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Business, insight and intelligence for the media and entertainment industry
April 2016
Vegas… What happens in
What we will learn from NAB Show 2016
DECENTRALIZED...
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Welcome
EDITORIAL Content Director and Editor-in-Chief: James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com Deputy Editor: Holly Ashford hashford@nbmedia.com Staff Writer: James Groves jgroves@nbmedia.com Group Managing Editor: Joanne Ruddock jruddock@nbmedia.com Contributors: Michael Burns, David Davies, George Jarrett, Adrian Pennington, Philip Stevens, Catherine Wright Sales Manager: Ben Ewles bewles@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000 Account Manager: Richard Carr rcarr@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000 Sales Executive: Nicola Pett npett@nbmedia.com +44 207 354 6000
Gear and roving in Las Vegas What happens in Vegas during NAB week tends to offer up some notable insight on how our industry is advancing
I
t is with great anticipation that
issue give us their individual vistas
we approach another week in
of NAB, and the likely themes that
the Mojave, as the international
define this year’s show.
roadshow descends on the silliest
Elsewhere, we look at the re-fit of
place on earth to fine tune its
Television Centre in our Production
Head of Digital: Tim Frost
most serious matters of operation,
section, Channel 4’s entrance into
Human Resources and Office Manager: Lianne Davey
infrastructure, and strategy.
Formula One broadcasting, and a
Head of Design, Hertford: Kelly Sambridge
What will the talk from within the
fascinating insight into modern day
Senior Production Executive: Alistair Taylor
aviation-sized hangars of the Las
set-top box solutions for IPTV and
Sales Director: Mark Rankine
Vegas Convention Center teach
OTT in league with our supplement
Managing Director: Mark Burton
us this year? This is a question we
partner for this issue, ABOX42.
US Sales: Michael Mitchell mjmitchell@broadcast-media.tv +1 (631) 673 0072
put to a selection of industry minds
Japan and Korea Sales: Sho Harihara sho@yukarimedia.com +81 6 4790 2222 Circulation Free subscriptions tvbe.subscriptions@c-cms.com Subscriptions Tel +44 1580 883848
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I hope you enjoy this NAB
for our NAB feature, in an attempt to
inspired issue of TVBEurope, and I look forward
pre-empt some of the messaging that is likely to
to meeting plenty of you out in Las Vegas for
be trumpeted from the many press conferences
what promises to be another memorable week
that will do battle to win our attention.
in the desert.
The acronymic themes will be familiar, of course, but the context behind their delivery
Safe travels to one and all. (Apologies for the headline.) n
through said trumpets should boast a more
James McKeown
mature lilt. Our band of thought leaders this
Editor-in-Chief
SECTION EDITORS
NewBay Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association © NewBay Media 2016. 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. Allow eight 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
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Philip Stevens Production Editor
Michael Burns Post Production Editor
George Jarrett Business Editor
David Davies Audio Editor
21/03/2016 12:55
4 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
In this issue
6
Opinion
Ooyala analyst Jim O’Neill steers us through the murky waters of video piracy, from friendly password sharing to the damaging costs borne by the industry
Production
22
TVBEurope gets an exclusive tour of the site that is being reborn as the new Television Centre in west London, following the closure of the original BBC facility in 2013
40 NAB preview
Ahead of NAB 2016, TVBEurope asked a number of leading figures for their views on the progress of the broadcast and video industry, and which trends will drive conversation at the show
44 Business
George Jarrett reports from SMPTE’s conference; a day devoted to charting the route to full IP
27 Feature
After Channel 4 took over free-to-air F1 coverage for the start of the 2016 season, it awarded production company Whisper Films the £30 million contract .com www.tvbeurope
April 2016
ments
TVBEurope Supple
ThinkienBogx outside th
52
p box solutions for An insight into set-to rid DVB projects hyb and T, OT V, IPT
In association with
29 Supplement ABOX42 joins us this issue to provide an insight into set-top-box solutions for IPTV, OTT and hybrid DVB projects
04 TVBE Apr16 Contents_final2.indd 1
Interview David Davies talks to Linear Acoustic founder and The Telos Alliance CTO Tim Carroll about the historic step forward for broadcast audio: the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard
21/03/2016 13:00
NETWORK. AUDIO. VIDEO. CONTROL. smart IP live production infrastructure.
Look at IP video core infrastructure with a whole new perspective. Flip your mind. Monday, April 18, 11:00 am, NAB booth N1822.
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6 TVBEurope
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Opinion and Analysis
A pirate’s life By Jim O’Neill, principal analyst, Ooyala
S
hare your Netflix password? Maybe loan a friend your HBO password for the weekend? Aye, bucko, it’s a pirate’s life for
you! But, while media companies could be losing revenue from the ‘friendliness’ of subscribers – as much as $500 million annually, one study estimates – password sharing isn’t a major worry, even though a Consumer Reports survey found nearly half of Americans admit to it. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has publicly played it down and HBO chief Richard Plepler, whose studio’s biggest hit, Game of Thrones, also
happens to be the most pirated title ever, has
at $58 billion for the US film industry alone.
annually lose to global piracy is roughly $6.1
said he’s more worried about a positive user
And, although that number has been largely
billion. An Arxan study in 2015, meanwhile,
experience than a shared password, joking that
debunked – it actually included the cost of all
counted more than one million pieces of
he hopes pirated copies are at least
IP piracy – a more widely acceptable (and
premium video content being made available
good quality pirated copies.
reasonable) number was put forward by the
on pirate sites, and warned that video piracy
For those services, a shared password may, in fact, simply be an extended trial for a future subscriber, giving them access to the service with the logical conclusion that if they like it enough they’ll arrange their own subscription.
was a growing problem. While Torrent Freak,
‘Back in 2012, a White House estimate put the cost of piracy at $58 billion for ths US film industry alone’
Piracy beyond password sharing
in an oft-quoted story, reported in 2014 that the season’s finale of Game of Thrones was downloaded more than 1.5 million times just after it aired on HBO (and, yes, it happened again with 2015’s season ender). SVoD services like Netflix have also had to
Video piracy, however, has a far darker side
contend with users employing VPNs and proxies
and a significantly higher cost than that created
to get access to geo-blocked content and even
by simply sharing a subscription with a friend
industry group MPAA. That research has been
or two, or even three or four. Back in 2012, a
widely quoted (although still debated as being
White House estimate put the cost of piracy
too high), and said the revenue US studios
The Time To Switch Is Now!!
different iterations of the services themselves. Netflix very famously had an estimated 200,000 customers in Australia before it even launched
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06 07 TVBE Apr16 Ooyala Opinion_final.indd 10
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TVBEurope 7
April 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Opinion and Analysis down under, thanks to VPNs giving Australians
breakdown in security may have happened.
Video piracy rates in Australia, which has been
access to the US service.
That helps, at the very least, to reduce the
a bastion of content pirates, have declined
amount of revenue lost but it’s not always
since Netflix launched there in March, with
deployment of Netflix in their country offered far
enough, and the sheer number of pirates
consumers acknowledging they’re less likely to
less content than the US version of the service,
sometimes makes a win just a drop in the bucket.
pirate now that they have a legal alternative.
Canadians, too, unhappy that the initial
routinely used VPNs to access the American
Australia’s IP Awareness Foundation in October
version, potentially costing studios revenues
reported that the number of self-confessed video
from other local services.
An ongoing battle for content owners
‘An Arxan study in 2015 counted more than one million pieces of premium video content being made available on pirate sites’
pirates (both casual and persistent) among 18-64 year olds dropped to 25 per cent post-Netflix, from 29 per cent previously. It also helps that several other legal OTT
The value of premium content is high
services have made more content available
enough that it has attracted the attention
there than ever before, and that Australia
of everything from casual thieves with an
instituted new anti-piracy legislation in June.
HD smartphone in theatres and at sporting events, to more tech savvy DVD-cloning operations and organised crime. Security firms have been working with the content owners for years on a problem they say is continuing to evolve, along with (and sometimes ahead of) the content industry. Techniques like digital rights management
Regardless, during an announcement at
Is there an easier solution to eradicating piracy?
CES that the service had launched in 130 new
It’s hard to pin down an exact number when
that kind of decline would be felt worldwide as
you’re talking about lost revenue from piracy.
content continued to come over the top.
But there’s been an ongoing belief that
countries, Netflix’s Hastings said he believed
“We think giving people what they want in
costs of piracy can be minimised more simply.
a timely manner at a reasonable price is great
It’s an argument based on the belief that
for the movie industry because it removes one
(DRM) and forensic watermarking, where a
consumers will pay for premium content if it’s
of the key reasons people turn to piracy,”
unique invisible mark is embedded into
easily accessible and made available at a price
Hastings said. The ‘Netflix Effect’ may be a
content, can help firms trace where a
that fulfills their value proposition.
panacea whose time has come. n
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06 07 TVBE Apr16 Ooyala Opinion_final.indd 11
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8 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Opinion and Analysis
A perfect storm for 4K with linear (scheduled) broadcasts is where
broadcasters that have the capability to handle
the benefits of 4K come in. There have been a
4K delivery, and added to this there have been
number of analyst reports in the last 12-18 months
some announcements in the press about plans
that have found that consumers are more willing
for 4K set-top boxes. This ramp up of 4K playout
T
to engage with higher quality content. For a
demand goes hand in hand with the increasing
here’s no two ways about it, 4K has its
broadcaster, being able to draw in viewers is
availability of content produced in 4K.
believers and non-believers in terms of
directly linked to their ability to sell advertising.
As mentioned above, adding to what could
BT Sport is a perfect example of how 4K can
well be the start of a perfect storm for 4K is the
familiar argument as to whether viewers will
open up opportunities for a relatively new market
fact that consumer electronics manufacturers
actually benefit given the screen sizes upon
entrant. Not only did it buy sports rights for the
have also been pushing 4K screens to consumers.
which so much content is now viewed. That’s
Barclays Premier League and Aviva Rugby
This in turn is creating an opportunity for
not to mention the compression issue: when is
Premiership, it decided to launch a 4K channel:
broadcasters. Consumers have begun to invest
4K not really 4K anymore? Lastly, shouldn’t we
BT Ultra HD. It also broadcast the Moto GP at
in these 4K sets and now want to see the benefits
be looking at better pixels rather than just more?
Silverstone in 4K last year. A SAM Kahuna 9600
in terms of actually viewing the high-quality
By Tim Felstead, head of product marketing, SAM
distribution to the home. There’s the now-
content they’ve been promised.
All of these arguments have some validity, but equally, with TV set manufacturers pushing the market forwards, and consumers responding, 4K is becoming a differentiator and is being used by the likes of Hulu as a marketing tool. In developed markets at least, viewers are now firmly in the driving seat when it comes to where,
‘The most recent phenomenon we’ve seen is an increasing interest from companies wanting to actually broadcast as opposed to produce in 4K’
when and how they consume content, be it
At SAM we have a commercial advantage in that we have technologies across the production, post production and playout spaces. We’re supplying 8K editing systems to clients in Japan, in fact, we have just been asked to supply an 8K 120P system and we are already working with customers in high dynamic range. We are in the process of passing that knowledge
linear, VoD, OTT or DTO. As a result, the concept of what constitutes a broadcaster is changing
switcher and a Sirius 800 series router provided
and capability throughout our product portfolio,
and it’s no longer just broadcasters that operate
the truck’s 4K production backbone for the
making 4K, HDR and of course wider colour
in this evolving content arena; as mentioned,
event. This is the first purpose-designed 4K truck
gamut products available to our customers.
they have to compete with other media owners
in Europe, built by Timeline to service BT Sport’s
looking to monetise their content in new ways as
new 4K channel. In Spain, we worked closely with
An appetite for HDR
well as OTT providers like Netflix and Amazon.
MediaPro late last year to produce the first 4K
So what about HDR? The market’s not quite
version of ‘El Clasico’ – the famous Barcelona FC
there yet on the display front, but HDR TV sets are
The benefits of 4K
and Real Madrid football match. The game was
being introduced and this will mean we will soon
From a media owner’s perspective, the single
produced simultaneously in HD and 4K, the latter
see a growth in, and an appetite for, watching
biggest benefit of 4K is to make their content look
supported by a new mobile production vehicle
content in HDR. We are a firm believer in the
better, and therefore garner a greater number of
equipped specifically for 4K with SAM’s Kahuna
benefits of HDR in combination with 4K.
eyeballs for that content. As OTT providers take
9600 enterprise level production switcher and
traditional broadcasters on in an increasingly
modular control panel.
aggressive way, we’ve seen them invest first in
In more general terms, we’ve seen a clear shift
But again HDR brings its own set of issues. The lack of a clearly defined HDR standard can result in problems for the delivery of content to
exclusive deals, then in original commissioned
in recent months where we’re being asked by
the home. If the viewer has an HDR screen, the
content and more recently they’ve been upping
our broadcast customers about 4K capabilities
content needs to be rendered for that home
the ante by making 4K their default format.
consistently; they want to know that their
screen so it looks good enough to the viewer. But
investment is future-proof.
if the same set-top box is connected to an SDR
From a traditional broadcaster’s perspective, where the core skill is scheduling – making a
screen, this then throws up potential problems, so
schedule and delivering interesting content –
From 4K to 8K
the drive towards 4K is slightly different. As their
The most recent and interesting phenomenon
offering leans more towards live content, or
we’ve seen is an increasing interest from
across our production equipment through which
‘appointment TV’ as it’s becoming known, being
companies wanting to actually broadcast
signals are being passed. If you’re manipulating
able to draw in viewers with the best quality
as opposed to produce in 4K. We’ve seen
signals, then more care is needed with colours,
live content and encouraging them to engage
BT Sport take a lead, there are some satellite
brightness levels, and so on in an HDR context. n
8 TVBE Apr16 Opinion Sam_final.indd 10
there is still some work to be done. It’s relatively easy to ensure transparency
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10 TVBEurope
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Opinion Opinionand & Analysis Analysis
Migrating infrastructure to IP By John Smith, managing director, Media Links EMEA
handle streams and files in a unified manner.
far exceeding the capacity of even the largest
The solution lies in taking advantage of the
cross-point video router.
falling prices of bandwidth, plus the increased
Uncompressed HD-SDI signals can be
quality in video codecs and ultra-low latency
multiplexed into a single stream of 10Gbps
delivery across WAN network infrastructure. By
packets, where the packets are duplicated
T
leveraging an Ethernet to act as the unified
and fed into IP video routers, which switch
he technology is now available to enable
core switching fabric, broadcasters and service
them to specified destinations. A single
broadcasters and network providers to
providers are able to maximise footprint, power
aggregator for video over IP and legacy
convert and move the complete suite of
and future-proof IP switching technology.
DVB-ASI and all SDI formats to IP encapsulation.
onto their multi-service IP/Ethernet networks.
simultaneously in a unified IP switched
that has been standard in the industry is
infrastructure. The Media Links IP video router
translated to an all video over IP solution.
broadcast signals, whether video, audio or data, Creating a complete IP-based studio by
Streams and files need to be handled
integrating all of the video, audio and data flows onto a common platform can result in significant savings. In addition, a converged IP backbone dramatically increases system flexibility, allowing new applications, bit rates and signal formats to be added to the core switching platform merely by adding a new type of interface card.
The same level of resiliency and reliability
This model has already been deployed
‘Creating a complete IP-based studio by integrating all of the video, audio and data flows onto a common platform can result in significant savings’
The primary advantage of an IP-based
globally by broadcasters and major telcos, and has been used to provide live content contribution for the Sochi Winter games and World Cup football, experiencing 100 per cent uptime. Change in the real-time video contribution space is setting new standards in developing
system is the convergence of multiple signal
advanced video technology, and Ethernet
formats onto a comprehensive, distributed IP
provides granular stream switching that mimics
and SONET based solutions for contribution
switch fabric that transports kilobit-speed data
traditional baseband video infrastructure, where
video, and will see the migration of many
signals alongside multi-gigabit uncompressed
sub-16ms connection set-up/teardown times
infrastructures to IP in the future.
video flows. Media production facilities benefit
are achieved when configuring paths through
by not having to purchase, install, manage, or
the system. This is a significant improvement over
this model enables camera feeds and data
maintain the multiple signal routing systems that
traditional stored control systems implemented
traffic to be sent from the remote venues
are normally required to switch different types of
on standard enterprise or carrier data routers.
directly to the studio, where all production and
compressed and uncompressed audio. However, when it comes to IP for both
Each of the signals can be routed
Of particular relevance for remote production,
editing can take place. There are numerous
independently in a fully enabled, multicast
advantages, as this reduces or removes the
remote and studio production, the key issue
controlled environment allowing for an ‘any
need for broadcasters to have full capability
has always been, and still is, latency; how to
to any’ combination of outputs through the
production trucks and large crews on-site at the
get all the signals to arrive on time, and in the
switch fabric.
venue, greatly reducing their operational costs.
right order, with no packet loss. Basically, it’s
Capacity of the switch is limited only by
In addition, remote production set up in
got to work first time, every time, as you can’t
bandwidth, not by the total number of signals.
this way enhances the event’s production
film a live event twice.
This allows a single 10GbE port to handle up
value by offering the ability to utilise more
to six uncompressed HD signals, 30 SD-SDI
sophisticated in-studio tools across the board.
exchange content mainly as SDI signals. With the
signals, ninety 100Mb DVB-ASI streams or any
This is particularly relevant to the production of
move toward SMPTE 2022 video over IP standards
combination totaling the 10GbE rate limit.
smaller-scale events, enabling the production
and file-based broadcasting workflows,
Literally thousands of signals can be controlled
cost to be held low while at the same time
broadcasters are now able to look for ways to
and switched through a fully configured system,
increasing the overall production value. n
Up until now, broadcasters distribute and
10 TVBE Apr16 Opinion_final.indd 10
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12 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Opinion and Analysis
Solving integration issues By Simon Fearn, product manager, Marquis Broadcast
which means moving media and metadata
pulled the network cable out, the end result was
around is not always as seamless as it could
the same: projects couldn’t be completed. If the
or should be. Any connection issues between
systems employed are not flexible enough, users
broadcast systems have the same implication: a
end up working to the level of the limiting factor
compromised and inefficient workflow. This may
in any workflow.
be due to a fundamental obstacle or a minor
It is now rare that a product or solution is a
n fairly recent history, many systems didn’t
discrepancy. The subtle picture is as important
self-contained island. Most let information be
really want to talk to each other, which led
as the big picture. One piece of metadata not
shared in and out and create a standard file,
to integration becoming a fundamental
being transferred might be mission-critical if the
enabling the transfer of media between systems.
challenge, especially when it was time to
whole workflow is based on that information.
However, the problems come when the workflow
upgrade or purchase new equipment aimed
One example was where a broadcast client
requires more than just a simple file exchange.
at streamlining a particular working practice.
couldn’t send media from its Avid to its
Metadata integration is an area where
These days, communications between systems
broadcast automation system. The reason turned
non-standard integration is a common issue.
have greatly improved, at least on a file level.
out to be a simple naming limitation on the
However, there are often subtle differences
playout device. The cleaner may as well have
I
Standardisation was one big move designed to solve this challenge. In theory, everyone
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12 13 TVBE Apr16 Opinion_final.indd 10
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TVBEurope 13
April 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Opinion and Analysis should have been able to share an MXF file.
features from users struggling to cope. We found
others. In addition, these days, customers are
However, even then, everyone had their own
one US broadcast customer manually merging
less inclined to have a complete re-build. The
MXF version. Improvements have been made
files to achieve closed captioning. In this way,
other answer is to consider integration and
in recent times, but this question often re-asserts
short-term fixes have a tendency to become
interoperability solutions. There are specialist
itself when a piece of legacy equipment is used
permanent to avoid reviewing and replacing
organisations in various aspects of the broadcast
within a workflow. For example, a broadcaster
the whole process with a more practical
workflow, which can help solve integration issues
may want to get a few extra years’ life from their old video server which is using its own take on the standard file format. Standardisation has helped at a media level, but not always at a metadata level. Each customer will have their specific metadata needs, tailored to their unique
through specially developed solutions.
‘Any connection issues between broadcast systems have the same implication - a compromised and innefficent workflow’
Marquis provides an interoperability engine called Medway, which integrates broadcast platforms by providing transfer and format conversion workflows for media and metadata. As a core product it solves integration issues
requirements, and each system will also have its
and supports customisation. In large-scale
own needs and requirements for metadata.
installations, Medway acts as the central hub,
It is within the nature of MAM systems that
providing multiple, simultaneous, and high-
they are often designed and configured to
solution. One answer and probably the most
volume media and metadata integration
fulfil the individual requirement of a specific
common reaction is for customers to lobby the
services across best-of-breed systems.
user. A subset of this metadata will need to
manufacturers to make changes. Many vendors
be exchanged between the systems, and the
respond and can fix workflow issues, but this takes
disappear in a hurry. However, to realise
links to the media and accuracy of the data
time and, for non-standard customisation, it also
the many advantages that the move to digital
must be maintained. When it’s discovered that
takes money. Some are simply not able to help.
file based workflows creates, the process
information is missing or incorrect, something
The challenges of integration are not going to
Where problems are particularly severe,
must be efficient. A relatively small investment
will need to change, normally either workflow or
purchasing a new system is an alternative. It
in an interoperability solution from a specialist
systems. Work-arounds often become long-term
may, however, fix one issue whilst introducing
vendor could achieve that goal. n
www.asperasoft.com moving the world’s data at maximum speed
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16 TVBEurope
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Production
Studio
bookings That technology includes the use of Skype to
Earlier in the year, news came through that Fountain Studios, just outside London, was closing. Philip Stevens finds out how some other studios are faring
“W
good effect on a Saturday Night Takeaway segment, Singalong Live. In addition, the LiveU cellular technology video system was used extensively on Philip Schofield’s 24-hour live Text
Saturday Night Takeaway for ITS, The Jonathan
Santa launch, with one particular sequence
London Studios,” states Kathy
Ross Show (Hotsauce TV), Alan Carr: Chatty Man
from Studio 3’s floor to inside 10 Downing Street
Schulz, director of studio services
(Open Mike Productions), The Graham Norton
achieved as a single shot.
e remain extremely busy at The
and client liaison, ITV Studios (ITVS). “Some of
Show (So Television), QI (Fremantle Talkback),
our bookings extend way beyond the next 12
Have I Got News For You? (Hat Trick Productions),
months. Along with our regular returning ‘shiny
Good Morning Britain (ITVS), This Morning (ITVS)
floor shows’, studio comedy has been enjoying
and Adele at the BBC (BBC). “This is not an
a resurgence and we have four studio sitcoms
exhaustive list!”
scheduled in the next year.” Schulz says that The London Studios (TLS) is the
She continues, “The vast majority of our work is series, although, of course, there
only truly central London studios of any scale and
are one-off productions, such as the Adele
is minutes away from theatre-land and Leicester
special and pilots.”
Square. Originally the headquarters
“Broadcasters’ budgets are ever more challenging and so production companies are
“There is an ever growing theme of interactive technology, with productions devoting large resources to social media requirements” Kathy Schultz, ITV Studios
of London Weekend Television, the facility
Customer demands
provides six studios ranging in size from 2,050 to
So, does Schulz think that the demands of
8,350sqft (190.5 to 775.7sqm). All have individual
clients have changed over the last few years?
control rooms and are fully equipped for
“Production companies are increasingly looking
always looking for best value; our ability
multi-camera productions. Sony kit is much in
at the area of crossover between traditional
to turn shows around extremely quickly
evidence, with the studios equipped with HDC
broadcast technologies and consumer
maximises their ‘on-camera’ time,” says Schulz.
1000R/1500R studio cameras, while the galleries
level equipment. This is most apparent in the
“We can even use a single studio for three
use MVS 8000 series vision mixers with integrated
world of graphics, but also extends to media
different live productions, with three completely
DME and frame memory. On the audio side
capture on iPhones, tablets and so on. There
different sets, in a single day.”
there are Calrec Apollo 72 fader consoles
is an ever growing theme of interactive
and Calrec C2 Grams desks. Schulz says that
technology, with productions devoting large
position in the UK market. “Our location attracts
programmes produced at the facility include
resources to social media requirements.”
the best talent and audiences, and our main
16 18 19 20 TVBE Studio Bookings Production_final2.indd 16
Schulz believes that TLS remains in a unique
21/03/2016 14:19
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18 TVBEurope
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Production variable production studios all have monopole
ranging in size from 1,000 to 12,500sqft (93 to
grids allowing us to set and light at the
1,161sqm) and all served by full HD galleries
same time, this enables us to do the biggest
have become home to programmes such as The
and fastest turnarounds between shows. The
Voice, Match of The Day, A Question Of Sport,
future looks good.”
Jeremy Kyle, Blue Peter, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Countdown and Citizen Khan.
In the Media (City) At the time of the establishment of MediaCityUK, there were some who doubted the wisdom of
Cinecittà is able to provide extensive exterior sets next to its studio facilities
locating a major production centre so far from London. Those doubts have largely been dispelled with the studios and post production facilities
“Flexibility, adaptation, reactivity, are the key words we need to follow” Gaël Tanguy, Euromedia
operated by dock10 becoming home to many top line programmes. “People that have made the move to Salford have been really quick to settle,” states Andy
“We do occasional one-offs, such as pilot
Waters, head of studios. “The cities of Salford
shows and big live events like the leaders’
and Manchester are so different from London,
debate, Sports Personality of the Year and soap
but people mostly agree that the friendliness of
awards, but 95 per cent of our work involves
the people here and the unique culture creates
series,” reveals Waters.
a totally positive atmosphere. Plus everything is much cheaper which is a bonus.”
Alongside these seven facilities, there are two high-end audio studios that can also be used for
The studios themselves are located at the
TV. “All in all, this is the largest multi-camera Studio
heart of MediaCityUK, less than two miles from
complex in the UK,” says Waters. “What’s more, all
Saturday Night Takeaway, one of the1regular bookings for 201604_200X135.pdf 2016-03-11 오전 9:52:53 Manchester city centre. Here, seven HD studios The London Studios
equipment is less than five years old, which means
C
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Y
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MY
CY
CMY
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16 18 19 20 TVBE Studio Bookings Production_final2.indd 18
18/03/2016 16:58
April 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
The French version of The Voice is shot in Euromedia’s studio that we are utilising all the latest
knowledge in the field. That will
technology.”
ensure we are in a good position
Throughout the studios Sony
when the technology truly kicks off.
cameras are used, with the galleries
It has been forecasted that in 2016
being equipped with both Sony
virtual reality content will become
and Kahuna vision mixers. For audio
a billion pound industry, and we
requirements, the facility has opted
are already seeing enquiries come
for a choice of Calec, Artemis and
through for filming with 360 rigs.”
Appollo consoles, while graphics
“Our facilities are right up to
production is handled by either
date and we can film and edit in
VizRT or Clarity.
4K; a format which is slowly gaining momentum. There is very little
Flexible facilities
demand for it in studios, but many
“Productions have always needed
of the dramas we edit here shoot in
and will always need flexibility, the
4K and require their whole workflow
ability to have options and choice –
to be consistent with the format.
that might include additional space
Beyond that, we are keeping a
or juggling around dates.
close eye on IP technology, and
This is something dock10, with its
when the time is right we’ll make the
size, is able to offer. And, of course,
appropriate investment.”
studios need a culture that goes
launch, how does Waters see the
clients,” declares Waters.
next twelve months for dock10?
opened, all our clients wanted
New perspectives in broadcasting studios The latest version of the camera robot solution offers unlimited design possibilities and creates stunning images and unique camera movements. State-of-the-art engineering is combined with exemplary cost-efficiency.
So five years down the line from
the extra mile to look after its He goes on, “When we first
Our robots in motion make your visions move
“Most definitely, we’re expecting our best yet!”
to leave with a cardboard box full of tapes, but now they’re all used
French connection
to a world where there content is file
Euromedia has 32 stages, ranging
transferred into dock10 post or the
in size from 430 to 22,500sqft (40 to
post suite of their choice, wherever
2,090sqm). Although the main facility
that may be.”
is located at Saint-Denis, north of
Waters says that his team is always
Palais Image, also in Paris, and in the
technological advancements.
south of France at Nice. “All are equipped for multi-
and editing technology and
camera productions and have
are continuing to broaden our
permanent cabling,” states Gaël
16 18 19 20 TVBE Studio Bookings Production_final2.indd 19
Camerobot Systems GmbH, Theodor-Schmidt-Straße 19, D-95448 Bayreuth Phone +49 (0) 921 883 0, Fax +49 (0) 921 883 3244, info@camerobot.com
Paris, there are others at Studios
looking to be at the forefront of “We have invested in VR camera
www.camerobot.com
18/03/2016 16:58
20 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Production Tanguy, the company’s chief technology
of-the-art facilities in and around Rome, and a
officer. “We have both Grass Valley and Sony
brand new studio in Morocco. The main studio facility in Rome offers 22
cameras, although we mainly use the latter for entertainment shows. We have the same brands
stages, plus seven extensive permanent sets such
for our vision mixers, but here we tend to utilise
as, appropriately, a fully equipped and dressed
GV for most of our work. For audio, we centre
Ancient Roman location, a 70,000sqft (6,500sqm)
on Studer’s consoles, but we also operate
outdoor tank and a 25 acre backlot, all located
both SSL and Lawo brands.”
within 99 acres of parkland estates.
Technology trends
important programmes of the RAI national TV,
As far as new technologies are concerned,
Channels 1, 2 and 3,” reports Cristina Giubbetti,
Tanguy says that augmented reality is
sales manager, international productions. “The
“Cinecittà is the shooting location for the most
increasingly being required by some producers. “In addition, we are paying close attention to IP technology. Many manufacturers offer their solutions, but there is still no single standard for building IP complete agnostic workflows.” Euromedia’s activities stretch beyond the
“Our facilities are right up to date and we can film and edit in 4K; a format which is slowly gaining momentum” Andy Waters, dock10
most popular Italian TV series, often lasting up to ten years, have been produced at our studios. In addition, this is also the favourite filming location for all the international movies shot in Italy. In terms of number of productions, the series work is around 35 per cent, while when it comes to
studios, and Tanguy says that the company is
turnover it might be around 20 per cent. The
heavily into 4K developments and is covering
remainder is made up of one-off productions.”
football and other sports with that format. The technology is also used in the studios, where
productions houses, too, such as the mergers
Timing considerations
productions are made in UHD. However, he
involving Shine Endemol or Banijay Zodiak.
Giubbetti says that major change seen in
points out there are no immediate plans for 8K!
Those moves may have a positive impact on
production practices over the last few years
the facilities business. As a result, we are
has involved time frames. “The schedule for
that the studios are used for variety, game and
capitalising on our solid market fundamentals.
preparation has become much shorter.
entertainment shows. “Some examples, would
We are focusing on high quality entertainment
Projects are confirmed very late and sometimes
be The Voice, France’s Got Talent, The Money
events with an offer of large scale studios. In
allow just a short time for set construction. But
Drop, Dancing With The Stars, and Who Wants
addition, we are developing high tech services
we can handle it!”
to be a Millionaire?”
including the support of a dedicated company
Lionel Vialaneix, Euromedia’s CEO reports
With so many programmes being generated
So, how does Cinecittà go about attracting
for R&D that specialises in RF technology.”
new clients in such a competitive market? “We
in the studios, what changes has Vialaneix seen
Vialaneix concludes, “Euromedia is decisively
are very proactive and travel a great deal,
in production practices over the last few years?
looking towards the future.”
meeting potential clients in the USA and the UK
“Flexibility, adaptation, reactivity, are the key
to promote the idea of taking their productions
Italian job
to Italy. Of course, we make certain they know
Cinecittà is one of the biggest production
all about our services, and beyond that, the fiscal
Euromedia is refocusing on its core business. “The
centres in the world, providing a total of 30
benefits available for our clients.”
French media market has been consolidating
stages ranging in size from 4,800 to 32,300sqft
“We are absolutely positive about our
over the last five years, with an acceleration
(446 to 3,000sqm), plus 300 acres of diversified
prospects for the next 12 months, but forgive
since 2014. Broadcasters like TF1, Canal +
backlots. Its studios have grown in the last few
me if I do not say anything specific, as we are
(Groupe Vivendi) or Discovery Eurosport, and
years into an extensive complex with three state-
dealing with important clients.” n
words we need to follow.” To handle the emerging trends in the industry,
TVBE090316 NAB16.indd 1
16 18 19 20 TVBE Studio Bookings Production_final2.indd 20
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22 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Production The heritage staircases on the left had to be retained in this new meeting area, because of their cultural significance
Television Centre’s rebirth Philip Stevens was invited to an exclusive tour of the site that is being reborn as the new Television Centre in west London
“B
BC Studios and Post Production (S&PP) will enter a new chapter when the new Television Centre is
added to our portfolio.” So said S&PP’s managing
studio market.” The former BBC Television Centre
the regeneration of the TVC site will primarily
located in west London opened in June 1960, as
provide more than 900 homes, offices and leisure facilities, the BBC continues to have a significant
“We are looking to the new Television Centre as the most advanced media centre in London” David Conway, BBC S&PP
director, David Conway at a ‘sneak preview’ of
presence with the operation of three studios and all the associated production facilities. Major works are now well advanced and plans call for the studios to be ready for use in April 2017. According to Meryl McLaren, commercial manager of BBC S&PP, the team involved with the redevelopment is excited about the future. “For us, it is really important to retain TVC as
the facility being developed on the site of the
TVC, and to maintain television at the very
iconic BBC Television Centre (TVC). “The facility
the Corporation’s first purpose-built production
heart of the facility. We have listened to what
will add a significant contribution to the London
centre. The facility closed in 2013 and although
production people throughout the industry have
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24 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Production said about their requirements and, as a result of that feedback, we tasked the developer with ensuring the ideas are included. That feedback even included what the colour of the carpet should be used in the Green Room.” She says that when the new TVC opens, the facility will be the most up to date, flexible studio space in the UK. Along with a good London location, it will have live TX lines, customer parking, secure access and will very obviously have been designed with productions at the heart of the building.
Looking ahead John O’Callaghan, head of studio services for S&PP adds some more information. “The final technical specifications will be decided later this year, but we will, of course, be consulting with our customers on this also. We are closely monitoring
The Super Star Dressing Rooms are equipped with en suite facilities
advances in technologies such as UHD/4K and IP connectivity. The re-fit presents an ideal
From the studios there is direct access to make
The second floor provides additional flexible
opportunity to invest in equipment that is going
up, wardrobe, and production. There is also
office space that could be dedicated to
to make us future-proof to the highest degree.”
a large ground floor storage area directly
medium to long-term production clients. The two
accessible from the ring road to accommodate
viewing galleries that formed part of the original
deliveries and set/prop storage.
TVC, and which overlook TC1 and TC2, are being
He continues, “We know that we will be placing stabilised motorised lighting rigs in the studio that will provide us with very fast
In addition, there is access to the inner
converted into meeting rooms.
turnaround times between shows. Because of
scenery runway and each studio door.
their size, it will be possible to accommodate two
Dedicated loading bays servicing are located
Going down
shows in the same studio and the quick change
at the rear of the studios, and agreements are
To reach the lower ground floor without using the lift, it is necessary to walk down the
lighting situation makes that entirely feasible.” The three studios that have been retained from the old TVC are TC1, TC2 and TC3. The first has a studio space of 10,250sqft, TC2 3,500sqft and TC3, 8,000sqft. “We shall employ various audience rostra formats in TC1 according to the production in hand,” explains O’Callaghan. “Audience seating can be rigged in TC2
“It is really important to retain TVC as TVC, and to maintain television at the heart of the facility” Meryl McLaren, BBC S&PP
heritage staircases: structures that had to be retained in the redevelopment because of their architectural significance. This lower level has been designed with wide corridors and very high ceilings. On this floor are dressing rooms, edit suites, a laundry facility and a runners’ area that includes a kitchen that is bigger than that found in many homes!
when required, while TC3 has an existing roll
“The lower ground has been largely
out audience rostra, if necessary.” in place so that deliveries will not take place at
reconfigured to accommodate a large number
fully secured and the entrance to ‘back stage’.
times that might cause disturbances for the
of Super Star, Star, Standard and Group Dressing
Audiences will be stewarded through this ground
close proximity residential apartments.
Rooms. All these rooms are exceptionally
The new Stage Door reception area will be
well appointed, with many having en suite
floor area to the individual studios with security and ticketing measures flexed according to
Production space
facilities,” states O’Callaghan. “There are also
production requirements.
“The first floor space has been reconfigured to
two very large green rooms.”
maximise space and ensure the best access
The post production element of S&PP includes
access passes for freelance crews and
to production offices, galleries and on to the
five permanent edit suites, and there is additional
programme makers from this central space.
studio floor, which can still be accessed from the
space available along the same corridor should
Leading from the Stage Door via security
galleries,” reveals O’Callaghan.
more space be needed. All these rooms are
In addition, BBC S&PP will issue and manage
styles will be a large central meeting area
“Proximity of these areas was a key
that has been designed with productions
requirement from our customers to appeal to
and crews in mind and incorporates an
the live TV market, and the space has been
identified catering area.
designed accordingly.”
According to O’Callaghan, the space is
Alongside the galleries are four large
provided with inter-connectivity to allow the easy exchange of data and content. With completion due next spring, BBC S&PP is looking to approach clients around the middle of this year. “This is a major development in the
large enough to accommodate multiple
production offices with views on to the central
industry and we are looking to the new Television
productions and will be a great meeting
Helios: the much loved ‘Doughnut’. In addition,
Centre as the most advanced media centre in
place with seating areas and tables.
there is a large centralised apparatus area.
London,” concludes David Conway. n
22 24 TVBE TVC Production_final.indd 56
17/03/2016 12:13
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26 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Production
The language of subtitling John Birch, strategic partnerships manager at Screen Subtitling Systems, looks at recent developments in an often forgotten side of production
A
lthough the majority of subtitling is still performed after shooting and editing has finished – that is to say, it
is a predominantly a distribution activity – the work within production time is a growing trend. One impact of the growth in ‘internet media’ has been that distinctions between creation and distribution have blurred, and production companies are now more involved in delivery activities. The almost universal use of standard information technology and distribution of media (both finished and production copies) over the internet has allowed subtitling to become a distributed activity. Emerging standards such as the IMF
‘The growth in ‘internet media’ has spawned a whole range of new subtitle distribution formats supported by different internet video players’
(Interoperable Master Format) now incorporate subtitling. What’s more, there is growing inclusion of subtitles from producers of content when
Subtitle developments have to take into account the increasing use of second screen devices
media assets are transferred to distribution. The IMF standard identifies a new format for
Today, however, those workflows need to support
distribution targets, and how subtitles can be
subtitles (IMSC) that is XML-based. This is markedly
both the linear TV distribution mechanisms, plus
better authored to facilitate re-use. An
different from the, often proprietary, formats
a wide range of mobile, OTT and internet video
emerging aspect is the inclusion of related
currently commonly used to author subtitles, for
delivery channels.
information within a subtitle ‘archive’ file, for
example, STL, PAC, 890. As a consequence there
At present, the tendency is to bolt conversion
example, speaker names, places, roles, and
is a potential requirement to ‘re-tool’ subtitling
capabilities into the workflow which take the
emotional states that will allow downstream
authoring workflows to support this new standard.
original output intended for linear TV and
tools to present the information correctly
adapt it for the new distribution. This obviously
according to local conventions.
Second screens
has limitations, as the constraints and adopted
The growth in ‘internet media’, the so-called
conventions of linear TV distribution systems
idea of including contextual information about
‘second screen’ has also spawned a whole
for subtitles do not necessarily apply to other
the related media within the subtitle ‘archive’ file.
range of new subtitle distribution formats
supply mechanisms.
This is an interesting side effect of the nature of
Extending that concept even further is the
supported by different internet video players.
The SMPTE and EBU standards bodies both
Again, supporting these new formats has led
have activities that are tackling these issues.
a unique comprehension of the material they
to an increase in complexity of the subtitle
Both groups are developing new standards to
are translating. Capturing this currently discarded
production process. In the past, workflows were
support the changing media landscape. The
knowledge in a subtitle ‘archive’ file could
targeted simply at one subtitle distribution format
EBU working groups are actively considering how
radically alter the effectiveness and granularity
for linear television, such as Teletext or DVB.
subtitle content can be authored with multiple
of media search and recommendation. n
26 TVBE Subtitling Production_final.indd 54
the subtitling process, as subtitle authors require
17/03/2016 12:11
TVBEurope 27
April 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature
Whisper Films on the starting grid After Channel 4 took over free to air F1 coverage for the start of the 2016 season it put Whisper Films in the driving seat. Adrian Pennington reports
O
Hire as its OB partner. Presteigne had designed and supplied F1 flypacks complete with air conditioning and power distribution systems for the previous seven years of BBC broadcasts, and
ne of the prized contracts in the outside
to deliver on our own high expectations. We are
had the kit ready to go at its headquarters in
broadcast calendar went to Whisper
duty bound to keep fans entertained and to
Crawley. It also supplies up to 15 crew including
Films earlier this year, an award that
improve coverage where we can. There is no
sound ops and engineers.
caused some controversy. The indie, which was formed in 2010, is backed by Channel 4 as part of its Growth Fund, for which the broadcaster took a small stake in the company. When the BBC prematurely divested itself of terrestrial UK rights to cover Formula One at the end of the 2015 season, Channel 4 took up the reigns and put the presentation of it out to tender. Established by Sunil Patel, who oversaw the BBC’s F1 output before leaving to launch Whisper, BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey and
added pressure from any other party.”
“The pressure to succeed because we had this high profile win doesn’t come into it. The pressure comes from all those on our team to deliver on our own high expectations” Sunil Patel, Whisper Films
ex-F1 driver David Coulthard, Whisper beat more
“By and large we are using the same kit as the BBC operation with one major uplift in editing,” explains Patel, who will executive produce C4’s coverage. BBC Sport had made a fateful decision to base its editing on Final Cut Pro 7 in 2011, just as Apple decided it would no longer support a professional version of the software. A sensible decision, then, for Patel to replace them with four new Adobe Premier suites. On site, these are linked with EVS IP Director logging and search tools, integrated with a trio of EVS XT3 servers and further hooked into an EditShare rack of collaborative storage. The rest
seasoned sports producers like North One –
of the kit contained in two flypacks remains the
which produced ITV’s recent coverage – to
Because of the tight nine week turnaround
same and includes a Ross switcher, Lawo sound
the chequered flag.
between landing the contract in mid-January
desk and Riedel Artist for talkback, with the only
and the start of the 2016 season in Australia
other significant addition being a Sony PMW-F5
in the press. “The pressure to succeed because
– nearly two weeks of which was required for
with Canon Cine lenses to work alongside
we had this high profile win doesn’t come into it.
shipping equipment to Melbourne – Whisper
conventional RF cams. “This will give us a real
The pressure comes from all those on our team
wisely decided to rehire Presteigne Broadcast
cinematic look for feature making; content we
Patel is unfazed by suggestions of favouritism
27 28 37 38 TVBE Apr16 Whisper Feature_FINAL HA.indd 27
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28 TVBEurope
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Feature are familiar with given our heritage of branded high end content,” says Patel. Whisper has created a range of brand-funded sports content in association with companies such as Red Bull, UBS, Shell and Hugo Boss. It has also won conventional TV commissions such as BBC1 doc Racing With The Hamiltons: Nic In The
Driving Seat, and produced highlights for ITV4’s coverage of DTM German Touring Cars. Whisper also produced BBC2’s NFL studio-presented highlights in the run up to the Superbowl 50, introducing a touch screen for pundit analysis. Patel said he decided to apply for Growth Fund investment when TV commissions began to “dry up”, and he felt that C4’s backing would give Whisper “credibility” and better access to commissioners. Formula One Management (FOM) run a strict and well-oiled machine. Rights holders have to
This is the pits: the pit lane gears up for testing action
join them at the F1 sting five minutes prior to race start, leaving the host feed only once the podium
is around the presentation aspect, hence our
The FOM set-up is deliberately formulaic across
ceremony is over. In between rights can only
commitment to our talent line up,” says Patel.
the world. “There are new places, such as Baku
tailor presentation with commentary.
“The difference will be in the insight we can give
and Mexico for 2016, which we will be keeping
to viewers from the people we have on in the pit
a watch over this year, but each venue has its
lane and paddock.”
own unique challenges,” comments Presteigne
“There is limited opportunity to do anything within the sport itself, but the real difference
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www.tvbeurope.com
TVBEurope Supplements
April 2016
Thinking outside the Box An insight into set-top box solutions for IPTV, OTT, and hybrid DVB projects
In association with
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ii TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Supplement
in association with
Building a new kind of IPTV With the TV industry entering a new world of IPTV, flexibility is a key asset. Matthias Greve, CEO and founder of ABOX42, gives his views on how to move beyond STBs to a full service solution
T
he rise of IPTV has transformed what was
These are looking for innovative solutions, even
a purely linear product into a complete
fully hosted and managed.
TV experience, which includes live TV,
network PVR and time-shift, on demand
Technology perspective
services and third-party content. This new world
From a technology perspective, it seems
of connecting the TV to the internet means
clear that the growth in bandwidth will drive
opportunities as well as challenges for operators,
high quality video services in mature markets.
developers and integrators.
In developing countries, adaptive streaming
No one needs to be reminded that there
technologies and highly efficient video codecs
are a lot of changes going on in the content
will help to deliver compelling TV services to
delivery sector. But a careful analysis is essential
new markets and regions.
in building a roadmap for the future. Right now,
Given these trends, companies already need
there are three main players who are looking to
to be thinking about upcoming hardware and
change their game and take advantage of all
solutions that will allow them to deliver more
that IPTV has to offer.
innovative and feature-rich products, and their outlook needs to be global and adaptable. In
‘Developing markets bring a host of new opportunities. Though there are challenges of infrastructure in some cases, many new markets aren’t encumbered by legacy systems and broadcast chains’
the Asia Pacific region, for example, you see some operator requirements for Android, driven by customer demand, which you might not see as much of in other regions. Modern operators in mature markets also need to be ready for UHD content, which may not be available in bulk now, but is just around the corner. Within a year or so, 4K content will be made more widely available by broadcasters and content providers. New STB’s will need to be
First of all, cable operators want to upgrade
adapted for the HEVC/H.265 streaming format
their TV service offering to a more modern and
for highly efficient video decoding (a new
rich service, featuring live TV (DVB) enriched
standard which reduces the required bandwidth
with IPTV or OTT channels, nPVR, time-shift or
by 40 per cent).
restart TV, and VoD for a complete first-screen
‘Set-top box companies can no longer be hardware providers; they need to be total set-top box solutions companies, which encompasses hardware, software and services’
Ultimately, the end user wants a feature-rich
offering. These operators are looking for an
product that offers a range of services and just
upgrade from a legacy system to a modern
one set-top box in the living room, and this is
interactive TV solution. Moreover, they are
what we have to provide, no matter where
In the last fifteen years, traditional TV products
looking to second screens to complete a
the customer is.
showed very few real innovations. In the last two to three years, this has changed dramatically.
compelling new TV proposition.
Software is key
Now operators need to think about how
switch from first or second- generation IPTV
The days of hardware-centric set-top box
their product offerings and TV services will
solutions to a modern solution with interactive TV
solutions are long gone. What’s required now
continuously evolve over the next five years
features, a modern UI for a top user experience
is a sophisticated software concept which
and decide on a solution which is not
and a rich feature set, including HbbTV, nPVR,
can deliver operator-grade products with a
closed, but allows them to follow technology
nTimeshift, VoD, third-party services such as
Linux operating system for a fully controlled
innovations, without having to reinvent a
YouTube and Smart TV applications).
environment, or operator-grade Android for
solution over and over again.
There are also IPTV operators who need to
And there are the new OTT players – mobile operators, for example – who are looking to enrich their service offering with a TV proposition for mobile, but also the first-screen.
29 30 31 32 34 35 TVBE Apr16 Supplement_final2.indd 30
certain markets and market segments where Android is of relevance. It is still a challenge to deliver all new technologies and options across to all operators.
The software solution is key to this strategy, and platforms need to be flexible enough to accommodate varying global operator demands. Momentum is shifting from project-
18/03/2016 16:27
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April 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Supplement
in association with
the essential ingredients operated by the settop box company and its partners. There’s no hardware investment for the IPTV solution itself, no maintenance and no major development needed from the operator side. The only thing
‘Companies already need to be thinking about upcoming hardware and solutions that will allow them to deliver more innovative and feature-rich products, and their outlook needs to be global and adaptable’ required of the customer is to roll out the set-top box hardware and do the marketing for the service and the billing. Whether it’s telcos, new entrants such as FTTH operators, DVB-C customers who want to upgrade their networks to more interactive features or pure OTT customers who do not own the networks and want to start a TV proposition on top of an existing infrastructure, the transport infrastructure is ultimately not important. Customers have the ability to offer the same TV packages independent of the network infrastructure that they use.
New markets Developing markets bring a host of new opportunities. Though there are challenges of infrastructure in some cases, many new markets aren’t encumbered by legacy systems and broadcast chains. There is the potential for based proprietary software to a cross-platform
Fast and flexible deployment
software concept. This can be helpful to
This new cross-platform approach allows for fast
operators in replacing existing first or
and flexible deployment via IPTV and can open
that are especially of interest and there are
second-generation IPTV solutions, or by
up new opportunities for customers. It becomes
an increasing number of requests for both
helping a customer to provide compelling
simpler to augment services or quickly add types
Hybrid and IPTV solutions. There is an upcoming
solutions in mixed network environments (cable,
of services for existing customers.
programme in three African countries where
DSL, fibre) with a unified user experience and product approach.
In the past when most operators moved
huge growth in Asia, Africa and South America. There are a couple of countries in Africa
a mobile provider is aiming to provide TV
into IPTV, there were normally a few different
services over mobile networks with an LTE/4G
stakeholders involved: providers for the
router providing Wi-Fi in the end users’ homes,
be hardware providers; they need to be
middleware, the head-end system, transcoding,
since broadband internet with landlines is not
total product and set-top box solutions
DRM, playout to set-top boxes. It ended up
widely deployed.
companies, which encompasses hardware,
being a complex project with twelve months’
software and services. New partnerships and
development time or more, and a lot of cost
customers around the world means not just an
ecosystems are key as well, allowing sharing of
and frustration. With a more flexible software-
improvement in business. It also sets the stage
skills and services, eliminating the burden of a
based system and intelligent partnerships
for an incredible new flexibility in how TV is
single company trying to do everything itself.
with existing platforms, a kind of ‘one-stop-
distributed and watched. New types of channels
shop’ for operators can be provided, which
will begin popping up, which could never exist
software and solutions will offer extra flexibility
eliminates those complicated moving parts in
in the old model, with regionalised or specialty
and ultimately a comprehensive set-top box
the delivery chain. The customer could roll out
content finding audiences who have yet to be
solution to customers.
a customised IPTV service within a quarter, with
properly served. n
Set-top box companies can no longer
A combination of hardware platforms,
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Our ability to provide new services to
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in association with
A case study in IPTV To shed some light on the latest solutions for IPTV multiscreen services, we take a look at two ABOX42powered case studies: M-net and BBV M-net TVplus multiscreen IPTV service The first example comes from leading German regional carrier M-net, based in Munich, which selected the ABOX42 M20-Series Smart Set-Top Box platform for its new IPTV service ‘M-net TVplus’ to be deployed across the M-net fibre in BBV was the first to adopt the DNMG IPTV solution
the south of Germany. M-net operates a modern IP network and has more than 20 years’ experience in providing best-in-class services to business customers and end users. The M20 Set-Top Box platform, which has already been deployed in various projects worldwide, was extended to support all functions required for the German market,
Bichlmeir, responsible for M-net TVplus. “M-net
to create a first and second screen solution which
such as local multi-stream recording on USB Flash
is an ideal example of a modern operator
is not only hassle free in terms of set up, project
devices or USB hard-disk drives, local time-shift
managing the transformation to full IP services.
management and in-live operation, but also
support, HbbTV support for all essential German
At ABOX42, we are aware of the very high
leading edge, with a rich feature set, future-proof
broadcasters, on-demand and catch-up TV offers
expectations from operators for an advanced
software architecture, and a price-performance
as well as the integration of German’s leading
IPTV solution with latest features. To be able to
that allows us to pay as we grow.”
VoD solution operated by maxdome.
role out such demanding operator projects
Oliver Soellner, ABOX42’s VP of business
within a few months requires very experienced
development and sales, described why the
together with the underlying ABOX42 Smart SDK
partners and a solid, scalable and customisable
service is unique in the industry: “When most
platform, and deploy it for its multiscreen IPTV
solution, and this is exactly what we provide”, said
operators move into IPTV, there are normally a
solution is a timely example of the increasing
Matthias Greve, CEO of ABOX42.
couple different stakeholders involved: providers
M-net’s decision to adopt the M20 solution,
for the middleware, the headend system,
move towards fully hosted and managed IPTV multiscreen solutions and projects with less
DNMG white label IPTV service
transcoding, DRM, playout to set-top boxes. It
complexity for the operator and much shorter
Staying in Germany, the second example
ends up being a complex project with a lot of
time to market.
focuses on DNMG’s new IPTV white label solution:
cost and frustration.
“We were carefully analysing and selecting the
a collaboration between ABOX42 and IPTV
“With our new white label IPTV solution, we
solution for our new M-net TVplus IPTV service. The
white label solution provider Zattoo. The M20
take all that away. The customer can roll out
project was launched only a few months after
Set-Top Box platform was again at the centre
a customised IPTV service within one quarter
kick-off and it was delivered in time. This solution
of the collaboration, providing the first-screen
because it’s an already existing platform with the
helps us to offer a modern TV proposition with
experience with Zattoo enabling first and second
essential ingredients fully operated by ABOX42
many new features. A compelling TV service as
screen functionality. The new white label IPTV
and Zattoo. There’s no hardware investment for
well as highly competitive product bundles will
multiscreen platform is a full-service solution for
the IPTV solution itself, no maintenance and no
help to direct people to M-net”, says Thomas
members of DNMG wanting to quickly and easily
major development required from operator side.
deploy an IPTV-enabled cable TV offering. Very
The only thing the customer needs to do is roll out
shortly after launch, German broadband provider
the set top boxes and do the marketing for the
BBV became the first to sign up to the new service
service and the billing.”
for its multiscreen offering. Frank Bonnemeier, business director of BBV
M-net employs the M20 Set-Top Box platform
29 30 31 32 34 35 TVBE Apr16 Supplement_final.indd 32
At a time when innovation and new features are arriving faster than anyone can keep up with
Deutschland GmbH explained, “After searching
them, operators are increasingly phobic about
the market for over a year, we were delighted at
committing to investment intensive projects.
the launch of DNMG’s fully hosted and managed
BBV’s fast adoption of the service suggests that
IPTV solution. ABOX42’s set-top box technology
that the DNMG platform has come to market at
and Zattoo’s second screen technology combine
just the right time. n
18/03/2016 15:01
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ABOX42
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Smart STB´s OTT / IPTV Hybrid-DVB
Smart SDK & Developer Services
OPX TV Application
OPX Cloud TV & Middlerware Services
Part of: ABOX42´s Total Solution
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Latest Generation Smart Set-Top-Boxes
Comprehensive Smart SDK & Developer support
Next Generation TV Experience
Total TV Solution for the First Screen
ABOX42 provides latest generation
The ABOX42 Smart SDK is a sophisti-
The ABOX42 OPX TV Application
The ABOX42 OPX Cloud TV & Middle-
Set-Top Box solutions for OTT / IPTV
cated software platform that provides
is the ideal solution for operators to
ware Services offers a unique collection
and Hybrid-DVB projects, engineered
you a complete developer environ-
offer a next generation TV experience
of SaaS services for the installation,
for modern TV services, designed
ment with extensive examples plus
without having to develop their own
deployment and operation of the STB
and produced according to highest
detailed descriptions on how to build
user interface. The ABOX42 OPX TV
deployment in the field, to upgrade the
market standards and German Quality
new applications, moreover, how to
Application can easily be integrated
functionality of the deployed services
approach.
integrate applications and TV middle-
into the existing middleware / back-
over time.
ware solutions to your existing ones.
end / head-end infrastructure of the operators network.
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vi TVBEurope
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in association with
Reinventing STB strategy It’s a critical time for the set-top box sector, with software taking precedence over hardware. Oliver Soellner, member of the management board of ABOX42, tells us how his company developed total solutions for a new type of television
interfaces that read right to left rather than left to
Y
which has a very feature-rich software stack
right. And we’ve been able to incorporate those functionalities across the software. Ultimately, the differentiator is our total solution,
ou came to ABOX42 at a time of market
Then in the central European space there
offering compatibility to all major technologies
transition. How has the company
were operators who saw what we did and
used in today’s TV propositions and solutions.
evolved since you came aboard?
became quite interested in our multi-application
I joined the company in 2010 when ABOX42
approach and what they could build on our
So, you’re not customising for each
was just starting its B2B activities and began
core technology. Eventually, we found ourselves
individual project?
to provide modern set-top box solutions to
building an entire solution, including set-top
That’s right. We avoid building individual solutions
operators in Europe.
box hardware, lifecycle management, and
and try to focus on an overall product where our
maintenance solutions and services.
additional development is going to pay off for all
My background was in sales, business
potential customers. The fact is that we do not
development and marketing and those were the roles I took when I started. Last year, I joined the
How does the ABOX42 approach differ from
need to do it for each project, since the majority
management board of the company, but my
that of most set-top box companies?
of the customer requirements are fulfilled by the
main focus is still sales and business development.
The founders’ background had been in web
existing platform.
The core technologies that we use today –
technologies, web services, and audio video
design; rich software stack (SDK) and developer IDE for a fast integration and development of applications and services; compatibility with all modern streaming solutions (multicast, unicast in various flavours and with various DRM/software CAS solutions); total lifecycle management solution for updates and upgrades of the complete software stack in the field – all these elements together are part of the total solution we offer and were built in the early days of the company and further enhanced over time to match the market requirements of today and tomorrow.
Therefore, it’s all about the enhancement of the overall platform and making the overall
modern and solid hardware architecture and
‘The ABOX42 way is to provide a platform that already matches more than 90 per cent of the operator requirements and where only a small amount of development effort is required in order to create a custom operator solution. This makes it much faster and much less expensive for operators to launch a modern TV service’
software stack more feature-rich to serve other customers. And that’s a bit of a unique approach. The traditional set-top box business is much more project driven. Where do you see set-top box companies struggling? We have been trying to put a focus on how to maintain the product in the field. We see more and more projects out there – even with some of our big competitors – struggling with rolling out new software and new features in the field. If you want to run such a solution for five years or
The idea was to build a set-top box platform
more, there will be new features coming up, and
that works completely differently to the legacy
it’s important to be able to upgrade the product
products; which were project-based and
and maintain it. We put a lot of focus on that,
required heavy development work which is
streaming which were all relevant to IPTV
trying to talk to the right people, and it starts
expensive and time consuming. The ABOX42
products. Then, when we entered the operator
to pay off.
way is to provide a platform that already
market, we had to integrate technologies to
matches more than 90 per cent of the operator
support multicast, DRM and other systems that
How are you dealing with the flood of content
requirements and where only a small amount of
are used more in the operator space. The core
owners looking to get into the IPTV space?
development effort is required in order to create
software stack began to evolve over time and
We speak to a lot of broadcasters and people
a custom operator solution. This makes it much
we started adding new services and as we
who have rights or own certain channels. For
faster and much less expensive for operators to
carried out more projects in different regions.
them it’s a question of what is the most intelligent
launch a modern TV service.
For example, we recently added a solution
way to reach their customer. We’ve seen a
for the central European market with local
couple of projects where someone aggregates
Germany; one of the most complex markets
recording and local time shift: functionalities
content rights for a certain geography and
due to the requirement to support a variety
that aren’t very common in the IPTV space
is able to sell it to people living outside that
of different services (additional to the core
but were necessary because of the regulatory
geography. That’s a definitely a market, and
operator TV application/service, such as HbbTV,
requirements in certain countries where you
people are willing to pay for such services.
local catch-up TV and on-demand services and
can’t yet use network PVR. We now serve
support for third-party services like YouTube).
markets in the Middle East where you need user
Our first projects where carried out in
29 30 31 32 34 35 TVBE Apr16 Supplement_final2.indd 34
But for single content providers who only have a limited number of channels, I’m not sure
18/03/2016 16:25
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it’s a good proposition to look for a set-top box
‘The traditional way of doing projects is not working anymore. People are well educated in terms of what is available in the market, and they are looking for a compelling solution they can roll out with the least cost and in the shortest time period’
TV solution. In some cases, we try to add niche content providers to existing operator solutions. If you have an operator who is serving his customers via DVB-C, with a hybrid proposition, they can add channels that aren’t available via cable and satellite but are distributed by IP. It’s no longer necessary for a content provider to buy satellite capacity or make their content available through an operator’s cable network. Other ways, like OTT distribution and streaming, are very efficient, especially for these niche providers. We do see that operators are keen on additional content offerings to enrich their channel portfolio, and today’s technologies allow you to combine the best of both worlds, the DVB world and the IP world, and for the consumer it’s the same user experience. What are the biggest challenges coming up in the next few years? The traditional way of doing projects is not working anymore. Operators are looking for much shorter project lead times. The big investments that were done for first or second generation IPTV solutions are no longer happening. People are well educated in terms of what is available in the market, and they are looking for a compelling solution they can roll out with the least cost and in the shortest time period. The strategy from our side is to be compatible with all the relevant solutions in the market and be part of the new development that is happening. That means not only talking to customers or operators, but partnering and building up ecosystems with the providers: middleware providers and hosted solutions providers. If we do a good job and are able to make both operators and providers aware of the advantages of the solution we offer, then we have a very good market position. Do you see the changes in the IPTV space accelerating? Or will we enter a period of stability? Web technology has proven to be the way to go. There are not too many surprises around the corner in terms of new streaming formats. I think the space is pretty much clear. You do have 4K content increasing, which will be driven by the VoD side at first and later in live TV. But I think for the next few years it’s pretty much clear how the market will develop. The challenge for people will be dealing with this coexistence of different services using different technologies, which is an area of expertise for us. n
29 30 31 32 34 35 TVBE Apr16 Supplement_final2.indd 35
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27. APRIL 2016 08:00-10:00 Crowne Plaza Hotel hosted by
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moderated by
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TVBEurope 37
April 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature upconvert 50p from the camera, which would
consumers, then I can’t see it happening,” says
look pretty good, if not true 4K.”
Patel. “It will take a year or two.”
“Given the detail and design of the cars, 4K
With a contract for ten races a year until 2018,
would be amazing for Formula One, but until
the indie will be in the best place to anticipate
a platform like Sky (which is broadcasting the
an upgrade should FOM – or Channel 4 – decide
rest of the F1 schedule in the UK) offers 4K to
to up the ante. n
David O’Carroll, Presteigne
head of technology, David O’Carroll. All the opening sequences and feature material is stored and played off the EVS. A catalogue of historic race material is also held there. “For example, if Lewis Hamilton does something special in practice or race day and he refers to a previous race, we do have the ability to find that moment he is talking about and play that incident as live,” says Patel. “It’s just a question of searching for the clip logged in IP Director.” Much of the chatter in outside broadcast circles is about how technologies such as IP can be used to cut the costs of sending crew and kit to events around the world. The F1 flypack and its dozen or so engineers and technicians are already a slim-line production. “The only aspect I can see coming back to the UK would be editing, which won’t happen until the cost of fibre reduces and internet speeds increase,” says Patel. “The next generation of IP-enabled kit might hold the key to saving costs instead of transporting kit and the cost of hotels.” Perhaps more than any other sport, Grand Prix racing would seem to lend itself to a higher resolution, yet despite dabbling in stereo 3D and making the most of advanced wireless technology, FOM’s coverage remains resolutely HD for this season at least. “In principal, we could supply 4K in the pods with some minor alterations,” says O’Carroll. “What is more challenging is the reliance on RF across the site. There’s not a viable 4K link that would allow us to acquire 4K. That said, we can
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Feature
The perfect
Formula W
James Groves was at the recent unveiling of Channel 4’s Formula One presenting team
hen Channel 4 snapped up the
Backstage pass: the paddock in Barcelona
remainder of the BBC’s Formula One contract, it immediately
became a race against the clock. The broadcaster had just three months
fit for Channel 4. We got together the
a return, providing interviews with the ‘stars
dream team: a line up of on-screen and off-
of the sport’ throughout the season.
to recruit an entire team ranging from
screen talent that would deliver truly
presenters and analysts to commentators
unmissable coverage.”
and celebrity guests; a task led by chief creative officer Jay Hunt. With so little time on her hands, Hunt would have been forgiven for keeping the transition as straightforward as possible, with the option
Mark Webber, who was a driver on the Red Bull team as recently as 2013, added, “[We
Celebrities are expected to feature heavily
need] less spreadsheets and more human
within the new coverage. Susie Wolff, for
content. I think that’s important and we want
example, will take comedian Johnny Vegas and
to get that across. It’s a phenomenal roadshow.
boxer David Haye for passenger rides.
There’s always a bit of drama and controversy.
Steve Jones, who will front Channel 4’s
We have some good ideas to get people
to sign up the BBC team that had brought
coverage, said, “My involvement speaks
to understand the essence of the sport and
so much popularity and success over the
volumes, [considering] the fact that they
that’s the gladiators, the people really in there
past seven years.
approached a purely entertainment
fighting week in week out, powering through
presenter for this role. We’re going to get
with no sleep,” he added. “No one sees that
make its own stamp on proceedings, recruiting
a lot more celebrities involved it and just
side: mechanics turning up absolutely busted.
select key figures from the BBC such as David
generally enjoy it a bit more. I think the BBC
They’ve had five to eight hours sleep in five
Coultard, Lee McKenzie and Eddie Jordan,
could be quite earnest, great at delivering
days. Why does that mean so much to him?
whilst bringing in fresh blood in former drivers
the information, but I feel we can deliver that
Why is he doing that? We’ve got to go to
Mark Webber and Karun Chandhok.
information with a bit more panache.”
another level in terms of access.”
Instead, the channel immediately looked to
Hunt said, “When the opportunity to get
Channel 4 will also introduce multiple pundits
With one eye on expanding Formula One’s
Formula One came up at the end of the last
and analysts on a rotational basis, including
audience into younger territories, it remains
year, it’s fair to say that everyone at Channel 4
Nicholas Hamilton, brother of Lewis, Bruno
to be seen whether Channel 4 can balance
was hugely excited. It’s a sexy, young, cutting
Senna and Alex Zanardi. Renowned
such glittery showbiz with a satisfactory level of
edge board and it really couldn’t be a better
commentator Murray Walker will also make
petrol-fuelled content for the hardcore purists. n
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25+
Studiotech is looking forward to seeing you at NAB 2016. For more details, please contact our Sales department at
sales@studiotech.be www.studiotech.be www.stud t d iotech.be Studiotech sa/nv Hout Houtweg eg 7, 1130 Brussels, Belgium info@studiotech.be inf info@studiot ech.be Tel TTel.. +32 2 266 13 80 Fax +32 2 2 266 13 88 Brussels
Algier
Budapest
EDITORIAL PLANNER 2016 Issue
Exhibitions present at
May
June
• TVBEurope Strategy Week • TVBEurope 2020 Conference • Broadcast Asia
July
Niamey
Paris
Rabat
Sydne Sydney
Warsaw
2016 will see an even greater commitment from TVBEurope to cover more of the pressing areas of concern, challenge, and opportunity within our burgeoning marketplace. The biggest change for this year will be the introduction of new sections to enable us to provide greater coverage to specific business areas. Our Workflow section will now be divided into two new sections: Production, and Post Production. We will also be introducing a new Business section to follow the increasing acquisition and investment activity permeating the sector, and are also introducing a dedicated Audio section to bring regular insights and updates from an often overlooked strand of our industry. These new sections will be manned by a team of section editors.
Feature
Editorial Close date
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• TVBEurope 2020 preview • Euro 2016 live production • Satellite round-up
8th April
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• TVBEurope 2020 preview • RIO 2016 Olympic feature: live production • Visions of the future: the connected world
12th May
5th May
• OTT feature
10th June
3rd June
12th July
5th July
• Automation and playout • RIO 2016 Olympic production feature:
August
• IBC thought leadership insight and product preview
For all advertising and sponsorship opportunities, contact the sales team: Europe Ben Ewles: +44 (0) 20 7354 6000 bewles@nbmedia.com
TVBE Editorial Planner 2016 half page.indd 1 new tvbe template remade.indd 1
Richard Carr: +44 (0) 20 7354 6000 rcarr@nbmedia.com
Nicola Pett +44 (0) 20 7354 6000 npett@nbmedia.com
USA Mike Mitchell +1 631 673 0072 mjmitchell@broadcast-media.tv
23/03/2016 14:48 23/03/2016 15:43
40 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Feature
What we will learn from NAB 2016 Ahead of NAB 2016, TVBEurope asked a number of industry leaders for their views on the progress of the broadcast and video technology industry, and the talking points at this year’s show that will best inform us about the evolution of our marketplace. The IABM’s Stan Moote opens the discussion Stan Moote, CTO, IABM
A
s well as the great personal networking
resolution capture and drones continue to improve
opportunities it provides, NAB has
and are becoming a must-have, but in the case of
always been the place for seeing new
the last item, not necessarily in close proximity to an
technologies, learning about emerging trends and
airfield! Issues like HDR, wider colour gamut, the shift
checking out pending buying decisions for products
to in-plant IP, the cloud and UHD/4K will be ever-
and services. Press, attendees and exhibitors
present at NAB; they are becoming the norm that
always want to see, hear and promote the next
everyone needs to understand and not shy away
technology. The first question on everyone’s lips is
from. Various organisations are working together
always ‘what did you see?’ ‘what is new here?’ This
to move standardisation forward quickly in these
used to be simple to answer; the switch to stereo
areas; expect to see progress on this at the show.
then surround sound, analogue to digital to HD,
This NAB won’t focus on digital media, social
linear to non-linear file-based editing, visual effects
media and new media as orphans. They are still
and the switch from huge cameras/lenses to
often thought of as a thorn in the broadcaster’s
hand-held combos and miniature go-anywhere
special technology or trend revealed, but because
side: must have – need budget – near profitless.
cameras to name but a few.
there are so many new approaches to the business;
However, consumers expect these second, third
engineers, visionaries and executives need to have
and even fourth screen experiences and handled
curve over the past decade; however, as an
a clear understanding to move forward. Gone are
correctly, should be seen as gain-not-pain. Expect
industry we are very slow to change workflows and
the days of ‘wait and see what happens’.
to see new techniques and technologies for
Our industry has exploded on the technology
infrastructure. On the acquisition/production side,
Cord-cutting has renewed interest in terrestrial
integrating these rapidly maturing ‘new’ channels
everyone is excited to try out new approaches,
broadcasting which, with ATSC3.0 and DVB-T2
equipment and almost anything that will give them
delivery supporting hybrid approaches, will grow
The biggest elephant in the room at NAB will
an edge over the competitionr. On the facility/
in attraction. This directly ties into spectrum issues
be virtual reality. Beyond gaming, medical and
delivery side, though, resistance to change has
like repack and how stations are revamping
industrial applications, VR is looking for a home in
meant this sector has been very much in catch-up
for the future. Over the last year or so, a new
broadcast, movies, sports. 3D was supposed to be
for the past couple of years. For most businesses,
word has entered the industry’s vocabulary;
a no-brainer because it was so immersive, so was
global internet access is changing everything
recommendation. Today it’s not just about making
it the glasses that did for it? Will the VR headset
quickly. We all know this of course, the problem
and offering great content, but also working to
meet the same fate for TV? How do you use a
many are wrestling with is how to blend this with
keep consumers tied to your channel by flagging
second screen with a headset on? The jury is
current business models. NAB 2016 is an essential
up content that suits their viewing habits. On the
currently out, but I’m optimistic that the NAB Show
year to attend, not because there will be one
acquisition side, point-of-view cameras, high
helps us see VR’s future more clearly.
40 41 42 43 TVBE Apr16 NAB thought_FINAL HA.indd 54
into production and delivery workflows.
23/03/2016 15:37
TVBEurope 41
April 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature Steve Plunkett, CTO, broadcast and media services, Ericsson
P
rogress this year will be
new standards and vendor product
in the use of data science within
taking the new IP and IT
development, so the next phase of
traditional broadcasters, as they
centric broadcast stack
activity should be on how we can
become more data-driven in their
fully exploit this work.
decision making. Increased use of
out of the labs and into early production deployments. The
In reality we are just at the
software based infrastructure can
flexibility promised through
beginning of this technology
aid in both the collection of data
software deployed systems,
transition and real-world
and in the application of data-
abstracted through virtualisation
experience needs to be gained if
driven software execution.
from the underlying hardware,
we are to take full advantage of
offers a number of potential
this promise. This new tech stack is
benefits. These include faster
an enabler rather than an end in
and lower cost deployments,
itself. We need to do much more
models driven by new entrants and
to more screens and less boxes
separation of hardware and
than emulate our existing ways
external competition for viewer
in exhibiter booths. Conference
software lifecycles, and the ability
of working on new infrastructure.
time, and the role and relationship
sessions are more numerous and
to make changes quickly and
Key to this will be increasing the
that a broadcaster has with its
diverse in subject matter as we
efficiently to accommodate new
level of operational automation,
audience. We are evolving from
come together to share insights
operating models. The focus to
both in terms of service monitoring
an era of mass audience reach,
and look to learn from the work
date has largely been about
and interventions, as well as more
to mass viewer personalisation.
that others are doing.
porting media transport and
closely integrating the separate
The lines between traditional linear
component functionality to these
worlds of linear and VoD.
viewing and viewer controlled
ahead and NAB as always provides
new environments. In both cases
We need to step back and
All of these developments impact the nature of NAB as an event. Showcasing software leads
It should be an exciting year
scheduling are blurring and will
us with a test of progress and
significant progress has been
consider the changes in viewer
continue to do so.
indicators of where the industry
made, through advancement of
behaviour, changing economic
We are also seeing an increase
is going next.
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15/03/16 14:45 18/03/2016 16:15
42 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Feature Bruce Devlin, chief scientist, Dalet
I
’m all for progress; it’s change I
Charlie Vogt, CEO, Imagine Communications
I
t’s taken a couple of years,
can’t stand”, said Mark Twain.
but predictions made at past
Either the link between progress
NABs of the growing influence
and change should be visible in the
of IP-based technologies in the
broadcast and video technology
broadcast plant, and the agility
industries, or Mark Twain got it
and versatility benefits of moving
wrong with his humour.
media operations to virtualised
Fortunately, there is a lot of
environments are becoming
overlapping change taking place
reality. Media companies now
at the moment. With Samsung and
understand the massive benefits
LG announcing reductions in 3D
of moving operations to agile and
display manufacturing, the UHD,
versatile software environments
high dynamic range, wide colour
based on standard, commercial
gamut, high frame rate revolution is
off-the-shelf (COTS) computing and
gathering pace. Each of these new
networking platforms.
technologies is a tool for storytellers
Crucial to the success of this
to change the way video
tools. IMF does that for media as
transition is the development and
communication works. Whether the
a standardised auditable format
wide-spread adoption of open
story is a movie, football match or
that’s software and MAM friendly.
standards for transporting video
the news, tools like HDR make the
Interoperability trials showed great
and audio over IP infrastructures.
that broadcast-quality video
picture better for 100 per cent of
results from vendors making this
Without assurances of plug-
demands. In January, Imagine
SMPTE standard a reality. Economic
and-play interoperability, media
Communications expanded its
savings in QC, storage and
companies are likely to slow the
strategic relationship with Hewlett
processing all stem from using IMF
conversion of their operations
Packard Enterprise (HPE). The
in versioning workflows.
out of fear of getting locked
collaboration integrates Imagine
into a single-vendor solution and
Communications’ video portfolio
IP transport. The Video Services
other compatibility concerns.
with HPE’s storage, computing
Forum release of TR-03 along
To further the advancement of
and networking technology,
with the AMWA’s Network
open industry standards, Imagine
and leverages HPE’s world-class
Media Incubator project on the
Communications in December
datacentre systems integration
viewers rather than the 70 per cent
discovery of IP services show that
2015 cofounded the Alliance for
capabilities. A separate alliance
of viewers reached by 3D.
the migration to IP working is no
IP Media Solutions (AIMS), a trade
with Microsoft is designed to
longer a future technology. The
association created to support
provide media companies with
the reinvention of all the signal
standards exist, the products exist,
and promote the adoption of
new workflow options, including
processing from camera through
they interoperate and the savings
vendor-neutral, open standards.
those delivered via the Microsoft
to display to ensure the extra bits
are not about replacing an SDI
AIMS is receiving industry-wide
Azure cloud services platform.
required exist in every device,
workflow with an IP workflow. It’s
support, and we expect continued
every software process and all
all about replacing a fixed function
membership growth in 2016.
workflow steps. Anyone who has
infrastructure with a versatile one
seen the results will understand how
that allows the media business
fortunes of media companies is
cost-effective and non-disruptive
compelling the pictures are and will
to quickly take advantage of
the steady shift of operations away
manner. The bandwidth required
get excited at the opportunities for
new opportunities. New to spin
from purpose-built hardware and
for UHD, including 4K resolution
new sales of products and services.
up an extra four channels for a
toward standard COTS platforms.
and HDR video, is prompting some
sports event? IP infrastructure
To make the shift efficiently and
media professionals to consider
economically difficult to get off the
with SDN (software-defined
transparently, media companies
synchronising this upgrade with
ground globally, then the prospect
networking) radically changes the
will need to adapt their operations
the transition to IP. Recently
of streamlining the delivery chain
economics and speed with which
to the same generic computing
conducted research by Imagine
of finished content by using the
this can be done.
and networking resources found
Communications has found that
in today’s datacentres. The good
more than half of the 700 media
‘We’re at the start of one of the biggest disruptive curves since the introduction of colour technology’
The cost of this progress is
If that seems exciting but
new IMF standard from SMPTE is
The final hot topic is professional
We’re at the start of one of
Equally important to the future
Media companies are also looking to incorporate technologies like UHD into their workflows in a
one of the unspoken marvels of
the biggest disruptive curves that
news is that market leaders in the
professionals surveyed believe that
technology that will change our
we’ve seen since the introduction
IT industry are working in lockstep
upgrading to UHD is a catalyst for
world forever (SMPTE ST 2067).
of colour technology. I do hope
with media companies to transition
transitioning to IP.
Software technologists have long
that there are enough people
media operations to generic
known the power of incremental
who understand this technology
resources without sacrificing the
is shaping up to be a pivotal time
workflows and software versioning
to go around.
quality, synchronisation or precision
for our industry.
40 41 42 43 TVBE Apr16 NAB thought_FINAL HA.indd 56
2016, and NAB 2016 in particular,
18/03/2016 16:15
April 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
THE STANDARD HDTV CONNECTOR Tim Thorsteinson, CEO, SAM
T
he amount of change in the last couple of years has been very dramatic. It
has been an order of magnitude greater than anything else I’ve
‘We’re as far away from a one-size-fits-all approach as we’ve ever been’
seen in my 20 years in the industry. I’ve been through the move from analogue to digital, SD to HD and now this move to IP. But this is a
change to stay alive. Ten per cent
fundamental architecture shift.
you can handle, but much more
Combined with the issues that
is very tricky. Flipping this around
broadcasters are facing in terms
to the positive, where there are
of changing monetisation patterns,
genuine challenges there are also
the confusion in the market is
genuine opportunities. There is
very understandable.
confusion on the customer side –
The move to IP is massive. We
3K.93C series connector Professional broadcast’s choice Conforms to standards: ARIB / SMPTE / EBU Over 20’000 mating cycles
and rightly so at the moment – and
Northwire SMPTE cable
see a couple of things going on.
we need to provide clarity and
There have been downturns and
standards. AIMS is an important
shifts in the industry in the past
effort in this regard and that’s
and plenty of bumps in the road
the kind of progress we need to
where capital spending was off
see. It will help to introduce some
RoHS2 /Reach Compliant
ten per cent.
stability into the marketplace.
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But we are seeing more than that recently. This is a dramatic
That’s crucial.
Impact/Crush and Cut Resistant
The supplier base really needs to
shift because customers’ business
educate and inform the customer
models are changing at the same
base about what’s happening,
time that we’re beginning to see
something we’re now pushing
this huge technological shift on
hard. Of course not just with IP
the production and playout side.
but 4K, HDR, virtualisation – I could
Together this is clearly a challenge.
go on. Then there are the shorter-
There are also issues on the
Fibre optic hybrid HDTV SMPTE and ARIB camera cables
term issues that we must also be
supplier side. I’ve always tracked
across with our customers - day-
the industry quarter-to-quarter
to-day pragmatism.
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18/03/2016 16:15
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www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Business
SMPTE’s conference focused on the issues around real-time media transport as the market journeys from SDI to full IP
SDI on a different piece of string companies contribute and interoperability is vital.
switching with the kind of switches used
A channel is no longer the constraining thing.
in the Datacom environment, but these are a
For Wimbledon last year the BBC popped up ten
bit specialised and not completely generic. The
streaming channels and six broadcast channels.
top-end switches have to have some kind of
They just appeared and then disappeared,”
network management software to set them up.
MPTE is back in the UK as a huge
he added. “The production side has to be able
That’s where we are.”
educational presence. It celebrated the
to cope. It is much nicer to be able to push a
transition from sectional to regional status
button and say can you now be 40 channels.
and Video Services Forum (VSF) standards
That’s the virtualisation dream.”
work, and covered the value imperatives of
S
George Jarrett reviews the highlights from a SMPTE day devoted to charting the route to full IP
– essentially by growing from 80 to over 500 members in just two years – with a conference
Seth-Smith has a mantra: “Specialise only
He reviewed all current and relevant SMPTE
both the Evertz-led Adaptive Sample Picture
day on the issues around real-time media
what needs to be special, while generalising
Encapsulation (ASPEN) group, and the Alliance
transport as the market journeys from SDI to full IP.
everything else. This is driving a lot of the
for IP Media Solutions (AIMS).
Nigel Seth-Smith, strategic technology manager with Semtech, set the agenda for
changes in the business.” In summarising where we are as a phase
The first is documented in a SMPTE RDD (Registered Disclosure Document); and the
a day of intense presentations. He said:
three (phase one having been replacing VT
VSF protocols plus AES 67 for audio over IP (as
“We are in an industry that is a very long
with data file stores and servers), he continued:
supported by AIMS) are the subject of a SMPTE
way from single vendor. Hundreds of small
“We are replacing specialised time critical video
standardisation project.
44 45 46 48 50 TVBE Apr16 SMPTE_final.indd 54
17/03/2016 12:35
TVBEurope 45
April 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Business SDI on a different piece of string
broadcast contribution network (carrying signals
how long video and audio paths are, and what
Gerard Phillips, engineering group manager,
between two broadcast facilities),” said Ellerton.
the latency is, which involves things like A and
Snell Advanced Media, addressed the subject of
“We used MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching)
E paths, so BT recognised it needed something
ASI and SDI over IP (essentially the magnificent
as a means of controlling an IP network.”
more than MPLS. “We use a technique called
seven documents of ST 2022 allowing for things
In this environment you need to know exactly
traffic engineering, which gave us the ability
like higher bit rate accommodation, seamless protection against fabric failure, forward error correction by the way of recreating lost material on redundant data, and describing the attributes of a set of streams). Regarding 2022/6 he said:
See us at NAB N4219
“It is the whole SDI stream encapsulated – uncompressed, low latency – and it puts SDI on a different piece of string. “The industry is talking a lot about the challenges of the IP studio, which is obviously good for high quality, high bit rates, and lots of signals and lots of headroom, but we need to talk about IP everywhere,” he added. “Basically (with SDI) we have got an error-free
Qx UHDTV
transport through a facility, but now we are moving the workflow into a COTS off-the shelf IT environment.” Phillips’ concerns about the concentration on studio applications followed comments about smuggling other data with the SDI stream, involving TICO mezzanine compression assistance, and the attraction of things being much more self describing. He said: “This suits the IP studio, but it is not all a good choice for Live
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Phillips noted that MPEG-2 transport streams do offer the complex data recognition missing from other streams. The move to virtualisation
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and SDN is currently positioned quite handily as
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an island of IP in a compliant sea of SDI, from
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practical experience at SAM is, “We have not
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HDTV2/8K
Traffic engineering gave an edge to BT
UHDTV2 OPTION
John Ellerton, head of media futures, BT, spoke on
STANDARD
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the subject of contribution over IP. Twelve years ago, BT along with other telcos had decided to build a common IP network to carry all consumer,
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“We went to BT Group and said, ‘you know we want to collapse everything down into one network, well it is not going to work for us’. We got an agreement to build the world’s first IP
44 45 46 48 50 TVBE Apr16 SMPTE_final.indd 55
Made in the UK
17/03/2016 12:35
46 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Business to define what the paths are, and we built the network for broadcast contribution and distribution,” said Ellerton.
“RTP architecture was standardised way back in 1996,” Thomas Edwards, Fox
Jumping forward 12 years, BT is having the same chats with broadcasters that it had with group management. Ellerton said: “How do we make these IP networks fit for purpose? We are in conversations with broadcasters who have had some bad experiences with using MPLS networks. This is because MPLS is a technique used by a lot of telcos to create their business networks, and the availability and architecture may not be quite good enough to carry broadcast traffic. You need a network that is designed to carry high availability video, which is why BT chose traffic engineering to do that.” FEC had been raised previously, and Ellerton added: “We are talking about putting that in the IP layer but also the underlying layer as
channels and spin down channels, and add
RFC 4175. “It has been sitting there for ten years
well, and making sure you have got forward
capacity as necessary. I may wish to burst out
waiting for us to use it,” said Edwards. “The active
error correction as necessary to protect the
to Amazon,” he added. “This is the motivation of
video is good for all the resolutions to 8K and
traffic, plus the service and traffic engineering
IP for us. It has the flexibility, it is denser than SDI,
beyond and it can handle the sampling sizes
techniques to control the IP layer.
it is inherently bi-directional, and it is agnostic to
of chroma sub samples. For audio flows the AES
resolution, bit rate, frame rate, electronic transfer
has come up with AES 67, which is basically IETF
do you really need to use FEC? We use it not
function, and colour space. It is compatible
RFC 5190, which is a 24-bit, 48Khz PCM over RTP.
necessarily as a means of covering unreliability
with network interfaces on commodity Ethernet
For ancillary data we need to come up with
that undermines our networks, but as a means
switches and commodity PC servers.”
something new.”
“As the networks get more and more stable
of being able to discover if things go wrong,”
Edwards sees advantages like the flexible
AES 67 is waiting on network discovery, and
he continued. “The data coming out of the FEC
association of media streams into desired groups
when published in 2013 the AES had dealt with
will tell you if packets are going missing, and
of media and network-based registration as the
the issues of timing being poorly understood, the
that can alert you to whether there is a problem
road to, “that software-oriented virtualised video
need to manage delay, packet jitter requiring a
emerging on the network.”
production plant that we all envision.”
buffer, and lip sync. Edwards wrote an IETF draft, which is expected
111.9 million viewers cannnot be wrong Thomas Edwards, VP engineering and development with Fox, spoke on the subjects of separate media streams over IP VSF TRs, and video (RFC4175). He belongs to a small advanced science group that helps Fox business units deploy new technologies.
“I am thinking of the year 2020. I am walking into our broadcast equipment centre, and looking around I cannot see any broadcast facilities. I see a private cloud” Thomas Edwards, Fox
America had just enjoyed the first IP produced
closed captions, the active format descriptor, and things like timecode. For clock distribution his answer is the IEEE 1588-2002 Precision Time Protocol. VSF 04 with an AES 67 audio stream, and good work by AMWA in the area of registration and discovery over IP APIs, led Edwards to conclude: “This again is an essential part of this strategy; to have transport as well
Super Bowl, using everything Evertz offers under ASPEN, and 111.9 millions viewers little knew
to become an RFC this summer. This will define
as registration, discovery and identity over IP all The Video Services Forum established a Studio
becoming standardised.”
that it was all about the enhanced density of IP
Video over IP activity group (SVIP) that is tasked
capability producing a vast number of streams
with developing the standard for video over IP
its neat concept of pixel groups and explaining
over the multi-fibre connector of 10Gb Ethernet.
without SDI encapsulation, so not SMPTE 2022/6.
that the top three lines of the typical payload
This SVIP decided to adopt RTP architecture,
are sequence number, time stamp and the
Real-Time Protocols, standardised back in 1996.
SSRC, which tells you the media source. The
“I am thinking of the year 2020. I am walking into our broadcast equipment centre, and looking around I cannot see any broadcast
“RTP is well understood within the networking
Edwards returned to RFC 4175 emphasising
ability to have SDP (session description protocol)
facilities. I see a private cloud. Fox doesn’t look
world,” said Edwards. “It is a transport protocol
described duplicated streams using the group
any different to a chemical company or a
for real-time apps, and it is usually over IP and
attribute of RFC 5888 is a key advantage.
bank. It is just servers, switches and enterprise
usually over UDP, with which we have the ability
storage,” said Edwards. “It is flexible, multi-format,
to do re-transmissions.”
commercially available hardware and software-
This leads the user to sequence numbering
One key thing Edwards mentioned was a SMPTE plug fest group around SMPTE 2059 /1 and /2; the first being the generation of video
based media processing. And with virtualised
for RTP packets and media time stamps. For
sync signals from PTP time, and the second
software-based media processing we can spin
video media flows Fox decided to deploy IETF
being the PTP profile.
44 45 46 48 50 TVBE Apr16 SMPTE_final.indd 56
17/03/2016 12:35
Tuesday, 28th June 2016
Bafta, 195 Piccadilly, London
SAVE THE DATE returns to BAFTA, 28 June, 2016 BAFTA’s prestigious premises on London’s Piccadilly will play host to this year’s TVBEurope 2020 conference, the second annual one-day strategy summit hosted by TVBEurope. The centrepiece of TVBEurope Strategy Week, TVBEurope 2020 brings together some of the leading authorities from in and around the industry to provide unique analysis and instructive debate on the key areas of challenge and opportunity facing businesses in the media and entertainment space in the run up to 2020.
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Ben Ewles, Sales Manager +44 (0)207 354 6000 Email: bewles@nbmedia.com
Joining the dots between the convergent worlds of UHD and IT/ IP infrastructures; assessing the shifting business landscape for broadcasters and content providers; and dissecting the impact of the coming technologies of the connected world, this year’s agenda promises to be the most forward looking TVBEurope event to date.
Nicola Pett, Sales Executive +44 (0)207 354 6000 Email: npett@nbmedia.com
Last year’s delegate list included senior representatives from the BBC, ITV, Netflix, Sky, ITN, Rovi, BT Sport, Channel 4, Viacom, CNBC Europe, Al Jazeera, Fox International, NBC Universal, Discovery, Reuters TV, Modern Times Group, Bloomberg, BT Media and Broadcast, PwC, Ernst and Young, SNL Kagan, KPMG, and more…
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TVBEurope 2020 FP 2016.indd 1
10/02/2016 14:39
48 TVBEurope
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Business Sending out 64-bit numbers Seth-Smith came back to talk about
“We need to talk about IP Everywhere,” Gerard Phillips, SAM
John Ellerton, BT
sychronisation (ST 2059). He introduced the notion of an SPG being a little thing talking into your IP fabric, with a slaving unit attached. He said: “PTP 1588 is designed to do that kind of thing. It was developed for things like factory automation. It has been described as filling a niche between MTP and GPS. GPS has great precision but you have to have access to it, so it would be nice if you can get that precision and send it round over a network. “So how does PTP work in broadcasting? It definitely has the range that we need and definitely has the precision we need too, because what it sends out is 64-bit numbers,” he added. “The bottom 32 bits are in nanoseconds and the top 32 bits are in seconds, which means it has precision to the nearest nanosecond, and it goes up to 136 years.” Users then get the timing required for video, and as you get larger it covers what we need for timecode: it can also extend timecode. PTP can be appropriate as long as it has the accuracy, and the desired nanosecond
sense to start putting some of these strong
who want to get on and try things in practice
depends on conversations between the master
identities into our media and one way of doing
and then turn those to prospective specs for
and slave (clocks). Considering the basics for the
that is creating a new ID and fitting it into an RTP
consideration by other groups,” he added.
accuracy of PTB, Seth-Smith said: “The timing of a
header extension,” he said.
packet is defined at a particular point.
Regarding time he added: “Whether you
A plug fest at the BBC proved that all participants were able to interact with the
just time a particular link or whether you try to
reference discovery system. “Time-based data
errors. Of course the assumption in algorithm is
achieve end to end timing is being discussed by
is coming next and there is limited registry, not
that the network delays are symmetrical, but
various groups, and having end to end timing
quite as we want it,” said Brightwell.
packet delays can be more than a microsecond.
makes things easier.”
The thing we have to think about is system
Dispelling the myths about latency
The management techniques for this include transparent clocks, which involves the reference time stamp in/out: you can put on a correction field (what a transparent clock does).” Other techniques are boundary clocks and being clever with your algorithm, and the industry seems to favour boundary clocks so
“Specialise only what needs to be special, while generalising everything else” Nigel Seth-Smith, Semtech
covered the issues around network features. He focused on the march upwards of bit rates, with 400Gbps being used by telcos in long distance instances where there is a finite set of fibres in the ground and laying more fibres is going to cost more than upgrading the optics.
the slaves don’t have to be too intelligent.
Referring to work by Edwards (as a SMPTE
The broadcast version of PTP uses eight sync
colleague) he said: “Thomas did some work
messages per second, SMPTE ST 2059-1 being the timing standard.
Thomas Kernen, technical leader with Cisco
On defining a set of time stamps, he added:
around switch validation just to remove and
“These are full resolution which allows you to
dispel the myths that modern network switching
End to end timing makes things easier
identify an individual frame or grade of the
equipment introduces latency and jitter. Switches
video.” On achieving discovery he said: “A lot
built around ASIC produce very low latency.
Peter Brightwell, BBC lead R&D engineer,
of work has happened in discovery, but we are
discussed the AMWA Incubator, but started by
still trying to look at what is best practice in that
what you are trying to build; a new OB truck, a
explaining his role as looking at what it means
area. The final bit after discovery and registry
new plant, or a standup gallery, say something
to be internet-fit. “At R&D we are happy with
is connection management, and that is where
for a specific 4K event you are building out for.
everything on the internet,” he said.
AMWA comes in.
Where do you stand on your transition? The
“The next point is architecture. This is based on
Everything links back to the Joint Task Force
“The Incubator looks at what came out of
for Network Media Report, and how it provided
the joint task force on network media, but that
you move in terms of requirements and what you
context for future specs. Commenting on things
only partly reflected PTP and available specs.
need in network features,” he added.
said previously, he started with giving names
The Incubator is basically a group of like minded
and IDs to help working on a network. “It makes
companies – 35 companies/96 members –
44 45 46 48 50 TVBE Apr16 SMPTE_final.indd 57
architectural decisions will drive the way that
He suggested defining high level priority constraints by using SDI workflows to understand
18/03/2016 17:06
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12/01/2016 12:41
50 TVBEurope
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Business with it. SDI standards work and they are scalable and backwards compatible,” he affirmed. Considering where Ethernet is going with data rates he confirmed that 10Gb is the boss, in terms of shipments and installations, but 25Gb is coming along and looking towards 2020 we see big change; in terms of cost 100Gb will catch up with 40 and 25 will catch up with 10Gb. How does compression play? “The SMPTE UHD ecosystem study group considered compression in a report two years ago and said modest levels could be employed. It made the SMPTE UK is now the third largest section, after Hollywood and LA
point that that minimum latency is required. I believe it is very important with any mezzanine
what is actually being used.
network infrastructure in the
“SDI does have the advantage
compression that it must not harm
He said: “Practically, over a period
centralised or spine and leaf style.
that is a broadcast specific format
the signal’s subsequent ability to
of 24 hours, a week, a month,
He said: “The SDI-like approach is
so if the broadcast world needs
be compressed for emission for the
and a year, what percentage
centralisation: the amount of work
SDI to do something SDI gets on
home,” said Seth-Smith. n
of those flows are used at any
the vendors have done means they
given point in time for something
can have multicast support. Since
active? Understand what flows you
there is one switch and everybody
may have. This is not to say you
knows where the sources and
“We got an agreement to build the world’s first IP broadcast contribution network, carrying signals between two broadcast facilities,” John Ellerton, BT should not have a non-blocking
destinations are, there is very little
environment in IP, which exists and
multicast logic compared to the
is not as problem. But it is just to
larger scale. It can sometimes
understand how your flows are
speed up proof of concept. The
going to grow over time.
one thing about the centralised
“In the past we have seen a lot of north/south traffic, from an end point outwards to other parts of networks. Now with the data centre
device is heat consumption. “The other model is the traditional data centre, the spine and leaf. You can buy a 1RU unit switch
approach, where everything is
with 100-Gig ports,” he added.
centralised, we have a lot of
“You build a spine on that and you
east/west traffic between servers,”
can have the same with 40- and
he added.
ten-Gig ports for the leaves. These
Kernen affirmed that the
products exist.”
infrastructure will always be around replaced. System designers need
Broadcast specific SDI is a hard act to follow
to consider density, heating, power
Seth-Smith came back to wrap up,
restraints, and form factors. He
and he reminded everyone how
considered the values of building
vital and trustworthy SDI has been:
and the apps may evolve or be
44 45 46 48 50 TVBE Apr16 SMPTE_final.indd 58
18/03/2016 17:07
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52 TVBEurope
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Audio
An historic step forward for broadcast audio With the announcement of the audio subsystem for the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard expected imminently, Linear Acoustic founder and The Telos Alliance CTO Tim Carroll recalls the major milestones along the way to David Davies, and explains why this ‘next generation audio’ standard will have been worth the wait
S
upporting the broadcast requirements
completely rethink the scope of broadcast
radical decision, but the hope was that it would
of today while simultaneously
audio for the future. The end result, it is expected,
simplify things greatly further down the chain. So
accommodating the expectations
will be a standard that delivers interactive
this was effectively a clean sheet of paper from
of tomorrow – not least with regard to the
audio functionality, thereby enabling high
the codecs to the transport stream to the RF –
enhanced visual experience of 4K/UHD and the
spatial resolution in sound source localisation in
everything. I have been involved with the ATSC
rapid growth in mobile viewing behaviours – has
azimuth, elevation and distance, and facilitating
for a long time, and in some ways this process
been the not-insignificant challenge confronting
an enhanced sense of sound envelopment
harked back to the early days of ATSC 1.0. The
the technical teams at work on the new ATSC
throughout the listening area. There will
analogy I would use is that if you have never
3.0 broadcast standard, which has now been
also be extensive ‘personalisation’ features –
driven a car it is very difficult to be asked what
in development for nearly three years. But it is
for example, enhancements to the control of
you look for in a car! So a lot of the early stages
arguable that the task facing the audio sub-
dialogue, mixing of assistive audio services
of ATSC 3.0 focused on talking to broadcasters
group has been most acute of all given that
and special commentary – as well as support
and other stakeholders about what they knew
they effectively
for the normalisation of content loudness and
and thought was possible.
have been
contouring of dynamic range.
When you add in the idea of object-based
required
An integral part of the entire process
audio and personalisation, then clearly you have
to
has been the determining of a suitable
to have a long period of discussion. Not only
audio subsystem to deliver this new functionality, and during 2015 proposed systems from Dolby
are you thinking about what broadcasters need today, you have to consider seriously what their requirements will be several years into the future.
Laboratories and the MPEG H Audio Alliance underwent extensive
Would it be fair to say that it is only now that
testing. An announcement was
many people are becoming aware of quite
expected before the end of 2015,
how significant a change ‘next generation
but as Tim Carroll – The Telos
audio’ technologies will represent?
Alliance CTO, Linear Acoustic
I think so. I remember hearing about object
founder and member of the
audio for the first time from Simon Tuff at the BBC
committee deciding the ATSC
some years ago, and thinking ‘have you lost your
3.0 audio standard – asserts, now
mind? 5.1 channels is hard enough!’ It will be a
it really is imminent.
paradigm shift, but just as importantly the new standard represents a fresh approach to
When would you say that work on the audio part of ATSC 3.0
the way we work today. So no more is it just a static downmix where a
truly began in earnest?
5.1 mix is automatically combined into stereo;
It was really a few years back
now it is something that is rendered into stereo,
when the ATSC decided that the new standard would not be backwards-compatible. It was a pretty
and the listening differences are tremendous. The difference between a straight downmix and a rendered two-channel version is that the latter is so much more pleasing to listen to. Immersive is a treat for the ears, but it is the basic stuff that is so much better. Of course we have more efficient codecs at our disposal, but it is all the features that surround them that make the greatest
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Audio difference. Getting that balance right took time, and maybe took everyone by surprise a little bit. There has been extensive public showcasing of the various proposed systems over the last 12 months. How important has this been to the process, and when should we now expect a decision to be announced? It is a significant aspect not only in terms of
NAB 2016 audio preview David Davies looks ahead to the audio highlights at the upcoming NAB Show
W
hile the ATSC working groups may have
a comprehensively networked environment are
been juggling the dilemma of satisfying
also set to play a key role in the ‘audio story’ of
both today and tomorrow’s broadcast
NAB 2016. Among the headline-making launches
audio requirements, it is clear that vendors
will be SSL’s System T, a fully networked broadcast
showing people what is coming, but also to
have also been facing the same challenge.
audio production environment which allows
highlight the fact that there is a difference
Accordingly, many of the pre-announced NAB
for a range of hardware and software control
between the lab environment and something
launches reflect a desire to help deliver greater
interfaces to be placed anywhere on a network,
that is standardised. It might be a fantastic
efficiency and automation while looking forward
with up to three consoles or control interfaces
development in its own right, but there has to
to new trends like increased surround and
accessing a single or fully mirrored redundant pair
be a dialogue about how it is implemented
immersive-style production.
of processor ‘engines’.
practically and without breaking the bank. I can say that by the end of 2015 we were
Consider Jünger Audio’s Smart Audio, which
Calrec will show its developments geared to
was described as “an entirely new concept
making it easier for broadcasters to work flexibly
all pretty sure about the decision regarding the
aimed at helping broadcasters embrace
in the networked world. It will introduce four
audio subsystem, and I do now expect that to
automated audio production, particularly in
new networking interfaces at NAB, including
be made public in time for NAB 2016.
live environments.” The approach is intended to assist broadcasters as they work to meet
‘Among the headline-making launches will be SSL’s System T’
NAB attendees would be advised to
the demand for large and diverse quantities of
check out the ASTC Pavilion in the
content on a rapid-turnaround basis. Jünger
South Hall, but what should show visitors
Audio’s CEO, Peter Poers, said, “Auto-level,
expect to see in particular from The
auto-upmix, auto-EQ, auto-mix, auto-loudness,
Telos Alliance companies?
codec system metadata management: the
With the arrival of the AES67 audio-over-IP
intelligent combination of all these Jünger Audio
an AES67/Ravenna interface, an AVB interface
networking interoperability standard we have
adaptive algorithms will create the solution that
and a modular I/O Dante card that also has
the opportunity to carry hundreds and hundreds
delivers smart audio, and programme loudness
AES67 compatibility, as well as an SMPTE 2022-6
of channels and still have them be perfectly
will also automatically match, as expected.”
video interface. Calrec’s Dave Letson said, “We
synchronised to video. It is not necessary for
The D*AP product range can deliver a smart
feel that it is not the role of a manufacturer to
them to be part of the IP video stream, so at NAB
audio experience because every device already
dictate which route to take, but to facilitate the
this year you will see a number of products from
incorporates a collection of these adaptive
broadcasters’ choices. [With these launches]
us that support this idea of separating audio
processing algorithms.
Calrec’s customers can now interface with
from the core processing.
Nugen Audio will be helping broadcasters to
multiple protocols at the same time. For example,
achieve easier upmix of stereo audio to surround
a signal can be received via AES67 and then
experience tells us that video people will
with a new option for its Halo Upmix solution. The
sent out via SMPTE 2022, AVB, Ravenna, Dante
do anything they can to shovel audio off to
9.1 option enables the introduction of vertical
or AES67.” With AES67 generating strong levels
anywhere or anyone else! And of course the
positioning into the upmix, generating a 7.1.2
of interest across pro audio, it’s safe to assume
emergence of object-based audio isn’t exactly
(Dolby Atmos) bed track-compatible upmix.
that the standard will be a significant topic of
going to help matters on that front. n
Systems that can operate effectively as part of
discussion throughout NAB 2016. n
We expect these to be very popular as
52 53 TVBE AudioT Carroll_final.indd 55
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Post Production
Offering new ways of collaboration in the cloud C
At BVE, the promise of the cloud seemed to be fulfilled on almost every aisle you walked down, as well as a fair few seminars. Michael Burns looks at how the virtualised way of working is changing post production in the broadcast industry
in providing a service from a media, rather than just IT, perspective. We see most of the innovation coming from data and render job management. The work has come a long way already but ultimately it will be these two
loud-based thinking was in evidence
jobs to the public cloud with Google Cloud
elements that make the end to end
from the likes of Pixit Media, showing off its
Platform when more power was required.
process completely seamless to the user.” Andy
collaboration with Google Cloud Platform
“We can start a Doctor Who shot in London
Tzou, product marketing manager at Google, says
to offer both nearline and archive storage. Pixit
and have a Cardiff artist pick it up in seconds,”
individual artists and small teams wanting to focus
was also highlighting its ability to enable creative
explains Dave Goodbourn, Milk’s head of systems.
on creativity and visual effects without managing
companies to take advantage of a mix of private
“We don’t need to worry about FTPs or email files
any infrastructure should start off
and public cloud to tackle the pressures of VFX
and we haven’t had to change our pipeline at
being ‘cloud-native’.
rendering. It showcased at BVE how Milk VFX can
all, everything just works.” This type of streamlined
collaborate on post work and rendering jobs
and hybrid approach is set to become more
productivity without managing any servers,
between its London and Cardiff studios, claiming
commonplace as the big public cloud providers,
networking, and maintenance costs,” he says. “Like
it considerably reduced the time, complexity and
such as Amazon Web Services EC2, Microsoft Azure
today’s best SaaS services, front-line artists get work
costs of launching render resources. Pixit Media’s
and Google Cloud Platform, as well as third party
done without being burdened by implementation
PixCache accelerated rendering by transferring
technology companies, improve services for post
detail. Capacity gets provisioned automatically,
a single copy of the data requested to multiple
production facilities. Barry Evans, technical director
is billed by the minute, and can scale up and
private cloud render instances from Milk’s existing
of Pixit Media says, “The larger cloud vendors have
down based on project demand by artists located
on-site storage, but also supported sending render
invested a substantial amount of time and money
anywhere in the world.”
TVBE - April issue, 2016.pdf 1 17/03/2016 12:54:46
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54 55 56 57 TVBE Apr16 Post Production_finall.indd 54
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18/03/2016 17:16
April 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
TVBEurope 55
Post Production Remote cutting and control As for editing, the last couple of years have seen professional broadcast quality work increasingly go through systems based around the use of a private cloud, such as Adobe Anywhere and Avid Everywhere, where multiple editors and artists can collaborate on the same project. The latest enhancement to Avid’s approach, unveiled to the broadcast world at BVE, is Avid Cloud Collaboration for Pro Tools, a way of sharing and mixing tracks in real time over the internet. Using the system, artists and audio professionals can work together on the same project while in Pro Tools, anywhere in the world, because revisions and files are synchronised automatically. They can then compose, record, edit, and mix tracks collaboratively with other Pro Tools users, just like they were working together in the same studio. Already a pioneer in web-based post, Forbidden Technologies is also embracing the cloud even more closely, ‘reintroducing’ its Forscene software at BVE to become a “We can start a Doctor Who shot in London and have a Cardiff artist pick it up in seconds,” Dave Goodbourn, Milk VFX
‘collaboredit’ solution.“Forscene was originally developed as a logging and sync-pull solution,” says Jason Cowan, business development director at Forbidden, “but the software is now capable of
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56 TVBEurope
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Post Production so much more.” The company is now positioning
CEO Bruce Long in Los Angeles, BeBop is a new
Forscene as a full cloud-based NLE capable
virtualised cloud-based editing platform that aims
of craft editing, with frame accurate trimming,
to offer capabilities to address long-standing piracy
transitions, multi-cam editing, colour and audio
and editing workflow problems. It runs on IBM
editing tools, but from a remote location. The latest
Cloud’s infrastructure as a service, SoftLayer, which
version unveiled in time for NAB improves closed
offers high performing, GPU-equipped servers
caption tools and adds the ability to autosync
and multi-monitor support.
multiple source material. The software is currently
Forscene was used by producers on location and at the production base. Inset: Barry Evans, Pixit Media
“Via IBM Cloud, BeBop enables production
being used as an editing tool on the eighth season
companies to globally disperse workflows both
of The Doctors – an American syndicated talk show
cost-effectively and realistically,” says Long.
produced by Phil McGraw and distributed by CBS
“Companies can engage the best talent in
Television. Distribution in the USA, Canada, Mexico,
the world and work collaboratively, regardless
Australia, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. A Forscene
of location, and take better advantage of
server installed at The Doctors can automatically
regional tax credits to considerably drive down
ingest and create proxy versions of the shoot
production costs.” BeBop integrates a cloud media
footage as soon as it’s uploaded, the production
management solution from software developer
team views rushes on-the-go from the Forscene
Teradici, whose Pervasive Computing Platform
app on a tablet, and edits interview sequences
technology offers secure virtual workspaces.
from a desktop at the office or home.
Teradici and BeBop claim that because typical
production workflow. Instead of taking files to
cloud-based media management
the editing tools, BeBop takes the editing tools to
Worldwide working
systems move a project’s content files between
the content, which is kept secure on IBM Cloud.
All this remote access and cloud-powered
editorial facilities, the more prone to error
Another remote collaboration opportunity has
capability is definitely having an effect on
and piracy they become. Instead ,Teradici’s
been seized by ‘virtual post house’ Cloud Edits.
the evolution of the post industry and offering
platform transmits only pixels, not files, in the
Founded by Caroline Law, it basically teams
new business models. Co-founded by Muse VFX
editing environment, so reversing the typical post
a suitable editor up with clients, who let their video
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Post Production “In the three years that I’ve been working on Cloud
Previously, they may have had little access to the
Edits, the way people watch video has changed
required talent or facilities.” Law plans on working
dramatically,” says Law. “Content is being made
closely with other remote workflow specialists, such
in all sorts of ways, on all kinds of platforms and by
as Brown Bear Audio in Brighton. She says the cloud
a huge variety of people. My vision is for Cloud
is enabling people with varied lifestyles to now be
Edits to provide quality editors for a wide range of
available to work in post, while producers will have
content producers in a convenient way. Editing
access to experienced professionals, unrestricted
is truly a craft and a good editor can really make
by geography.
a huge difference to any production. From the
“The choice is no longer restricted to those who
feedback and leads we had at BVE, many are
live within two hours of Soho and are able to work
saying they’ve been waiting for the service.
at least ten hours a day,” she says. “Using software
“Some companies are looking to completely
as a service means that editors at Cloud Edits can
update the way they work by outsourcing post
be nimble in adapting their skills, and the company
production,” continues Law. “Successful
can recruit the right talent with the correct
production companies, who start off cutting
technology to suit their clients. It also means that
in-house, are outgrowing their suites and want to
clients can upscale their post production at any
hand the work over to professional, easily available
time to include colour grades, graphics or
editors. Production managers, online news
dubbing mixes.”
companies and web content producers are also
Cloud Edits and others are showing a possible
looking for a cloud-based post production solution.
new direction of travel for the post industry. With
be uploaded to the Cloud Edits website, edited,
Some are particularly interested in assistance with
the freedom that cloud and infrastructure as
then sent back. As well as having
overspill, needing convenient extra edits with
a service models offer, coupled with high rents
their own upload page, Cloud Editors can
reliable editors when they’ve reached capacity.
and power demands, it’s not hard to imagine an
use any server with remote access such as Avid Interplay Sphere, Forscene and Aframe.
54 55 56 57 TVBE Apr16 Post Production_finall.indd 57
“Others want to relieve themselves of the editing completely and get on with what they do best.
exodus of editors from Soho and other production hubs in the not too distant future. n
18/03/2016 17:16
r a e y t x e n in ga a u o See y in Amsterdam. new tvbe template remade.indd 1 ISE2017_SeeYou_220x290_.indd 1
A joint venture partnership of
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TVBEurope 59
April 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
TVBEverywhere
How do you connect your TV data? By Keith Bedford, managing director, EBS
I
t was widely reported that prior to the February 2013 debut of House of Cards, Netflix
chief content officer Ted Sarandos revealed
his game plan for the streaming service. “The
the classic watercooler effect, and then some,
a free catch-up service from the public service
with people on social media, in bars, at dinner
broadcasters (BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All4, or
parties and in offices all over the world discussing
Channel 5). This figure rose to 45 per cent among
the plight of Avery and the Manitowoc County
adults aged 35 to 44. This compares to watching
judicial system, and giving Netflix another huge
content via subscription to an OTT VoD service
boost in the process.
such as Netflix, with 15 per cent of all adults using
As well as the OTT VoD model, TV Everywhere services have also turned the traditional broadcast TV model on its head. In this instance
their connected TV to access these services. VoD is significant and has not only changed what we watch when, but how we watch.
goal,” he told GQ, “is to become HBO faster
We’ve been taken out of the traditional TV
than HBO can become us.” He wasn’t wrong.
comfort zone where broadcasters push content
The rise of Netflix from a DVD rental company to one of the leading original content providers is outstanding and is a yard stick for how content consumption has changed.
“The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us” Ted Sarandos, Netflix
There’s no denying that the Netflix and
our way, to a world where we decide. It’s been a steep learning curve but we’ve now reached a point where we have multiple devices to watch content on depending where we are, and we understand the various delivery concepts.
Amazon Prime (to name but two) OTT VoD
But as viewers do we really care how content
model has had a major impact on how we
is delivered? No, for the vast majority, we just
consume television content. Netflix in particular
want to watch whatever we want, whenever we
has become a media powerhouse with an
broadcasters offer their services or content in
want and however we want. But more than that,
impressive range of original content as well as a
an OTT manner, or to OTT providers, allowing on-
we want to be able to find content quickly and
considerable film and classic TV library.
demand access via multiple devices.
easily. In this brave new world of content delivery
Making a Murderer, a ten-part documentary
In November 2015, Thinkbox published a UK
and content discovery this last statement is
that first streamed on Netflix on 18 December
‘Broadcaster VoD key numbers’ report for 2014.
crucial to every media company’s success.
2015, is a prime example of its success and has
The report shows that broadcaster catch-
been one of the most talked about TV shows
up TV was the most popular OTT service with
their target demographic, media companies
for a long time. Filmed over ten years and
around a third (34 per cent) of UK connected
need to ensure brand consistency across all
following the story of Steven Avery, it’s had
TV users watching TV programmes or films via
platforms. Viewers need to know that regardless
59 60 TVBE apr16 TVBEverywhere EBS_final.indd 32
To be certain that they can continue to reach
21/03/2016 12:58
60 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
TVBEverywhere
different channels and platforms in many different languages. Some of those channels might be factual and others much more irreverent. It’s content is discovered via a recommendation engine, onscreen guide or simple of where they’re looking for content, they can rely on the channel to deliver
search, the programme information is crucial. Editorial synopses need to be well written with clear, concise text highlighting
ITV stated that, “the new, dynamic branding and colour palette is based on the dot above the ‘I’ on each of the ITV channel logos – ITV, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV and ITVBe – reinforcing the message
different to a Top Gear synopsis on BBC Two. As well as the importance of the channel brand, central to our viewing experience is the look and feel of the platform’s interface. Not only do we want to find content quickly
to ensure the channel’s brand is correctly
and easily but we want the user interface to look stylish with appealing up-to-date imagery
they expect. With so many platforms When launching the new ITV Hub for example,
fits the channel that’s airing it. For example a
Top Gear synopsis on Dave is likely to be very
additional information such as cast and images
the quality of programmes that available, brand consistency is vital.
important that the style of the editorial synopsis
that’s changed regularly and draws us in. This is
‘To be certain that they can continue to reach their target demographic, media companies need to ensure brand consistency across all platforms’
important to viewer and media provider. With so many channels fighting for eyeballs, the better programmes are presented the more likely we are to watch them. Channels are now expected to provide increasing amounts of images in different sizes
that the on-demand experience is a natural
and formats to satisfy the varying needs of
extension of our linear TV channels.” This
platforms that require them. It’s not unusual for a
is important, with some media companies
channel to have to produce 15 images in 40 to
offering so many additional channels and
reflected, to add to the user experience
services across multiple platforms and
and to enable recommendation engines
devices, they need to ensure that the brand
to correctly fulfil search criteria.
is immediately recognisable and reflects their
50 different formats per programme. We’ve reached an exciting new world of television. Regardless of whether content is
Let’s take Top Gear as an example. Despite
delivered over satellite, cable, the internet,
its recent problems, Top Gear has a big global
on a phone, tablet, TV: it doesn’t matter.
audience and is estimated to have made £150
The important point is that content should be
extension is the way that a channel’s content
million in revenue for the BBC’s commercial arm
quick and easy to find with a sexy interface
is written about and presented. Whether
BBC Worldwide. The show is broadcast on many
to discover it on. n
mission as an organisation. Core to this accurate and powerful brand
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SGL’s solutions continuously evolve and grow with your business. All the latest developments will be on display at NAB Show 2016.
Join us to discover FlashNet Infinity and our support for reading and restoring from SMPTE’s Archive eXchange Format (AXF).
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59 60 TVBE apr16 TVBEverywhere EBS_final.indd 33
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62 TVBEurope
www.tvbeurope.com April 2016
Data Centre
Global Market Valuation: Media technology sales down $2 billion in 2015
2015 IABM Global Market Valuation and Strategy Report in numbers $ in billions
0
Total industry revenue:
10
20
30
40
50
$49.3 bn
Product revenue:
$22.01 bn
Services revenue:
$27.31 bn
Percentage of total industry revenues
Neal Romanek reports on the IABM’s Global Market Valuation and Strategy Report which points to a small decline in overall sales revenue
I
ABM has released its Global Market
revenues range from the end of government-
Valuation and Strategy Report for 2016,
backed analogue switch-off programmes in
which describes in black and white
many countries, to the ongoing consolidation
the downturn everybody has already
of major media companies, to a pronounced
felt. According to the new report, media
shift in technology procurement strategies
Services revenue 55.4%
Product revenue 44.6%
technology products and services declined 4.3
the compounded annual growth rate for the
among end-users, including broadcasters, pay-
-3%
total industry was -1.0 per cent. During the
TV operators and media service providers.
-4%
These factors, and their impact on the
-5%
same period, the CAGR for media technology products was -2.4 per cent and for services,
market, are explored in more detail throughout
+0.1 per cent.
the 2016 Global Market Valuation and Strategy
Foreign exchange rate fluctuations had a
Report. The 2016 edition provides market-
significant impact in 2015, the report noted.
sizing data for approximately 150 product
In Brazil and Russia, steep currency declines
categories across nine market segments.
substantially increased the prices for some
Data tables provide regional splits for product
media technology products, deterring
and service revenues, as well as forecasts
investment. Other currencies including the
to 2019 at segment and sub-segment levels.
Canadian Dollar, Euro and Japanese Yen
The data tables are accompanied by written
also declined versus the US Dollar, changing
commentary (available in Q1 2016), that
the competitive dynamic for some players.
discuss the drivers affecting the market
Much of the decline in Europe reported for
and an analysis of how changing markets
the services segment results directly from the
and technologies may shape the future
weakening of the Euro against the US Dollar
composition of the broadcast and media
in the period. Other drivers for the decline in
technology industry. n
62 TVBE Apr16 Data Centre_final.indd 46
-4.2%
-2%
For the four-year period from 2012-2015,
CAGR from 2012-2015
1%
Services revenues
per cent of total industry revenue.
Services revenues
0% -1%
0%
0.1%
declined 4.2 per cent to $27.31 billion, or 55.4
-4.4%
of total industry revenue. Services revenues
1%
Product revenues
cent to $22.01 billion, which was 44.6 per cent
Percentage decline in 2015
Product revenues
that revenues from products declined 4.4 per
-1% -2% -3%
-2.4%
the first IABM GMVR in 2006. The report said
-4.3%
services revenues have also decreased since
Combined revenues
decline since 2012, this is the first year that
‘Drivers for the decline range from the end of government-backed analogue switch-off programmes in many countries, to a pronounced shift in technology procurement strategies’
Combined revenues
While product revenues have been in
-1.0%
per cent in 2015 to $49.3 billion.
17/03/2016 12:55
Save the Date IBC2016 Conference 8 – 12 September 2016 Exhibition 9 – 13 September 2016 RAI, Amsterdam
Where the entertainment, media and technology industry does business
IBC.org
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