TVBE October 2015

www.tvbeurope.com

Business, insight and intelligence for the media and entertainment industry

October 2015

Forum, opinion, live IP production

IBC2015 review I Best of Show winners I Interview: Elisabetta Romano, Ericsson

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October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 3

Welcome

EDITORIAL Executive Editor - James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com Senior Staff Writer - Holly Ashford hashford@nbmedia.com Contributors - Chris Forrester, David Fox, David Davies, Dick Hobbs, John Ive, George Jarrett, Adrian Pennington, Philip Stevens, Catherine Wright Head of Digital - Tim Frost Human Resources & Office Manager - Lianne Davey Head of Design, Hertford - Kelly Sambridge

IBC: the industry’s future zone Leaders unite to drive discussion on the changing media ecosystem

Senior Production Executive - Alistair Taylor 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 Managing Director - Mark Burton US Sales - Michael Mitchell Broadcast Media International, PO Box 44, Greenlawn, New York, NY 11740 mjmitchell@broadcast-media.tv +1 (631) 673 0072 Japan and Korea Sales - Sho Harihara Sales & Project, Yukari Media Incorporated sho@yukarimedia.com +81 6 4790 2222 Fax: +81 6 4793 0800 Circulation NewBay Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, LE16 9EF, UK Free subscriptions tvbe.subscriptions@c-cms.com Subscriptions Tel +44 1580 883848

T

here was a notable change in the air

Our forum, live production

in Amsterdam this year. It was evident

feature and opinion

in the conversations taking place on

columns cover an array

the show floor as much as those inspiring the

of perspectives around

official debate in the conference sessions. The

IP as an enabling force,

difference between the IBCs of 2014 and 2015

and reflect with some

felt akin to the adolescence of a much younger,

accuracy the changing

nascent marketplace that is slowly riding the

mood of the wider

growing tide of technological change into an

market: it’s no longer about proof of concept,

uncertain but promising future.

it’s about proof.

Certainly, the general messaging emanating

official press conference where a figure of 55,128

(largely) was the tub-thumping about some

visitors was announced to an expectant crowd

mythical future technological ideal; in its place,

of industry press. It was also another resounding

more tangible, practical methodology about

success for our IBC Daily team, who once again

the hybrid ecosystem that will carry the industry’s

ploughed through an incomprehensible amount

component verticals sensibly into the digital age.

of work during the week. A significant part of

Fran Unsworth, director of BBC World Service,

NewBay Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association

securely managed the day-to-day operations

“the future is digital and we need to expand it,

for the final time as she leaves NewBay Media to

but not at the expense of television and radio”.

start the next chapter in her career.

Allow 8 weeks for new subscriptions and change of address delivery. Send subscription inquiries to: Subscription Dept, NewBay Media, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough LE16 7BR, England.

ISSN 1461-4197

Printing by Pensord Press, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood NP12 2YA

On behalf of everyone at the company,

continue to have a fundamental role to play

and especially those deeply involved in the

as we reach furthering points of advance with

running of TVBEurope and the IBC Daily, I’d

technology and cultural demand, and I believe

like to thank Melanie for her hard work and

that as long as media in all its forms remains the

dedication over the last five years and wish her

preserve of the storyteller, that consensus will

all the best for the future.

always hold true. © NewBay Media 2015. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the copyright owners. TVBEurope is mailed to qualified persons residing on the European continent. Subscription is free.

that process was Melanie Dayasena-Lowe, who

put it in palatable terms when explaining that

The general consensus is that broadcasters will TVBEurope is published 12 times a year by NewBay Media, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN, England +44 207 354 6002

It was another record event, as decreed at the

from the show was a more measured affair: gone

Despite the tight turnaround between the

On a final note, don’t forget our TVBAwards on the 22nd of this month when we will be

close of the show and our print date for this issue,

recognising the success stories in our industry.

we’ve managed to bring together a variety of

Book your tickets now and join us for an evening

reflective insights from this year’s exhibition and

of celebration (www.tvb-awards.com).

conference, and we lead with unarguably the hottest topic of them all at present: IP.

James McKeown Executive Editor

4 TVBEurope

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

In this issue

Opinion and Analysis Joshua Stinehour, principal analyst at Devoncroft Partners, examines the relationship between investor activity and industry trends

24 Feature: IBC review

Fresh from pacing the show floor at this year’s IBC in Amsterdam, our team of writers report back on the major talking points

6

Workflow Music to IP’s ears: Philip Stevens discovers how IP technology was used for broadcasts from Glastonbury, and beyond

20

36 IBC Best of Show winners

We showcase the TVBEurope category winners from the IBC2015 NewBay Media Best of Show awards programme

Interview: Elisabetta Romano, Ericsson

TVBEurope speaks to Elisabetta Romano, the recently appointed head of TV and media at Ericsson, about her ten years at the company and her plans to drive the business forward

48

IP forum

50

This month’s forum looks at the technology that’s occupying a great many minds: IP. Philip Stevens gathers thoughts from the leading players

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www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

6 TVBEurope

Opinion and Analysis

Investing in change Joshua Stinehour, principal analyst at Devoncroft Partners, examines the relationship between investor activity and industry trends his article complements the mergers

T

and acquisition (M&A) article from the June issue of TVBEurope. It reviews recent

investment activity in the broadcast and media technology sector along with the associated trends impacting the investment environment.

Any review of M&A activity is complemented by a review of investment activity since an M&A event is often the necessary culmination of an investment.

A review of equity investments in the sector leads to several conclusions on the state of the investor interests in technology vendors. Moreover, investments follow market opportunities as water flows to the sea, so following investor activity highlights the trends generating value for the vendor community.

Without question there is tremendous investor interest in the sector attributable to changes in media business models and contemporaneous technology transitions. Investor interest, however, is confined to vendors executing large consolidation strategies or those benefitting from the most impactful trends affecting the sector, and preferably both.

Examples of investment activity supporting M&A transactions are widespread, as M&Adriven growth strategies are easily justified by the tremendous cost synergies available in the sector. Selected examples of investor activity supporting consolidation strategies include Spectrum Equity’s support of portfolio company Extreme Reach’s acquisition of DG’s television advertising assets, Riverwood Capital’s support of portfolio company SintecMedia’s acquisition of Pilat Media, and The Gores Groups ongoing support of Imagine Communications’ acquisition strategy (four deals and counting).

The changing business model of media companies is fundamental to any investment in the media technology sector. However, and this cannot be overstated, it is indirectly related.

Near ubiquitous references are made to charts from a variety of publications on the

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 7

Opinion and Analysis growth of video as a portion of internet traffic,

Many examples of regional and market segment

and the fall off in spending associated with

the exponential increase in internet connected

distinctions are familiar. Significant technology

the conclusion of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

devices, and the changing nature of video

spending was experienced in Brazil ahead of the

A general pause in spending has been

consumption. These developments are the

recent World Cup and upcoming 2016 Olympics.

experienced in the area of transmission in the

cause of changes to the underlying technology

Significant pullbacks in spending have been

US ahead of the pending outcome of the

market supporting the media industry. Changing

witnessed in Russia given currency disruptions

anticipated spectrum auction.

media consumption is necessitating new media business models requiring different technology architectures. The media customer requirement of different technology architectures is in turn forcing a restructuring of the vendor community.

So the cause of changing media consumption has the effect of forcing a restructuring of technology vendors. Taken together with fundamental technology transitions – such as

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IP, virtualisation, and SDN – there is a structural shift occurring in the market. This is the investment opportunity created by new media business models.

Firm market data points helps clarify the above relationship. From 2012 to the conclusion of 2014, Netflix subscriber totals went from 23.5 million to 57.4 million, content uploaded to YouTube went from 72 hours a minute to over 300 hours a

‘One immediate side-effect of the inefficiency around early stage investments has been a noticeable increase in investment activity from strategic parties’

24

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minute, BBC iPlayer monthly requests went from 187 million to 333 million, 4K TV sales went from none to some (I could go on, but the point is made). During the same time period, there has been no growth in product sales in the media technology sector. The source for the latter statistic is the IABM DC Global Market Valuation Report, which is a vendor-driven initiative to

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Nominal overall industry growth, unfortunately, obscures the huge opportunities for vendors.

Aggregate figures smooth the growing segments against contracting segments as well as growing

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www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

8 TVBEurope

Opinion and Analysis Technology developments hold equal

spend for well over a decade has been the

the world transitioning. Price premiums between

importance for investments and again are

transition to high definition. The first industry

HD equipment and SD equipment have eroded.

obscured by aggregate figures alone. Tape-

driver listed in the prospectus filing of Miranda

The organisations still transitioning have smaller

based technologies are giving way to file-

(December 2005) was the transition to HD. The

budgets and are located in less travelled areas

based technologies. Contraction in microwave

prospectus filing of Evertz (June 2006) includes

of the world. This means the remaining 50 per

communication equipment is in contrast to

a similar list of industry drivers, beginning with

cent of the HD transition will occur at substantially

growth in the bonded cellular segment. In other

the HD transition.

lower price points in regions where many vendors

areas, fast growing segments such as statistical and data services, especially around live events, have no counter balance and are new valued added services additive to overall revenue.

Since the ubiquitous up-and-to-the-right charts

may not have sufficient sales resources.

‘The changing business model of media companies is fundamental to any investment in the media technology’

The HD transition – while still important – is declining in impact. Any investigation of the next industry trends should begin with technology purchasers. This is the primary source referenced

on video growth do not correlate with industry

by institutional investors, and it is the same

revenues or – I would argue – inform individual

approach taken in the Big Broadcast Survey.

investment decisions, what trends are referenced by the investment community, and why?

The 2014 Survey Index, which lists the top Devoncroft’s Big Broadcast Survey offers an

trends anticipated to affect the businesses of

Focusing on industry trends follows from its

accurate annual review of the HD transition,

technology purchaser over the next two to

importance to the investment decision. While

along with other industry trends highlighted

three years, found that the number one trend

there are other key decision factors, an investor

by technology purchasers. On a global basis,

cited is multi-platform content delivery, which is

is foremost concerned with future performance.

the HD penetration figure passed 50 per cent

consistent with the aforementioned discussion of

All future vendor performance depends in

during 2014 – there remains a lot of SD and

media business models.

large measure on the industry trends driving

analogue. This would give certain vendors

technology spend over the next five to ten years.

cause for celebration, but several points are

consistent with these trends. In December

For instance, the largest drive of technology

important about the remaining 50 per cent of

2014, Elemental Technologies announced

HD

FHD

Recent investor activity has been

UHD

SD

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www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

10 TVBEurope

Opinion and Analysis

a $14.5 million fundraising (bringing total

investments in industry technology vendors

raised more modest amounts of capital from

fundraising to approximately $42 million).

are necessarily smaller in order to align with

institutional investors to support initial business

Referenced throughout the press release was

reasonable expectations around exits: usually

expansion. Such an approach – to the extent

how Elemental’s solutions solve many of the

M&A events.

practical – allows for much greater flexibility on

operational challenges associated with multi-

Venture capitalists want several times the

eventual exit. The way the math works, every

platform content delivery. QuickPlay Media

original investment back at the time of exit. An

dollar decrease in the initial investment is more

announced a fundraising of CAD $57 million

investment of $20 million in an effort to sell into

valuable than a dollar increase in the exit. Said

from existing investors in March 2015. This brought

a $100 million market segment is foolish. Such

differently, every additional dollar invested

Quickplay’s fundraising total to over $150 million

requires more than one dollar created in the exit.

since 2003. The press release announcing the fundraising refers to bringing efficiency to multiplatform content delivery through the scale of its managed services platform. Many other fundraisings such as Clearleap’s $36 million of

One immediate side-effect of the inefficiency

‘Notwithstanding the activity of strategic investors, the most active investors have been private equity firms’

around early stage investments has been a noticeable increase in investment activity from strategic parties – in this context media companies, IT companies, or large industry

fundraising and Kaltura’s approximately $135

vendors. For similar reasons, media customers

million echo the technology requirements

and IT companies have a vested interest in

enabling multi-platform content delivery.

Citing alignment with industry trends allows

fostering new technology suppliers for the a deliberately extreme example highlights the

professional media use case. Neither is keen

technology vendors to reframe discussions

broader point: Many high-profile venture capital

to build and manage specialised internal

with investors away from – inherently limiting –

firms have raised funds requiring investments of

business to focus on a market segment

discussions of current market size. Narrow views

large sums of money, which are not justified by

outside of its core operations. There are

of the size of the immediate addressable market

reasonable exit expectations in the sector.

several examples. iStreamPlanet has received

for existing products or services for multi-platform

For this reason, the majority of earlier stage

investments from Juniper Networks, Intel Capital,

content delivery would not support fundraising

investments in the sector have occurred at

and Turner Broadcasting. In its recent financing

levels of the aforementioned.

more modest funding levels better aligned with

Elemental Technologies had participation from

the market sizing realities. Some might argue

Telstra and Sky Europe. Kaltura’s $50 million

the exceptions proving the difficulty in raising

this inefficiency around smaller financings in

fundraising in 2014 included participation from

funds in the sector. The fundraising challenge is

the sector creates a greater opportunity for

the venture capital arm of Nokia. Harmonic

highlighted in the relative lack of venture capital

investments in earlier stage businesses. After all, a

made strategic investments in Vislink and

activity for earlier stage vendors in the sector.

dollar of return on a ‘small’ investment is of equal

encoding.com during 2014. The recent launch

This is attributable to the maturity of the industry

merit to a dollar of return on a ‘large’ investment.

of CBS All Access benefited from technology

and its relative small size versus other technology

Aframe, Dejero, TVU Networks, and Volicon

provided by Syncbak, a technology vendor CBS

verticals. Because of these characteristics,

are all examples of industry vendors having

made a significant investment in during 2013.

Large, high profile financing transactions are

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 11

Opinion and Analysis the need to align with industry trends. Institutional

alignment of these trends to relevant

investors are not fools: interactions with investors

market segments. Technology vendors

at trade shows will confirm this observation.

constructing an investment thesis solely on

Investment decisions are informed by rather

oversimplified observations – more content,

exhaustive investigations of the sector beginning

more devices – are unlikely to entice

with an examination of industry trends and

substantial investor interest.

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Notwithstanding the activity of strategic investors, the most active, and most visible, investors have been private equity firms. These firms focus

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investment activity on already established companies having achieved an appropriate size and requiring capital to accelerate growth through critical milestones.

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Examples of private equity investments are plentiful across the technology segmentation.

Private equity firm HgCapital became the new owner of visual effects software provider The Foundry in early 2015. Data service provider STATS

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received new ownership in 2014 when Vista Equity Partners made a controlling investment in the former Fox Sports subsidiary.

Well known private equity firm The Carlyle Group made a $50 million investment in 2012

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in Vubiquity, a media service provider for content distribution. There are many longstanding investments by private equity firms such as Mentha Capital’s investment position in infrastructure provider Axon Digital Design.

Since private equity firms tend to invest in more mature companies already generating profit, the opportunity exists to use debt to enhance equity returns. Given current, attractive interest levels and wide debt availability, private equity firms often take full advantage of this opportunity.

Every dollar of debt equates to a dollar less of equity – which again is more valuable than a dollar gained at the exit.

Irrespective of the use of debt, similar observations apply to later stage investments on

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www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

12 TVBEurope

Opinion and Analysis

The winding road to

IP infrastructures

By John Ive, director of technology and strategic insight, IABM

The IT drivers According to the latest IABM DC figures, the professional broadcast and media industry is valued at $49 billion, a fraction of the value of the globe’s IT and telecom industries.

f we discount the significance of what has

Subsequently, these industries have more

happened to the industry in recent years and

money to invest in R&D, so it is no surprise that

look back at previous decades, words such

technological advancement in the IT industry

as evolution and revolution would rarely be used

can be capable of outstripping what can be

to describe changes in this sector. Yet, when we

achieved in the broadcast and media industry.

I

think about the enormity of the move to IP, it has

Traditionally, IT technology was not

shaken the entire broadcast infrastructure to the

appropriate for specialised broadcast

core and will change the workings of the industry

infrastructures, however advancements in

both now and in the future.

processing power, storage and networking

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 13

Opinion and Analysis capabilities have paved the way for its

in format, broadcasters would have

gradual introduction and todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solutions

developed a new infrastructure. If we look

can now satisfy many of the needs of the

at the amount of investment ploughed

broadcast and media industry.

into global infrastructures in light of the shift

It makes sound ďŹ nancial sense for the broadcast

from SD to HD, it is easy to see why it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

and media industry to exploit technological

add up ďŹ nancially to reinvest and recreate

developments wherever possible.

a new infrastructure each time a new format comes along.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The professional broadcast and media industry is valued at $49 billionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Change in formats is also happening far more rapidly, with 4K/UHD on the horizon and potentially 8K, it is placing even greater importance on ďŹ&#x201A;exible infrastructures.

The fact that IT technology is independent of any speciďŹ c video format makes it very

Rather than effectively reinventing the

attractive. The industry now has a neutral

wheel, it has become much more cost

platform for video data and it is the

effective to ride on the back of the IT

software that determines which format

industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s investment in R&D.

it is working in.

Flexible infrastructures

media specialists only have to invest once

We have reached a point where there is

and they can handle multiple formats with

now such a proliferation of formats that we

that investment. This is far more difďŹ cult to

need an infrastructure to be less rigid and

do in the traditional bespoke broadcast

easily adaptable to cope with those different

and media world where we use

formats. Historically, with each major change

interconnects such as SDI/HDI.

In terms of hardware, broadcast and

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www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

14 TVBEurope

Opinion and Analysis

‘IABM DC’s latest figures covering the 2014-15 period showed that 54 per cent of total broadcast and media revenues came from services’

Broadcast budgets

benefitting most from this shift are Cisco,

is a greater emphasis on creating content and

Traditional investments in infrastructure involved

Microsoft, HP and Dell in line with the investment

a stronger focus on what audiences want. In the

large capital expenditure and this proved to be a

trend from capital purchases to outsourcing, and

past, IABM noted an expenditure cycle of four

challenge for companies to plan for and budget.

bespoke hardware to IT hardware.

years: expenditure peaked and dipped during

The ability to have an infrastructure based upon

The greater emphasis on services and support has

this period partly as a result of various high profile

an annual revenue expenditure rather than a

also prompted a profound change in the vendor

sports events. Today, that cycle is diminishing,

large irregular capital expenditure is particularly

community, which is restructuring itself from

and hardware is only being invested in if it cannot

appealing to today’s cost conscious industry.

being black box technology providers to service

be replaced by more generic IT technology.

The IT industry is very familiar with this financial

providers. In addition, the systems integrators

approach, with limited upfront costs and the

are having a tough time redefining their business

The future

recurring payments associated with outsourcing

models away from margins on hardware

This structural shift marks the first stage of transition

and cloud models.

orientated systems to becoming software

in broadcast technology from bespoke high

integrators where they have to encourage

value hardware-based proprietary solutions to

customers to pay for consultancy.

open system architecture and flexible software

The shift to services IABM DC’s latest figures covering the 2014-

defined solutions. In the future, we’ll see a world

15 period showed that 54 per cent of total

Buying cycles

where software will define the infrastructure

broadcast and media revenues ($25.6 billion)

Technology buyers a decade ago were

and methodology, networks will be virtual,

came from services. Symptomatic of the growing

purchasing replacement boxes with large

automation will reside and simultaneous multiple

trend towards IT technology and outsourcing,

engineering groups and there was a strong focus

format playout will be delivered from the cloud.

for the first time in its history these figures indicate

on optimising the quality of video. The structural

This does not mean less expenditure, the industry

the industry is seeing more money being spent

shift means traditional boxes are no longer being

is growing and more content is being created

on services than hardware. The broadcast and

replaced at the end of their depreciation cycle.

and consumed on multiple devices. It looks like

media industry is evolving, and is increasingly

End users and technology buyers are looking for

the broadcast and media industry better get

becoming a service based industry. The research

agile technology infrastructures and to a certain

used to the words revolution and evolution and

also showed that the top four global companies

extent quality is being taken for granted as there

take advantage of the new opportunities.

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www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

16 TVBEurope

Opinion and Analysis

Open standards are critical to an effective IP transition And so the IP infrastructure comes into the

By Glodina Connan-Lostanlen, vice president of strategic solutions for playout, networking and distribution, Imagine Communications

conversation. This implies a seismic shift in the broadcast industry. The core of the infrastructure in the future will not be a broadcast router, but a high bandwidth, enterprise-class Ethernet switch controlled by broadcast-specific IP

am lucky enough to travel to many

for handling signals in real time. Perhaps

broadcasters to talk to them about where

surprisingly, it is another technology challenge

they see the direction of television technology

which seems to be driving this for many people.

the broadcaster onto the technology curve

in the near future. It is clear that IP is the top

Regularly I am told that they need to have the

governed by Moore’s Law, meaning that port

talking point at the moment. But this brings both

capability of handling 4K signals, even if they are

prices will drop even while port speeds increase.

challenges and opportunities.

not yet sure why.

This brings a distinct advantage to the facility

I

There is a widespread acceptance that IPcentric systems using commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware can be adopted already.

The most obvious and immediate opportunity for IP is playout, although we are seeing inroads in many other portions of the broadcast facility.

routing software.

The move to the enterprise switch puts

once the move to IP has been initiated. It is

‘It is clear that IP is the top talking point at the moment. But this brings both challenges and opportunities’

The people I talk to see a natural move

an advantage that is expected to last for the foreseeable future.

IP switches, however, are not broadcast devices. Achieving the level of performance we expect means another layer of technology.

Broadcast vendors will move to delivering

towards IP and, ultimately, virtualisation. They

monitoring and control, which will orchestrate

are comfortable with this, they see the

While 4K/UHD resolutions can be handled by

advantages, and are not concerned by

existing baseband technology, the requirement

the prospect of complexity.

for HDR and HFR support in the future, together

transition must take place with little disruption

The real area where media professionals show

the pure IP equipment on the next layer down.

For the operators in broadcast centres, this

with advancements in other areas, such as

in their current workflow. The architecture has

concern is in the core infrastructure of a station

compression with TICO and Sony IP Live, have

to look and feel like it used to. Under the hood

or a production centre due to the requirements

them re-thinking how the facility is designed.

there are software-defined networking and

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www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

18 TVBEurope

Opinion and Analysis

orchestration layers, which must not be visible to the user. This leads to two linked conversations around what is happening at the IP layer.

First, how do we handle compression?

Second, how does it co-exist with other signals in our infrastructures?

‘The people I talk to see a natural move towards IP and, ultimately, virtualisation.

They are comfortable with this, they see the advantages’

I am not talking about delivery compression.

in a look-up table. The system is virtually infinitely expandable.The second half of this conversation is how much bandwidth is enough. Already we are having serious conversations about 100 gigabits a second. We know how to do this. Even now, this is practical. The one thing that does need to be determined before we move into this great

That is not something we have much say in.

new future, though, is that we need to establish

The consumer electronics manufacturers, from

standards. Broadcast engineers are going to want

televisions and set-top boxes to smartphones and

compression schemes in the same architecture,

to choose best-of-breed point products in the

tablets, dictate delivery compression.

and indeed through the same switch.

future, just as they do now. IT manufacturers just

What I am thinking about is a new concept

So now we have the opportunity to make value

want to sell their switches, and this requires the

in broadcasting. Up until now, we have always

judgements about each signal path. We can

broadcast vendor to move towards that position

handled perfect signals. SDI is full bandwidth

choose – on a signal-by-signal basis, if we want

of greater operational management. In effect,

– ignoring the colour sub-sampling – and we

– how we balance image quality, latency and

they must make the enterprise hardware of

have never had to consider anything less than

bandwidth. As the enterprise-class switches get

today, as well as future tomorrow, act like the

perfection because there was no alternative. As

faster, we gain more signal density, and greater

broadcast systems we are familiar with but with

we move down the path towards UHD and UHD-2,

operational freedom, while reducing complexity

greater freedom of operations, more flexibility

we must now consider the overall bandwidth

at the physical infrastructure level. To bring us

in routing, and more agility in how we add new

requirements together with the signal path (wire)

back to where I started, we can decide how we

technologies to the network.

requirements and how that will impact all facets of

handle 4K signals which may be different to what

operations within the facility.

we do with HD. Our infrastructure is, therefore,

will be format agnostic. We need it to be open

If we are moving IP signals around, we can

It is clear that the future, IP-centric infrastructure

inherently future-proofed, because if someone

and standards compliant. That way, broadcasters

more freely mix uncompressed and compressed

comes along with something new – maybe higher

will feel confident in bringing together COTS IT

signals, taking advantage of available bandwidth

dynamic range, or greater frame rates – then

hardware, best of breed processing and software-

and more flexible signal paths than previously

we just determine how many bits a second we

defined monitoring and control to build the

available. We can also freely mix wrappers and

want to allocate to those signals and put that

secure, reliable infrastructures of the future.

The global resource portal for media technology content

White papers, webinars, opinions, blogs, case studies, tutorials and more.

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www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

20 TVBEurope

Workflow

Glastonbury broadcast area Part of the broadcast compound at the Glastonbury Festival

It’s music to IP ears Philip Stevens discovers how IP technology was used for broadcasts from Glastonbury, and beyond

the Glastonbury operation. “Packet loss, jitter

infrastructure, without having to compromise

and network outages have to be avoided at all

the quality of our output.” He reports that the

costs. We worked hard to design and deliver a

standards based approach worked well. “SMPTE

network with redundancy and flexibility which

2022 FEC in particular enabled us to cope with

is capable of carrying audio and video streams

the vast majority of packet loss. For future events

24 hours a day. We also had to deploy extensive

it’s likely that we’ll look to develop the use of

The broadcaster’s view

onsite network monitoring to make sure any

ARQ and adaptive encoding techniques to

This year’s Glastonbury festival saw more than

potential problems were caught before they

further guarantee the quality of our output.”

30 hours of coverage across a variety of BBC

affected output.”

outlets. Alongside the live programming on the

House says that software video encoders

Drawing on expertise

‘traditional’ channels, the Corporation continued

are now on par with hardware based systems,

House and his colleagues were able to draw on

to build on its digital offering by providing

enabling broadcasters to take advantage

extensive experience already gained through

streaming in HD for the first time. So, what were

of the scalability and affordability offered by

the BBC’s early adoption/development of

its considerations when it comes to the use of

commodity hardware.

IP based newsgathering workflows for both

encoders and IP technology? “It’s all about

“Taking a standards based approach during

breaking and major events news coverage. “This

managing the IP network for broadcast,” states

our Glastonbury coverage enabled us to

has enabled us to share our expertise with other

BBC News location engineer, Geoff House, who

quickly scale up our live broadcast capability

areas of the BBC and further develop the use of

along with Phil Cannon managed that side of

using existing hardware, delivering into current

IP for the coverage of large-scale sporting and

when audio matters natural sound – in the home

www.jungeraudio.com

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 21

Workflow music events.” House continues, “Conventional

Kunhya meet that challenge? “Ideally we’d

low-bitrate’, but we now support Opus

transport means will have an important role

send higher quality audio, but the reality is it’s

which allows you to have all three with test

to play for some time to come, but IP offers

easier to send the lowest common denominator

results indicating that it has higher quality

significant advantages, in particular the delivery

of 384Kbps MP2 audio which is high quality and

(and lower latency) than legacy codecs such

of multiple services in a more cost-effective way.

universally supported.

as AAC. The specification for Opus in MPEG-TS

In previous years, our Glastonbury teams have required on site connectivity as well as a sat

was developed with Mozilla and is a registered

“In the past, audio contribution codecs were a

format in MPEG-TS.”

case of ‘pick two from low-latency, high-quality,

truck for each red button/iPlayer feed. This year we were able to use a higher bandwidth IP link to provide local connectivity services as well as a scalable HD broadcast capability. Looking ahead this enables our production teams to start being more creative in their coverage whilst reducing our onsite overheads going forward.”

IP has changed the way audiences are able to consume content, and in order to further enrich this, it’s important for broadcasters to start taking advantage of the same IP technologies in the delivery of content from the field. “Investment in both our skills base and infrastructure are key to this, with staff training and recruitment, in particular,” states House. “The development of cross platform teams conversant in video, networking and software engineering will be key to our success going forward.”

The encoding side “We provided the BBC with six of our OBE C-100 encoders to transport high quality HD broadcast feeds over IP from six stages to London, marking the first on-site IP delivery at Glastonbury,”

s True ‘next generation’ product s ‘Worlds First’ real-time multi-rate 12Gbps capable SDI Eye/Jitter analysis s Advanced jitter insertion and analysis option

states Kieran Kunhya, managing director of

s Comprehensive range of Audio and Video tool sets

Open Broadcast Systems. “These feeds were

s Support for up to 48Gbps Analyser and Generator payloads

then used on the web and connected

s HDR, WCG, HFR, and object based audio formats*

Red Button services.”

London-based Open Broadcast Systems

s Client/Server based architecture s App based control - PC, Android, IOS s 2 x SFP± supporting 10Gbps networks* and 12Gbps optical sdi

specialises in using off-the-shelf servers in high-

s SMPTE 2022-6 over 10Gbps networks*

quality, low-latency video contribution and

s Compact, low power, low volume solution

distribution applications. Based on the Open

s Price - best value for money solution in the market

Broadcast Encoder (OBE), the servers provide

PHABRIX UHDTV SUPPORTED FORMATS Pixels

Lines

Frames

10b 4:2:0 (Gbps)

10b 4:2:2 (Gbps)

10b 4:4:4 (Gbps)

12b 4:2:0 (Gbps)

contribution applications.

7680/8192

4320

120

60 [8]

80 [8]

120 [16]

72 [8]

95.5 [16]

144 [16]

7680/8192

4320

60

30 [4]

40 [4]

60 [8]

36 [4]

48 [8]

72 [8]

7680/8192

4320

50

25 [4]

33 [4]

50 [8]

30 [4]

40 [8]

60 [8]

7680/8192

4320

30

15 [2]

20 [2]

30 [4]

18 [2]

24 [4]

36 [4]

High quality audio The brief from the BBC, says Kunhya, was to

UHDTV2/8K

cost savings as well as providing flexibility in

deliver software that could be used to transport quality. “As far as I know the C-100 is the only contribution encoder that is available as purely

UHDTV1/4K

feeds from Glastonbury in the highest possible

12b 4:2:2 (Gbps) 12b 4:4:4 (Gbps)

7680/8192

4320

25

12.4 [2]

16.6 [2]

25 [4]

15 [2]

20 [4]

30 [4]

7680/8192

4320

24

12 [2]

16 [2]

24 [4]

14.4 [2]

19 [4]

29 [4]

3840/4096

2160

120

15 [2]

20 [2]

30 [4]

18 [2]

23 [4]

36 [4]

3840/4096

2160

60

7.5 [1]

10 [1]

15[2]

9 [1]

12 [2]

18 [2]

3840/4096

2160

50

6 [1]

8 [1]

12 [2]

7.5 [1]

10 [2]

15 [2]

3840/4096

2160

30

3.7 [1]

5 [1]

7.5 [1]

4.5 [1]

6 [1]

9 [1]

software and as a result has a lower cost

3840/4096

2160

25

3.1 [1]

4.2 [1]

6.2 [1]

3.7 [1]

5 [1]

7.5 [1]

compared to traditional hardware alternatives.

3840/4096

2160

24

3 [1]

4 [1]

6 [1]

3.6 [1]

4.8 [1]

7.2 [1]

If the hardware – Intel server plus a Blackmagic

[Number of 12 Gbps physical links]

UHDTV Video Payloads Supported by PHABRIX Qx/M01

* in development

capture card – already exists, then an encoder or decoder can be rolled out very quickly. We have customers who have put services on air

Phabrix® Limited Omega House, Enterprise Way, Thatcham, Berkshire RG19 4AE United Kingdom tel + 44 (0)1635 873030 email: info@phabrix.com www.phabrix.com

using servers they have received at the last minute.”Audio quality is paramount when it comes to events such as these, so how does Made in the UK

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

22 TVBEurope

Workflow The BBC had satellite back-up plans in place

However, Shetland has one distinct advantage:

the link. After running tests to BBC News and Sky

for Glastonbury, but the encoders performed

it is located on the SHEFA-2 fibre optic cable

News to prove the link was stable and the picture

reliably, allowing the delivery of seven 15Mbps

between the Faroe Islands and the mainland

quality met stringent quality standards, the feed

HD streams back to Broadcasting House. These

and thus has direct connectivity to Telehouse

was ready to use.

were delivered to BBC MediaCity in Salford via

London, where all the major broadcasters have

broadcast circuits for distribution out to viewers.

a presence. This makes the connection better

Meeting expanding needs

than those in major cities on the mainland since it

For its part, Open Broadcast Systems has

involves only a few hops.

recently unveiled a new headquarters facility

Good experience Prior to Glastonbury, Open Broadcast Systems

in Vauxhall, London.

provided encoders for The Hay Festival in Wales.

This also involved an IP connection in a field: two paths at 30Mbps each. Alongside cultural events, the company has been involved with IP projects from the Shetland Islands during the Scottish

“We’ve based it in a purpose-built teleport,

‘This year’s Glastonbury festival saw more than 30 hours of coverage across a variety of BBC outlets’

Referendum and the British Basketball League

and the new facility provides us with space for corporate expansion, as well as providing a showcase for software video transport over IP in an actual broadcast environment.”

The HQ has nine racks of datacentre space

finals from London’s O2 Arena.

available, along with a steerable C-band dish

“The broadcasts from the Shetland Islands are

and two Ku dishes. Diverse fibre paths are also

an excellent illustration of how IP can be used

At the Mareel entertainment centre in Lerwick, a

available allowing Open Broadcast Systems

to deliver broadcast-quality live or recorded

100Mbitps connection was available and having

to present a wide range of services such as

material,” says Kunhya. “Broadcasters may be

built an OBE Community Edition themselves to

broadcast co-location and other video transport

reluctant to send a satellite vehicle and crew

prove the concept, the engineers there used an

means. It also provides for R&D improvements to

to remote venues because of distance. In the

OBE C-100 device to encode the 1080i/25 HD-SDI

be tested, and then deployed in the real world

case of the Shetlands, it also lacks services such

feed into a low-latency H.264 in MPEG-TS over

within minutes. Open Broadcast Systems also

as 4G which would normally be used to deliver

UDP unicast stream. SMPTE-2022-1 Forward Error

plans to set up facilities in its offices for testing

footage back to base.”

Correction was used to correct packet loss on

devices remotely.

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www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

24 TVBEurope

REVIEW

Feature

Industry acts on interoperability The transition to IP in live and studio environments is underway but the evolution will be gradual, not a big bang, writes Adrian Pennington

success,” said Ewan Johnston, sales director at Trilogy. “Customers will need to choose between those vendors who provide standards-based systems, but who really still want to deliver

espite IP being routinely used in

the chance to develop an IP-based OB

proprietary systems, and those who genuinely

broadcast centres and mobile facilities

truck for sport,” explained Raymundo Barros,

embrace the standards-based approach and

for functions like content management,

TV Globo’s CTO.

have open systems in their corporate DNA.”

D

browsing, metadata flows, stats integrations and

Nonetheless, there’s a general feeling that

IBC showed an industry prepared to make

file movement, the live environment seems the

IP technologies inserted into live production

unprecedented technical cooperation. The EBU

last area of the broadcast chain to adopt IP for

workflows at studios or venues need to mature.

corralled manufacturers Axon, EVS, Genelec,

end-to-end workflows. The industry is now making

Live is fraught with on-the-fly changes: a

Grass Valley, Nevion, Trilogy and Tektronix

a strategic initiative to close the loop.

late breaking news story with satellite link, for

to support its Sandbox LiveIP project which

instance, or a director requiring a camera

highlights resource sharing, remote production

financial means and the need for ultra-fast and

alteration at a track and field event. The risk

and automation. It implemented an IP studio

responsive live remote production, are paving

of on-air black holes or a missing commercial

at Belgium broadcaster VRT, replicated in

the way for others,” said Nicolas Bourdan, SVP

makes for cautious adoption.

reduced scale on the IBC floor and is a landmark

“Early adopters like those in sports, with the

marketing, EVS.

For CTOs, the heart of the matter is whether

achievement in interoperability by using SMPTE

Among the pioneers are NFL broadcaster

trust in the deterministic, virtually fool-proof

2022-6/ AES67 and PTP to transport feeds over a

ESPN which opened its Digital Center 2 facility

signal integrity of SDI can be matched by

software defined network.

last summer housing a 9,000sqft studio, six

IP. Will resolutions, frame rates and audio be

production control rooms, four audio rooms,

synchronised all of the time? And how is control

think of new ways of making content,” said

40 cameras and 16 edit suites all IP networked

over IP to be managed and monitored by

Simon Fell, EBU director of technology and

around a Evertz routing core. In contrast to the

broadcast engineers unschooled in IT?

innovation. “VRT has built a world that can

performance of a typical baseband router which

SMPTE standard 2022-6 goes some way

“The IP studio gives us an opportunity to

work. Now, manufacturers need to adopt new

can handle about a couple of thousand signals

to address this. It is devised to mirror SDI by

ways of interfacing their equipment to that

at a time, ESPN’s set-up allows it to handle up to

synching video over IP in real time, and provide

world and give us the flexibility we are looking

60,000 signals simultaneously over nearly 1,100

reassurance in workflow and operational

for. At the moment there is a lot of transcribing,

miles of fibre optic cable installed in the facility.

monitoring for broadcast engineers. Reproducing

re-packaging and re-streaming going on to get

It won the IBC Innovation award for Content

current SDI workflows over IP is the first solution

things across the network.”

Management. Another well regarded reference

but it does not unlock the full potential of IP by

site is America’s Pac-12 Networks. It covers 850

offering seamless switching between AV and

Geir Bordalen, head of investment at Norway’s

sports events a year by sending the cameras,

metadata streams. SMPTE, the EBU and others

NRK said, “It’s not all hooked together and that’s

mics and commentators to site but doing all

are working on a new standard (2022-7) which

one of the problems with interoperability. We

production remotely, using T-VIPS and Nevion

may be published later next year.

need to work hard on that and gain the benefits

In a conference session discussing the project,

links to transmit talkback and telemetry to and

“When properly implemented and managed,

from venues up to 2,500km. Doing so saves an

IP technologies for media distribution can match

estimated $15,000 per game or $13 million a year.

the quality and latency standards required

at any other time, declared an IP-based

At IBC, Brazilian broadcaster TV Globo claimed

of working together.”

Panasonic and Grass Valley, competitors

by the broadcasting industry today,” stressed

production partnership. Panasonic studio

the first all-IP 4K outside broadcast truck. The

Bourdan. The reality, though, is that if you want

cameras including the Varicam now have a

unit, being built for Rio 2016, will be outfitted with

to deploy IP across the chain you have to install

built-in module for IP and were demonstrated

Sony HDC-4300 cameras - IP connected through

a lot of conversion hardware. That’s due to the

working with a Grass Valley K2 server sending 4K

the CCU, Sony’s IP Live switcher and IP-ready

broadcast equipment vendor’s historic need for

50p via network connection.

monitors. The router will be off-the-shelf IT kit. “It

lock-in solutions and it has to change.

doesn’t make any sense to create a brand new truck based on SDI any more, so we are taking

“Interoperability is the key, and adhering to industry standards is important to ensuring

“Factors such as codecs, synchronisation, identification, registration, discovery and connection management are required for

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www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

26 TVBEurope

REVIEW

Feature professional networked media,” explained GV

innovation and technology. “IP4Live will lead

proliferation of them). This is notably the case

senior VP, strategic marketing, Mike Cronk. “Each

and guide customers to real cost and flexibility

for compression and in particular for 4K/UHD

of them must be a common implementation for

benefits.” The Belgian firm was part of Gearhouse

which requires implementation of a particularly

a truly interoperable system.”

Broadcast’s demonstration of VoIP remote

low latency scheme. Options include the

production in which the EVS DYVI switcher on

open source VC2 JPEG2000 and Sony’s Low

companies for its Live IP production system.

Gearhouse’s booth was shown cutting together

Latency Video Codec which it is promoting as a

Among them is Evertz whose software-defined

4K camera signals from the Hitachi stand. It was

successor to SDI because of the lead Sony took

video networking was shown working with Sony’s

an upgraded version of the group’s demo in

in making SDI the industry standard. Too many

Networked Media Interface (NMI) at IBC. The NMI

June which routed HD over IP.

codecs at different points would prove costly

Sony has amassed the support of 20

turns HD and UHD video, audio and metadata

“This is a proof of concept in the migration

to licence so the unification of tools using them

into packets, transmits and clean-switches in

from HD to 4K and highlights the benefits that

will require a very open approach between

real time over standard network infrastructures.

remote production through IP infrastructures

manufacturers.

Collaboration is also occurring between

allow broadcasters,” said Kevin Fitzgerald, head

broadcast specialists and the IT industry. As part

of systems and product sales at Gearhouse

of its multi-vendor IP4Live approach, at IBC EVS

EVS (yes them again) further allied with

Imagine has put its weight behind J2K and expects others to follow. “The evolution of standards will accelerate around successful

showed its new XiP gateway enabling I/O IP links

Imagine Communications to forge what Imagine

technologies being deployed by the largest

to its live video server, demonstrated multi-feed

CEO Charlie Vogt called a “market-ready”

global companies,” said Vogt. “DirecTV, Disney

live remote production using Cisco’s standard

package for IP live production.

ABC, Fox Networks are all adopting SMPTE-2022

IP switches. SAM (née Quantel and Snell)

“We are aggressively going after the live news

previously joined forces with Cisco to

and sports market,” he declared. The solution

demonstrate video over IP.

marries EVS’ slo-motion and instant replay servers

EVS was arguably the busiest vendor in highlighting its open, standards-based credentials. “What we’re talking about is the last frontier for IP,” said Johan Vounckx, SVP

and J2K so you will see smaller companies begin to adopt those.”

Sony Europe’s head of workflow and IT Niall

with Imagine’s Selenio processor and Magellan

Duffy made a similar point, suggesting that

multichannel management software.

the de-facto standard will be the one that

A fly in the ointment in all this cross-vendor sharing is the lack of standards (or the

gains most market acceptance the quickest.

“All vendors are keen to make the IP transition

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 27

Feature

REVIEW happen. There is concern that we have to wait

and others. “Interoperability does not mean

“the whole concept of a hybrid architecture is

until every single standard in the pipeline has

trading down on ‘best of breed,’” said Gilmer.

to have everything look and feel like a router

been ratified which will be far too late for the IP

“Media clients and systems integrators want

because the operator needs to walk up to a

revolution to happen as it should.”

to pick and choose the best option to make a

control surface and do everything they need to

solution work. Interoperability is the key enabler

in their day to day business.”

Many vendors have their eggs in more than one basket. EVS and Imagine support J2K but have also backed the TICO Alliance joining

of best of breed.”

Vendors are at least united in giving customer’s

The tipping point may come as broadcasters time their adoption of IP with a move to 4K. The

Grass Valley, Matrox, Tektronix, Deltacast and

an on-ramp to the IP transition, one that protects

economic argument is simple: a 10Gbps Ethernet

others. IntoPix, the company which devised the

existing investments. Broadcasters will want to

cable can transmit much more efficiently and

mezzanine compression is submitting a draft to

sweat their installed assets of copper cabled

cost effectively than traditional cabling.

SMPTE. “We wanted to make it a standard for

cameras, vision mixers, monitors and routers while

enabling interoperability and to be open, so

judging the right time to re-equip. Manufacturers

really needs to have a 10Gb switch,” said TSL

we’ve been discussing ways of using it across

on the other hand, including Sony, SAM, Grass

managing director, Chris Exelby. “A busy area

the studio IP and SDI sector with first adopters,”

Valley and Panasonic, have reworked their

on a network might be the video mixer on a

said product marketing manager, Jean-Baptiste

product lines to fit IP interfaces side by side with

live production, which would certainly require

Lorent. It is working on a preliminary spec for 8K

SDI connectors and are encouraging sales today

a 40Gb or even a 100Gb switch. This is neither

over 12Gb SDI or over 10Gb internet using TICO.

to future-proof investment.

commonplace nor inexpensive technology.”

Interoperability is also the focus of the AMWA

“Our hybrid IP and baseband strategy enables

“Every point where you might have a camera

Technology is moving extremely quickly.

Networked Media Incubator (NMI), launched

broadcasters to invest in the systems that they

Imagine says it is already testing pipes of 40GbE

at IBC. “This is about getting a group working

need to grow their businesses now, in the

and 100GbE. Costs are high, but Moore’s Law

together around IP for media,” said AMWA

certainty that they can transition to IP when

dictates that capacity will expand while costs

executive Brad Gilmer. “Then we get the people

their needs dictate,” explained SAM’s EVP

reduce.

who make the products and incite them to work

marketing Neil Maycock.

together.” BBC R&D will lead the initiative with Ericsson, SAM, Telestream, Cinegy, Dalet, Sony

Imagine’s product manager for the Magellan SDN Orchestrator Paul Greene added that

“Right now IP studios are in the pre-natal stage,” said Fell of the EBU. “They are still not fully born, but they are coming.”

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

28 TVBEurope

Feature

REVIEW

Immersed in innovation New developments in enhanced audio technologies and the continued rise of AoIP dominated the sound story of IBC2015, as David Davies reports

of a rebalancing, with debate about immersive

SAM (Smart Active Monitors) products; Lawo’s

or enhanced sound and AoIP generating almost

new KICK system, designed to allow a fully-

as much excitement as talk of 4K or HDR.

automated, close-ball audio mix for sports

The immersive audio trend can in part be

such as football and rugby; and Fraunhofer

perceived as recognition that, with the quality

IIS and other partners in the MPEG-H Audio

of visual reproduction constantly improving,

project, which enables enhanced services to be

the audio experience must somehow keep

provided across different platforms.

pace. Whatever the case, technologies that

Calrec collaborated with Fraunhofer at

aim to bring the home and cinema viewer even

IBC2015 to demonstrate how MPEG-H can be

dvances on the visual side have been

A

closer to the action were thick on the ground at

integrated easily into a broadcast chain. “The

such in recent years that the last few

IBC2015: Dolby with its groundbreaking Atmos

MPEG-H Audio standard can be integrated quite

editions of IBC have been dominated

technology; Genelec with an immersive audio

simply with existing broadcasting equipment

by discussion of, in particular, UHD and related

room that featured a configuration based

just by adding a MPEG-H Audio rendering and

technologies. But IBC2015 witnessed something

around Dolby Atmos and its own Compact

monitoring unit. For Calrec, it’s important to work

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 29

Feature

REVIEW with technology companies who are involved

in all three models; and Jünger Audio’s Dante

‘Resoundingly positive spirit’

in other areas of the industry to help ascertain

Audio over IP interface card to network all

Business-wise, there were perhaps fewer

the operational implications from a console

Junger Audio Slim Line digital audio processors.

headline-making stories than in recent years,

operator point of view,” says Calrec vice

Audinate itself announced that more than 500

although Linear Acoustic did confirm that

president of sales Dave Letson.

Dante-enabled products are now available from

Minnetonka Audio Software had joined the

licensed manufacturers worldwide.

Telos Alliance through a merger of the two

Such link-ups underline Letson’s assertion that “the story of the show was one of cooperation”

Reflecting on the show, Riedel product

companies. The united companies will combine

– and in Calrec’s case, this also included an

manager Ramon Pankert says that “the wide

their expertise in all aspects of television audio

integrated Waves SoundGrid solution for its

variety of new technologies, standards and

from production to transmission, as well as radio,

Hydra2 platform of consoles. More generally, it is

products gives broadcasters plenty to think

streaming and more.

clear that cooperation continues to underpin the

about. In the networked audio world, trends like

rise of networked audio to universal prominence.

Networking’s onward march “Clearly, one of the most discussed topics at IBC was connectivity and integration,” says Harman’s marketing director, mixers, Keith Watson. Accordingly, IBC show visitors “were able to experiment with some of our Harman Professional integrated solutions at the booth, including JBL speakers, AKG microphones and

“The story of the show was one of cooperation. Calrec made several announcements at IBC which are the result of collaboration with leading industry partners” Dave Letson, Calrec

headphones, Soundcraft and Studer mixers, and

visitors in total), the centrality of the show to vendors’ annual trade show calendar remains unquestionable. “From our point of view, the most significant thing was the attendance and its positive views on the market,” says Watson. “This was manifested in a couple of ways; firstly, we had great numbers at the booth from all areas of broadcast and live production; secondly, the spirit was resoundingly positive. The ultimate test, of course, is whether businesses are looking

AMX control solutions.”

In terms of networking techniques, Harman

With the days after IBC2015 concluded bringing the news of record attendance (55,128

to invest or hold off spending, and we were AES67, AVB and Dante are all competing for

pleased with the number of enquiries and new

is maintaining a ‘network agnostic’ approach:

adoption. Our aim as a solutions provider is to

projects that we picked up. If those trends were

and there was plentiful evidence elsewhere on

minimise the confusion by delivering flexible and

felt across other manufacturers it bodes well

the showfloor of other manufacturers working to

future-proof products and interfaces that will

for the future.”

accommodate as many different protocols as

work today and in future.”

possible during this extended period of transition

In line with this philosophy, Riedel solutions

Sennheiser’s head of commercial management, broadcast and media, Achim

from point-to-point connectivity. Meanwhile,

showcased at IBC2015 included MicroN, an

there were several significant announcements

80G media distribution network device for

TVBEurope to highlight the positive mood at

surrounding the networking technologies

the MediorNet line of media transport and

the show –although the good reception given

generally felt to be leading the field at present.

management solutions. Working with the

to new wireless dual-channel camera receiver

MediorNet MetroN core fibre router, MicroN is a

EK6042 and the fact that Sennheiser is currently

included Bel Digital’s launch of Dante audio

high-density signal interface with a complete

in the midst of its 70th anniversary must surely

monitor the BM-A1-64DANTE; SSL’s System T, a

array of audio, video, and data inputs and

have added to the glow. “For Sennheiser it was

fully networked broadcast audio production

outputs, including 24 SD/HD/3G-SDI I/Os, two

a great success in our anniversary year,” says

environment with new ways to combine control

MADI optical digital audio ports, a Gigabit

Gleissner. “Lots of traffic, new products, a well-

interfaces, processor cores and I/O devices; RTS

Ethernet port, two sync reference I/Os, and eight

received booth concept and happy customers.

KP-Series and key panels with Dante connectivity

10G SFP+ high-speed ports.

What more can one ask for?”

In the case of Audinate’s Dante, these

Riedel at IBC2015

Gleissner, is among many others who spoke to

“Clearly, one of the most discussed topics at IBC was connectivity and integration,” Keith Watson, Harman

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

30 TVBEurope

Feature

REVIEW

IBC2015: UHD still faces challenges from HDR+ From show floor to conference sessions, the talk of this year’s IBC was distinctively around UHD, writes Chris Forrester

LCD or now in OLED, in the retail sector has caught the industry by surprise. “The studios, networks, infrastructure vendors…they have all been caught out. [The recent] IFA show in Berlin proved that HDR and UHD in general were the hottest of hot topics.”

BC2014 was, by general agreement, mostly

I

He said perhaps it was the problems with 3D

a 4K show. This year’s IBC was most definitely

that meant the industry was too cautious. “The

an Ultra HD show with stand after stand

pace of change, and adoption by the public [of

showcasing how wonderful UHD looked and with many exhibitors saying how their technology,

UHD], is extremely rapid.”

Dolby Labs’ executive director Pat Griffis

gadget, or gizmo helped get the impressive

agreed, saying that at CES [in January 2016]

images to the consumer.

there would be another flood of high-end

IBC also saw a slew of UHD channels launched

displays showcased which would add another

Waiting for this UHD step-change is also creating

including offerings from US space agency NASA,

set of parameters to the mix and claim

a problem for most of Europe’s pay-TV operators.

a German shopping channel (pearl.tv), an all-

‘compatibility’ with HDR, WCG and possibly even

Already facing 4K pressures from the likes of

new entertainment channel (Insight), Fashion

HFR despite a lack of agreed standards for most

Netflix and Amazon Video (which both now

One moving into 4K, and reports from satellite

of these aspects.

include HDR on some their output) the pay-TV

operators SES and Eutelsat who both said that UHD was achieving “steady momentum”.

Ferdinand Kayser, COO at SES, summed up the optimism prevalent across the industry,

consensus seems to be to wait for these quantum

‘Most European public broadcasters want a whopping step-change for UHD’

leap improvements to be available.

Andy Quested, the BBC’s head of technology for UHD, said that creating a single ‘all-

saying that 2015 has seen a significant

embracing’ standard was a huge challenge.

breakthrough with the number of channels

Quested is chairman of the ITU-R’s RG-24 panel

either on air or about to launch. “Demos,

of experts, and is trying to politely knock heads

content, high-technical standards, devices

Matthew Goldman (SVP, technology, TV

together to come up with a single standard to

and the delivery infrastructure are now falling

compression at Ericsson) said there was now a

cover technology proposals from Dolby, Japan’s

into place,” he added.

body of opinion that suggested that HDR+, a

NHK, Philips and Technicolor. “You cannot have

catch-all description for HDR and WCG would

a standard with four options. What we are trying

UHD, and there would be two phases for

not see implementation much before 2017-18,

to do is merge the proposals into a document

UHD’s introduction. The industry was already

and even 2019-2020 when 100/120Hz frame rates

with a single proposal but with one or two

in Phase 1 with more pixels, better codecs and

were included. “This means there is a very real

applications,” said Quested, speaking at IBC.

a larger field of view. But this would be followed

risk of incompatibility unless we all work together.

“OETF is essentially how you set a camera up,

by Phase 2, starting in 2017 with “better pixels,

There is a strong desire to have these standards

and EOTF is how you set up a display. We are

higher dynamic range (HDR), a wider colour

understood and established by the end of 2016.”

looking at trying to combine the signal path

This represented a “virtuous circle” for

gamut (WCG), higher frame rates (HFR) and better audio”.

The EBU’s David Wood summed up the

into something called an OOTF (Opto-Optical

dilemma faced by many broadcasters,

Transfer Function). If we can get a single

especially publicly-funded players. He said

definition of an OOTF the camera can be

were also creating a major headache for the

broadcasters wanted to know three key facts:

what’s called ‘informative’.”

standards bodies. Panel after panel at the IBC

“What differences can I see; will this boost my

Conference sessions bemoaned the apparent

audience, and how much will it all cost?”

However, those much-needed ‘better pixels’

slowness of consolidating standards to reflect

He said as at today it was extremely difficult

“Fundamentally I have to get everybody to agree,” said Quested. “It is not about putting one system against another and making a

HDR, WCG and HFR. Nandhu Nandhakumar,

to give any positive answers. “Most European

decision. It is about putting up a proposal that is

SVP at LG Technology, summed up the position

public broadcasters want a whopping step-

not objected to by any administration. Any ITU

saying that the success of 4K sales, whether

change for UHD.”

standard is agreed worldwide, which means it

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 31

Feature

REVIEW

takes a long time to ratify. But the standard then lasts a long time and the industry will build to it.”

While these discussions are proceeding, it is also clear that displays, with or without the ability to handle HDR+, are being bought by consumers like ‘hot cakes’. Eutelsat presented the very latest GfK research data on UHD sales at IBC, saying that GfK predicts a striking 200 per cent hike in Ultra HD screen sales from June to December 2015. It expects sales to hit the five million mark by the end of this year (3.6 million in western Europe, 700,000 in eastern Europe and 600,000 in the Middle East), representing 9.3 per cent of all TV sales in 21 key markets in these regions. Accumulated sales will result in a potential installed base of 6.2 million TV homes by the end of the year. And while all these discussions, hopes and anticipations are taking place, the Japanese, with their 8K ‘Super Hi-Vision’ also showcased their latest wares at IBC, and confirmed that 8K transmissions would be tested in 2018. NHK is on schedule for widespread deployment in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The rest of the world can only hope that a common standard for UHD will have emerged by then.

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October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 33

Feature

REVIEW

Satellites on an upward trajectory at IBC Consumers are demanding more, which means broadcasters are demanding more. How is the satellite industry responding? Ian McMurray was at IBC to find out

delivering more realistic and engaging Ultra HD pictures for the TV industry and broadcasters.

As a key infrastructure provider, it is essential for us to support all the players to help them maximise the opportunity presented by this new

ccording to a study published by

Michel Chabrol, director, innovation marketing

Research and Markets in July, the global

and digital cinema. “Most TVs today have a

satellites market will grow at a CAGR

peak brightness of around 100 nits, whereas the

A

of more than five per cent in the coming years.

Certainly, there was excitement about the future at IBC2015 among the satellite community.

Eutelsat, for example, was enthused by the

opportunity it believes HDR represents. The company took the opportunity in Amsterdam

viewing experience.”

Technology evolution The theme of evolution was also apparent on

‘The global satellites market will grow at a CAGR of more than five per cent in the coming years’

to feature a special demonstration – with the

ETL Systems’ stand. “As the broadcast industry advances rapidly, technology must also evolve to keep up with the changes,” noted Andrew Bond, sales director. “Our products evolve as the industry changes and we pride ourselves on that flexibility and ability to respond quickly.

help of BBC R&D and Samsung – showing that

The RF equipment that ETL supplies, such as

the broadcast and reception of HDR TV signals is

peak brightness of an HDR television is around

our RF switching matrices, is designed to be

compatible with existing TV sets.

1,000 nits: representing a tenfold increase in

expandable. This means that our kit can be

the brightness of the highlights on the screen.

upgraded as teleport requirements grow, with

There’s no doubt it’s a substantial improvement,

system expansion handled seamlessly to ensure

“We are convinced that HDR will be the next step in the evolution chain of TV sets,” said

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

34 TVBEurope

REVIEW

Feature minimum downtime. We embrace the challenge of designing new products for shifting industry needs, with 70 per cent of our largest orders in 2015 specially engineered to meet specific customer requirements.”

ETL Systems products showcased at IBC included the Stingray RF over Fibre range, the new Piranha LNB Power Supply units and advancements in its Enigma Matrix range.

‘If the satellite industry at IBC is anything to go by, there are certainly exciting times ahead’

Ali Zarkesh, Vislink

Kevin McCarthy, Newtec

Micghel Chabrol, Eutelsat

options, providing additional resilience for uplink

OTT and VoD platforms as required. “Media

and downlink transmissions. There was, inevitably,

Factory breaks down the traditional siloed

much discussion of the role of the cloud at this

content preparation workflows for

According to the company, StingRay’s high

year’s IBC. Globecast was highlighting its

different distribution approaches or regions,”

performance design offers excellent module to

Media Factory platform, which is the company’s

said Valéry Bonneau, media management

module isolation, making it ideal for high isolation

cloud approach to handling and preparing

product manager.

applications. Downtime is said to be minimised

content for distribution.

by dual redundant, hot-swap power supplies

According to the company, it enables

As part of its overall Media Solutions offering, Globecast was also showing its localisation

and hot-swap power supplies. The range now

customers to provide content to Globecast once

and edge playout, VoD packaging, OTT and

includes 1+1 and 4+1 redundancy configuration

and then have that delivered to linear playout,

creative services offerings.

Call: +44 (0) 1981 259020

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Booth: 406

TVBEurope 35

Feature Delivering more for less As with most businesses today, the broadcast industry is faced with constant pressure to deliver more for less, McCarthy noted.

“Customers expect high resolution 4K video and on-demand

NETWORK. AUDIO. VIDEO. smart IP live production infrastructure.

programming, but don’t want to pay more. Newtec Dialog can help broadcasters address these economic challenges by maximising the efficiency of next generation HTS satellites and increasing automation,

Valéry Bonneau, Globecast

thereby reducing OPEX and improving customer experience.”

On show on the Vislink stand

Multiple formats, multiple screens

were its new HD and 4K UHD

“As a media solutions provider

which the company believes

we’re no longer just supporting

are ideal for satellite and

linear channels with playout and

electronic news-gathering.

delivery services,” continued

UltraCoder and UltraDecoder,

“We’ve tried to keep things as

Bonneau. “Increasingly, our business

simple as possible for broadcasters,”

is about getting content out in as

said Ali Zarkesh, VP, product

many formats and for as diverse

management. “Not only do they

screens as consumers demand,

work with Vislink’s current DVE

ensuring it reaches the widest

and IRD series products, but they

possible audience. Globecast is

also have the same graphical

always looking at ways to help

user interface, meaning less

broadcasters get the best value

training for operators and an

from their content.”

easy upgrade path.”

For Newtec, IBC provided the

Vislink was also showcasing

opportunity to discuss with satellite

the HEROCast wireless HD video

operators and service providers how

transmitter. It is said to be small

it believes Newtec Dialog can help

enough to be worn or mounted, to

them adapt to new trends, including

bring viewers immersive new angles.

HTS and multiservice.

The company debuted

“HEROCast is not only the lightest HD micro transmitter on the market,

Newtec Dialog 1.2, an updated

but also consumes up to 50 per

version of its multiservice VSAT

cent less power than its nearest

platform. According to Newtec,

competitors,” averred Zarkesh.

its technologies guarantee the

“Broadcasters must continue to

highest efficiencies and most flexible

innovate if they are to stay ahead of

bandwidth allocation capabilities

the game,” he added. “HEROCast

across multiple markets.

has already been used to transmit

“Our engineers achieved this

ed mat ontrol ixing o t u c A ing all m mix close-b for

15

20 act

p

m C co

IB e plet com re! r u yo he Get date p u IBC

io n ctio aud e4 & t o o rodu e m p d e i r e v t l V__ emo iona for r rect i e d i c B rfa ncy inte late w to IP o l or ce f 1 erfa t view n _ i _ I V g DM orin o-H onit IP-t m i4 o ces ide mad terfa IP v A__ n i & P -to-I tal 8 udio digi A y t A__ li qua High

unique perspectives and angles at

through breakthrough innovations

this year’s NHL playoffs, as well as

like Mx-DMA, a patented return

the summer and winter X Games,

link technology that combines

and we expect to see it improving

the flexibility of MF-TDMA with the

the viewing experience for millions of

performance of SCPC,” explained

people at other high-profile sporting

Kevin McCarthy, VP of market

events across the globe.”

development. “Of course, Newtec

K C I K

If the satellite industry at IBC is

Dialog still provides the option to run

anything to go by, there are

in either SCPC or MF-TDMA modes,

certainly exciting times ahead.

for applications that require it.”

Roll on IBC2016.

www.lawo.com

36 TVBEurope

Feature

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

REVIEW

IBC2015 Best of Show winners This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NewBay Media Best of Show awards programme saw an unprecedented number of nominations, as companies from across the industry put forward their products, software, and technologies for consideration. Our independent panel of roving judges visited each and every entry to get the lowdown on the submitted products, and ahead of our IBC2015 Best of Show digital edition, we showcase the deserving winners in the TVBEurope category

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 37

Feature ADB

ASPERA

Connected Solutions

Aspera Files

ADB launched its Connected Solutions at this year’s IBC to enable operators to maximise the opportunities presented by the connected age. Today, operators need to overcome challenges created by a fragmented media ecosystem, disparate industry standards and rapidly changing consumer expectations, and ADB’s new range of application specific software solutions are designed to deliver compelling connected experiences that today’s consumers crave.

Aspera Files is a new SaaS offering by Aspera, an IBM company, which transforms large content sharing and collaboration across all storage locations – on premises and in the cloud. Media organisations can establish a branded web-based presence for the exchange and delivery of file-based media, combining multiple cloud and on-premises storage platforms. Aspera Files is designed to transform content sharing and collaboration by eliminating the complexities of large data sharing with exchange of the largest (4K) media formats, digital cinema packages (DCP) and associated metadata.

Offered as a service, Aspera Files can be deployed and configured quickly and easily, eliminating the hassle of complex network setups and cloud resources provisioning, but is also able to handle sophisticated deployments and complex workflows connecting multiple cloud platforms and on premises storage systems. Web User Interface is a simple and intuitive user experience within a customisable, company-branded web application that includes, amongst other things, direct-to-cloud technology supporting direct cloud-storage I/O to all major cloud platforms including SoftLayer, AWS, Azure, Google, Akamai and Limelight enabling the fastest file uploads and downloads and key transfer management features such as pause, resume and encryption over the wire and at rest.

Personal TV delivers seamless TV experiences across devices, allowing consumers to enjoy their favourite content across PCs, laptops, set-top boxes and mobile devices. At its core is the award winning Graphyne TV, a complete software suite that streamlines the process of managing and delivering TV and video content. The solution unifies access to all content types, including broadcast, on-demand and OTT delivering a seamless TV experience.

Personal IoT manages and unifies connected and smart home applications, helping consumers to run their lives more smoothly. Applications include home automation, enabling consumers to manage their lighting, heating and energy consumption via a smartphone or remote control; home monitoring, which allows consumers to safeguard their homes and receive updates via email or SMS; and ambient assisted living, which offers support for the elderly in their daily routines.

Judges comments “A lot of people are talking about IoT as a potential revenue stream for operators and how it can be addressed, but ADB’s vision is probably the most compelling, and it seems to have the technology to support the vision”

Judges comments “Essentially a clever file manager for media files. Has lots of API links, and could be a serious force in promoting cloud based workflows”

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

38 TVBEurope

REVIEW

Feature BLACKMAGIC

BLT

DaVinci Resolve 12

BLT SportTouch

DaVinci Resolve 12 combines professional non linear video editing with an colour corrector, allowing post production professionals to edit, color grade, finish and deliver a feature all from one system. Version 12 delivers more than 80 new features for editing and colour grading, including a new modern interface, multi-camera editing tools, media management features, an entirely new professional audio engine, shot matching, 3D keyer and 3D perspective tracker.

The new multi-camera editing feature of DaVinci Resolve Studio lets editors cut programmes from multiple sources in real time. DaVinci Resolve 12 can synchronise camera angles based on timecode, audio waveforms, or in/out points. The source monitor displays a grid containing the camera angles and plays them all back in sync while the editor makes cuts to the audio and/or video. In addition to multi-camera editing, DaVinci Resolve Studio also features several enhancements to the core editing tools. All trim modes, multi-slip, slide, ripple and roll have been extended and editors can now select multiple points for dynamic trimming and asymmetric trimming of clips, even if they’re on the same track. New transition curves let editors create and edit custom curves for transition parameters and new on-screen controls let editors see and adjust motion paths directly in the timeline viewer.

BLT SportTouch is an integrated production suite aimed at sport production, integrating the main unit BLT VideoServer for acquisition and playout (including all features for live slow motion), the control panel and the innovative tablet style based RUS-TAB. The latest improvement to BLT SportTouch system is the dual clip operation, that allows for simultaneous synched playback of two clips from Server and dual control from the tablet panel. The two clips can run in sync with frame accurate run (to be used, for example, to highlight the same action from different angles) or as independent (to be used, for example, to run and compare two different actions together).

The RUS-TAB is connected to the BLT VideoServer through an IP connection (can be wired or wireless) and can be used by replay operator or by the on-air talent to comment and highlight during sports action, as well as other events.

The server is ‘simulcasting’ the content on full quality (for the playout channel) and in proxy quality to the RUS-TAB unit for the on-air talent. The RUS-TAB feature Video Server control as main point, with dual clip player and also zoom and lens effects. More graphical features are under development for enriching programme comments or highlights creation.

Judges comments “Controller for clip playback designed to run on a tablet, intended for use by talent. Very well thought out product that gives sports commentators the opportunity to have direct control of playback (plus lots of other functions)”

Judges comments “Incredible that something that would probably have cost an ‘arm and a leg’ is now given away for free. Certainly an impressive product”

BRIDGE TECHNOLOGIES

Gold TS Protection Gold TS Protection is a new technology designed to make monitoring for digital services quicker to set up, and faulttracking faster, more accurate and secure. Developed by Bridge Technologies, Gold TS Protection includes all the checks specified in the ETR290 standard, as well as testing for critical conditions missed by ETR290. Conditions like failures of the conditional access system, errors in the programme guide, and unintended language changes seriously affect subscribers, but standard monitoring systems based only on ETR290 do not raise any alert for these conditions. Services protected by Gold TS Reference catch these ‘ETR290-legal’ errors and provide an assurance

for operators of digital media services. Two of the most time-consuming and inefficient areas in media monitoring are the calibration of the monitoring system, and fault-tracking.

Calibration is normally a long-winded process requiring a lot of operator input and expertise, and very few people in the industry fully understand all the intricacies of ETR290. ETR290 calibration involves the setting of hundreds of detailed criteria and alarm parameters for them, and it has to be repeated for each stream.

Judges comments “The broadcasting industry is losing skilled, experienced people to attrition/retirement. Bridge has recognised this problem, and has encapsulated some of that useful knowledge in Gold TS, enabling relatively inexperienced people to achieve similar results. An innovative solution to a real problem”

Streamline your Broadcast Workflow Non-blocking 576 port KVM matrix Modular, flexible 24/7 technology Instant KVM and USB switching Cat X/Fiber/3G-SDI support

IHSE GmbH - Headquarters

IHSE GmbH Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

IHSE USA LLC

Maybachstrasse 11 88094 Oberteuringen

158 Kallang Way #07-13A Singapore 349245

1 Corporate Drive Cranbury, NJ 08512

Germany

USA

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Feature BROTHER BROTHER & SONS

Pipeline System The new Pipeline LED System is an expandable array of modular, cylindrical fixtures, customisable to suit specific requirements.

The lightweight Pipeline System provides soft, projected light that is fully controllable and dimmable, with no colour shift or flicker and a TLCI rating in the high 90s. Whether installed in a multi-lamp reflector bank or deployed in a single reflector, Pipelines provide pleasing output for modelling faces and illuminating backgrounds. They offer the advantages of low power draw, high light output (more than 1000 lumens per foot of length), 180-degree light dispersion, heatless and fan-less operation, and long lamp life. The cylindrical lamps, available in 3200K, 4300K and 5600K colour temperature output, can be used in a bi-colour arrangement mixing different colour temperature Pipes (lamps) to achieve desired colour temperatures.

Pipelines come in a cylindrical form-factor of 1-inch (25mm) diameter, and lengths of 1’, 2’, 3’ and 4’ (305mm, 610mm, 914mm and 1219mm). The Pipes can be utilised individually in their own metal base or fit into one, two, and four-Pipe reflector housings for each length. Pipes snap into the housings via magnetic locks on each end. Unlike standard LED lights, where phosphor is applied directly onto the Light Emitting Diodes, BBS Pipes utilise a separate phosphor layer, positioned away from the LEDs, providing brighter, higher fidelity light emission. And by not having the phosphors bonded directly to the LEDs, it does not receive the heat damage that leads to inconsistent colour over time, which is inherent in traditional LED fixtures.

Control is provided by in-line dimmers on the 1’ and 2’ Pipelines. A 4-channel Smart Controller can drive the 1, 2, 3 and 4-foot Pipeline fixtures. The Controller automatically senses the length and individual colour temperature of each Pipe. Additionally, the Smart Controller provides full DMX 512 in and out for control of the full lighting package. Accessories such as wireless control from tablet or phone, cable remote, stackcontrollers, snap grids, snap boxes and more will be available in the near future.

With a low draw of just under 10W per foot of Pipe, the system may be powered from standard AC outlets 100-240V 50-60Hz, or will work off of V-lock and Anton/Bauer style 14VDC batteries.

Judges comments “Light, compact, innovative, multi-purpose remote phosphor light source (TLCI=98, according to BB&S).

Spans from single-source ENG or in-studio news applications to flood studio lighting”

step into

REIMAGINE THE MEDIA ENTERPRISE

Far beyond a simple replication of existing infrastructure and media workflow, Dalet xN solutions exploit the new business and technology possibilities brought about through the advancement of cloud, virtualization, dynamic scalability and hybrid on/off deployments: expanding opportunities and increasing the effectiveness of the media economy.

find out more visit xn.dalet.com

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REVIEW

Feature COBALT DIGITAL

ENENSYS

+TTS technology

AdsEdge

Cobalt Digital’s +TTS technology is a complete 21CVAA text-to-speech generation/audio insertion solution for embedded or discrete audio/video systems. +TTS is a software option available for many Cobalt Digital card models using the 20-slot openGear frame architecture and is also available for the many of the BBG-1000 Series of Desktop Standalone Signal Processors. +TTS interfaces with industry standard Windows Share folder systems to receive non-proprietary text, XML, or similar plain text files, and converts and inserts realistic human-voice audio into user-configured audio channels (typically an SAP channel pair intended for this playout). +TTS allows for prioritisation based on the organisation’s discretion (for example, severe weather alerts out-prioritising school closings).

Alert tones are ducked in on the main program channel to alert the visually impaired that emergency content is to occur on the SAP channel.

Alerts can be played a configurable number of times, and alerts with higher priority can interrupt current lists for breaking news. Once the interrupt message is broadcast, +TTS automatically reverts to normal audio programming. The English-language speech engine is standard, with advanced engines available as expansion options. Cobalt Digital has partnered with the Text-To-Speech industry experts at the Acapela Group in order to provide the best solution available for meeting our customers exacting technical and artistic requirements.

The vast majority of viewers the world over access television content via free-to-air terrestrial TV and DTT is continuing that trend. Furthermore, TV and digital advertising are predicted continue to dominate the market, accounting for the largest share of revenues, according to a recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers. This presents a huge opportunity to broadcasters.

ENENSYS has addressed this with its latest AdsEdge solution, a content localisation and monetisation solution specifically for DTT networks. The system enables broadcasters to monetise their content, offering an innovative approach to local video content management.

AdsEdge is way of generating additional revenue from existing output through the insertion of local content. It enables the last-mile injection of localised content – be that adverts, local news or local weather reports – as close to the viewer as possible, which means broadcasters can more effectively maximise the opportunity presented by DTT. AdsEdge is specifically aimed at translating this opportunity into additional revenues, extracting the maximum amount of revenue from existing DTT infrastructure. It has been designed using a modular framework.

Judges comments “Interesting twist on DAI challenge as applied to regional terrestrial broadcasting. Especially relevant in Europe and Africa, and can generate major new ad revenue streams to broadcasters by substituting ads in between regions”

EVS

C-Cast Today’s sports fans want to be as engaged as possible with their team, their sport or their game. This can be done through unique broadcasts, VoD content or social media interaction.

Broadcasters today know that there’s more to a sports broadcast than simply placing ten cameras around a pitch and showing these pictures to fans. Now whether they’re in or outside of the stadium, there’s no reason why fans shouldn’t be involved in the broadcast of their favourite sports. EVS’ C-Cast technology is a tool for broadcasters to engage with their sports fans, create more brand loyalty, and generate more revenue opportunities. The cloud-based multimedia platform integrates with onsite live production infrastructure for the

delivery of live and near-live content directly to the mobile users inside and outside of the stadium. C-Cast enables the delivery of instant replays, highlights analysis and even live content streams straight to fans. The technology is now being used in many live productions. In May 2015, EVS partnered with EE to deliver content to fans inside Wembley Stadium during the FA Cup Final. The FanCast solution – a bundle system which features C-Cast, an XT3 media server and IPDirector content management suite – took key moments from the game and distributed it to a mobile app specifically developed

by EVS partner Intellicore.

The SEA Games’ organisers (SINGSOC) also partnered with EVS in June of this year to deliver a multimedia production service for the international multisport event held in Singapore. The solution included a delivery platform that distributed multimedia content to an iOS and Android mobile application.

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Feature

GV Node GV Node offers multi-purpose IP processing, vertically accurate switching and IP aggregation of up to 144x144 video signals and 4,608x4,608 audio signals per node. GV Node is the most important signal management product in Grass Valley’s Glass-to-Glass IP solution as it delivers multiple signal processing and monitoring functions that glue the entire solution together. It provides IP and SDI I/O (up to 144x144), as well as MADI I/O, audio de-embedding/embedding and monitoring including multiviewing and signal probing.

The built-in, highly scalable multiviewer uses industry proven Kaleido technology. GV Node is designed to be future proof with respect to currently changing industry signal formats and standards, currently supporting both SMPTE 2022-6 (HD) videoover-IP and 4K one-wire using TICO compression.

One of the most important differentiators of the GV Node is the broadcast-centric vertically accurate switching capability within IP. This is critical because broadcasters have been concerned with the effectiveness of commercial- off-the-shelf (COTS) IP switches for live applications, due to their inability to perform vertically accurate switching like traditional SDI routers. This is important in live applications where signals go directly-to-air, and routers have traditionally been used as a back-up to the production switcher.

Switching that happens accurately within the vertical interval is also needed when a router is used for connecting secondary live feeds.

The GV Node distributed platform topology is designed to uplink to aggregation COTS IP switches, using a “spine – leaf” architecture that’s typical of modern IT infrastructures. This topology represents a scalable and flexible approach.

GV Node’s distributed scalable architecture means that broadcasters can start building their IP infrastructure with a small system, and grow quickly and linearly as their needs change.

Judges comments “A very impressive piece of hardware, but what most caught my attention was how Grass Valley is supporting its customers’ requirement to reflect what’s going on in the IT industry as broadcast moves increasingly in that direction”

GRASS VALLEY

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Feature

GRASS VALLEY

LDX 86 Universe/K2 Dyno Universe Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, contributes to the world of acquisition and replay with the LDX 4K/6X HD switchable camera, the LDX 86 Universe, in tandem with the K2 Dyno Universe Replay System. With the LDX Universe and K2 Dyno Universe, broadcasters can now own an acquisition/replay solution that supports HD, 4K or 6X acquisition without having to change workflows or go over-budget. This introduction serves to democratise extreme-speed and 4K acquisition/replay. The combination of the LDX 86 Universe/K2 Dyno Universe provides creative freedom without requiring additional costs. What once was considered technology only for ‘specialty’ positions can now be applied to standard replay and camera chains. With the combination of LDX Universe and K2 Dyno Universe, HD camera and replay positions can now become extreme-speed or even 4K positions with

access to any shot, from any angle, during any production, at the same time, requiring neither additional positions nor crew.

The LDX 86 Universe offers format flexibility with the same high sensitivity and dynamic range performance in all formats, with the same speed. Utilising Grass Valley’s proprietary Xensium-FT CMOS imagers, this new camera delivers picture quality in 4K and 6X. The LDX 86 Universe can be used in any camera position where a 1X, 3X or 6X camera is required.

This includes the ability to switch the camera from 4K 1X operation to HD 6X extreme-speed operation on-the-spot.

Judges comments “Very impressive hardware, but it’s the business thinking that compels. With the licensing behind these products, GV obviously understands what it takes to help customers succeed with very flexible and ad hoc arrangements possible such that you ‘buy’ only what you need, when you need it”

LSB

LIVEU

Solo

LiveU has brought its broadcasting expertise to the online media market, by launching its new ‘Plug and Play’ Solo live streaming bonding solution at market price. Designed to fit with web streaming workflows, LiveU Solo connects automatically to Wowza Streaming Cloud, a cloud streaming service offered by Wowza Media Systems, as well as other popular CDNs, OVPs and YouTube Live. Solo can be managed and controlled remotely via a web interface or smartphone. LiveU Solo offers the cloud streaming solution based on LiveU’s field-proven bonding technology, ten industry patents, and integral LRTTM (LiveU Reliable Transport) protocol. Optimised for video performance, Solo delivers solid video streams by using LRT’s integral adaptive bit rate and forward error correction technology. On the transmission side, and as part of the overall streaming solution, this small, encoder is available in a single channel streaming configuration or with premium full bonding capabilities.

In discussions with its customers, LiveU saw a growing need for a professional-grade live video product for the online media market. The company’s goal is to offer a simple integrated solution to sports and other vertical markets, which is much more powerful. Now, everyone can start streaming at an affordable price.

Working in close collaboration with Wowza, LiveU Solo is aimed at any live online media production looking to improve their viewers’ experience.

LiveU owns the patent for cellular bonding used today for remote news gathering in the US and in other countries. All LiveU products are based on this fourth-generation patented technology.

Judges comments “Live video streaming to any network. Portable, rugged, reliable: great partner to GoPro cameras”

theWALL

theWALL is a software tool for setting up and controlling multiviewers. L-S-B With theWALL users can configure monitor walls, route signals, change monitor layouts or save and load their own presets. theWALL can be used by operators and EIC to configure monitor walls in OBs or studios, and enables the teams on production to change their monitor wall layouts fast and on-the-fly. theWALL is a software based tool that can integrate with the most common multiviewers found on the market. Instead of learning the software for several specific multiviewers or asking the EIC to change a layout, users of theWALL can change all kinds of multiviewers with just one tool. The product consists of software that talks directly to the multiviewers and a GUI for mobile control. The GUI runs on a HTML5 basis, thus being independent from any mobile device manufacturer.

The users can run the software app on any device possible, indifferent of its OS – iOS, Android, Windows, Linux. On this touch-based GUI all major functions are available and can be triggered via drag and drop. With the slogan “Multiviewer Control made smart”, theWALL is designed to offer benefits to its users in terms of efficiency, time-saving and usability as well as user management.

Key features of theWALL are: Easy change of multiviewer layouts.

Routing of signals via simple drag and drop.

Automatic calibration of multiviewer resolution and aspect ratio.

GUI based on HTML5 – platform independent.

Save and load presets from database.

Judges comments “This is very unique, and is going to really change the way people work. Potentially ground-breaking”

OMNITEK

Ultra 4K Tool Box 12G-SDI as a 4K production format represents a challenge for product design that requires supporting test equipment to be available, initially for manufacturers. Omnitek’s designs at these speeds with its consultancy clients has led to a knowledge of the issues that affect signalling at 12Gbps and to the development of a sensitive and accurate piece of test equipment.The Omnitek Ultra 4K Tool Box provides a suite of tools for the analysis conversion and generation of Ultra HDTV and

Digital Cinema video signals in all current formats up to 4096x2160/60, helping manufacturers to design products and enabling broadcast engineers, networks, telcos, outside broadcast units, systems integrators and researchers to build, test and commission UHD and 4K systems.

The Ultra 4K Tool Box offers of a variety of connection formats - multi-rate SDI, HDMI and DisplayPort 4K - for both video source and display. Conversion between cable and image formats allows operation in multi-format video environments, while SDI physical layer analysis features enable system designers to rapidly locate sources of signal error in all paths up to 12G-SDI single link 4K/60Hz.

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Feature PHABRIX LIMITED

PIKSEL

PHABRIX Qx series

Piksel Voyage

The PHABRIX Qx was nominated due to its suitability for broadcast manufacturers who need a comprehensive toolset for both analysis and generation of video signals with up to 48 Gbps payloads and importantly provides 12Gbps eye and jitter analysis.

The key to the Qx is the toolset that includes sophisticated timing, video status and data view instruments. Eye and jitter analysis is important for those early adopters of UHDTV1 and UHDTV2 and it is here that the Qx excels for engineers having a unique physical layer proposition.

Having specialised in providing physical layer analysis on its other test and measurement products, PHABRIX has, in the Qx, a true multi-rate eye and jitter solution for 12/6/3/1.5 Gbps.

This real-time eye technology meets or exceeds the performance of that found in very expensive oscilloscope solutions usually far out of reach of many broadcast R&D budgets.

The platform too has been specified to such a high level that when Phase 2 standards of UHDTV become available, the Qx is set to provide support for HDR, WCG, HFR and object orientated audio technologies.

One of the features still under development, but part of the Qx solution is its support Clearly this is the first application of the technology that was only been developed for release at IBC2015.

Designed as an engineering product, the Qx for manufacturers allows the rapid development of new UHDTV products.

Piksel Voyage is a flexible entertainment app designed for commercial passenger travel that offers a seamlessly integrated content experience across a range of devices. Rising consumer expectations mean that on-board entertainment is no longer regarded as a luxury, and exclusive to the long-haul flight.

Travellers want an entertainment service to be part of their basic offer. Yet, despite the proliferation of personal entertainment devices, more than half of passengers travel without any on-board entertainment and those travelling with commercially operated air, sea or land carriers are often inhibited by a lack of connectivity, high data charges, or lack of access to a library of digital content.

Piksel Voyage is dramatically improving the consumer travel experience, giving travel providers an unprecedented opportunity to differentiate their services and generate additional revenue.

Taking advantage of the growing BYOD trend, Piksel Voyage gives customers the option of downloading video content of their choosing onto their own personal devices when they purchase their travel ticket. The traveller’s chosen entertainment will then become available to view on his/her personal device once the journey begins and is no longer viewable upon arrival at the destination, ensuring that industry licensing agreements are respected.

Judges comments “Great twist on OTT challenge as applied to low-cost airline in-flight entertainment. In use with Transavia”

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Feature

QUANTUM

QUICKPLAY

Q-Cloud Archive public cloud storage Next Gen Managed Video Platform service WHILE THE cloud is clearly transforming traditional IT strategies, it has, until now, played a limited role for organisations with complex data-intensive workflows, including the production and distribution of high-resolution video. These demanding workflows require reliable, secure, high-performance infrastructure that is tightly integrated with applications, and few cloud offerings offer these guarantees. What’s more, the inherent latency of the cloud and the significant costs that can arise in accessing large amounts of data in the cloud can create challenges for customers in managing what data is stored there.

Rather than treat the cloud as a passive repository or the answer to all needs, Quantum integrates the cloud as an active tier in a hybrid storage infrastructure driven by application requirements. This comprehensive approach provides customers with an optimal mix of performance, access, scale and low cost capacity which is key to managing and monetising content for today’s media and entertainment environments.

The company’s Q-Cloud Archive service gives users fast, on-demand access to data in the cloud. Employing the power of the public cloud as an off-site tier within a Quantum StorNext 5 workflow environment, this new Q-Cloud service enables users to leverage Quantum’s intelligent data management software to store data in the cloud when it makes the most sense for a given workflow or application, providing access to a virtually limitless pool of off-premise storage.

The service is simple, with straightforward pricing and billing from Quantum, as well as strong service and support provided direct from the company. Q-Cloud Archive’s smooth integration means there is nothing to install, no cloud gateway hardware to set up, no programming needed, and no manual processes required, so users can readily eliminate storage deficits within a matter of minutes.

At IBC 2015, Quickplay launched the Next Generation Managed Video Platform, an enhanced version of its managed video platform service, designed to address major friction points in the market that are inhibiting the growth and profitability of multiscreen, next generation pay-TV and OTT premium video services. Consumers now expect personalised discovery across video sources, a large on-demand catalogue, first run original programming, and the hottest live content delivered with the highest quality to any device and over any network. Meeting these expectations is complicated by the ever changing, highly fragmented and non-standardised device, DRM, and player ecosystems and the inherent variability of unmanaged IP networks. Quickplay is addressing these market issues with key enhancements that unlock and open the power of the Quickplay virtual headend and 24/7 managed services for rapid and efficient launch and low cost and agile operations.

New platform enhancements include: Leading Service Delivery Model: significant investments in IT infrastructure, network, and expertise to enhance the efficiency, operations and delivery of Next Generation premium video experiences.

Content Merchandising Service: next generation content management and merchandising tools and service capabilities that replace or augment a traditional Content Management System (CMS).

OpenVideo Virtual Head End Gateway: a set of open, extensible application programming interfaces (APIs) that supply service providers and content programmers with a curated selection of backend capabilities to launch differentiated services.

Next Generation UX/UI Design Pack: a next generation video hub experience that adapts to all screens and resolutions, accelerating the unified, next generation discovery and viewing experience across video services and sources, including live and VoD pay-TV services, OTT services, and web content.

Judges comments “Very impressive global customer list. New at IBC is the ability to broadcast video over LTE networks. Announced agreement with Alcatel-Lucent”

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Feature SAM

SCHEDUALL

Media Biometrics

ScheduALL Portal™

Media Biometrics signature technology allows the automatic confidence monitoring and media verification throughout a broadcast chain.

Can be deployed in both SDI and IP streaming environments Allows media to be compared and corrected Fast acquisition and lock-up times Low data payload, measured in bytes per frame The solution is uniquely resilient to format, frame-rate and aspect ratio conversions, encode/decode processes, logo insertion, etc

ScheduALL Portal™, also winner of the 2015 NewBay Media Best of Show award at NAB 2015, simplifies making complex bookings of occasional use transmission feeds in real time, directly into a network provider’s system. Portal is a browser-based, user-friendly wizard for selling satellite, fibre or Ethernet transmission feeds, minimising unused capacity, maximising revenue and drastically reducing operational overhead in the selling cycle.

The browser interface uses straightforward interview-style questions to establish a customer’s requirements (i.e. time, source, destination, quality of service, etc) and provides them with booking and pricing options that best fit their needs. If the options chosen are unavailable, Portal offers a range of alternatives. Portal can be used to track, manage, and bill all of the customer bookings as they occur. This self-provisioning platform streamlines the OU booking process for operators and their customers. Selling transmission feeds through Portal allows for unused capacity or “spoilage” to be minimised. In turn, customers benefit from a simplified booking process feasible with minimal technical expertise.

Portal uses ScheduALL’s LINK™ for satellite, fibre and Ethernet transmissions.

Broadcasters can use Portal’s straightforward interface without possessing in-depth technical knowledge, while the power of LINK works silently behind the scenes to make complex decisions about transmission scheduling, capacity management, and conflict resolutions. Real-time access to network inventory prevents duplicate bookings and scheduling conflicts. It also serves as a forward-facing revenue producer that manages the transmission sales cycle and automatically integrates self-provisioned online bookings.

Key applications include: Lip sync Media Match (confirmation that two media streams are the same) Video/audio confidence monitoring Audio mapping Why? Improves efficiency Reduces the need for dedicated monitoring resources Judges comments “Hugely important product that has a very wide range of applications, most significantly in terms of maintaining signal quality and integrity. Could be as important to the broadcast industry as Dolby B was to the audio business 40 years ago”

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Feature

SMALLHD

702-Bright 7-inch monitor SmallHD 7-inch full high definition 702-Bright monitor: Super bright, daylight viewable 1,000-nit display with antireflective coating and 179-degree wide viewing angle HDMI and SDI inputs and outputs allow video input in the format that best suits the production, and then output video in either or both HDMI and SDI Ultra slim and lightweight, 7-inch full 1080p HD monitor with a dense 323 pixel-per-inch screen, 1200:1 contrast ratio and optimum broadcast colour Intuitive operating system simplifies menu navigation via thumb-operated joystick and back buttons Toolset offers Waveform, RGB Parade, HDMI/SDI signal conversion, image capture, and downstream 3D LUT video

viewing and output. ‘Pages’ permits grouping of toolset features such as focus and exposure assist environments Versatile power: D-tap/P-tap, AC adapter or built-in slots for Canon LP-E6 or Sony L-Series batteries SD card slot enables screen capture recording, importing background plates for effects framing guides, 3D LUT transfer and more Rugged construction: aluminium housing, bonded glass screen protector and optional acrylic screen protector make harsh locations ready Smart price: about €1,500 after VAT/tax and shipping The 702-Bright’s many advantages start with a 1,000-nit display with an anti-reflective layer that results in a screen that’s viewable in bright daylight. The dense 323 pixel-per-inch screen delivers a sharp, 1920x1200 HD display with a contrast ratio of 1200:1.

SONY EUROPE LTD

SOUND DEVICES, LLC

Sony Media Navigator

Video Devices PIX-E5

Sony’s Media Navigator orchestrates key phases of the content workflow – from ingest, catalogue and editing to review, approvals, and distribution – including cloud and archive for less than you expect. Customer benefits: Integrates seamlessly with popular non-linear editors (NLE).

Instantly uploads content to designated content sharing platforms including Sony CI Allows users to browse and download content on the Sony CI platform directly from Media Navigator and integrates seamlessly with Sony’s Catalyst suite of media preparation tools Provides internal encoding and decoding features, from SD to 4K, reducing the need for external transcoders Enables any media to be archived safely onto rugged, dependable removable Optical Disc Archive system

Video Devices PIX-E5 4K recording monitor is a five-inch, 1920-x1080-resolution unit that comes packed with a full suite of precision monitoring tools, SDI and HDMI I/O, plus the ability to record 4K and Apple ProRes 4444 XQ edit-ready files to affordable USB-based SpeedDrives with mSATA solid-state drives. PIX-E5 includes an impressive suite of monitoring tools, such as TapZoom™, for focusing speed, false colours and zebras to help set exposure, guide markers for framing, and a range of scopes, including waveform, histogram, and vectorscope. The new camera-mount monitor incorporates a best-of-both-worlds user interface that combines easyto-access tactile buttons with an intuitive touchscreen. The PIX-E5 monitor features compact, die-cast metal housings and an LCD display protected by Gorilla® Glass 2, making it ideal for cinematographers and videographers seeking monitors that can stand up to the rigours of the most extreme production environments.

Judges comments “Supporting 4K field production.

Working closely with Sony, Panasonic et al: adding real value to the 4K mobile production proposition”

Judges comments “Highly scalable, ready to use SW-based solution. Fully featured, cloud capable, extreme ease of use, aggressively priced”

TEDIAL

TVU NETWORKS

Tedial Evolution

TVU One

The Tedial Evolution™ next generation MAM was developed for business-driven media workflow. Tedial Evolution provides media professionals and broadcasters with a full range of scalable, flexible systems that address the ever-changing landscape of media management.

Built around Tedial’s technologically advanced MAM solution, Tedial Evolution significantly extends MAM functionality and enhances user operability via advanced search/indexing tools, new services to surf/explore archives, and improved integration between archive and workflow engines to reinforce a collaborative environment.

Tedial Evolution offers a user experience designed to speed both manual and automated workflows. Built on Tedial’s MAM platform, the new HTML5 user interface keeps frequently used tools on the screen for improved performance.

TVU One is a live, mobile IP-based newsgathering HD video transmitter based on the same transmission dependability, picture quality, performance and sub-second latency of a fullsize TVUPack backpack-style mobile transmitter, but in a substantially smaller, lightweight and ultra-compact form factor. TVU One features TVU’s proprietary Inverse StatMux Plus technology to transmit reliable, HD-quality video with less than one second latency using multiple cellular 3G/4G/LTE, satellite, microwave, microwave mesh, Ethernet or wireless connections. TVU One comes with a carrying shoulder bag or sling backpack.

Judges comments “User-friendly lightweight cellular transmission system for ENG apps. So light it can be mounted on the back of a camcorder. Live HD on cellular, even in a moving car. Brand new at IBC”

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Feature VIDIGO

Remote Production The software-based production environment VidiGo Live separates the core engine from the user interface and multi-viewers using (standard) internet. This means that a centralised control room connects to the on-site engine that provides the SDI inputs and outputs, video playback, audio mixing and graphics playback. A very important part of the set-up (next to being able to control the engine over IP) is the feedback of the sources via the multi-viewers. Without this feedback, remote production would not be possible. This feedback (by streaming the multi-viewers from the engine’s location back to the control room) features a unique minimal operational lag, so the operator is not bothered by delay and is working in real time, which of course is very important for accurate switching of the cameras, for example. The bandwidth required for this operation is flexible and can be adjusted to fit any situation, so public internet or a standard private network should be sufficient. five megabits is advised.

V-NOVA

PERSEUS The V-Nova engineering team has delivered a paradigm shift in video compression technology that can drive change and service innovation in the TV and media sector by moving the entire video bitrate-quality curve to enable UHD quality video at HD bitrates, HD at SD bitrates, and SD video at sub-audio bitrates, extending the reach of video services to UHD delivered to connected devices over 3G and 4G networks. PERSEUS delivers improvements in picture quality, processing speed using standard hardware, signal robustness, as well as simultaneous reductions in footprint, power usage and library redundancy. Graceful, block-free degradation at ultra-low bitrates is another unique benefit.

PERSEUS, which launched in April 2015, differs from legacy solutions in terms of its advanced lossless, multi-scale, hierarchical and low latency properties.

PERSEUS is inherently and continuously hierarchical, delivering all resolutions (eg SD, HD and UHD video) within a single stream. This renders HD bandwidths sufficient to carry all three formats without the need for simulcasting, reducing resource redundancy. Another advantage of PERSEUS is its compatibility with existing MPEG-based delivery ecosystems.

PERSEUS also provides advantages beyond bitrate reduction — including increased processing speed, lower power consumption, increased robustness, and block-free degradation at ultra low bitrates. This in turn enables operators to offer enhanced video quality and to reach more households with OTT and VoD services.

The PERSEUS advanced video and image processing technology is based on the principles underlying human vision.

VISLINK

UltraCoder The Vislink UltraCoder is the new lightweight 1RU half rack H.265 encoder from Vislink capable of encoding 4K, HD and SD video. The system uses the latest advanced H.265 encoding techniques to offer up to 50 per cent bit rate reduction compared to H.264, resulting in the delivery of high quality video at low bit rates.

VITEC

MGW ACE and MGW D265 Solution At IBC2015, VITEC showcased its portable, all-in-one video package for encoding, decoding, and streaming HEVC video on the go. VITEC is the first company to bring bandwidthefficient HEVC compression technology out of the server room and into the field with its broadcast-grade portable streaming appliances. Customers reap the benefits by being able to deliver secure, error-free video on dedicated and public networks while dramatically reducing bandwidth requirements compared to legacy H.264 systems. Furthermore, they can reduce operating expenses and extend the reach of video services to remote destinations with bandwidth constraints.

The package comprises VITEC’s MGW Ace, a portable HEVC (H.265) hardware encoder, and the MGW D265 portable HEVC IP decoder. Both have built-in Pro-MPEG FEC and Zixi error correction technologies for one-way and two-way error correction, which provides artefact-free broadcasting over public networks.

The MGW Ace boasts a real-time H.265 4:2:0 and 4:2:2 hardware compression chip for streaming broadcast-quality video up 1080p. Input interfaces include 3G, HD/SD-SDI, HDMI, DVI, and composite. The unit also features intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) metadata processing with KLV and STANAG support conforming to MISB and NATO requirements. A secondary MPEG-4 H.264 chip provides support for legacy decoders and proxy streaming.

The MGW D265 is a high-performance IP decoding appliance with a compact footprint, best-in-class connectivity options, and low-delay processing. MGW D265 uses advanced hardware to deliver a real-time, broadcast-quality picture with the highest quality of service and resilience required in complex IPTV and full-motion-video environments. MGW D265 offers all typical video output interfaces, including HD-SDI, SD-SDI, HDMI, and composite video — with embedded audio or separate analogue audio — in a single appliance.

Combined with the low-latency streaming capabilities of VITEC’s MGW encoding and streaming platforms, the MGW D265 decodes HD and SD streams with end-to-end latency of only 400 milliseconds.

Judges comments “Very small HEVC encoder (with associated decoder). Very well packaged, ideal for remote contribution applications”

X-ART

x-art ProDivision GmbH for x.news Today’s journalists need the latest information at their fingertips to deliver the news with speed and accuracy in an increasingly competitive 24/7 digital and broadcast market.

But all too often that information is spread between multiple systems and external sources. Keeping up to date on a story requires them to constantly switch between different screens and applications. Knowledge is often patchy, even between different parts of the newsroom. x.news is a unique product that targets this challenge, by gathering all the latest story information and content in one place, and providing powerful tools to find, follow, collect and share it. In the newsroom or on location – on PC, tablet or mobile – the journalist is always up to date.

And now x.news also integrates with leading NCS and MAM providers, passing stories backwards and forwards seamlessly and enabling genuinely story-centric, multiplatform workflows.

Judges comments “Breaks the usual vertical approach of newsroom systems. Wisely integrates the various kind of sources and effectively supports the news editor. Designed for collaborative workflows, features an amazing easiness of use”

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

48 TVBEurope

TVBEverywhere

The new golden age of Television Elisabetta Romano has recently become head of TV and media at Ericsson. She spoke to TVBEurope about competition in the industry, the new business strategies driving the marketplace, and the importance of immersive experiences What is your vision for the industry is over the next five years?

OTT players bring aggressively differentiated

We are all transitioning from the digital era of

values and needs of the digital consumer are

television into the internet era, which is already

accelerating the demands placed upon those

proving to be the most disruptive in the history

providing the best content and services. We are

of the industry. Content owners, broadcasters

now in a position where the rate of change is so

and TV service providers will all require different

fast, consumer expectations are outpacing the

strategies for success but all will have to adapt

industry’s ability to deliver them. They want to be

and evolve in order to overcome a period of

able to view their content on any device, at any

unprecedented change. We are entering a

location and at any time.

new golden media age for television, which will

consumer propositions. The continually shifting

Nevertheless, technology will be integral to

content owners with the opportunity to

see today’s media value chain dismantled and

satisfying these expectations. The role of IP will

create more compelling and more realistic

re-set, bringing about the creation of a new,

become an industry imperative, serving an ever

experiences for viewers.

dynamic ecosystem. This will spark the arrival

increasing number of connected devices and

of new competitors to the industry. Former

delivering greater speed and immediacy which

competitors will become allies and vice-versa.

will be fundamental to implanting a unified

With change comes opportunity. As we

user experience. 5G will be the next step in the

advance to 2020, we will see a fully advanced and fully connected TV market, driven almost exclusively by consumers and their demand for greater choice, better quality and superior methods of personalisation. There will be 26 billion connected devices plugged into a global IP network by 2020, of which a large proportion

“We are entering a new golden media age for television, which will see today’s media value chain dismantled and re-set”

Ericsson has a broad range of customers across the TV and media industry. Will different businesses need to adopt different strategies to thrive?

Absolutely. Our Media Vision 2020 research highlights that the TV and media industry will be worth $750 billion within the next five years and as TV evolves, it is essential for every business to revaluate their strategies for success.

Content owners and broadcasters will

will be video enabled. Total mobile video traffic

continually build stronger direct-to-viewer

between 2015-2020 will be more than 22 times that of the period 2009-2014. Global brands will

evolution of mobile broadband and provide

platforms and propositions while seeking to

join with new consumer technologies, the world

a watershed for delivering the flexibility, high

still exploit the TV service provider channels

of apps and online experiences will expand and

reliability and responsiveness needed to deliver

to market. They will work to globalise their

we will see the arrival of disruptive new business

video to billions of users across the globe, and

content brands and content distribution to

models that will overhaul the entire media

especially in enabling the on-demand transition

drive revenues and scale. We see many of

landscape. While the future is unknown, the

in most emerging markets. LTE Broadcast is

them re-investing in the production competence

players with the greatest foresight, innovation

already showing its potential in making high

and rights, re-centering some of them solidly

and consumer focus will be best prepared to

capacity mobile networks ready for the

in the content itself.

lead the industry over the next five years.

video-first focus.

High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) will

TV service providers across cable and telecom will continue in the majority to seek to

What do you believe are the key disruptors in this shifting landscape?

help to bridge the economic and technical

bundle multiple services and content together

bandwidth constraints of direct-to-consumer

for consumers, to make their lives as simple as

networks and help enable the delivery of Ultra

possible and drive as much ARPU potential as

Competition has increased for our customers

High Definition (UHD) content. The introduction of

possible. It will take considerable platform

through industry consolidation driving scale,

HDR will also enable our industry to differentiate

re-engineering to be truly experience-led in

and because lower barriers to entry for new

services with vibrant images on screen, providing

what is offered to consumers.

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 49

TVBEverywhere A huge opportunity ahead is to provide the most personalised content aggregation and recommendation towards consumers.

As a founding member of the Ultra HD Forum, Ericsson is investing broadly in R&D and thought leadership to educate the industry as much as possible around the possibilities inherent in

4K and UHD are extremely hot topics right now.

How important are immersive experiences to the consumer of today and the future?

They are extremely important!

Ultra HD and what we even mean by this. It has certainly been tied to resolution and ‘4K’ television, however, we also believe that High Dynamic Range (HDR) holds a lot of potential, as do higher frame rates and colour gamut.

But immersive TV is not just about picture quality; it is also about immersion of the content

With each shift in quality technique

itself. Our ConsumerLab research shows how

(analogue to digital, SD to HD,

much consumers are binge viewing episodes

3D to some extent, and now Ultra

they obsess over, which illustrates the immersion

HD) viewers have embraced the

of on-demand access to shows. It also relates to

enhancement and shown willingness

augmenting content: our Piero software solution

to pay. Each advancement takes the

enables the most amazing sport graphics and

viewer closer to real-life experiences

innovations in enhancing the ultra premium

and Ultra HD is like a big window into

sports experience.

the world.

The full version of this interview will be available on the TVBEurope website. Please visit www.TVBEurope.com/features for access to a range of unique articles and interviews, featuring some of the industry’s leading authorities.

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www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

50 TVBEurope

Forum

IP gets VIP treatment This month’s Forum looks at the technology that’s occupying a great many minds. Philip Stevens gathers thoughts from some of the industry’s leading players

this are not the same for an IT engineer, who would normally reboot the server and resend the lost information.”

The second challenge is in how to implement IP. Of course, the broadcast industry has been

Y

What are the biggest challenges facing broadcasters when it comes to IP technology?

switch to hit broadcasting. Of course, it is already

The first is getting staff to understand IP, so they

with us – but the influence is growing by leaps

can get the most from the technology. “There’s

and bounds. So, how do some leading players in

a great deal of learning needed to enable a

the field see the current state of IP?

TV-quality service over IP networks, especially for

ou simply can’t get away from it. Everyone is talking IP. And many industry analysts predict IP is the next major technology

We asked Sevan Boyd, Easynet media

content companies that do a lot of production

using the protocol for 30-plus years in control systems, and more recently in file-based

‘We must be realistic about the hurdles to practical implementation of AoIP and VoIP’

consultant; Tim Felstead, head of product

and delivery of broadcast media,” states Tim

marketing, SAM; Glen LeBrun, vice president,

Felstead, head of product marketing, SAM

product marketing, Imagine Communications;

(formerly Quantel and Snell). “It’s easier to teach

Sam Peterson, segment manager, live

a broadcast engineer IP than an IT graduate

production, Grass Valley; Pieter Schillebeeckx,

the specifics of broadcasting as they replace

workflows. But when it comes to live over IP, the

product director, TSL Products; Jan Weigner,

retiring broadcast staff. Broadcasting has its

industry is not yet sufficiently experienced to

managing director and CTO, Cinegy; and

own nuances: five nines means something

predict the problems.

Lieven Vermaele, CEO, SDNsquare, to provide

different in broadcast from IT. If the signal

views on related issues.

stops you get black and the consequences of

“The rate of change is so fast that it’s a risky period for broadcasters,” believes Felstead.

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 51

Forum “What we need to do is build products that

This leads to the second hurdle. “All of this comes

have both SDI and IP interfaces supporting

with the IT training and knowledge requirement

multiple standards.”

that until now has not been prevalent in the

He continues, “That’s just what SAM is doing

broadcast department,” believes Schillebeeckx.

– offering customers the ability to transition to IP

“Today’s reality is that most implementations of

with plug-in IP interfaces on our infrastructure,

AoIP are straight replacements for an existing

routing and switching products. This allows the

technology such as MADI or SDI. While there are

broadcaster to dictate the rate of change,

advantages, such as using metadata for remote

without taking unacceptable technology risks.”

The third challenge is standards. “We have

Glenn LeBrun, Imagine Communications

Sam Peterson, Grass Valley

control of mics, the broadcaster’s contentover-IP ideal – where audio and video share

live production using a stable, reliable and

the same, synchronised, software-managed

completely interoperable standard – SDI – and

transport – is still in its infancy.”

we understand timing, synchronisation and

“At TSL, we’re already embracing the future

control,” declares Felstead. “But we’re in a

and working on next generation audio and

changing standards landscape. SMPTE 2022-6

video monitoring products to support all flavours

gives the greatest chance of interoperability, but

of audio and video over IP. This approach, I

we don’t yet know if it’s the best way to work. For

believe, is the only way that manufacturers,

instance, how will it enable us to deliver video

integrators, and broadcasters alike will realise

and audio – and metadata, on occasion – to

their IP ambitions.”

different places simultaneously? Why would I want to employ a de-embed function at all?

There may be a better solution out there. In fact,

Jan Weigner, Cinegy

Pieter Schillebeeckx, TSL Products

The opportunities that IP offers for the monetisation of content The steady transition of video production

at Snell we think this is VC-2 compression for video using light weight RTP streams, so we’re

even brighter future where infrastructure flexibility

and distribution operations into the IP realm

building products that support multiple IP stream

with software-driven routing of audio, video and

is creating new and significant monetisation

types to keep our customers’ future options as

metadata, complete with all-encompassing

opportunities. As IP becomes a more prominent

open as possible.”

synchronisation, is actually the main prize.”

medium at both the ingest and delivery portions

In summary, the challenges rest with people,

However, warns Schillebeeckx, to get there we

of production and distribution processes,

the change process and standards. But

must be realistic about the hurdles to practical

monetisation opportunities will increase and

broadcasters can’t afford to stand still waiting for

implementation of AoIP and VoIP.

expand revenue-generation potential.

“In playout, for example, an IP-enabled

it all to be sorted out. On the other hand, they cannot afford to sacrifice the speed, flexibility and five ninesness of their current workflows at the altar of IP.

IP ambitions Audio Over IP (AoIP) has been in existence for

“Some see [AoIP] as a technology of ultra-convenience, or as a magic bullet for the bloated capital budgets” Peter Schillebeeckx, TSL

environment running on commercial off-the-shelf equipment, whether in a private datacentre or in the cloud, brings new levels of agility and cost efficiencies that can be leveraged to reach new markets and seize new opportunities,” declares Glenn LeBrun, vice president, product

quite some time, so it’s difficult to call it a new or

marketing, Imagine Communications. “New

emerging technology. As Pieter Schillebeeckx,

channels can literally be launched in minutes, at

product director, TSL Products recalls, Axia

a fraction of the expense it takes to commission

Audio’s LiveWire system was launched in 2003.

“First, it is most likely that a broadcaster’s IP

and provision dedicated SDI and baseband

“You have to take your hat off to them. They

transport will require a separate, managed

equipment. Monetisation opportunities that were

designed and implemented their own Precision

network, with high enough bandwidth for audio

once impractical, such as channels aimed at

Time Protocol (PTP) before most people had

and video, and capable of clean switching.

expatriates in large cities, become feasible in an

heard of such a thing.”

Every point where you might have a camera

IP environment. It’s a simple business equation:

really needs to have a 10Gb switch. A busy

more channels in more regions mean more

long for IP to catch the imagination of

area on a network might be the video mixer,

viewers and a larger inventory to monetise.”

many broadcasters.

which would certainly require a 40Gb or even a

For some reason, though, it’s taken this

“Ambitions for AoIP in the broadcast

In the advertising arena, IP-enabled

100Gb switch. This is neither commonplace nor

technologies such as Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)

community are set high,” states Schillebeeckx.

inexpensive technology, though audio-only is a

create new revenue opportunities by enabling

“Some see it as a technology of ultra-

different matter and its bandwidth requirements

content owners and distributors to address

convenience, or as a magic bullet for the

are tiny in comparison.”

viewership fragmentation. DAI can unlock the

bloated capital budgets that come with

AoIP and VoIP are correctly termed layer three

value of inventory in non-linear environments by

infrastructure and capacity upgrade – a high

technologies, but perhaps the requirement for

allowing distributors to insert relevant and fresh

channel count transport system that can use

specific network hardware and management

ads into OTT, VoD and even cDVR content. It

existing IT provision. In practice, however, these

challenges brings it into the realm of a layer two

enables operators to better reach consumers of

might be false headlines – distractions from an

protocol like AVB.

non-linear programming with fresh and precisely

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

52 TVBEurope

Forum targeted ads. LeBrun continues, “The deeper

says LeBrun. “This delivery is a powerful tool for

the media industry moves into the IP realm,

obtaining and retaining video customers, which is

the greater the access to the monetisation

a critical concern of traditional pay-TV providers.

opportunities unleashed through data analytics.

In addition, state-of-the-art cDVR services have

Information derived about audiences’ viewing

the potential to generate new revenue through

habits can improve forecasting, pricing,

subscriptions and incremental upgrade sales.

inventory control and ad targeting. By knowing

The virtually unlimited storage capability of cDVR

which shows a particular viewer is watching

creates the opportunity to offer tiered services,

– and when, where and on which device –

charging different fees for each level of storage

service providers can help advertisers pinpoint

and functionality.”

consumers who are likely to be interested in their offerings. A beneficial by-product of these capabilities is that subscribers are no longer badgered by misdirected marketing pitching.

Even commercials, in a big data environment, become must-see TV.” IP, of course, is nothing new to distributors.

Sevan Boyd Easynet

Tim Felstead SAM

enabled distributors to move from the broadcast realm to a unicast one, where each consumer

The transformation that IP has brought to broadcasting All types of DVB and ATSC workflows, file based real-time or non-real-time workflows, all modern forms of live field acquisition are IP based.

“The whole beauty of IP is its total

Video service providers, including cable

has a broadband conduit to a mix of linear

pervasiveness. IP is everywhere,” says Jan

operators, telcos, satellite operators and other

and personalised content. In addition, this new

Weigner, managing director and CTO, Cinegy.

distributors of content have been employing it as

distribution model opens the door for new service

“Now the last strongholds like SDI and studio

a transport medium for a decade or more. What

offerings, such as cloud-based DVR.

operations are falling and more people take

has changed recently, though, is their embrace

“Cloud DVR (cDVR) services, which bring linear

notice. ‘SDI Must Die’ and it will do so eventually,

of HTTP, the lingua franca of the internet, as the

television and VoD capabilities into a unified

but without any drama or bloodshed. It will just

preferred distribution protocol. This transition has

experience, are expected to grow significantly,”

fizzle out. Like dial-up internet access.”

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 53

Forum

What has changed, at least in parts of the

perspective. Having spoken with a multitude of

delivers over vast distances, consolidating

industry over the last few years, is the awareness

broadcasters over the last few months: across

both video and corporate IT functions on to

that IP is real. “It is a symptom of the industry as a

both the UK and Europe, they range from

a single infrastructure.”

whole transforming to become a part or already

actively trialling IP to intimating they are some

being a part of the IT, internet and telecoms

way off seriously considering it.”

industry depending which area of broadcast you find yourself in today,” says Weigner. “Other

Boyd goes on to say that, in reality most broadcasters have been utilising IP for various

With careful engineering by teams, who both understand IP networks and video properties, their fusion of IP-based MPLS and internet concurrently delivers live-to-air HD

media-loved buzzwords like ‘cloud’ confirm the

video between global locations as disparate

ongoing transformation or IT-convergence. SDI is

as Washington DC and Abu Dhabi, with

dead. Proprietary broadcast hardware is dead. If it cannot also run in the cloud, don’t buy it.”

The broadcast industry is evolving. Software, services and content are king. “Just like the internet,” declares Weigner. “You know where the journey is going and you know it for a while if

‘The steady transition of video production and distribution operations into the IP realm is creating new and significant monetisation opportunities’

you admit to yourself. That leads to IBC equalling

performance – latency/loss/jitter – and fiscal models that would, in Boyd’s opinion, make a satellite operator blush. Other features of the service include live HD streams for distribution/ playout to broadcasters and uplink providers in Europe, UK and the US, streaming video directly to CDN providers via private link directly

Internet Broadcasting Convention.”

integrated to their ‘on-net’ cloud hosting models of contribution and distribution for several

facilities, supporting IP workflow across platforms

Do broadcasters understand IP?

years and in this use-case do understand IP. “I’ve

and multiple video channels and corporate

Sevan Boyd, Easynet media consultant believes it

seen some amazing applications of IP as an

IT functions such as data applications and

is difficult to give a binary response as the answer

efficient transportation mechanism. An excellent

IP telephony, simultaneously on single fibre

is dependent on how the question is directed.

example is Sky News Arabia. This is a relatively

accesses no greater than 1Gbps.

“Broadcasters’ understanding of IP is a matter of

young channel, with a pioneering CTO, Dominic

‘to whom the question is asked’, the use-case to

Baillie, and well-integrated IT and production

and distribution IP with production IP. The

which it is applied, and whether the respondent

engineers. They have had the freedom and

advantage for broadcasters with IP familiarity

is thinking from a functional or strategic

creativity to produce an IP platform which

from the contribution model means that to some

“One cannot, of course, confuse contribution

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

54 TVBEurope

Forum

degree both IT and production teams within

can accommodate all of the various standards

those organisations have had some IP exposure.”

required to successfully translate the combined

However, for some broadcasters

video, audio and ancillary data when pushing

understanding how IP integrates will require new

packages end-to-end.” Boyd believes that in

expertise and/or a convergence of existing IT

most cases there will be a system-by-system

and production planning. For many broadcasters

migration. “For an IP integration company such

there will be a period of strategic watching

as Easynet it will be about helping to merge the

and waiting before they feel they comprehend

‘internal’ and ‘external’ boundaries to create

and are ready for IP systems. “No broadcaster

a homogenous end-to-end platform; internal,

or production house, regardless of voracity for

cloud and globe.”

revolution, is going to wake up tomorrow to their workflow are IP ready. It will still be some

IP’s impact on current production workflows

time before all the players introduce an array of

Today, most demonstrations focus on mapping

models which provide IP physical interfaces and

the traditional workflows into the IP domain: for

find that all of the systems and vendors within

Lieven Vermaele, CEO, SDNsquare

October 2015 www.tvbeurope.com

TVBEurope 55

Forum He also says that there will be accelerated

In terms of changing the craft of remote

innovation because media and resources are

production, aside from the nuances of IP

available to set up new digital workflows and

compression, there are differences regarding

pioneering media experiences in much faster

where certain functions are performed and how

and easier ways.

cameras are used.

Media companies will gain the possibility to

have only the cameras and microphones at

with, for example, reduced time to air. Software

the venue and pull all these sources back to

will step in to enrich those media experiences.

the studio facility and add audio commentary,

With a social feedback loop, media will become

graphics and switching. The other extreme is for

a much more personal or social experience.

all of the video and audio production to take

But Vermaele warns there are challenges ahead. “We need datacentre and network resources directly available – in a guaranteed

“Cloud DVR (cDVR) services, which bring linear television and VoD capabilities into a unified experience, are expected to grow significantly” Glenn LeBrun, Imagine Communications

way – when required.

“The concept of ‘service availability’ is

and how much to centralise – all of which needed. “In all of the scenarios, our customers

on the basis of best effort and software to

are asking for an open approach that allows for

solve that. In media, when we have mission

flexibility in execution and seamless handling of

critical productions, we cannot allow these

the latency induced by transport.”

unpredictable situations.

“We need a shared IP infrastructure with the

demonstrated this year at IBC.”

CEO, SDNsquare, in these rather limited

“Further, there is no value in building separate

He maintains that there is still an ongoing debate as to what equipment to have remotely significantly impacts where human resources are

wants to contribute in the industry and what we

wider impact and benefits of IP.

in the studio facility.”

world from the IP world. IP solutions are based

best effort processes. This is where SDNsquare

environments it is difficult to justify and prove the

place at the venue, but with the control surfaces

differently understood in the traditional media

possibility to set priorities for mission critical and

instance, SDI to IP. But, says Lieven Vermaele,

Peterson continues, “The extreme case is to

introduce regularly new or updated experiences

Will the use of IP in remote production affect the craft of broadcasting?

“SDI Must Die, and it will do so eventually, but without any drama or bloodshed. It will just fizzle out” Jan Weigner, Cinegy

IP islands - like SDI. We need to roll out all our

Yes, says Sam Peterson, segment manager,

digital workflows with the right priority, such as

live production, at Grass Valley. “Adopting

live video, editing, aggressive file transfer, ingest,

IP technology will enable a new range of

The final point, and perhaps one of the most

over the one shared IP infrastructure. This is a real

creative freedoms by supporting multiple

difficult in light of having personnel spread across

technical challenge.”

formats, leveraging metadata to better

multiple sites, is communication. Grass Valley has

target key audiences, and offering

been using IP as a link between products and

and impact heavily on how media facilities

additional revenue with fresh services

control surfaces for decades.

and industry are run. “We will achieve reduced

as exciting applications are launched.”

But, looking ahead, IP will create huge benefits

capex and opex as we move from numerous

Grass Valley’s IP roadmap enables

“A few of our customers have implemented scenarios where one product in their facility

distributed hardware boxes and application

customers to migrate their facility’s entire

might be controlled by a user interface that

servers to one shared storage and media

SDI signal path to IP, focusing on cable and

is remote, but in the past year we have been

processing infrastructure. Over-provisioning and

capital cost reduction, and expansive

asked to put together solutions where many

over-investment are avoided because these

scaling opportunities. It is largely centred

of the control surfaces are in the remote

resources are shared and can be scheduled or

on either uncompressed or very lightly

site hundreds or thousands of miles away,”

provisioned in time. This consolidation leads to

compressed signals.

concludes Peterson. “As a result, the way the

reduced equipment, licence and operational

“For remote production, the focus is extending

user interface reacts must be different due to

costs. Software is there to manage complexity

the customer’s facility to a venue with much

the potential of the various signals arriving with

and resources more efficiently.”

more highly compressed signals. Because of this,

different latency. The facility for communication

Grass Valley has partnered with vendors who

must be different, and flexibility is key in the face

enable these capabilities.”

of latency induced by the transport over the

Vermaele believes these developments will also lead to a more agile organisation.

“Centralising data, moving to software and

The company is working to make its interfaces

specified distance.

IP brings more flexibility. New processes and

efficient over wide area network connections,

workflows are set up faster and easier. All

including the challenges of latency induced by

the efficient use of personnel and equipment are

the content and resources are widely

such a system, to allow customers to operate

driving the desire for remote production, and IP

available for all users and partners, inside

without regard for geographic location of the

technology is a key enabler, further affecting the

and outside the organisation.”

equipment or signals.

craft of broadcasting.”

“However, the cost savings associated with

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

56 TVBEurope

Data Centre

Ericsson reveals findings of annual ConsumerLab Report Every third viewing hour is now spent watching on-demand TV and video, according to the latest edition of the annual Ericsson ConsumerLab TV and Media Report. Based on interviews with over 22,500 people, findings in the report are representative of 680 million consumers

onsumers now spend six hours per week

C

watching streamed on-demand TV series, programmes, and movies: this has

more than doubled since 2011. With recorded and downloaded content added to the equation, today 35 per cent of all TV and video viewing is spent watching VoD content.

Further findings highlight the considerable growth in consumers watching video on a mobile device: 61 per cent watch on their smartphones today, an increase of 71 per cent since 2012.

When taking tablets, laptops, and smartphones into consideration, nearly two thirds of time spent by teenagers’ watching TV and video is on a mobile device.

prominence of UGC-rich platforms like YouTube

quality overall experience,” said Anders

Great content, flexibility, and experience

has resulted in a popularity boost for educational

Erlandsson, senior advisor, Ericsson ConsumerLab.

At the same time, user-generated content

and instructional videos, with consumers

“Innovative business models that support

(UGC) platforms account for a growing share

watching an average 73 minutes of these videos

these three areas are now crucial to creating

of consumers’ TV and video viewing. Close to

per week, the study finds.

TV and video offerings that are both relevant

one in ten consumers watch YouTube for more

“The continued rise of streamed video

and attractive.”

than three hours per day, and one in three

on-demand and UGC services reflects the

now consider it very important to be able to

importance of three specific factors to today’s

episodes of TV series and video content in a

watch UGC on their TV at home. The increasing

viewers: great content, flexibility, and a high-

row), has become a key part of the TV and

The increase in watching on-demand TV series and movies

Frequency of watching several TV series, other TV programmess or UGC episodes in a row

‘Binge-watching’ (watching multiple

Percentage of people watching different media types at least once per day

r the better! fo , s s e in s u b you, for your r fo , s y a d r u ISE 2016 – Fo ISE 2016 is the international destination of choice for AV systems integration professionals. It provides a definitive four-day showcase for the world’s leading product manufacturers and service suppliers in combination with an exclusive training and conference programme all under one roof.

Find out more and register: www.iseurope.org ISE is a joint venture partnership of

www.tvbeurope.com October 2015

58 TVBEurope

Data Centre video experience, and is prominent among

a recommendation engine fails to deliver a

eventually change their minds. For ‘TV cord-

Subscription Video on-Demand (SVoD) users

consumer’s desired content, many will choose

nevers’ (consumers who have never had a

of services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and

to ‘default’. Defaulting is when consumers give

pay TV subscription) it is difficult to understand

HBO. Eighty-seven 87 per cent of SVoD user

up and settle for a viewing habit they are

the value as it is offered today. Long binding

binge-watch at least once a week, according

familiar with, despite originally intending to

times, inflexible packages and high costs and

to Ericsson’s report, compared to 74 per cent of

watch something else. Defaulting, Ericsson

advertising cause 50 per cent to believe they

non S-VoD users. Over 50 per cent of the studied

says, indicates that the service does not cater

will not pay for it, even in the future. However, 22

consumers binge watch at least once a day,

to the consumer’s needs, implying an

per cent of cord-nevers are already paying for

and only five per cent never binge view.

inadequate service offering.

over-the-top (OTT) content services, indicating a

Despite these problems, the popularity of

willingness to pay for subscription TV, albeit with a

TV is not smart enough

linear TV remains high, mainly due to its access

The report also highlights consumer complaints:

to premium viewing and live content such as

half of those watching linear TV say they can’t

sports, and also down to its social value. Linear

consumer’s service experience are highlighted

find anything to watch on a daily basis: as

viewing is linked to age: 82 per cent of 60 to 69

in the Report: great content; flexibility; and a

many as 62 per cent of consumers aged 25

year-olds say they watch linear TV on a daily

high quality overall experience. Supporting these

to 34 face this challenge on a daily basis, and

basis, while only 60 per cent of millennials (those

three areas will be crucial when creating the 21st

consumers feel that recommendation features

aged 16 to 34) do so. Ericsson’s report asserts

century TV and media offering, and bringing it to

are simply not smart or personal enough. When

that non-believers in traditional pay-TV may

consumers, concludes Ericsson.

different bundle approach.

Three specific areas that influence a

Share of total TV time by age group, measured on respective device

Consumer evaluation of content providers Figure 14 highlights what service providers do well (reinforce), and where consumers feel they can improve (fix). For traditional linear TV services, only video quality ends up under the ‘reinforce’ segment, and both price and availability of content need to be addressed.

Meanwhile, for on-demand services, price and available content are strong points, with no weak points in any areas.

Drive visitors to your stand Don’t miss your opportunity to advertise in the show Daily and ISE newsletter OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF

www.iseurope.org ISE is a joint venture partnership of:

Tuesday 10 February 2015 Tuesday 10 February 09:00-18:00

SHOW HOURS:

Wednesday 11 February 09:00-18:00

Thursday 12 February 09:00-17:00

The future: Integrated System Europe?

BY MONICA HECK The Internet of Things is set to turn the ‘integrated systems’ that make up Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) into a single unified ‘integrated system’, according to futuristic business mastermind and consultant Lars Thomsen.

Speaking on the main stage during the ISE Opening Keynote speech, Thomsen predicted the future of the AV industry would depend on the IPv6 Internet standard, which would create a rapidly growing “digital nervous system” across the world not unlike the current energy grid everybody is used to.

“In 10 years, 1,000 devices per human will be connected to the internet and this digital nervous system will incorporate all aspects of things that are important to humanity,

Thomsen: “In 10 years, 1,000 devices per human will be connected to the internet” such as comfort, energy, security, education and so on,” he said.

“Right now there are different halls in this trade show representing different parts of the industry. We are now at a tipping point where we

don’t have to think about isolated systems, but rather about moving onto a system that incorporates the internet as its backbone.”

Tipping points are a key concern of Thomsen’s, who doesn’t use slides

during his keynotes but prefers to let the audience connect the dots and imagine the future he describes.

“Tipping points are points in time where a new technology, or business model is cheaper and better than the way we did it in the past,” added Thomsen, listing the victory of artificial intelligence and robotics over ‘dumb technology’ as tipping points to look out for.

“Within 520 weeks, we will get to a point where robots can work in households or in elderly care, they will reach a price point where they are cheaper than employing humans for the same task. The implications to our society are big.”

“We have to do more than just look for trends, instead of waiting for the future we have to find the next tipping point and actively create that future,” he concluded.

A minority report on the future of pixels

BY LINDSEY M. ADLER A vacuum in professional computing has resulted from the evolution from desktop to laptop to mobile device. John Underkoffler, CEO of Oblong Industries, views the world through pixels and sees them as the key to filling that hole, which he shared in his Smart Building Conference address: “The Future of Work – Workplace Collaboration Thrives in the Spatial Operating Environment”.

Digital Signage p10

As an advisor to the film Minority Report, Underkoffler shared a clip he musingly hoped was “the last time we have to look at this.” Instead of being wowed by the ahead-of-its-time gesture technology, something he derided as “not what’s important,” attendees were asked to look for what was missing.

“This sequence is as much about the collaboration and the room as it is the UI.” Applying that to today’s business technologies, he asked,

Residential solutions p27

“How does computation extend [the] room? It doesn’t. [Modern computing devices] don’t care about the room. You have a bizarre complication.” Because they are so personal in nature, “They are anti-collaboration devices and anti-architectural devices.”

Underkoffler and Oblong Industries are working to get out of this “trap.” His solutions include: the more pixels the better; pixel interoperability; a user interface capable of managing all the pixels all over the place; and plurality, the

Unified Communications p56

drives business to exhibitors’ stands at the show and helps convert business opportunities into solid revenues.

need for systems that think about more than one thing - enabling the physical and social space for more than one person to work in tandem.

By teaching a machine to speak pixels, multiple applications can run at the same time complementarily. “It’s a kind of quantum leap between what you can do with a machine,” Underkoffler declared.

“We’re turning serialism into parallelism, linear into nonlinear, and raw technology into a more human approach.”

Smart Building p62

A DIGITAL THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM

ISE’ managing director Mike Blackman introduces the event as Chiara Benedettini of organiser Connessioni looks on

BY KIRSTEN NELSON

Official Visitor Newsletter, before, during and post show and direct to the inboxes of over 88,000 potential visitors to your stand.

It was “laptop land” at AudioForum@ISE yesterday.

The fifth edition of the day-long educational event presented by Connessioni certainly featured digital in every way, as nary a professional audio discussion would be complete without talk of software or DSP. Topics relevant to audio design, integration and live events were discussed in the context of building knowledge and business for a rapidly evolving industry, with participants taking keen interest in sharpening skills in modeling, time alignment, networking and Class D amplification.

Attendees from the live sound and installation worlds convened at the event. The notion of convergence was very much on the mind of Jack Cornish, a project

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Continued on page 4

Professional Development p68

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