created test CD that contains not only audio content, but all of the
ost broadcasters have CD libraries
preserved as part of the archived copy of the
types of subcode information that CDs use.
with many thousands of discs – some
recording, and if the drive can’t read it, that is a
But further than this, the disc also contains
upwards of a quarter of a million. As
headache for the archivist.
deliberately added damage in the form of
M
is generally acknowledged now, CD is not a
So the archive operator is left with two
CNC routed scratches and a black arrow
permanent medium, so broadcasters are moving
questions: will the drives I use be able to read all
on the playing surface: this simulates the
these considerable assets into safer archival
the required information (as well as the audio)
type of wear and tear typically sustained
storage. Transferring such a large volume of
reliably from discs that may not be in good
by a well-used disc. In our tests, we’ll often
content to a future-proof archive would be
condition, and what happens when they can’t?
take 20 currently-available drives, and we generally find that only one or two can
a big undertaking in any circumstances, but there are reasons why it’s rather more difficult
Parallel ingest
really survive the test CD and deliver a good
than might be thought.
Of course, if we listen to a CD and hear a glitch,
quality transcription.
First let’s look at the medium itself: CDs are
we can see at what point it occurs,
The next stage of the testing process is to
either commercially produced, or created
and take note. But no migration operation
test another ten of the successful models to
by the user on CD-R discs. CD-R dye fades
of any size can afford to have an operator
check if performance is consistent across
fairly rapidly and the data burnt onto the
listening to every disc as it’s being ripped.
the manufacturing run. If it passes our criteria,
disc becomes more problematic to read.
So even with the cheapest approach (with
we then buy in bulk order to keep in stock.
Commercial CDs are longer-lasting (research
several computers operating at once with
But we have to be quick because any one
by UNESCO and others puts the life of a CD at
ripping software) parallel ingest is required in
CD drive is usually only available for around
between three and 20 years) but they are likely
order to get through the volume of material,
three months before the specification changes
to have been in daily use in production, and
with a single operator able to feed a handful
and then we have to begin the testing
therefore to have sustained damage that will
of machines. Any errors in this kind of set-up
process over again.
limit their useful life. These factors make both CD-R and commercial CDs difficult to process through a bulk migration operation. We’ve all been in restaurants or shops where the music betrays its CD origins by skipping irritatingly. It’s even more annoying if the
“When you want to migrate CDs, you are faced with a very wide choice of drives, but those that are currently available are almost all focused on multimedia applications, and reading DVDs. Their performance with audio CDs is often not so good”
staff are too busy to change the disc; but imagine that problem multiplied by several hundred thousand – the kind of numbers faced by anyone trying to migrate a
are usually reported without precise location
Of course there’s a price to this: the time taken
broadcaster’s CD library.
information, so the operator then has to reload
to source and test these drives, plus the costs of
the CD and listen explicitly to it to find the
keeping them in stock for years, means that the
with a very wide choice of drives, but those that
errors. The throughput with this approach can
authorised drives we supply to customers with
are currently available are almost all focused
never be very high – even assuming good
the CD Lector system is not the same as
on multimedia applications, and reading DVDs.
performance from the CD drives. But that’s a
the price of an off-the-shelf, untested drive.
Their performance with audio CDs is often not
big assumption because of the way drives have
But with drives of authenticated performance
so good. It’s an IT process to grab an audio CD,
changed since the heyday of CDs. When drives
CD Lector users typically get through 500 CDs
and theoretically it should be a simple one, but
can’t read the stream they apply some type
a day, aided by the precise location data the
unfortunately there is a lot more to it than first
of interpolation, and with today’s drives this
system provides when a stream error occurs,
meets the eye.
has now been oriented more towards the DVD
which allows the operator to remedy the
industry rather than the audio. They are also of a
problem quickly.
When you want to migrate CDs, you are faced
CDs contain important non-audio information such as the ISRC codes that tag the recordings
different quality due to the mechanical stability
with international recording numbers for royalty
of the laser on the drives.
payments, and lots of other information such as emphasis flags. This information has to be
To source high performance drives for use with our CD Lector systems, we are
Transcribing 350,000 CDs in two years with two eight-drive systems is quite normal performance with well organised metadata if you choose your drives carefully.
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12 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Workflow
News from Ukraine
Philip Stevens takes a look at one of the latest 24-hour news channels to be launched
elevision in Ukraine can be traced back to
a transmission via satellite,” states Tetiana
Role defined
the beginning of February 1939 when the
Pushnova, executive producer of Ukraine
The channel states that its primary focus is on
first broadcast was originated in Kiev. That
Today and a former chief editor of TV news
providing broad information pertaining to the
transmission lasted just 40 minutes and featured a
programme TSN at Ukrainian TV channel 1+1.
conflict in Ukraine as well as other current events
portrait of politburo member, Sergo Ordzhonikidze.
“Those first transmissions simply displayed a test
in Eastern Europe and post Soviet states. It also
card, but included a scrolling text that provided
covers economic, cultural and sports news.
T
Hostilities in Europe then prevented any further progress and the population had to wait until November 1951 before regular programming restarted – again from a studio in the capital, Kiev. Since then, in keeping with many other countries, Ukraine has seen a series of other developments in the broadcasting field with an increasing number of channels being introduced
“For us, as one of the leading Ukrainian media companies, it is important to provide the international community with access to the real facts and events in Ukraine, Russia and the CIS” Oleksandr Tkachenko, 1+1 Media
– the latest of which is free-to-air English language 24/7 news outlet, Ukraine Today. Launched in August 2014, Ukraine Today is a part of one of the biggest Ukrainian media
information on how to receive the new channel.
“For us, as one of the leading Ukrainian
groups, 1+1 Media.
Ten days later, on Ukrainian Independence
media companies, it is important to provide
Day, we had our official launch and started
the international community with access to the
broadcasting news content.”
real facts and events in Ukraine, Russia and
“We began broadcasting on 14 August 2014, with a live stream on our website and
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
TVBEurope 13
Workflow
Tetiana Pushnova: “Nowadays SNG trucks are replaced by internet delivery lines more and more. But because Ukraine is at the stage of war, we still need to have SNG and DSNG for satellite broadcasting to remote regions”
14 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Workflow Journalists from the Ukraine Today convergent newsroom workflow and finally for playout. To ensure a seamless workflow throughout the new production, connections to third-party systems are provided. Integrating Vizrt’s graphics system, Autocue’s Teleprompter and Imagine’s MAM and playout enables the journalist to cover the whole news workflow from the initial concept right through to broadcast from inside of OpenMedia NOW. Pushnova goes on to say that the whole operation has been tapeless since day one. “Thanks to the new Diva video archives management system developed by Front Porch it
the CIS,” states Oleksandr Tkachenko, the CEO of 1+1 Media. To fulfil those objectives the channel began its
‘The OpenNow newsroom system provides Ukraine Today with a flexible editorial workflow and rundown management’
was a simple move to tapeless broadcasting and archiving technology. It also saves a lot of time because all routine processes connected with archiving, restoring, and transcoding are now fully automated. When it came to editing, we bought a system from Imagine Communications, which we consider to be the most powerful, advanced and
programming in a style similar to Euronews – with
reliable system that perfectly fits our requirements.”
clips of news stories accompanied by voice over commentary. However, within a month, Ukraine
The studio is equipped with six Sony HDC1700
Today started to generate a limited amount
cameras that are manually controlled. Although the
comprises a Nexio playout server and a Velocity
of live content.
facility has been built with a transition to HD in mind,
editing system.
Pushnova continues, “After we launched Ukraine Today in August, we also implemented a convergent newsroom in September. In order to fully integrate convergent technology into the workflow,
the channel continues to provide output in SD only. The gallery is equipped with a Grass Valley Karrera vision mixer and Studer audio console. “We opted for the Grass Valley switcher because
That purchase from Imagine Communications
She reveals that discussions were carried out with respect to journalists performing editing on their laptops, but it was decided to postpone any decision for the time being and allow editing to
combining broadcast and other media production,
we have complicated vision mixing tasks and
we deliberately delayed the launch of the website.
these systems are very powerful and best suit our
We were the first in Ukraine to introduce this
production needs,” explains Pushnova. “We are
centre in Kiev, Pushnova says that the channel
technology for the production of television news.”
also planning to use virtual reality sets, but have not
is determined to use the internet as a system
yet implemented that option.”
for translations and live broadcasts. “Nowadays
She adds, “We have also implemented several online projects, such as Ukraine Today Revolution
The control room is equipped with a Vizrt
be carried out by dedicated staff. As far as getting content back to the studio
SNG trucks are replaced by internet delivery
with an alternative view of Euromaidan history
Multichannel system for graphics production. The
lines more and more. But because Ukraine
and a website profiling Ukraine’s ‘cyborg’ soldiers.
system simplifies the playout of playlists, and combines
is at the stage of war, we still need to have
These are designed to show the Ukrainian reality
pre-scheduled, timecode-based playlist operations
SNG and DSNG for satellite broadcasting to
to the world community and present it in detail.”
with the possibility of adding real-time 2D and 3D
remote regions.”
The first of those projects features the Euromaidan
graphic effects and powerful branding capabilities.
Ukraine Today broadcasts can be seen via
Revolution which allows international audiences
In complex environments the application helps to
the Eutelsat Hotbird satellite and through internet
to explore the impact of the historic events which
centralise the entire workflow on to one desktop.
streaming. News updates are at official website
have transformed Ukraine over the past year. While
The broadcaster has selected the Annova
www.uatoday.tv, on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
Cyborgs (cyborgs.uatoday.tv) provides an overview
by OpenMedia newsroom system. “We made
and via Android and iOs applications. The output is
of the Battle for Donetsk International Airport
that choice because at the moment it meets the
also available on Samsung and LG Smart TVs.
and profiling of the iconic ‘cyborg’ soldiers of the
requirements of a convergent newsroom. It means
Ukrainian army.
that it can simultaneously impose the news on all
Looking ahead
media platforms that we have in our group.”
“At present we only broadcast in the English
Studio facilities
The system provides Ukraine Today with a flexible
language, but we have a strategy to introduce a
The channel is staffed with both Ukrainian and
editorial workflow and rundown management. In
Russian version later in 2015,” says Pushnova. “But
international staff and broadcasts from the 1+1
order to support production planning of videos,
there are no plans to launch on pay-TV channels
Media Group’s specially configured newsroom,
a special workflow of timing placeholders was
in the foreseeable future.”
with live Ukraine Today programmes originating in a
implemented in OpenMedia NOW, with a list of
160sqm studio. Building and equipping the facility was
all videos to be produced for a day. Inside such a
are in the pipeline for the future. “We have
overseen by Ukrainian systems integrators including
list, the journalist is able to create a story element
ambitious plans despite our TV centre already
ComTel, Mak-House and IT-TV, working alongside
with timing placeholders that serve as a storyboard
being number one in Ukraine. Those plans call
German, Canadian and Norwegian developers.
for the editor. Once the editor has published
for considerable investment in equipment of our
the completed package, it can be called up in
studios and the determined development of
OpenMedia NOW and used in the further editorial
Ukraine Today in general.”
As well as the output for Ukraine Today, the studio serves other companies in the 1+1 Media Group.
She concludes by revealing that other plans
16 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Workflow oran Radman was appointed by
G
the Croatian Parliament as director general of HRT (Hrvatska radiotelevizija,
the Croatian public service broadcaster) in November 2012. According to the Croatian Radiotelevision Act, the director general has no direct editorial and programming powers, but has overall responsibility for the legal, financial and other business management prerequisites needed for the successful fulfilment of HRT’s public role and services, including the content production and broadcasting on all platforms – television, radio and digital media. This responsibility is shared through the organisational structure which includes four assistant directors – for programme, production, technology and business – and 17 editors-in-chief
Goran Radman: “We are now broadcasting in full 16:9 format, introduced end-to-end tapeless in news production while preparing for it at central production facilities in Zagreb and the rest of HRT by the end of 2015”
of all programme channels (four television, 12 radio and one combined digital content output, including web and mobile services). “After my student days I became a freelance journalist and co-founder of a number of independent magazines, TV and radio stations back in the early 1980s,” explains Radman. “My television career highlights were in 1987 when I became the general manager of Television
Meeting the Croatian challenge
Zagreb, and in 1990, as the executive producer of Eurosong, the Eurovision Song Contest in Zagreb. “In 1992 I moved into the private sector and IT. Most significant was my Microsoft career, where I started off as Croatia’s country manager in 1996 and ended up in late 2008 as Microsoft president for Eastern and Central Eastern Europe. I returned to Croatia and moved into the academic sector to become a lecturer and the Dean of Vern University, the largest private applied sciences institution in Zagreb. With the end of my term in
Two years on since his appointment as top executive of HRT in Croatia, Goran Radman talks to Philip Stevens about the challenges of the job, the restructuring plan and his vision
the Dean’s office, and after almost two decades in private sector executive roles, I’m back in a public position to carry out plans for restructuring and reshaping HRT.”
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TVBEurope 17
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Workflow Balancing the budget
there are numerous international IPTV and cable
radio audiences, but also to the growing number
He reports that the list of priorities was extensive
channels. If we want to remain relevant to our
of younger and technology savvy individuals
when he took up the position, but of special
users, we constantly have to deliver added
who prefer internet communication.”
concern was financial stability.
value services and premium national content in
“For some years HRT had accumulated a huge financial debt and scored multi-year and growing negative balance sheets and poor business results. In addition, liquidity issues posed severe risks to basic operations, so we had to recover and reverse that trend instantly. I’m glad to confirm the measures we undertook paid off quickly. Settling the tax and loan dues, reducing the operating costs and improving efficiency helped us return to profit in 2013 and 2014, and we look forward to continuing positive business results.” The second priority was reshaping the traditional media silos and bureaucratic organisation into a multimedia, functional and responsible public business-minded enterprise. The successful organisational reforms undertaken during 2013 enabled HRT to quickly refocus its new management on strategy and development, rather than legacy issues. “My third priority was modernisation, especially technology modernisation, since most of the business and production equipment and infrastructure were outdated, mostly more than 20 years old. However, investing courageously in financially restricted conditions is a risky and challenging task, but I’m glad to confirm we have made a big step forward and are close to a complete end-to-end tapeless production environment.”
Multimedia moves The overall restructuring programme that began in August 2013 is due for completion towards the end of 2017. Radman says the plan is designed to cope with the demanding and rapidly changing social, technological and media environments, while still focusing on high public value that the broadcaster brings to Croatian society. “Our new multimedia-oriented functional organisation follows the key business activities to create a workflow environment in which creative personnel and external partners would be able to focus on content, regardless of the distribution platforms, while editors focus on interacting with audiences and understanding media landscape demands.” He continues, “Like other public broadcasting services in Europe, we are competing for national audiences in an open, globalised and highly saturated media market. Dozens of local, regional and national commercial television and radio stations get access to homes, and
Croatian, not only to our traditional television and
Internally, that means there is a growing pressure on journalists and producers to adapt
18 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Workflow Maintaining momentum
faster to those challenges, to learn and perform new cross-media technology and social communication skills, and finally to accept and absorb the new media culture. One way of moving forward is the evolution from a traditional single-media reporter into a multimedia video journalist (VJ). “Two years ago we had only a few VJs on board, today there are dozens of them. Media
‘HRT has restructured its satellite operations, launched an experimental OTT service, reorganised its international and national correspondents’ network and modernised most of the regional production sites across Croatia’
Despite the significant changes within the HRT operation, some challenges remain. Radman cites the continued reduction of the workforce and completion of technological modernisation process as the biggest. He says the operating costs have to stay under 95 per cent of total revenues, in order to achieve sustainable development. And the successful introduction of
convergence was only a buzz phrase a few
new technology will be the key driver of further
years ago, but it’s in the mainstream news and
labour restructuring. Among other challenges is
other productions today. The news convergence
strengthening the broadcaster’s market position –
has been enabled through the integration
international and national correspondents’
to achieve the stated goal of growing total media
of radio and television NRCS tools that had
network and modernised most of the regional
reach to at least 40 per cent of the population.
previously been separated. Now, all our
production sites across Croatia. “We are now
journalists share the content, regardless of the
broadcasting in full 16:9 format, introduced
many more challenges yet to come. However, my
platform. But they are still physically separated.
end-to-end tapeless in news production while
vision is a simple one: HRT as a modern Croatian
We are preparing major investment in the
preparing for it at central production facilities
and European public service broadcaster, with
integrated newsroom by the end of 2015. This will
in Zagreb and the rest of HRT by the end of
high levels of social value added, of programme
enable us to produce more, better quality and
2015. This is a key milestone towards the
relevance and reach, technologically advanced
more accurate content across media platforms
introduction of HD. We are now ready to
and financially stable. In-depth transformation of
with optimised use of resources.”
address competitiveness issues: programme
HRT is a serious undertaking, but the first two years’
Radman goes on to report that HRT has
quality, market outreach and general
results are encouraging. Regardless of challenges
restructured its satellite operations, launched
audience trust issues we’ve cumulated
and, sometimes, even obstacles, I’m determined
an experimental OTT service, reorganised its
through the transition years.”
to continue and complete this process.”
“But,” reflects Radman, “I believe there are
20 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Feature
The real value of the Internet What does the IoT really mean to the media and entertainment industry and what should service providers be doing to cash in? Adrian Pennington reports
T
he goal for the Internet of Things (IoT) is to connect as many devices as possible so they can be used together in new
ways. By some accounts it’s a huge untapped opportunity. Analyst IDC reckons the global IoT market will exceed $7 trillion by 2020. Wearables are a subset of IoT and the market for Microelectrical Mechanical Systems which power them will be worth $22 billion by 2018 (according to the MEMS Industry Group). Cisco talks of the Internet of Everything which encompasses the Internet of Things to suggest an approach that connects not just things but people and processes. “There are a lot of things in flux,” says Guillaume De Saint Marc, senior director, chief technology and architecture office at Cisco. “You could talk with different people at Cisco and receive different standpoints.” As more home devices become IP enabled, the value in
Cisco’s demonstration of the connected home of the future at the IBC Content Everywhere MENA event in Dubai this year actually connecting them will depend upon how they make our lives easier, more interesting, more secure, and so on. But how can the broadcast and media industry cash in? The intersection of IoT with connected entertainment is already underway. Indeed, entertainment is arguably the first sector to push a digital ecosystem closer to consumers. Tablets, smartphones, STBs and connected TVs are early arrivals into the digital world of things. “There is clear overlap between IoT and connected entertainment, at least at the device level,” says Steve Plunkett, CTO, Red Bee Media. “As they are joined by your fridge, toaster and doorbell they bring something extra to connected entertainment – context. Context today is narrow, focused on previous media consumption patterns within online video platforms. IoT could provide more insight and context (i.e. just arrived home, later than normal, midweek, so don’t recommend a three-hour movie). There are many open questions of course around data sharing between devices and platforms to be resolved first.”
TVBEurope 21
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature
of Things
entertainment is accelerating in the same
IoT future
direction, most of the core underlying
Since network service providers (telcos, pay-TV
infrastructure is now common to all types
operators) are already providing entertainment
and classes of smart home and connected
services into the home, is there is a business
entertainment services,� he says.
opportunity if they can leverage this shrewdly?
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With IoT, the possibilities are
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Simon Trudelle: “Seamlessly integrating services that are accessible at a click of the remote gives an edge to the service provider�
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home and solutions integration at Technicolor. “Someone is ringing the doorbell? Let’s display the image via a pop-up on TV. Your set-top-box could start recording your favourite TV show if your smart watch indicated you are stuck in the trafďŹ c.â€? Adding new services such as these to a broadband subscription has been a page in the
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telecom operators’ playbook for years, says Simon Trudelle, senior product marketing director at Nagra.
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22 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Feature “This is not a natural evolution of TV Everywhere
The important thing, he stresses, “is to plant a flag
strategy,” advises Saint Marc. “It needs thought,
somewhere in the universe of things and begin
focus and investment. First, they have to continue
experimenting.”
to invest in the cloud. A lot of the business intelligence for IoT will be housed there. Security of
Multi-device UEX
the home gateway is another significant issue and
In order to scale the connected home, the user
an elegant and very powerful way for providers to
experience (UEX) has to be extremely seamless.
capitalise on their already considerable investment
This is a big headache, but one where service
in security for set-top boxes.”
providers, working with technology partners, should
CE vendors are of course well placed because
still have the edge.
their huge marketing budgets allow them to
“You want all those connected things to work
educate the masses about connected objects
together because you are just in one environment,”
and services. But who wants to give all their data to Google? Who has only Apple products? Service operators are also interested in playing a key role in this space and are going to do it by providing services across the multiple devices that people already own in a non-proprietary fashion.
says Saint Marc. “A classic example is using the TV to
Benoit Joly: “[IoT] is a fantastic new playground for developers and provides new business opportunities for service providers”
Steve Plunkett: “If we end up with fragmented groups of devices living in isolated islands of connectivity within our homes then this will inhibit the usefulness of IoT”
adjust lighting or heating or monitoring the baby.” 4K TVs with larger screen real estate are perfect for displaying both entertainment and IoT services. Vendors see strong potential for consumers to get an efficient and intuitive ‘dashboard’ view of their IoT services.
“They have made their customers move
“Seamlessly integrating services that are
to connected entertainment, and they can
media and network access services revenues
continue to do so with IoT,” says Joly. “How
that incumbent operators currently enjoy, there
accessible at a click of the remote gives an
are they going to do it? We think TV is still their
is definite potential for accelerated growth at
edge to the service provider, as such integration
best ally. Everyone knows how to use a TV.
some point in the next 18 to 24 months.”
actually brings extra convenience that
Not everyone knows how to install and use a
As it is the case for media entertainment
consumers tend to value,” says Trudelle.
today, however, owning the network or the STB
Instead of having several user interfaces which
connected to the main TV is no guarantee that
forces users to quit the content they are watching in
It’s all about service
consumers will buy new types of services, or
order to navigate other menus, Technicolor’s system
What puts such service providers in pole position
actually buy these services from their incumbent
also keeps content first, always on screen.
over consumer electronics brands like Apple,
broadband or TV provider.
connected thermostat device on its own.”
Samsung or even over Google is this service
A good strategy for TV and internet service
Expanding TV applications
aspect. True, these companies have begun re-
providers could be to start with an OTT service
A piece of digital entertainment should be
orientating their service provision, differentiating
linked to several connected objects. One user
considered a ‘thing’. Is there an opportunity for
themselves on innovation, scale and consumer
interface, one dashboard for everything, and
broadcasters/content owners to capitalise on IoT?
reach but network service operators have been
available on TV as well.
dealing with in-home customer service for years. “For advanced IoT services, like home security,
Technicolor’s digital life suite of apps (IZE),
“First and most obvious is to use the increased context provided by IoT data to better recommend
for example, is an open source IoT platform
what to watch,” says Plunkett. “In this scenario,
home safety, home automation, energy
aggregating different services. Explains Joly: “Each
the content itself and the viewing experience is
management or e-health, the installation and
of these services is delivered by a digital concierge
unchanged. The second scenario is to use IoT data
usage remains deeply integrated into the home
(the Nurse, the Doorman, the Caretaker, etc) as
to change how the content is experienced. For
environment and usually require an installer to
you know them in real life. So you know exactly
example, if the motion sensor or door sensor detects
come on site and handle the ‘last mile’ of the
which service you are subscribing to, and you can
you have left the room, the programme could
service,” outlines Trudelle. “This is obviously an
add services as you need, you just pay for what
automatically pause until you return.”
area where broadband service providers are
you use, exactly like in real life.”
traditionally very well positioned.” If this card is well played, he continues, “this
Nagra’s advice to service providers is firstly to invest in market intelligence and
Similarly, a toy Dalek in the living room could be activated to move in familiar Dalek fashion by an audio trigger embedded in an episode of Dr Who.
can form a natural extension to the ongoing
consumer research to build the business case;
media gateway deployments and which can be
and secondly “not be distracted by gadget
Fragmentation or glue?
increasingly positioned as a monetisation anchor in
applications that may not have a sustainable
IoT will remain a pipedream if the network to
the connected home.”
business model over time.”
connect devices and people cannot handle the
Nagra suggests such advanced services could
Any working business model is likely to be
traffic. Dramatic increases in global mobile traffic
bring extra monthly ARPU in the range of €10 to
similar to those that already exist on the web.
are widely anticipated, with an estimated 50
€35, for a penetration of five to 30 per cent of the
“Paid-for services where the consumer, perhaps
billion connected devices in play by 2020. Cisco
subscriber base in advanced markets.
as an increment to an existing bill, buys products
predicts an 11-fold increase in global mobile
that support their IoT existence, or free-to-use
data traffic between 2013 and 2018.
“This is a significant opportunity for service
To fulfil a growing interoperability need, the
providers despite the regional volatility factors
services that exchange consumer insight (sold to
built into these estimations,” says Trudelle. “While
advertisers etc) for IoT support and experiences,”
emerging IoT is awash with standards. Some,
ARPU may only add up to a fraction of the
informs Plunkett.
such as AllJoyn, Homekit and OSGi are driven by
TVBEurope 23
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature CE vendors or CE-driven industry consortiums like
a lot of perfectly mature standards ready,” says Saint
together and yet be simple and secure for the end
DLNA and UpnP. ZigBee is a wireless protocol that
Marc. “It’s not happening as an ecosystem but as
user. It will take a few years before we get there
links appliances and sensors and operates from
a sum of independent and successful applications
and the only way it’s going to happen this decade
tiny amounts of power. The similar Thread standard
at the device level. What needs to emerge is at the
is through open source momentum and from the
boasts membership from Samsung, ARM and Silicon
platform level. It will need to connect everything
wider development community.”
Labs. The Open Internet Consortium (OIC), which includes Intel, Cisco and General Electric, is working with Linux on open source software project, IoTivity. Technicolor is a founding member of the AllSeen Alliance (with Microsoft, Sony, Panasonic, LG, Cisco and Qualcomm), contributing Qeo, an open source software language for connected objects. Technicolor’s IZE ‘digital life dashboard’ is designed with the Allseen IoT framework in mind to ensure interoperability between all connected devices used to operate it. All these standards aim to define a platform environment for integrating other devices and systems delivered by non-tech companies, such as electric switches and sensors. Specific industry standards may also emerge for some vertical ecosystems, typically in the energy management and home automation space.
“This is not a natural evolution of TV Everywhere strategy. It needs thought, focus and investment” Guillaume De Saint Marc, Cisco
“For service providers, this clearly means that extending their offering with smart home services will require new skills, first and foremost to find out which vendors are the right partners to choose to be successful in this new evolving environment,” says Trudelle. It is in the consumer’s interest that all of their connected devices can interact via a common platform – the network effect of IoT is an important part of its future promise. “If we end up with fragmented groups of devices living in isolated islands of connectivity within our homes then this will inhibit the usefulness of IoT,” says Plunkett. “This can be achieved through the use of open platforms that all devices connect to. One way to achieve this goal is through the use of standards so that all manufacturers can build common/compatible device side implementations. The risk is that standardisation can be a slow process and this may create the conditions for proprietary platforms to emerge in the lead.” In Cisco’s view the key ingredient to any IoT success will be IPv6, the latest version of IP. “We have
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TVBEurope 25
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
NAB Preview
Industry comes to life in Vegas
Zylight debuts Newz on-camera LED light Zylight Zylight is introducing the Newz compact oncamera light designed for broadcast news and other run-and-gun shooting applications. The variable white light includes brightness settings from tungsten (3200K) to daylight (5600K), while a unique articulated arm design allows shooters to easily adjust the height and angle of the light. Designed primarily for ENG, the Newz includes custom barn doors and provides a 60-degree beam spread at full width half maximum
Picture credit: John Staley
It feels like NAB 2015 has been looming on our horizon for some time, but now, it is finally here. We’ll be reporting on the key trends and thought leadership emerging from this year’s event in our May and June editions, and we begin our NAB coverage this issue with a sneak peek at some of the key announcements being generated from the showfloor (FWHM) for a soft falloff around the edges. With quantum dot technology and proprietary LED chips, the fully dimmable Newz delivers a very high quality of light for true colour reproduction on par with the company’s flagship product, the F8 LED Fresnel. The Newz has an MSRP of $429 and will be available in May. Zylight is also presenting the F8-200 LED Fresnel, a new fixture with twice the brightness of the original F8. The F8-200 collapses to less than five inches thick for easy transport, features an eightinch (200mm) SCHOTT glass lens to maintain single shadow traditional Fresnel beam shaping, and a patented flat focusing system for spot and flood operations.
C8043
26 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
NAB Preview
Riedel presents cutting edge comms Riedel Riedel has launched its new MediorNet device that will add increased flexibility and convenience to the acclaimed MediorNet real-time network. Also on show is the new RSP-2318 Smartpanel (pictured), which offers features and capabilities that will enrich the user experience and change the way broadcasters and AV professionals communicate. As a control panel designed to serve as a powerful multifunctional user interface, the Riedel device boasts a unique feature set that includes three high-resolution, sunlight-readable, multi-touch colour displays; premium quality stereo audio; a multilingual character set; and 18 keys in just 1RU. These features make Riedel’s new Smartpanel a powerful user interface that can be further expanded through the use of apps. Riedel’s
first app for the RSP-2318 turns the Smartpanel into an innovative and smart intercom panel. The Tango TNG-200 represents Riedel’s first network-based platform supporting RAVENNA/AES67 and AVB standards. With its own dedicated intercom application, the platform can be turned into a flexible,
power and convenience,” explained Thomas Riedel, CEO of Riedel Communications. Riedel is also presenting the STX-200 professional broadcast-grade interface, which brings any Skype user worldwide into the professional broadcast environment. Licensed by Microsoft, it meets broadcasters’ increasing
cutting-edge solution for a variety of communications scenarios. “NAB sees the introduction of a brand new member to the MediorNet family. Making their North American debuts, our innovative new Tango platform and Smartpanel represent the cutting edge of communications interfaces, with powerful features that will provide unprecedented
need for a reliable single-box solution that enables them to bring live contributions from reporters and viewers into live programming. Other products on display include Artist, Performer, and Acrobat Intercom Systems; RockNet Audio Systems; MediorNet and MediorNet Compact; MediorNet MetroN Core Router and Virtual Control Panel (VCP). C4937
www.asperasoft.com moving the world’s data at maximum speed
TVBEurope 27
NAB Preview
The transition to an IP future Quantel/Snell Quantel and Snell are demonstrating a complete IP system including routing, production switching, processing and playout. The companies are also showing how to transition from today’s SDI world into an IP future with modules for Sirius 800 routers and Kahuna switchers and a hybrid SDI/IP control system that enables current products to work across both worlds – eliminating the cost and disruption of a complete lift-out. There are a raft of new developments across routers, switchers, channel-in-a-box and news production that ensure customers can get the best out of their existing infrastructure while they transition to IP. NAB is the showcase for the Morpheus and ICE enhancements, which deliver a sophisticated on-
screen presence more efficiently, and adaptive cadence detection on Alchemist OD will streamline filebased conversion workflows. Other developments on show include advances in 4K; Pablo Rio handling 8K 60p in real time; enhanced team-working with QTube; and the new LiveTouch (pictured) sports highlighting system with integrated editing, enabling more sophisticated and engaging sports coverage, more quickly and easily. “NAB 2015 is the first opportunity for Quantel and Snell to demonstrate the breadth and depth of our complete product range,” said Martin Mulligan, sales director. “The raft of new products and developments on show will simplify, streamline and even transform workflows, enabling our industry to transition to its IP future.”
SL1500MR, SL2009
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SEE US AT NAB STAND NO N5918 AND BROADCAST ASIA STAND NO 5L5-05
The power to deliver the perfect KVM solution. That’s G&D.
28 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
NAB Preview xxxxx
Dynamic Ad Insertion technology Telestream Telestream is hosting the company’s first Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) technology showcase, featuring the newly released Vantage DAI software solution. This will demonstrate an end-to-end file-based workflow encompassing video, audio and metadata transformation that delivers on the promise of increased ad revenue within a fully automated and scalable software system. The introduction of DAI on a broad scale requires a strategic approach. “Dynamic Ad Insertion for VoD empowers content owners to generate new revenue streams from VoD content. This requires coordination between the content creator, the distribution network, and the agency managing ad campaigns. Our goal is to scale the output volume and maximise profitability for content owners, while ensuring system extensibility within the existing partner ecosystem,” commented Jim Duval (pictured), director of new products at Telestream. Creating a normalised platform for advanced ads requires the right balance of process automation, scalability and human interaction. A system that provides a single connection point between the content providers, ad serving platforms and MVPDs is critical to the success of any DAI strategy. Doing this with a single interface for every service provider makes the solution scalable. “Throughout North America, we have partnered with major broadcasters and cable TV MVPDs on DAI architectures that
enable them to realise the promise of DAI,” explained Duval. “We have collaborated with the pioneers of the cable DAI initiative and have now succeeded in deploying a business focused solution. In Vantage, we have developed a workflow automation platform that is proven to achieve outstanding results in DAI applications of various size and scale.” At NAB, Telestream is demonstrating how Vantage takes previously transmitted content and digitally prepares it for the insertion of new commercials and all associated metadata in preparation for re-transmission over a VoD cable network. The system automates the content and metadata formatting and delivery and integrates directly into the DAI ecosystem, so that DAI is achieved in the most efficient and costeffective way. “We worked out the essential workflow elements some time ago,” explained Duval. “The quantum progression that you will see at NAB this year is how Vantage makes the whole process much more handsfree and cost-effective without requiring wholesale infrastructure replacement.” “NAB 2015 will be a key strategic milestone for Telestream in terms of introducing DAI – we can demonstrate to content owners and cable TV MVPDs a resilient and reliable toolkit which will help them evolve and extend their business models, creating major new revenue streams, which is something fresh and new in our industry in recent times,” stated Paul Turner, VP of enterprise product management at Telestream. SL3305
Aspera shares cloud expertise Aspera Aspera is sharing its expertise in cloud-based workflows and is showing its complete portfolio of high-speed file transfer software and automation solutions. The new capabilities of the Aspera Transfer Platform allow media enterprises to efficiently transfer, synchronise and stream content of any type, resolution and size across cloud and on-premise systems at global distances, enabling them to handle today’s increasingly complex production workflows. These include Aspera Drive (pictured) and Aspera Drive for Mobile, which is designed for content producers, creative teams and other end-users of the Aspera Transfer Platform, Aspera Drive for Windows and Mac allow them to remotely browse, drag-and-drop transfer, sync and exchange person-to-person rich media content and files directly from the desktop. The latest version of the Aspera On Demand Platform supports the transfer and synchronisation of the largest UHD files or millions of small files direct to cloud storage and integrates with major cloud storage providers. SL9110
www.tvbeurope.com
TVBEurope Supplements
April 2015
Smart set-top box solutions for IPTV/OTT and Hybrid DVB In association with
In association with
30 TVBEurope
Supplement
Setting the top standard for connected TV As IPTV moves from purely linear products to a complete TV experience, Oliver Soellner, VP of business development and sales at ABOX 42, outlines what is required from today’s set-top boxes t’s true: there is nothing as permanent as
To make their operations successful and cost-
change. And right now nowhere is that more
effective, those companies already providing
true than in the field of set-top box (STB)
their customers with hybrid DVB projects must
I
solutions for IPTV, OTT and hybrid DVB. The brave
demand from manufacturers of STBs, and
new (well, relatively new) world of connecting
associated equipment, innovative upgrade
television to the internet is presenting a whole
solutions which capture the best of traditional
host of new opportunities – and yes, challenges –
linear TV and combine it with the exciting – some
to those operating in that environment.
might say, thrilling – functionalities of network
The industry has witnessed transitions from a purely IP approach to the development of
‘There is an urgent requirement for upgrades that incorporate the modern third generation solutions for those companies already operating in the IPTV environment. And that means equipment that supports all the major standards for both streaming and applications’
PVR, VoD, catch-up TV and third-party services. And the onus is surely on those equipment
hybrid smart STBs. These bring together traditional
providers, because the emergence and
DVB with IP-based services and apps. And
expansion of OTT services is only set to continue,
of local and specialist channels to be accessed by
such developments are essential in today’s
and those who fail to meet the challenge –
the worldwide audience.
maturing market.
whether STB makers or service providers – will
But whatever the scenario, smart STB platforms
surely fall by the
are essential for the advancement of today’s
wayside.
versatile viewing experience, combining
Of course, one of the advantages for
traditional TV services with all that the internet can readily provide.
new entrants in the market is that they
Generation gap
can build on all the
So, what are the demands on STB manufacturers?
development work
To begin with, there is an urgent requirement
of the last few years
for upgrades that incorporate the modern third
and use OTT to deliver
generation solutions for those companies already
services without
operating in the IPTV environment. And that
actually incurring the
means equipment that supports all the major
expense of owning
standards for both streaming and applications.
or building a network
The first generation IPTV was mainly used in
infrastructure. Such
DVB STBs with native DVB GUI and certain IPTV
services can be
extensions. The second generation offered
deployed globally
embedded middleware solutions with first
on an extremely
interactive functions like network PVR, VoD
cost-effective basis,
and custom implementation of apps. Now, the
enabling a whole host
third generation solution allows operators and
TVBEurope 31
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Supplement
systems integrators to quickly build modern and
STBs in the field? This second point is becoming
requirements of demanding IPTV, OTT and hybrid
advanced IPTV solutions. These latest generation
increasingly more important for modern operators.
DVB services. A smart STB product line should
platforms are designed around HTML5 and
Another question might be: “What is your
offer the best price-performance and latest
open standards, meaning operators are not
experience in adaptive streaming, HbbTV and the
technology for even the most challenging IPTV,
restricted to a proprietary STB platform. Utilising an
integration of multiple third-party TV apps that will
OTT, hybrid DVB and cloud TV services.
open approach allows the ready integration of
help in the speedy development of services?”
functionality such as third-party VoD applications
And, of course, we must never forget ‘the
In fact, the latest solutions in this everexpanding – and innovative – field allow
and cloud-based services and provides complete
cloud’. Does your potential supplier offer a
operators, perhaps for the first time, to provide
control over user interface and upgrades.
unique collection of software as a service (SaaS)
a full TV experience to television receivers over
facilities for the installation, deployment and
unmanaged internet lines.
Next, it has to be recognised that not all operators have the same requirements in order to fulfil the service to their customers. So, manufacturers must provide units that can readily be customised to meet unique demands. Put another way, today’s STBs need to offer ‘smart’ solutions. And alongside that, bearing in mind the
‘The onus is on equipment providers, because the emergence and expansion of OTT services is only set to continue, and those who fail to meet the challenge – whether STB makers or service providers – will surely fall by the wayside’
amazing speed at which this section of the media industry is expanding, the ability to produce such solutions must be just as rapid. So, short production cycles are essential.
operation of the STB deployment in the field and
At the end of the day, the user of IPTV, OTT and
to upgrade the functionality of those deployed
hybrid DVB services must be in a position to
Qs and As
services over time? Of course, those companies
enjoy the same TV experience that is available
One of the keys to finding the right provider
operating with existing networks do not need to
with traditional DVB-C or multicast IPTV. In
of such equipment is to ask some pertinent
switch to new technologies overnight. However,
reality, viewing must be a seamless experience,
questions; and then demand proof that the
the time will come when changes will prove
whatever the source of the programme.
responses can be fulfilled.
necessary in order to provide customers with an
For instance, it is worth asking for examples of
Whatever solution is employed, the OTT DVB
almost limitless choice for special interest ‘niche’
solution must technically combine features
how economical and short set-up times have
channels. And those extra channels will provide
required for television using OTT protocols and
already been achieved right across Europe
added income for the operating company.
market-proven standard headend systems over
utilising that supplier’s kit.
public internet. Such solutions will allow operators
Single application
to build and quickly roll out third generation
IPTV set-top box platform, which is not only offering
Modern hardware platforms are designed
HTML-based IPTV services. And that will provide
the latest technology on the hardware side, but
to meet today’s requirements from a single
consumers with what they expect – make that,
also provides a complete solution to manage the
application project up to complex project
demand – from their viewing experience.
Or how about enquiring about an innovative
In association with
32 TVBEurope
Case Study
Telecom Liechtenstein’s IPTV network upgrade was enhanced to offer a complete multiscreen solution
Next generation IPTV
and Swiss broadcasters z Support of third-party VoD services for SVoD and TVoD solutions z Support multiple DRM Systems for telco grade security and Hollywood approved content security
Telecom Liechtenstein’s IPTV refresh provides a recent case study of the work being done by ABOX42 in upgrading first generation IPTV systems to third generation interactive solutions
z End-to-end lifecycle management and software as a service of the set-top box for secure updates and upgrades in the field z The user interface, middleware and headend
T
elecom Liechtenstein, member of the
TV solution, Telecom Liechtenstein could manage a
Telekom Austria Group, wanted a complete
smooth transition to an advanced TV solution that
upgrade of its existing first generation IPTV
allows them to outperform all traditional TV offerings
Zattoo’s key features
provided by cable operators or ISPs.
z Rich multimedia EPG
system in order to provide a platform for a new,
are provided by Zattoo as a fully managed service
z Network PVR
complete multiscreen experience.
ABOX42 features
z Network time shift/pause TV
had to be seamlessly upgraded to a third generation
z Latest generation set-top box hardware
z Restart TV
IPTV proposition with advanced first screen features
(ABOX42 M20-series) for advanced operator
z Seven-day catch-up TV
(provided by a modern STB platform) in combination
requirements and with advanced performance
z Unified UI for first and second screen
with a full multiscreen offering for mobile devices.
z Modern HTML5 GUI (supported by the ABOX42
z Mobile applications including full
By choosing ABOX42’s Smart STB platform in
Developer IDE/SDK/Toolkit)
PVR management
combination with Zattoo’s managed B2B Multiscreen
z Support of HbTV Applications from German
z Branded UI for all screens
To facilitate this, the first generation IPTV network
ABOX42´s advanced Set-Top-Box Solutions for IPTV/OTT & Hybrid
GERMAN QUALITY & ENGINEERING
VISIT US OTT, IPTV and Hybrid Smart Set-Top-Box Product Lines ABOX42 Smart STB´s are latest technology based, operator proven and offer best in class price-performance
OPX SaaS and Cloud TV Services Full Management of the Set-Top-Box deployment in the field including health status information
TV Connect, London Booth #78 28. - 30. April 2015 ABOX42´s Industry Breakfast Crowne Plaza Hotel 29. April 2015 8:30 - 10:00
OPX TV Services
Smart SDK & Developer Program
Modern and comprehensive OPX TV client and OPX Cloud TV services for IPTV, OTT and Hybrid operator projects.
Advanced ABOX42 Smart SDK speeds up customers development of IPTV Apps and IPTV & OTT projects
TV Connect Asia, Singapore 12. - 13. May 2015
CommunicAsia, Singapore 02. - 05. June 2015
ANGACOM, Cologne 09. - 11. June 2015
ABOX42.com
In association with
34 TVBEurope
Supplement
Chief
executive
perspective Matthias Greve, CEO and founder of ABOX42, concludes our supplement by reflecting on the advances made in set-top box (STB) and IPTV solutions, and how his company’s business has adapted to changing market demands
been offering a full range of hybrid smart STBs that can combine traditional DVB with IP-based services and apps. On the product side, we started with an advanced SDK that allows operators and application developers to create applications and
What was the catalyst behind the
Has the company’s strategy changed since that
company’s birth?
initial founding stage?
We have been providing B2C products in this
From a technical perspective our vision is still
providing a comprehensive solution with our OPX
industry for many years, during which time many
unchanged. We wanted to move the project-
TV services, the full TV user interface, and our
international operators have approached us
driven business of STBs, where every operator
OPX middleware and backend services.
looking for more advanced smart STB platforms,
project brings with it specific requirements for a new
directly because of our activities in the B2C
‘smart platform’ approach, to one where ABOX42
a development environment for a modern TV
segment. More and more of these operators
develops a unique hardware platform which can
service or as a total solution to quickly deliver
were demanding modern and consumer
be shared by many operator projects with minimal
new TV services with essential TV features.
oriented products with more advanced features.
adjustments. You can compare our approach
At the same time we recognised initiatives like
with the transformation from embedded feature
What are the specific and most complex
HbbTV (bringing new services to TV) gaining
phones to modern smartphone platforms, where
technical challenges you have faced in
ground in mature markets, so we decided
the software is making the difference, all based on a
developing next generation IPTV solutions?
to form ABOX42 as a manufacturer of latest
powerful, scalable and mature hardware platform.
When we started ABOX42, we built up the
generation smart STBs for the global operator and telco market.
We started with an IP-only approach, focussing on IPTV and OTT projects. Lately, we have also
integrate mature TV applications. Since the end of last year, we have also been
Our Smart STB platform can now be used as
ecosystem with key stakeholders such as chip set vendors, middleware providers and factories,
TVBEurope 35
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Matthias Greve, CEO and founder, ABOX42
Supplement
and we are still a high volume, project-driven business. Over time, we have redesigned the entire supply chain and manufacturing process to be able to handle continuous supply requests and demand from operations in new businesses. With regard to engineering, we design hardware as well as the entire software platform in-house, with the aim of having the most modular and agile software platform, which can easily be adapted to operators’ requirements. What type of advances are we seeing with the latest generation of IPTV and STB solutions, and
“For existing operators, the key advantage in using OTT/IPTV technologies is that they can now react to market needs and launch new features and services more quickly over time”
how different and developed are they from their
How markedly do you think the TV industry as we
first generation iterations?
know it today will change in the next five to ten years? Consumers in the future will demand much more
The first generation of IPTV products worked like a traditional DVB receiver with IP input. The user
who want to access domestic content from
control of where and especially when they watch
interface was ‘hard coded’ and the services very
wherever they are.
their preferred content. So, I believe that time shift,
For existing, well-established operators, the
network PVR and full catch-up TV for all channels will
brought new features, but were still built as
key advantage in using OTT/IPTV technologies
be mandatory for viewers in a couple of years. What
embedded middleware solutions, meaning that
and modern solutions is that they can now react
is also pretty clear is that once TV habits change
any changes for operator projects were hard to
to market needs and launch new features and
and people start to explore new ways of consuming
do, very costly and time consuming.
services more quickly over time. Within traditional
content, there is no way back. Users come to expect
DVB networks, the rollout of new services took
these new features and the freedom of watching
built around HTML5 and open standards. Our
years. With OTT/IPTV delivery and a modern smart
preferred content at any time.
customers are not tied into a proprietary STB
STB platform, it is much more cost-effective; since
platform. With this open approach, our operator
internet technologies are built for easy and cost-
is a TV rights issue as the technical solutions are
customers can integrate third-party VoD
effective scalability and can be used even in lower
already in place today.
applications, cloud-based services and other new
bandwidth networks, thanks to highly efficient
functionality into their platform very quickly. The
streaming formats (eg HEVC) and adaptive bitrate
What should media entities be factoring in to their
operator has full control over the user interface and
technologies (eg HLS or MS Smooth Streaming).
business models and strategies to ensure they
limited. The second generation of IPTV solutions
Our new third generation platform is completely
How fast these new technologies are launched
remain competitive and relevant in a future digital,
upgrades of their services. Where do you see the next innovations in the
mass-IP-enabled marketplace?
Where do you think the broadcast market is in its
IPTV/OTT/cloud TV space?
Since the user wants to decide when, where and
understanding of the true meaning of IPTV and
For ABOX42, the next innovation will be integrating
what they consume, TV operators need to be more
OTT solutions?
DVB into OTT/IPTV. Operators with existing networks
flexible with time shift, network recording and catch-
Many operators and broadcasters have a good
do not have to switch entirely to new technologies,
up TV. When the user gets such a diversity of access
understanding of the advantages of OTT and IPTV.
but can gradually extend their service offerings.
to TV content (e.g. Netflix), the operators have to
Nowadays, everything is possible in a technical
For example, a cable operator can use the hybrid
deliver a competitive solution, where the user can
sense as the market continues to prove, so the
DVB platform to offer new services via IP. The linear
decide according to his or her preferences.
operator is now more able to concentrate on
television is still distributed via DVB-C. Network
shaping its business model around its services.
PVR, network time shift, restart TV and catch-up
Coming back to the company’s progress, and
are provided via the IP connection. Even now it is
your role within that, what elements of ABOX42’s
Do you think that OTT is seen by some to be a
possible to freely mix DVB and IP live TV channels
development to date satisfies you the most as
greater advantage to new entrants to market?
in the same channel list, without any difference
founder and CEO, given the increasing rate of
Naturally, it offers great opportunities for new
in terms of user experience. Operators can have
change in the industry, and the competition
entrants, but equally, it opens up new avenues of
an unlimited number of special interest channels,
you face?
exploration for broadcasters. Where do you see
which do not occupy bandwidth on the DVB-C
We are very happy that our decision to build a
the true business benefits of OTT and IPTV for both
network, but only use bandwidth when accessed
flexible software foundation for our Smart STBs
incumbent operators and new entrants?
by the user. These new services mean new income
and our modular cloud TV/SaaS platform was
For new entrants in the market, the advantage
streams for operators and a unique service offering
exactly the right decision at the right moment in
of OTT is the ability to deliver TV services without
in competitive markets.
time. Our customers need flexible solutions and
owning or building a network infrastructure and
Also for DVB-T/T2 markets, hybrid DVB is a great
a solid hardware platform that can be deployed
with very little fixed costs. New services can be
way to extend services. DVB-T is used for free-to-
quickly. We get more and more enquiries from
deployed cost-effectively on a global scale – an
air channels and pay-TV can be handled via the
operators who consider current suppliers too
example of which is Ethnic TV – where local TV
internet. We see more and more projects that
inflexible to handle projects in the new fast
channels can be broadcast worldwide to people
make use of a ‘best of both worlds’ strategy.
moving consumer environment.
INVITATION
ABOX42´s
INDUSTRY BREAKFAST 29 APRIL 2015 08:30-10:00 CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL - next to ExCeL London / TV Connect hosted by
INVITATION Visit ABOX42´s Industry Breakfast during TV Connect 2015 in London.
during the
ABOX42 Partners:
Hosted by ABOX42, key stakeholders of our industry will share their experience and future view on modern first screen Set-Top-Box platforms, new multiscreen TV solutions and the challenges of a fast changing TV landscape.
REGISTER TODAY www.abox42.com/industrybreakfast industrybreakfast@abox42.com
ABOX42.com
hosted at
ABOX42´s Industry Breakfast 29 April 2015 - 08:30 - 10:00 Crowne Plaza London - Docklands Royal Victoria Dock, Western Gateway, London, E16 1AL
TVBEurope 37
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature
Ten inspirational women in the broadcast industry Sophie Wilson, director of sales and marketing at PHA Media, draws attention to the hugely successful women in our industry and recognises their important contributions to the broadcast sector
T
his year’s January edition of TVBEurope
have inspired me throughout my career a voice
outlined some sobering statistics
and show how, through their success, they are
surrounding gender imbalance in business,
bucking the broadcast business trend.
citing the 2013 Interbrand annual list, which
The gender imbalance in broadcast was discussed at BVE in a session hosted by Sadie Groom, far left
Anne-Louise Buick, head of portfolio marketing, Ericsson TV Compression
of Brightcove, estimated the even bleaker 1:50
Abigail Walmsley, sales manager, SES ASTRA
female to male ratio in the broadcast industry.
Walmsley’s technical
of the industry is as broad
With the gender pay gap at an all-time low,
knowledge and business
as it is deep. In the time that
according to the CMI’s National Management
tenacity, combined
I’ve known her, she has led
Salary Survey 2014, members of the sisterhood
with her ability to read
the marketing drive at IP
revealed that only 19 per cent of FTSE 100 board members are female. Sue Thexton, SVP
could be forgiven for thinking that all is doom
people and understand what their business
and gloom.
objectives, are what makes her, in my eyes,
Buick’s technical knowledge
technology manufacturers, vendors and manufacturers
‘the full package’. She describes being sales
to the broadcast industry. Her ability to understand
has not simply survived, but thrived in the
manager at SES ASTRA UK as her “ideal job” and
and explain the often complex product portfolios
broadcast industry, I wanted to paint a more
spends most of her time in high-level negotiations
she looks after is always something that I have
positive picture. Throughout a ten-year career
with current and potential clients who want to
admired about her, as well as her brilliance with
spanning everything from licensing, production,
rent space on SES transponders. With millions of
building relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
playout and satellite through to transcoding,
pounds at stake, Walmsley readily admits that
advertising, transmission, digital and post, I have
this is what makes her career so stimulating.
TV Compression, Buick says: “Compression
encountered many talented women touching all
“I’ve always loved the cut and thrust of selling.
performance (delivering unrivalled video and
areas of the broadcast chain.
You have to know your product inside out and
picture quality at optimum definition, while
backwards, as well as the technology that
protecting bandwidth) is the absolute mantra
agency that is 60:40 weighted towards women,
enables everything to happen.” As one of a very
within the Ericsson TV Compression business. This
and the only employer that I have ever worked for
small minority of women working in this side of the
belief and investment in quality over bandwidth,
to have a female member of the board, I thought
business, Walmsley has inspired me by smashing
achieved through an established, market leading
that the time was right to give ten women that
the satellite industry glass ceiling.
product portfolio is a marketer’s dream.”
However, speaking as a woman who
Now in the fortunate position of working for an
Now head of portfolio marketing at Ericsson
38 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Feature Clare Bramley, independent broadcast media advisor
Emma Riley, head of business development, dock10
has turned from gamekeeper to poacher. Now
With over three decades
I came across Riley when
channel launch services: securing Ofcom licences,
of broadcast experience,
she was head of production
liaising with platform providers, arranging playout
Bramley’s success in vast
technology across Tinopolis
and capacity, setting up scheduling systems,
technical and operational
Group and was impressed by
dealing with PRs and advertising sales houses, and
management roles, while
her commitment to finding
acquiring or commissioning content. In her words
remaining a brilliant down-to-
new workflows to maximise
“from the moment you hear the words ‘I want to set
earth person, has inspired me
content output. With ten
up a TV channel’, a new adventure begins”.
enormously. Following a career in TV production,
years of production experience under her belt,
marketing and as CEO of a number of start-ups
Riley worked on some very high profile projects but
to her compliance roots, delivering training courses
building a business plan that supported the
moved into a more technical role after working on
and workshops in countries as far flung as Pakistan.
government’s Local TV vision, she co-founded
a file-based production in 2009. Today, Riley has
Comux UK, the local TV multiplex operator based
become the go-to person for her ability to apply
in Birmingham.
technical solutions to the creative process, heading
running her own business, she offers a wide range of
Over the last 12 months, Brewer has gone back
beating the BBC’s proposal. Within nine months, the
dock10’s post and technology services and leading
Lesley Marr, COO, Deluxe Media Europe, member of the IBC Conference Committee, UK Screen Association board director
new network was operational, and today 16 local
them through to launch.
I first saw Marr speak about the
Comux was rewarded with £25 million of funding,
broadcasters are currently on air, with many more to
up the dedicated development team across
Riley feels strongly about encouraging more
opportunities and challenges
follow. With the network built, she was the obvious
women into roles traditionally occupied by men
facing manufacturers on a
choice to manage the launch of Birmingham’s Big
within the industry. “Female producers outnumber
panel at the IABM annual
Centre TV, which went on air this February. Bramley
men and the quality of UK TV output is a credit to
conference in 2013. Bright,
says she loves a challenge and that “assembling a
their hard work. However, in roles where creative
articulate and an eloquent
brilliant team, making the technology do you want it
people operate technology, men are not just the
orator in technical and
to do and getting the content right is the key to the
majority, they are dominant. Few women are senior
operational granularity as well as macro industry
success of a well managed media business.”
in large indies and even fewer sit on the board of
trends, Marr stood out for me as a rarity: a C-level
any broadcast company. I believe we need to
exec for a top company who is also female. I later
encourage women, both at the bottom and at the
spoke with her and she said that while sitting on
top, to strive not to accept the status quo.”
stage, she had counted five women among
Debbie Mason, founder and CEO, MasonMediaMatrix With over 25 years of experience, Mason’s phenomenal entrepreneurial success makes her a great role model in commercial production. Mason cofounded Kudos in 1991, one
the predominantly male audience, one of
“Female producers outnumber men and the quality of UK TV output is a credit to their hard work” Emma Riley, dock10
which was me. As COO for Deluxe Media Europe, along with a skilled team of over 300, Marr is responsible for running the operations and technology teams across multiple sites for broadcasters, studios, and production companies. Her career started in
of the leading UK indies that was later acquired by
production, followed by creative post and VFX.
the Shine Group in 2007 for $60 million. She went on
After working at Quantel she held several senior
to form a joint venture with Elisabeth Murdoch in 2006 to launch PTV in the US. As MD of Digital Interactive Television Group,
management positions in broadcast operations at
Helena Brewer, founder and managing director, Redberry Media
Sky and Technicolor and has sat on the board of the IBC Conference Committee for a number of years.
Mason created and launched the BAFTA-winning
Since our paths first crossed
first fully interactive TV channel in the world,
in 2007, the year that BSkyB
especially women, to help develop their careers,
AVAGO, which was sold to Gala Bingo in 2006 and
closed the EPG gates,
particularly in the technology implementation
went on to launch in excess of ten channels onto
Brewer and I have worked
operational management side of broadcast.
the Sky platform. After a recent stint at HandMade
together on numerous
Films, Mason has returned to MasonMediaMatrix,
channel launches with her
the digital media consultancy she founded in 2005
providing indispensable
Sadie Groom, managing director, Bubble & Squeak
specialising in developing brand concepts for
advice on everything from teleshopping to script
Groom tells a great story of
global multi-platform exploitation.
development. The line that I often quote about
how, at the age of eight, she
Mason’s philosophy for success is “you must
Brewer is that she contributed to the first Ofcom
saw a businesswoman in full
be true to yourself” and she gives women in the
Broadcast Code, having transferred from the ITC
shoulder pads eating on her
industry three pieces of advice: “Remember that
at an interesting time when five regulatory bodies
own while going through some
we are the smart ones: we don’t need to keep
became one. She held a number of diverse roles
paperwork. Her mum said how
proving ourselves to others. Age is a great thing:
throughout her career at Ofcom.
lonely she must be, while she said: “I want to be
it gives you wisdom and knowledge. Always look outside the box!”
However, there’s a big difference between writing and issuing the rules and applying them, and Brewer
Marr is passionate about supporting young talent,
her when I grow up”. Taking this ambitious streak throughout her career, Groom founded Bubble
TVBEurope 39
Feature & Squeak, a PR, marketing and
each customer, building a core
events company specialising in
relationship and affinity with their
the broadcast industry, in 1999.
brand, while matching the right
Groom’s dedication to relentlessly
workflow and technology for
encouraging women to play
each individual project. Jones
a major role in the industry has
is a great inspiration, not just for
been a massive inspiration to me.
calm and thorough leadership
“I meet women all of the time
and direction, but the fact that
who are very well qualified but
she is one of a very small minority
don’t have the confidence to put
of women occupying such a
themselves forward,” she says. “This
senior role in the operations side of
is something I want to change as
broadcast technology.
“I meet women all of the time who are very well-qualified but don’t have the confidence to put themselves forward” Sadie Groom, Bubble & Squeak
in the industry are ‘PR girls’ who
Tess Alps, chair, Thinkbox
scan badges at tradeshows and
A fellow of the
organise parties.”
RTS, a member
well as the perception that females
Groom is on the board of
of BAFTA,
Women in Film and Television
Women in Film
and participated in its mentor
and Television
scheme, and has facilitated panels
Outstanding
on women in broadcast at IBC2014
Achievement
and BVE 2015.
award winner 2007 and Haymarket’s 2013 Media Industry
Sally Jones, playout manager, Globecast
Leader of the Decade, Alps truly
I have
speaker who is able to deftly
watched
respond to increasing attacks on
Jones become
TV, I have witnessed Alps explain
instrumental
how TV is changing at events, on
in the
various platforms and in print over
construction and growth of
the last ten years.
is a doyenne of the broadcast industry. A lively and quick witted
Globecast’s central media
After university, Alps fell into
hub, taking the leadership
advertising by accident, ending
reigns for media management,
up as an ITV sales director before
VoD preparation and playout
joining PHD. In her 13 years there,
operation. This has led her to
she played a variety of roles
actively overseeing the launch of
including setting up Drum, one
more than 80 channels since she
of the first and most successful
joined in 2006. One of Jones’ skills
brand content specialists. She left
is her ability to engage with all
in 2006 to set up Thinkbox as its first
areas of the business, recognising
CEO. Thinkbox is the body owned
the synergy between commercial,
by the UK broadcasters whose
technical and operational teams.
role is to help advertisers get
She is an intuitive manager who
the best out of today’s diverse,
has fostered a team of 30 talented
multi-platform TV. Much of her
and motivated individuals. Jones
career has been spent trying to
recognises the different priorities
get money from brands into the
and technical requirements of
broadcasting ecology.
40 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Feature
In search of definition The challenges facing widespread adoption of UHD Our TVBEurope 2020 conference on 30 June will bring together some of the leading lights from the world of 4K and UHD to discuss the current business case for UHD acquisition, production and delivery, and identify the strategic imperatives for companies at all stages of the production chain as we head towards 2020. Ahead of the conference, we begin the UHD debate by inviting a selection of perspectives from across the industry as to the current barriers to the widespread adoption of UHD, covering areas such as infrastructure, piracy, and content creation. By James McKeown, executive editor, TVBEurope One key challenge the industry faces in bringing
motion. However, the challenge facing the
Matthew Goldman, senior vice president technology, TV compression at Ericsson
about true 4K UHD is ensuring that quality of
industry is to bring this about while managing
content is preserved throughout the various stages
significant additional costs for production and
of delivery. To ensure the requisite high level of
post production.
picture quality, acquisition/master 4K UHDTV video
Another possible development could come
compressed signals require 4:2:2 chroma sampling
in the form of high dynamic range (HDR), where
Ultra high definition (UHD)
and 10-bit depth for all content. This ensures
a viewer can distinguish a wider range of detail
can be described as an incremental set of user
consistency of colour fidelity through the many
between the darkest and brightest images.
experience improvements. The first is one of
encode, decode and re-encode stages, and
Unlike humans and modern cameras, today’s TVs
simply more pixels. 4K delivers twice the number
through multiple editing stages.
do not have a huge perceptual dynamic range.
of horizontal pixels and twice the number of
Higher frame rates than those used for
For example, this can affect the way in which
vertical pixels, but what about improving the
standard definition (SD) and 1080i HD are
objects within dark shadowy areas appear on
quality of each pixel itself?
required to represent fast motion, such as is
screen during a sunny outside broadcast.
In order for UHDTV to truly take off, the TV
common with sports, without excessive motion
Further exploration into the development of
industry must deliver enhanced services to
blur or motion judder. Large 4K UHD screens
this area is important because HDR may turn out
consumers and offer genuinely enhanced
necessitate 50-60 frame rates at present because
to have the greatest impact on the TV viewing
images. The reason that 4K UHDTV offers
there is more spatial movement for the viewer.
experience. Unlike 4K spatial resolution, HDR’s
the potential for a more immersive viewing
Higher frame rates help to compensate for the
perceptual benefit is not limited to 4K spatial
experience is due not only to the higher image
greater angular change caused by fast motion
resolution or large screen size; it has the necessary
resolution (four times more than HDTV) but also
displayed on these larger screens, ensuring that
versatility to enhance the picture quality on
a range of other factors which include higher
visual artefacts are minimised.
a tablet or mobile phone, as well as the main
frame rates (double that of today’s 1080i HDTV),
The future may dictate higher frame rates of
living room TV. If the TV industry does opt to go
wider colour gamut and higher sample bit depth
up to 120fps in later phases of the technology,
down the path of HDR (and this appears to be
(10-bit versus today’s 8-bit).
as this will further enhance resolution on fast
the trend), 10-bit sample depth (as opposed to
TVBEurope 41
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature today’s use of 8-bit sampling for TV signals) is the
times as much spatial resolution and twice the
UHD/4K (leaving 8K for the longer term future), there
minimum necessary to represent HDR.
temporal resolution compared to HD, making a
are significant obstacles in both the acquisition and
total of 80 times the processing power compared
distribution of this higher resolution content.
Just as the human visual system recognises a wider dynamic range than current TV, it can also see a wider colour gamut than the colour
to HD MPEG-4 AVC. It’s clear that the industry needs to address a
One of the main challenges in acquisition is that, at the moment, there is a shortage of
space currently used in HDTV, Recommendation
number of factors and bring them together in an
video-centric UHD cameras on the market
ITU-R BT.709. UHDTV colour space is defined in
end-to-end ecosystem to enable consumption
that can be used in television production. The
Recommendation ITU-R BT.2020; it reproduces a
expectations to be met with dramatically
UHD/4K cameras that are available are designed
greater range of colours than current HD colour
enhanced user experiences, and to allow a large
more for use in filmmaking. When it comes to
space (Rec.709) and this will give more realistic
array of new business models to be brought into
television production, however, there are different
colour perception.
this next generation of television.
challenges and, as a result, different facilities are needed. One of the key differences is the not-so-
There are still a number of other technical
to happen in order to enable 4K UHDTV to the
John Ive, director of business development and technology, IABM
home/consumer devices. Its arrival has helped to
Acquisition and distribution
solve a number of compression issues by offering
There is every indication that
of terrestrial, satellite and cable broadcasters have
the potential to halve the bitrate of H.264/MPEG-
UHD/4K television is here to stay and will not be
HD-SDI infrastructures that cannot be used for 4K/
4 AVC, making the delivery of ‘true’ 4K UHDTV
consigned to cinema-only applications, as with the
UHD video. As a result, new standards would be
a realistic prospect. Ericsson lab research shows
likes of 3D. From the television manufacturers’ point
required, which would then necessitate further
that a high performance encoder that can
of view, they are well poised to take advantage
infrastructure changes. This leads in to the obstacles
achieve a halving of existing bandwidth takes
of the trend, with Gartner forecasting that by 2018
associated with distributing the content. Terrestrial
about ten times the processing power than that
at least a third of television sets produced will be
broadcasters face challenges in both the current
of MPEG-4 AVC. For 4K UHDTV, there is also four
UHD. However, while broadcasters are focusing on
transmission format, as well as the bandwidth with
barriers to overcome, including cost and bandwidth efficiency. It is therefore the case that implementations of HEVC encoders need
humble zoom lens. Live television production relies on large zoom lenses but these become difficult to manufacture, and tend to increase in both size and expense as the resolution increases. Another challenge lies in the fact that the majority
42 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Feature which they broadcast (spectrum). As it stands,
pose a serious threat to Hollywood and regional
disrupting the pirated stream while the game is still
many are grappling with space constraints in
producers. The advent of expensive premium
on. Hollywood studios have already been using
broadcasting HD so adding 4K/UHD content is not
UHD content makes improved content protection
forensic watermarking heavily in pre-release
currently viable.
all the more important for the studios, prompting
scenarios for about ten years; subsequently,
them to mandate a higher level of content
they also mandated the technology for digital
Alex Terpstra, CEO, Civolution
security in last year’s MovieLabs specifications.
cinemas. With the UHD revolution upon us, the
Preventing piracy of
traditional solutions such as Conditional Access
TV and streaming to ensure the safety of their
Ultra HD content
and Digital Rights Management have become
valuable content. Operators are advised to take
A recent report from
insufficient in this connected world. Operators
this requirement seriously, to ensure that they
Bloomberg stated that
will need to implement additional content
will have access to the best content on offer
usage of illegal movie
protection solutions, especially for the highest
in the era of UHD.
streaming website Popcorn Time in the US
value programmes such as new studio releases
has tripled between July 2014 and January
and premium sports programming.
The MovieLabs specifications confirm that
2015, and now accounts for one-ninth of all
By ensuring that operators can trace each
studios are repeating this playbook for pay-
Chris Wagner, executive VP marketplace strategy at NeuLion
torrent traffic in the country. Popcorn Time
(UHD) content copy to its original subscriber
also got a mention in Netflix’s January letter to
recipient, forensic watermarking provides the
shareholders, which stated that ‘Piracy continues
missing piece of the content protection puzzle.
Filling the UHD content void
to be one of our biggest competitors’. Through
It enables operators and service providers to
The price gap between
ubiquitous broadband internet, video streaming
pre-inform subscribers that their content copy
HD and UHD screens is falling every week and
technologies and inexpensive OTT boxes or free
was made unique and can be traced back
UHD screens are beginning to fly off the retailers’
smart TV apps, these illegal alternatives now
to them at any time, discouraging subscribers
shelves. But once you’ve got your beautiful new
enable a high-quality experience on consumers’
from illegally re-distributing their content. In case
UHD screen home, what can you watch? The
brand new UHD TV set sitting in the living room.
of premium sports programming, this tracing
same old TV shows delivered via OTT, which you’ve
These references show that piracy continues to
operation can even be done in near real time,
probably already seen in HD, just won’t cut it.
EDITORIAL PLANNER 2015 2015 will see TVBEurope attend and cover more of the key events on the broadcast media industry calendar. Following the successful redesign of TVBEurope, we have developed a more comprehensive list of features for each issue over the coming year, and will be launching a dedicated section covering the latest developments in OTT, multiscreen, and TV Everywhere: TVBEverywhere. Our Opinion and Analysis and Features sections will deliver the big stories every month; Workflow will continue our bedrock coverage of UHD, 4K, IT/ IP infrastructures, and pre and post production insights; and our Business section will provide a regualr analysis of the marketplace, and all of the key M&A activity. Our Audio for Broadcast coverage will now be present in every issue and major sports/live broadcast events will be reported on throughout the year. For all advertising and sponsorship opportunities, contact the sales team: Europe Ben Ewles: +44 (0) 20 7354 6000, bewles@nbmedia.com, or Richard Carr: +44 (0) 20 7354 6000, rcarr@nbmedia.com, USA Mike Mitchell +1 631 673 0072, mjmitchell@broadcast-media.tv
Issue Date
May
June
Exhibitions/ Events Coverage
• NAB review • TVBE conference review
• Angacom focus • TV Connect insights
September
• IBC preview
• IBC show issue
December
Sports/Live broadcast
• Satellite TV focus • Audio for broadcast special • Sound mixers forum
• Sound mixers forum
• 2015 UK election
• OTT multiscreen • Acquisition focus: lighting for TV
• Audio & outside broadcast
• Summer of sport OB focus
• Mics/ monitors/ consoles
• Wimbledon 2015
• Broadcast graphics forum • IBC product preview
• Quality control forum • IBC show issue: product showcase
• Audio for broadcast special • IP technology forum
October
November
Audio for Broadcast
• Channel in a box forum • Broadcast 2020: visions of the future
July
August
Feature
• TVBAwards
• Acquisition focus: all encompassing • Transcoding forum
• Media Asset Management forum • Archiving and storage roundtable
• Broadcast audio feature
• Rugby World Cup 2015
TVBEurope 43
April 2014 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature Having worked with some of the most prominent
most consumers, OTT in 4K is going to become
‘wow factor’ in UHD at 50/60fps and 10-bit colour
names in global sports and entertainment to
more and more important to consumers who
on the high bandwidth content used in demos in
offer 4K content on any internet-connected
want something great to watch on their new
the store. However, the only beneficiaries of an
device, we see premium sports content being
UHD devices. This creates a perfect opportunity
on-going fragmentation of UHD features will be the
a key driver for OTT and VoD service providers,
for sports rights holders to make a mark before
faster movers in OTT, such as Netflix, who can more
and allowing consumers to watch live and
the rest of the content world gets its act together.
easily deliver content in multiple formats to suit the
on-demand games and footage from the NBA,
end device. To retain a role in the development
Graham Cradock, co-founder and CEO, Xylostream Technology
of UHD, the broadcast and TV industry need to
overcome before sports can move wholesale to
In my view, the industry
encoded video at today’s UHD spec provides
4K. For example, rights contracts may have been
has built up a strong and
both an initial ‘wow factor’ for consumers as
negotiated without mention of 4K coverage and
recognisable brand in UHD
well as a strong platform for the next few years
some re-tooling may be required to enable 4K in
but unfortunately is yet to reach consensus on
while the industry standardises the even more
the distribution chain, particularly in acquisition.
a standard ‘set of ingredients’ for the future
immersive facets such as HDR and HFR which will
offering, which is causing delay and confusion.
be applicable to some content but probably
NFL, NHL and more in 4K will be an important and highly sought after differentiator in this competitive market. However, there are still some hurdles to
Yet, there are many promising signs. The technology exists today to stream live video
We are now at a crossroads where the options
rapidly establish a standardisation pathway so that transmissions can begin but include a roadmap for incorporating the new features. Properly
unnecessary for much of the viewing experience.
from the event in 4K and deliver it to consumer
are to either add value to the Ultra HD brand
devices (we recently live streamed an NBA game
with HDR and HFR beyond 60fps, or use each
lies in the selection of appropriate encoders
in 4K at 50fps over the public internet at 15Mbps
feature independently, potentially fragmenting
because this is the last point in the chain that
using DivX HEVC with MPEG-DASH), and it’s up
the market and creating further confusion. I see
affects viewers’ picture quality. Preserving the
to the content industry to use these tools to offer
the strong consumer response to UHD TV sets in the
‘wow factor’ of current or indeed future UHD
consumers the UHD video services they crave.
market as confirming a significant interest in UHD
is simply not possible if the encoder itself is
With broadband speeds steadily increasing for
and that consumers are perceiving a significant
compromising picture quality.
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44 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Feature
Immersive audio commentary in several languages, ambient
Audio development is finally catching up with immersive visual experiences in cinema, UHD TV, mobile and virtual reality, writes Adrian Pennington
sound or sound effects. Fraunhofer also demoed a prototype of a 3D sound bar, enabling consumers to experience high quality immersive audio without the complexity of adding new speakers. Historically the audio broadcast chain
udio has always been an emotive part
A
The UHD Alliance which formed in January
of the TV and cinema experience and
includes studios (Disney, Fox, Warner Bros.),
was designed around a pre-defined listening
for too long a neglected one. For film
consumer electronics brands (Samsung, Sony,
set up and environment; stereo speakers in a
directors like George Lucas, a movie is 50 per
Panasonic) as well as Dolby and Netflix. Its goal
quiet environment. However, audiences are
cent composed of audio; for Danny Boyle the
is to establish standards around UHD. The focus
no longer consuming content in this way,
soundtrack comprises 70 per cent. Audio in
has been on high dynamic range, but its remit
but increasingly on mobile phones, tablets
theatres is gradually being transformed to match
includes 3D immersive audio too.
and headphones.
projection with investment by exhibitors in
Innovations
area too, not least by the BBC where research
immersive sound systems like Dolby Atmos
Dolby’s is not the only approach. DTS is about
is intended to establish a data driven future
and Barco Auro.
to launch its own object-based audio format
audio format. Unlike stereo or 5.1, such a format
Moves are now afoot to bring home audio
for home and theatre called DTS:X. It reportedly
would be abstracted from the listening system,
quality on a par with the pictures displayed on
has manufacturers including Krell, Anthem and
using a combination of scene description
larger UHD screens, although the 40-year-old
McIntosh onboard plus many of the brands
data and audio data, for example audio files
5.1 surround-sound format has considerable
already signed to Atmos.
accompanied by data describing their position
There is considerable development in this
the higher-fidelity of digital 3D and 4K cinema
in space or movement.
life in it yet.
Feeding into this, BBC R&D has been
Atmos is an object-based audio format that adds dedicated height channels to the usual surround sound channel mix. Each piece of audio is encoded as a sound object targeted at a specific point in three-dimensional space and rendered to fit the equipment and the room. Atmos has been licensed by
‘For film directors like George Lucas, a movie is 50 per cent composed of audio; for Danny Boyle the soundtrack comprises 70 per cent’
investigating binaural (or spatial) audio for some time. This is a production technique that mimics natural hearing cues created by the head and ears. Unfortunately current binaural systems, according to the BBC, have quality issues that do not allow the audio to
AV vendors who are including it in home
be adequately scaled up to a broadcasting
cinema receivers and processors. Among
standard; at least, not yet. Unsurprisingly Fraunhofer, developers of the
them are Denon, Marantz, KEF, Onkyo, Yamaha and Pioneer.
DTS:X is based on Multi-Dimensional Array (MDA)
mp3 standard, are also active here. Its Cingo
an open object-based audio creation and
software is embedded in smartphones including
speakers, many of them mounted in the ceiling
authoring platform which supports both channel
Google Nexus devices, to deliver a surround
to work with Atmos. Home cinema enthusiasts
and audio objects and adapts to any speaker
sound listening experience over stereo speakers
may have set-ups which work with seven to
quantity and configuration.
or headphones. At CES it introduced a height
Cinemas require at least 36, and up to 64
eight speakers but most of us make do with the
At CES 2015, visitors to the Fraunhofer IIS booth
component and its work with the Samsung Gear
in-built television set speakers with the possible
saw progress in building a new audio system
VR headset to deliver 3D spatial sound that
addition of a sound bar.
based on the recently completed open MPEG-H
incorporates head movements.
An Atmos soundtrack can be squeezed
Audio standard and promoted by Fraunhofer,
On that note, Sound Labs is marketing
onto a Blu-ray disc or into the existing Dolby
Qualcomm and Technicolor as the MPEG-H
what it bills as the first smart 3D audio
Digital Plus technology used by streaming
Audio Alliance.
headphones. Neoh uses motion sensors that
services including Netflix, which means an
The system includes object-based audio
deliver multipoint sound sources in 360-degrees
existing Blu-ray player or streamer should be
that allows viewers to adjust the sound mix to
‘comparable to the latest generation of
able to handle it.
their preferences, boosting hard-to-understand
cinema surround sound’. The headphones are
dialogue or creating a ‘home team’ mix of
targeted at virtual reality applications and are
Age of Extinction and Gravity are being
sports broadcasts. The institute has developed
also fitted with head tracking sensors, which
mastered in immersive audio, and these can
a prototype encoder for live broadcasts from
Sound Labs claims can interpret even the
also be repackaged for the home complete
stereo up to 3D sound in 7.1 with additional
smallest movement to recreate realistic
with Atmos soundtrack on Blu-ray Disc.
tracks for interactive objects including
three-dimensional sound.
A growing number of movies like Transformers:
46 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015 “We look for a different set of challenges, and the Ryder Cup had the issues of multiple cameras, very long cable runs, and a hostile environment” Chris Johns, Sky
Feature
SMPTE seminar shines a light on UHD George Jarrett reports from SMPTE’s Navigating the Ultra High Definition (UHD) Ecosystem seminar held at EEF’s Broadway House in Westminster in February
T
he vexing issues around navigating the
“Dynamic range is complicated, both hard to
UHD ecosystem would seem like nothing
define and agree. The issue is to replicate part of
if consumer sets all required advances
shooting with what you see at home,” said Johns.
upgradable for small cost increments. At a SMPTE seminar designed to evolve into a training course, Sky chief engineer Chris Johns
“The work is just starting. Sky has four Mistika systems but no monitor to assess the output.” Referencing the NITS scale issues, Johns’
began a look at UHD essentials, standards
presentation partner Prinyer Boon, engineering
supporting UHD deployment, and acquisition,
director at Dolby Europe, added: “There are health
post and sharing UHD content with the assertion:
issues around brightness. Does photosensitive
“We need a ‘wow factor’. With 3D you could
epilepsy (PSE) enter the frame again?”
see it and with HD from SD you could detect the difference, but what is it now? It is the realism: we want to feel part of it. We want the 4K feel.” On the trek to what makes the quality experience, we have to consider viewing distances (from 1.5 screen height to 0.75 screen height with UHD 2) and then start with resolution. Johns quoted an EBU test that identified a difference perception over HDTV of ten per cent. The big negative was that resolution difference was hardly
“It would be interesting to do a very dark lighting test. Plenty of work needs to be done because we want to be pixel perfect. Every time we do a trial we learn something new, and for every trial we have new technology to deploy” Chris Johns, Sky
perceptible at 2.7 metres. This equates to confidence limitations and the recognition that resolution alone is not enough and might not justify the 50 per cent
Beware the staccato effect
increment in data rate.
Johns moved to frame rates and shutter angles.
Johns stated, “We want better not more pixels,
“Shutter angles create crisper pixels. Shutter is good
higher pixel depth,” and he moved onto NITS
but you can get a staccato effect (juddering) so at
rated lighting differences in images.
Sky we will not use more then 180 degrees.”
Chris Johns: “The elements for UHD are coming together in small steps. We need more and better pixels, HFR, HDR, more colours, and immersive audio”
“We have got to get closer to speculative
His reference evidence here was a BBC
The rationale for enhanced colour gamut is key.
highlights. Dolby’s Pulsar, (with its 4,000 NIT peak
document based on 750fps: this proves that
We need to go beyond standards as they exist to
output) is used by the Hollywood post houses, but
shuttering can sharpen high motion shots, but
offer wider and more vivid colours.”
content viewers are bright and what we really
comparisons between 180 degrees and 270
want is the blacks blacker,” he added.
degrees confirm 180 is obviously better because
big minus area and currently tests are all based
of the shape of the pixels.
around REC 709. UHD cannot exist and grow
Carrying black levels through the ecosystem and adopting OETF as the curve replacement takes us
Johns added: “Shutter is crisper but there is the
into a new world where the changes are subtle but
bigger gap, so it could cause judder. And light
profound. ADR luminance plus natural luminance is
issues impact on shuttering as a value.”
a range we are missing out on, and this led Johns to
Next came the colorimeter issues. “Eyes see
The bad news is that grading screens are a
without HEVC and the data rate will jump at each perfection level. Johns said. “The elements for UHD are coming together in small steps. We need more and
luminance levels. Direct sunlight is 1.6 billion NITS and
colours we have got to create to match. We
better pixels, HFR, HDR, more colours, and
sunlight on clouds is equivalent to 1 million NITS.
need to push colours outside REC 709.
immersive audio.”
TVBEurope 47
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature UHD is cumbersome to rig Johns covered the issues around acquiring, shaping and sharing UHD content using Sky’s multi-vendor supported experimental shoot at the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. “Sky wanted to accelerate the use of UHD,” he said. “The things we learnt were that single sensor cameras reduce the depth of field; there is no 4K viewfinder and no trust in focus, so we only used it to rack through to the point of focus; we worked with REC 709 and had to manipulate that range; and, there was the question of how do you manage the live image not to lose anything in the shadow areas? “The free roving radio camera was a challenge for the 4K bandwidth required. An F-55 was cannibalised and a runner collected the card. This is nothing like the desired live fibre link,” he added. “UHD is cumbersome to rig. Conversion was out of sync by one frame and we only spotted one quadrant out of sync once the image moved. Log and RAW capabilities, and grading are all desired.” He also referred to the quad issue reducing mixer capabilities, file transfer to post taking ages, and the bit rates (Sky stuck to 120). “HEVC was still young, and although the
Turf war number one
companies. It is only recently that people
gold action impressed there was no wow factor.
Boon is a system architect with strong
realised we live in one big world.”
You know what you can get away with now
connections to ETSI and the DVB. His core
He reviewed the status and essence of
as you know the bit rates. We have got to
message up front was that there are mountains
literally every standards initiative out there –
find fast download ways to make it work in
to work through in terms of code and specs
in the process raising the prospects for object
production,” he said.
to comprehend UHD systems. Standards-wise,
audio, and the need of a new baseband spec –
there are different gaps, and interchange and
and concluded: “Colour gamut and HDR
and docs and the dynamic range can be fixed
interoperability are the drivers.
are complicated discussions, but hopefully
in post with a grade, but this does not apply to
the technical specifications will be cleared
live production. Sky wants the RAW footage, but
in mid-2016.”
there is a plethora of camera out formats.
“The UHD ecosystem turf war number one concerns all the standards organisations that control all the interfaces,” he said. “There are eight organisations involved
The UHD ecosystem must be a collaborative
Large sensor cameras are great for movies
“A lot of work in the standards industry is still
development. Referencing Android he
trying to find where the best images come from,
and a lot of these were set up for giving
added: “It takes an organisation of that
and the consumer probably doesn’t want 4K.
a commercial advantage to indigenous
size to go it alone.”
He wants better pictures,” said Johns.
48 TVBEurope
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Feature Flip around the natural order
HFR and HDR will transfer to mobiles. It is easier
This led to the subject of camera ranking on the
to put the interfaces into the home than putting
issues of resolution, sensitivity, noise, exposure
them into a broadcaster. Flip around the natural
range and recording format; the EBU, Sky and
order of things,” he said.
the BBC are leading a project to define what a
Talking again about Sky’s trials, he added: “You
camera has to be.
would not use the same sport twice. We look for
The purpose of perfecting the course
a different set of challenges, and the Ryder Cup
continued with a section on NHK and 8K and
had the issues of multiple cameras, very long cable
things such as 4K offline, and the scary factor of
runs, and a hostile environment,” said Johns.
transferring data around. A number of company
“For UHD production sport is the worse case
white paper submissions were mixed in, along
scenario, and if you can do a live sport event in
with discussion about Bayer filtering, using proxies
UHD everything else becomes a little easier. I am
to create an EDL when you have RAW, AVB
not sure anything we have seen so far has had
over Ethernet, and gamut mapping algorithms
the wow factor, even the World Cup with Sony.
(there are three new SMPTE projects for large colour volumes). Johns mentioned a task force on networked
Prinyer Boon:“Colour gamut and HDR are complicated discussions, but hopefully the technical specifications will be cleared in mid-2016”
media production flow, and issues around mixing
It looked good, but there is always one step we need to take.” As a potential course, ‘Navigating the UHD Ecosystem’ was incredibly dense and the
UHD metadata. The seminar wrapped with a
fast maturing BBC project for the IP delivery of 4K.
insertion of many commercial white paper
look at DVB-S2X, new work by the Pro MPEG
Netflix is a big player and big influence (and will
elements was confusing. But the return of a
Forum, HEVC dual-layer coding (to fill in the HDR
use Dolby Vision).
SMPTE structure in the UK three years ago after
element), a paper on HEVC and HDR as that
Johns suggested we should look to Sky and
dual layer submitted by Vanguard/Dolby (bit
the BBC for the wow factor. “There is constant
leaders like Johns and Boon, suggests the
stream data): HDR is data movement intensive.
experimenting and with HDR and HFR we are
course can be created and kept fresh
Upcoming is the DVB profile of MPEG-DASH, the
closer to the consumer than ever before.
with standards updates.
an 81-year gap, and the support of industry
TVBEurope 49
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature
Demystifying UHD 1 and UHD 2 Figure 1: Relative images sizes
By Alan Wheable, senior technical author, PHABRIX Ltd
Figure 2: UHDTV1 and UHDTV2 formats supported by PHABRIX Qx
ust when you thought 450-plus video
J
z UHDTV1 (defined in SMPTE ST 2036-1 “Broadcast
many other RF factors becoming important. With
production, distribution and transmission
Television”) is 3840 pixels by 2160 lines with a 16:9
high speed optical data transfer, factors such as
formats were enough, some bright sparks
aspect ratio. Typically originating as 4K at 4096 x
reflectance (optical return loss), cable quality
came up with a whole batch more under the
2160 (defined in SMPTE ST 2048-1 “Digital Cinema”)
and optical coupling become important.
‘UHDTV’ banner. On the serious side though,
with a 19:10 aspect ratio. For 4:2:2 at 50fps the
standards bodies such as SMPTE and ITU are trying to
data rate is 8 Gbps.
2160 and 1080 line source image and ancillary
keep ahead of developing 4K and 8K technologies
z UHDTV2 is 7680 pixels by 4320 lines (originating
mapping for 12G SDI.
from TV and professional camera manufacturers
as 8K at 8192 x 4320). For 4:2:2 at 50fps the data
who want to give consumers the best possible user
rate is 33 Gbps.
experience (or ‘wow factor’: see Figure 1). As UHDTV1 and 2 are broadcast initiatives we will ignore the wider issues of programme
Figure 2 shows how the data rate increases
quality, and focus on the infrastructure requirements within broadcast itself. The UHDTV1 and UHDTV2 initiatives correspond to the 4K
Square Division versus 2 Sample Interleave
dramatically depending on the format, bit depth
Some early adopters have employed a Quad Link
and frame rate.
(4 x 3G-SDI) implementation to transfer the image
distribution to the end user via transmitter, cable, satellite, IP technologies and picture compression
Note that SMPTE ST 2082-10 includes both
as four quadrants of the 3840 x 2160 image using
‘One significant challenge for Phase 2 will be the conversion from one colour space to another’
the Square Division approach instead of using the two sample interleave method defined in all UHDTV specifications. The 2 Sample Interleave method uses four sub images and alternates the samples
equipment being developed now and 8K
every two pixels and every line instead of splitting
offerings being designed for delivery over the
the image into four quadrants (see Figure 3).
next five years. These are being introduced in three different phases:
Physical interfaces
Improved colour dynamic range
Phase 1: 4K images up to 60fps and ITU-R BT.709
There are a number of physical interfaces
Phase 1 of 4K and UHDTV1 uses ITU-R BT.709
Colour Space
available that employ both existing 3G
YCrCb, RGB or XYZ colour spaces typically
Phase 2: 4K images up to 120fps, High Dynamic
technologies as well as new 6G and 12G
associated with HD-SDI, 3G-SDI and 2K-SD
Range and ITU-R BT.2020 Colour Space
technologies in combinations such as 4 x 3G-SDI
formats. Phase 2 requires a new colour space
Phase 3: 8K images up to 120fps
(SMPTE ST 425-5 and ST 242), 2 x 3G-SDI (SMPTE
model (ITU-R BT.2020) that extends the existing
ST425-3), 1 x 6G-SDI (SMPTE ST2081-1, 10), 2 x
colour gamut and allows a more realistic colour
the number of pixels, lines, frame rate, colour
6G-SDI, 2 x 6G Fibre, 4 x 6G-SDI, 1 x 12G-SDI (SMPTE
rendition to coincide with next generation
space, colour component sample rate (i.e. 4:2:2,
ST2082-1, 10), 2 x 12G-SDI, 4 x 12G-SDI and 1 x 12G
cameras and screen technologies. This will be
4:4:4, etc.), the data rate, the data link type
Fibre, to mention just a few being considered.
mandatory for UHDTV1 at frame rates above
The UHDTV1 and UHDTV2 video formats define
(copper or fibre) and number of links which results
With these technologies come more
in a large number of possible combinations. But
challenging physical connection requirements.
what does this all really mean in practice?
For example, 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI connectors
60fps and for UHDTV2. This will also require a new Colour VANC Packet ST 2048-1 (see Figure 4).
The basic differences
specialised, with the higher SDI clock rate
Greater number of potential audio channels
Fundamentally, the technical differences are
problems like return loss, connector shape,
The new physical interfaces specified for UHDTV1
physical image size and raw data rate:
connection tightness, cable bend radius and
increase the number of potential audio channels
and cables are high specification and more
50 TVBEurope
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Feature Copper versus fibre? When SD-SDI was first devised as an interface to carry a square wave signal over 75 Ohm coax, the cable infrastructure and equipment suddenly had to handle frequencies up to the 7th harmonic (945 MHz) of the fundamental frequency. With the advent of 12G-SDI this would suggest a frequency of 42 GHz. In practice, however, the cable drivers themselves will not be able to deliver this, so the signal will effectively be almost sinusoidal. The data rate of the SDI interface affects how far the signal can be carried. Equalisers available today typically provide the following performance using Belden 1694A cable: z SD-SDI is 450m z HD-SDI is 220m z 3G-SDI is 180m
Figure 3: Square Division versus 2 Sample Interleave
z 6G-SDI is 90m z 12G-SDI is 60m
that can be used. For example:
on how flexible equipment manufacturers
z 4 x 3G-SDI supports up to 128 audio channels
will make their products and what the
at 48kHz
industry requires. Support for 22.2 surround
to distribute UHDTV signals using copper cable. With
z 12G-SDI supports up to 128 audio channels at
sound (included in SMPTE 2036-2) is one
copper links, the physical infrastructure
48kHz (or 64 at 96kHz)
configuration being considered, and in
itself – i.e. patch bays, connectors and patch
addition, object-oriented audio is
cables – will have a dramatic effect on the quality
another hot contender.
of the SDI signal which will further reduce the overall
In practice, how these additional audio channels are going to be used is dependent
As you can see, it may not always be practical
TVBEurope 51
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature distance. Early adopters experimenting with 12G
each organisation and by the industry as a whole.
high resolution, high frame rate and high dynamic
using Belden 1694A cable have had consistent
One significant challenge for phase 2 will be the
range. With the later schedules for phase 2 of
and useable results with 3G and 12G connectors.
conversion from one colour space to another.
UHDTV1 in 2017, I personally wouldn’t rush to
Fibre distribution may be the only viable approach
The whole drive from equipment manufacturers is
buy a 4K television just yet (I remember buying an
for anything other than local interconnection of
the ‘wow factor’, which is considered to require
HD Ready TV just before Full HD arrived).
devices, as 12G single mode fibre distribution today will allow UHDTV1 signals to be sent up to 2km. Note that multimode fibre distribution is limited to approximately 100 metres. The interconnection of choice may be down to budget.
Conversion and interconnection Like the introduction of 3G, there will probably never be a single format or interface in use within broadcast for UHDTV1 and 2, so early adopters will have to manage the conversion between formats and interfaces at each stage in the production process. Although some of the proposed interfaces and standards are technically possible, they may in practice be too expensive or impractical at this time. Very early adopters are using square division format over 4 x 3G interfaces, as this can be achieved using existing infrastructure. As equipment using 12G technology becomes available, this approach will be superseded. Fibre is likely to be adopted for long distances and copper for local connections as this provides the simplest connectivity at each broadcast stage. There will be interconnected islands of copper, fibre and IP within the broadcast chain where there are implementation cost and technological advantages to do so. Techniques such as Mezzanine Compression, typically with a fourto-one compression, may reduce the need for high bandwidth links. And like 3G-SDI, people will choose the formats and interfaces that best suit what they are trying to achieve artistically and technologically. However, this potentially makes life challenging for everyone downstream who will have to ‘shoe horn’ all of the potential formats into the chosen distribution format adopted by
Figure 4: Improved colour dynamic range
TVBEurope 53
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
TVBEverywhere
The changing behaviour of television viewers Dr Andreas Schroeter, co-founder and COO at wywy, examines the shift in TV viewing habits
T
V is no longer regarded as the ďŹ rst screen in the home, but this does not mean it is dying a death. The television screen is still the
or because the TV content is ‘not interesting
Screen agnosticism
enough’ to hold their attention (28 per cent).
From mobile devices to smart TVs, consumers
In addition, almost one in four (24 per cent)
are watching TV across a wide array of screens.
Europeans are now media-meshing – using a
These connected devices provide consumers
mobile device to gather more information
with a platform to stream TV content or SVoD
about the programme they are watching – and
and VoD at the click of a button – freeing them
14 per cent use these devices to interact directly
from restrictive TV network timetables. A quarter
with TV content.
of worldwide internet users now stream video
So what does this continual and signiďŹ cant
online daily via a digital device.
evolution of TV consumption mean for brands?
The future of ads
place where families tend to gather, although TV consumption has changed signiďŹ cantly since the
‘Almost one in four (24 per cent) Europeans are now media-meshing – using a mobile device to gather more information about the programme they are watching’
proliferation of mobile devices. TV viewing habits have evolved from ďŹ rst screen dedication to general screen agnosticism, with nearly two thirds of audiences (64 per cent) now using a mobile device while watching TV. This surge in multiscreen usage and increased demand for content consumption has led to a
Distracted TV audiences – who multi-task and screen-stack while watching TV or during the adverts – are making advertisers work harder to capture and retain audience attention. Advertisers need to adapt and shift to reect the changing behaviour of viewers. As a result, advertisers are utilising video advertising to capture online viewers’ attention on platforms such as YouTube, and similarly brands are
boom in consumer multitasking, with over half
adopting TV syncing technology to recapture TV
(56 per cent) of second screeners actively using
viewers’ attention on second screen devices. The
smartphones, and a third (31 per cent) using
ads synced to the second screen – which often
Open all hours
contain interactive elements – allow media-meshing
The sheer volume of accessible, online content
consumers to interact and engage directly with
Europeans will own mobile devices. Last year
24 hours a day is driving TV viewers to increasingly
brands, helping to drive uplift and awareness.
almost 140 million Europeans used smartphones
watch digital media when, where and how they
to access digital media content and more
want. Subscription Video on Demand TV (SVoD)
devices will only serve to further fuel the evolution
than 50 million used tablets. Consumers are
and Video on Demand (VoD) has also fuelled the
of TV consumption, as well as content syncing
increasingly media-stacking – using multiple
dramatic change in TV consumption, with more
technologies, to retain viewer attention. As
screens while watching TV for unrelated tasks
than 59 million European households expected
a result TV viewing behaviour will continue to
– to ďŹ ll time during ad breaks (42 per cent),
to subscribe to SVoD services by 2020.
change as we know it. „
tablets, while simultaneously watching television. By 2017 it is anticipated that 417 million
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TVBEurope 55
April 2015 www.tvbeurope.com
Virtual Sets Forum
The reality of virtual sets As Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming more commonplace, so there is a growing need for greater understanding of the technology. Just what are the challenges? Do enough designers understand what is required? And beyond that, what are the next innovations? Those giving their views on these and related topics are (in alphabetical order) Mark Bowden, senior product manager at ChyronHego; Thierry Gonzalo, product manager, Brainstorm Multimedia; Haim Halperin, virtual studio, augmented reality, and tracking product manager, Orad Hi Tec Systems; Luke Harrison, technical product marketing manager, RT Software; and Gerhard Lang, chief engineering officer, Vizrt.
This month we return to the increasingly important topic of virtual reality. Philip Stevens moderates the forum of industry experts
What is the most challenging aspect when it comes to creating a VR broadcast environment? Gonzalo: As the technology has matured, VR sets evolved from being very ‘computer like’, meaning the intentional display of the fact that they have
Thierry Gonzalo, Brainstorm Multimedia
Haim Halperin, Orad Hi Tech Systems
been created digitally, to seamlessly combine virtual sets with synthetic imagery, 3D graphics and real characters. So now, with the latest advances in
Halperin: Today’s multi-channel, multi-
workstations and GPU technology, the challenge is
platform environments hold many challenges
more on the creative side – to be able to replicate
and simultaneously many opportunities
reality in a realistic manner. But this also involves lens
for broadcasters. Changes in technology
calibration, lens emulation, advanced rendering
mean that broadcasters encounter constant
and careful perspective matching between
movements in multi-format intelligent
all elements, adding depth of field and other
capabilities. Many broadcasters produce and
advanced effects to simulate reality.
present shows in SD, and many have switched
56 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Virtual Sets Forum to producing in HD 720p or 1080i. Broadcasters
cost, infrastructure and
are constantly fighting to deliver native HD
support point of view.
content and blend multi-format capabilities.
Lang: You can
What do you see as the most important innovation affecting VR in recent years?
The future integration with 4K compression
divide the challenges
techniques, impressive as it is, will increase
related to VR
the demand from broadcasters to expand
broadcasts into those
Bowden: The biggest innovation is the ability
their capabilities even more. The demand for
which are creative
to move away from cameras that are on fixed
innovative real-time virtual studio graphics
and those which
pedestals. We are now seeing VR on Steadicams,
capabilities, with enhanced photorealism,
are technical. A
jibs, and even ‘sky-cams’. The ability to work
continues to grow.
successful virtual set
with these cameras and offer a much freer
depends a lot on the
and broader perspective is opening up a new
creative ideas and
degree of VR usage in live productions.
Harrison: Finding designers that understand real-time remains a challenge. Whilst there is a glut of skilled 3D designers in the industry, they do not always have enough experience of real-time
Luke Harrison, RT Software
delivery. But perhaps the biggest challenge is
how valuable they are for telling a story. These ideas need to
Gonzalo: Apart from the continuous increase in processing power and image quality, possibly one of the most significant developments was the
moving to photorealism, which is still beyond a
translate into stunning graphics, camera angles
introduction of Brainstorm’s patented TrackFree.
lot of VR systems despite the massive increase
and storytelling in general. Technically speaking,
This is a camera-tracking independent technology,
in render capabilities over the last five years or
cameras, tracking systems, keyers, lighting and
which combines in a single virtual camera the
so. Sets rendered in post for film, or even games
the overall green screen studio need to operate
precision and higher quality of the most complex
can look fantastic, but maintaining this at frame
with accuracy and stability. The challenge is
tracking system with the flexibility, freedom and
rate is still a challenge. The other issue is probably
to get all the small parts working together. If
ease of use of modern trackless systems like EasySet
the challenge of image-based tracking.
any one of these parts fails, the result will be
3D. TrackFree can use both internal chroma keying
Removing the need for expensive electro-
a domino effect which will lead to a less than
software and external chroma key hardware –
mechanical sensor systems is desirable from a
impressive end result.
even in the same production.
TVBEurope 57
Virtual Sets Forum Harrison: The advent of GPU
of the rendering platform and
processing has greatly increased the
the 3D graphics software, the
ability to provide more sophisticated
more advanced imagery will be
keying, rendering and tracking.
achievable in real time. Realism is
The developers at RT Software
about advanced rendering and
have been squeezing hardware
precise perspective matching, so
performance for all they can by
the more power we have, the more
using a lighting technique called
polygons, textures, effects and
Physically Based Rendering (PBR)
impostors we will be able to include
which can mimic tiny surface details
in a scene in real time.
and complex lighting based on
Halperin: The heart of virtual
real world physical properties. The
studio production is its rendering
advent of image based tracking
platform. Orad’s HDVG video
allows camera movement to be
rendering platform allows the
recognised without the need for
broadcaster to easily render
mechanical sensors allowing VR or
sophisticated graphics whether
AR to be used in situations otherwise
used for background/foreground
impossible – on a stadium spider
or the videos used inside the
cam, for example.
set. The HDVG that is equipped
Lang: The most important
with standard high quality PC
innovation we’ve seen is probably
components offers a dedicated
the way rendering power has
I/O board designed for real-time
changed. It’s now faster and more
graphics and establishes a direct
powerful at the same time as
connection between the I/O board
becoming increasingly affordable.
and the graphics board.
We’ve also been impressed with
Lang: Choosing a rendering
the many types of tracking systems
platform does make a big difference
which have become available.
so making sure the right one is
These advancements have made
in place is important. Our focus
the use of virtual set technology
when developing Vizrt’s rendering
much more accessible and resulted
platform, Viz Engine, was always on
in more interest for broadcasters
building a platform that’s fast to work
to use this as a storytelling tool. This
on and with which to make updates.
has grown more predominantly
But something that might be even
in sports and news production. It
more important in a rendering
should definitely also be mentioned
engine is that we’ve got great built-in
that we now have 4K immersive
video support for clips, live video and
production from a one-box solution.
streaming sources that renders out
This means we can handle live
the virtual set in real time. So the Vizrt
video, graphics and keying from
platform is really directed towards
a single box.
content producers that handle live
How important is the choice of rendering platform?
dynamic content.
How crucial is lens calibration?
Bowden: For us, it’s very important.
Harrison: Lens calibration is
We have a deep level of integration
extremely important and often
between all our platforms that
glossed over by end users and
enables them to pass data from
even some suppliers of VR. Each
virtual worlds into the real world and
lens has its own characteristics
back again. To achieve this, we lean
which vary not just between lens
heavily on the implementation of our
models, but also between each
own protocols in all of our software.
lens, and furthermore, may change
Gonzalo: The more powerful and efficient the combination
over time and use. RT Software’s lens calibration process allows the
58 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Virtual Sets Forum VR software to accurately ascertain the field of
environment – black, white and everything in
view (FOV) of the real lens and the lens distortion
between. A useful tip is to check your scene in
characteristics at that FOV. If the FOV is incorrect,
black and white, if possible, to see how your
then the virtual objects will appear to drift in
values are working. Lastly, design with the brand
relation to real objects as the lens is panned or
in mind keeping your colours to a handful
zoomed. Lens distortion is greatest at the edges
making sure they work together, and keep the
and corners of the frame. If this distortion is not
noise down. Unless you want the viewer to look
compensated for accurately, then drift will be
at something that is not the presenter, keep the
increased as virtual objects approach the edges
animated elements to a minimum.
and corners of the frame. For drift-free VR and, more importantly, AR – virtual objects in a real
Gerhard Lang, Vizrt
Mark Bowden, ChyronHego
Lang: Getting the idea right is of course crucial. If the basic idea is not entertaining or aids storytelling, a virtual set will be of little
scene – the lens calibration needs to accurately describe the FOV and the distortion characteristics
Lang: Portable VR has become something that
help. The graphics themselves need a high
across the complete range of zoom and focus
producers want more and more and it’s already
degree of sophistication. One of Vizrt’s newest
of the lens. The rendering software needs to
available with Vizrt products. Fox, for example,
implementations helps by integrating with
render the scene accordingly taking this FOV and
has produced some stunning visual images using
Maxon’s Cinema 4D, making it easier to design
distortion into account.
Vizrt tools twinned with Ncam tracking systems.
sets within the programme.
Lang: Lens calibration is crucial in order to
Ncam provides tracking information from two
What is the next major development on the VR front?
get the motion and zoom levels of the camera
small cameras that are fixed to the main camera.
to match up with the graphics. If it’s not done
This has been a huge advancement in making
right the result won’t look very good. Vizrt has
the total system more portable and flexible. Users
developed some great tools for speeding up
are no longer dependent on tracking systems
the process of calibrating the lenses. These
that take lots of time to install. When the tracking
Bowden: I believe that we will continue to see
solutions provide good calibration and speed up
system is mounted on the camera itself it’s quicker
the proliferation of more intelligence in VR and
set-up time.
to start using virtual elements together with a live
in studios in general. Depth-sensing cameras,
camera feed. You can now also run Viz Engine on
cameras with an awareness of their location in
a laptop which gives you a very strong rendering
the studio and what they’re ‘looking’ at, and
capacity with attached Matrox video cards using
intelligent switchers will all enhance the world of
a thunderbolt connection.
VR over the coming decade.
Just how realistic is ‘portable VR’ – the ability to create VR in any environment? Bowden: It’s realistic with the right support. As these systems become more embedded into and on to cameras, we will see VR and AR move
Are there basic considerations to which designers of VR environments need to adhere?
Halperin: We believe that making VR light, compact, scalable and more affordable is what the future has in store. Adoption of 4K is another important challenge. We have challenged ourselves and our technology providers to continue and improve camera tracking technologies, as this,
to domains in which they previously would have been impossible. One example in which AR is
Bowden: Yes. The most important tenet of VR is
along with expanded graphics capabilities, are the
already being deployed very quickly is on the
to make it look real. Anything that is designed
heart of the VR revolution that took broadcasting
sidelines of stadiums during breaks in play. Our
to ‘trick’ or ‘fool’ the viewer should be as
by storm over a decade ago. Integration with
Virtual Placement software enables this with no
photorealistic as possible. Once you start to
multiple systems that are part of the production
setup time and no sensors on the camera.
move away from a realistic look and feel you risk
workflow requires greater flexibility, and a wider
losing credibility with viewers.
range of choices to display and manage content
Gonzalo: Not many years ago this was an impossible task, but today all we need is
Gonzalo: In Brainstorm, we work with Real
will be key to future developments. Harrison: Firstly, the move to floating point
Trackfree and a fixed camera. Furthermore, with
Time Virtual Sets. One of the big advantages of
a tracking system based on image recognition,
our software for VR designers is that objects and
frame buffers allows set rendering to provide
such as Ncam, any environment is valid for VR
textures that are placed on the background of
10- or even 12-bit resolution. This, combined with
or Augmented Reality.
the environment need less polygonal resolution
a full shader-based pipeline, paves the way to a
than the ones placed at the forefront.
fully photo realistic set. Secondly, image-based
Halperin: Given the right technology, portable VR is definitely a possibility, though not for
Harrison: Yes, there are basic considerations.
camera tracking, with either the aid of targets in
every type of environment. Perhaps it is more
Technically, you should try and keep the polygons
the camera’s field of view or existing set features –
appropriate for small/mid-sized broadcasts
low, although tOG-VR makes an efficient use of
the AR case – negates the need for sensors on the
that are searching for a high-quality, low-
the GPU there is no point in taxing the renderer
camera. Whilst such systems currently exist, none
maintenance virtual studio solution. Orad’s
with something that you will never see. To create
are yet completely 100 per cent reliable. Vendors
Virtual Studio in a Box solution offers just that. It
a feeling of reality, keep virtual objects located as
such as RT Software are looking at object tracking
is able to manage four live cameras, provide
they would be in the real world, use foreground,
to allow presenters to seamlessly merge with the
programme and preview, and manage all
middle and background objects to create depth
virtual environment by automatically altering
types of tracking technologies, integrated
and pay attention to the scale of objects. You
keying priority as they move in front and behind of
chromakey and internal delay.
want good white and black values in your virtual
virtual objects using depth keying.
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60 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Data Centre
Taking a multi-dimensional view of the customer experience respondents stated that they would switch
Amdocs looks at how telcos/cable TV companies compete on customer service with OTT players
mobile subscription plans for a plan that included additional communication services (e.g. home, internet, TV) with almost the same number of respondents saying they would switch if they were able to choose the bundle components.
espite the competitive challenges
z
from over-the-top (OTT) players, the
unclaimed: Although more than half (52 per
vast majority of consumers still favour
cent) of respondents subscribe to four services
D
The multi-play opportunity remains
‘traditional’ service providers, according to
(broadband, TV, mobile, fixed line), only one per
recent research by Amdocs, a provider of
cent has a single quad-play provider. Triple-play
customer experience solutions. It also shows
penetration was also low (nine per cent).
that while customers value their service
customer care/experience (89 per cent) and
z
providers’ customer experience, network quality
high-quality internet connection and coverage
the 62 per cent of respondents with a mobile
and brand reputation, churn remains high within
(59 per cent) as the top reasons for their
internet plan, 71 per cent use Wi-Fi more
the industry.
endorsement, 50 per cent of respondents said
frequently than their mobile connection.
The Amdocs Customer Experience Spotlight
they had been with their current service provider
Carrier-grade Wi-Fi will drive loyalty: Among
“With changing customer expectations
2015, an independent research study conducted
for less than a year.
and the ever-increasing threat of disruptive
by IE Market Research (IEMR) on behalf of
z
Customers prefer ‘traditional’ service
competitors, service providers are required
Amdocs, highlights the importance of providing a
providers: 80 per cent of respondents would
to adopt a new strategy by taking a multi-
superior customer experience in order to retain as
not consider switching to OTT disruptors if these
dimensional view of customer experience,”
well as attract new customers, such as including a
players offered mobile connectivity. The top
said Chris Williams, head of global marketing
carrier-grade Wi-Fi strategy to combat the threat
reasons were: privacy and security issues, lack
at Amdocs. “By leveraging their customer
of emerging players in the mobile market and
of trust and potential network quality issues.
experience strengths and exciting customers
offering multi-play bundles to win market share.
Global variations were significant: the majority
with innovative, personalised and multi-play
The global survey was conducted among 8,450
of APAC and emerging markets were more likely
bundles, as well as shaping the quality of
consumers in 17 countries.
to consider OTT disruptor services, while mature
network experience through real time network
markets in Europe and North America proved
visibility and control carrier-grade Wi-Fi
more loyal.
strategies, service providers have a tremendous
While 63 per cent of respondents stated they
z
opportunity to lead in the new world of
would recommend their service provider, citing
personalised services: More than half of the
Key findings include: z
Churn persists within service provider industry:
Customers desire innovative and new
customer experience.”
is the leading media brand for suppliers to the European broadcast and media market and is a proven partner in delivering the very best in news, analysis and debate to the key decision makers in the broadcast industry.
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62 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2015
Data Centre
Perceptions of the public cloud it via public cloud. Worse, an additional 19 per
employee behaviour that puts sensitive company
cent could not be certain whether this had
data at risk. Penalties to staff are serious, yet the
happened to their business or not.
need to share files across different devices is
The survey results go on to reveal that little is
leading them to break company policy and put
being done to protect organisations or staff
their jobs on the line. The survey highlights how
espite one third of UK firms banning public
against careless behaviour.
important it is to address this dilemma before
cloud from the workplace, its use appears
z
more company data is lost or exposed.”
endemic, unmanaged and unstoppable,
which believe they are at risk, have not added
One third of UK firms ban staff from using public cloud services, reports Connected Data
D
Nearly half (48 per cent) of those companies,
according to a new survey commissioned by
guidelines to a staff manual
Transport to the private cloud
Connected Data.
z
The survey coincides with the UK launch of
The survey of 100 UK businesses revealed stark concerns about the safety of the public cloud
Even fewer firms provide training (36 per
cent) or tools (39 per cent) on the topic of file
Transporter for Business, the industry’s first
and data sharing
private cloud appliance from Connected Data.
services, such as Dropbox, Box and Amazon for sharing confidential data. However, despite this caution, the findings demonstrate that most employees’ activity via these platforms generally goes unmonitored and unchecked in 64 per cent of businesses. The vast majority (90 per cent) of IT decision makers believe that sharing sensitive data in the public cloud poses some level of risk. However, despite this inherent mistrust, only one third (33 per cent) have banned staff from
Transporter for Business allows users to sync
“Private cloud solutions enable companies to take full responsibility by protecting their sensitive data whilst enabling their employees to do their jobs as efficiently as possible” Dr Geoff Barrall, Connected Data
and share files privately. By offering employees the cloud features they enjoy and require, Transporter eliminates the temptation to use unauthorised public cloud solutions that could put sensitive business information at risk. Transporter for Business enables organisations to keep cloud data on-site without having to pay recurring monthly fees, manage storage capacity limits or replace legacy storage systems. Available in a variety of configurations
using public cloud. Of the firms that do ban the
ranging from 8TB to 24TB, it delivers a fast and
use of public cloud at work, over half (58 per
secure private cloud experience through intuitive hardware that is fully controlled by the end user.
cent) admit they would not know whether their employees are using it anyway. Other key findings include: z
Staff at UK firms who break rules about public
Transporter for Business enables up to 150 users
cloud usage in the workplace could be in for a
per device to create and share company files
big shock. More than a fifth (22 per cent) of the
with an unlimited number of colleagues, all in
questioned believed that public cloud services
firms interviewed said staff would be instantly
complete privacy. All products in the Transporter
were being used by some proportion of their
dismissed for using public cloud while 40 per cent
for Business family also work together, so
workforce regardless of company policy (with 29
would issue staff a written warning.
businesses can simply add new Transporters to an
Over two thirds (69 per cent) of businesses
per cent suspecting over half their employees of
The survey also looked at the drivers behind
doing so)
cloud usage. It found that the main reason
z
employees risk using the public cloud is because
More than a quarter (27 per cent) rank use of
existing network when additional storage or user capacity is needed. Barrall concluded: “Whilst we know employee
public cloud as the greatest risk to their company
they need to access files across devices (54 per
behaviour cannot be changed overnight, there
data, above lost devices (25 per cent), hacking
cent). Ease of use was considered the second
is a way to keep data safe and give employees
(14 per cent) and malicious staff behaviour (18
highest driver (48 per cent).
the work tools they need. Private cloud solutions
per cent) z
Dr Geoff Barrall, CEO of Connected Data,
enable companies to take full responsibility
commented, “While we shouldn’t be overly
by protecting their sensitive data whilst
of UK firms admitted they had lost or had
surprised at the levels of mistrust in public cloud,
enabling their employees to do their jobs
confidential data exposed due to staff sharing
we should be concerned by a growing pattern of
as efficiently as possible.”
Meanwhile, well over a tenth (13 per cent)
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