the need for multi-platform strategies rapid… · mobile/3g delivery. it's not just...
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digitalrapidsTM
Focus sponsored by:
The need formulti-platformstrategies
There's little doubt that multi-
platform content delivery
has evolved from 'promise
and potential' to a commercially viable
reality - and a necessity for content
and rights owners striving to stay ahead
in today's competitive media environment.
Distributing programming for just a single
medium overlooks not only the opportunity
to generate additional revenue from
delivery to new platforms and devices,
but also the opportunity to further build
brand awareness and mindshare across
a broader audience - as well as retaining
existing audiences. Meanwhile, astute
media companies are taking advantage
of cross-platform promotion to build
interest in traditional properties.
The term “convergence” has often been
used (or overused) with regard to the
melding of the television experience with
devices such as mobile phones, as well
as the combining of traditional video and IT
technologies that have enabled it. However,
the array of viewing options creates a
degree of audience fragmentation. While
the new multi-platform world is not a zero-
sum equation - for example, the number
of viewers now watching shows on their
PC doesn't mean that all of those viewers
no longer watch traditional broadcast
television - there are certainly viewers who
treat the new devices as replacements,
rather than additions, to their previous
viewing habits. Some viewers now choose
to watch news highlights on the Web at
their convenience, instead of the scheduled
evening newscast that they used to
frequent. Traditional broadcasters, cable
and satellite operators cannot afford to
ignore the impact of the Web, mobile, and
other 'alternative' distribution channels.
Encoding for everythingFor content and rights owners looking
to take advantage of new platform
opportunities, this “audience divergence”
is accompanied by a parallel technical
divergence - the encoding formats,
and unique special features, required
to optimally reach each of these devices.
Television over IP (whether viewed on
a PC or set-top box, and delivered publicly
through the Internet or through a closed
network), broadcast, cable and satellite
distribution, mobile phones and personal
media players - all of these targets have
their own unique characteristics, and
no one encoding format optimally serves
them all. 'Encoding for everything' requires
encoding solutions that optimally support
multiple formats, and the specific needs
of each device.
While H.264 (also known as MPEG-4
Part 10) has gained the most initial
traction across the broadest range of
professional applications (including IPTV,
cable, mobile phones, personal media
players, and high-definition DVD formats),
other formats also have strength in specific
applications. VC-1 is a key presence
on many of the same platforms, and
- in the form of Microsoft Windows
Media - has deep penetration in Web
video, further bolstered by the launch
of Microsoft Silverlight earlier this year.
When forming multi-platform strategies,
content providers building Web presences
also can't ignore additional formats like
the video capabilities of Adobe Flash.
Whatever the format, it's critical
it be delivered with the best possible
presentation quality. While content itself
is still king, even the best content can fall flat
unless delivered at the quality today's
viewers demand, and audience retention will
be strongest when the viewing experience
meets or exceeds these expectations.
Single-format encoders, or those
optimised for a single compression type
with additional formats simply tacked
on, are at a disadvantage against available
format-flexible alternatives. Digital Rapids
StreamZ and StreamZHD encoding
systems, for example, support a broad
range of file and codec formats, and we've
gone to great lengths to optimise both
performance and quality with each one.
Beyond quality and format flexibility,
support for the specific needs of each
target platform is important. Encoding
is about more than just compression.
Advanced features like support for “trick
play” modes for set-top box playback are
important for VOD and IPTV. Support for
Closed Captioning alongside the encoded
video is not only a practical benefit,
but also a regulatory requirement in some
countries when delivered to a television
set (but not yet for delivery to PCs and
mobile devices). And compatibility with
existing infrastructures - such as support
for modern advanced compression
formats in an MPEG-2 transport stream
- is also critical for smooth deployment.
Just as content distribution can no longer
be thought of in terms of a single platform
or device, it cannot be addressed
comprehensively today by a single format.
Digital Rapids encoding solutions offer the
flexibility to address all of the key formats
optimally at top quality while meeting the
unique requirements of each platform,
delivering immediate and lasting
advantages for those capitalising
on the expanded breadth of distribution
opportunities. CSI
Encoding for multiple platforms and devices still meansmultiple formats and unique requirements for each, saysBrick Eksten, president, Digital Rapids Corporation
Diverging convergence
page thirty four www.csimagazine.com Cable & Satellite International sept-oct 2007
“Support for Closed Captioningalongside the encoded video is not only a practical benefit, but also a regulatory requirement.”
digitalrapidsTM
StreamZ from Digital Rapids
Cable & Satellite International sept-oct 2007 www.csimagazine.com page thirty five
digitalrapidsTM
W ith content now readily
accessible via the Web
and mobile devices,
multi-platform delivery has become
an accepted means for content owners and
broadcasters to reach their audience. As
viewers are increasingly pulled in multiple
directions by alternative forms of content
available via sites such as You Tube,
PVR-based viewing etc, the traditional
television viewing audience is becoming
more and more fragmented.
In order to remain competitive, it's essential
to maintain a strong brand across the many
delivery platforms if broadcasters and
content owners are to stay ahead in the
current environment. Add to this the fact
that content delivery is only going to get
more diverse, and the need to maintain
mindshare by keeping a finger in the mobile
and Web pie is evident.
“Providing content for multiple devices
also helps retain existing viewers and
defends against the audience
fragmentation caused by increasingly
diverse viewing options. Meanwhile, astute
media companies are taking advantage of
cross-platform promotion to build interest
in 'traditional' properties,” says Brick
Eksten, president of Digital Rapids.
As the world moves towards
more widespread use of multiple
platforms and devices, it's essential that
media organisations keep their audience's
needs at the forefront of their strategy.
Consumers will only continue to demand
access to top quality content, on the device
of their choice, as and when they want it.
Eksten believes that it's important that
the costs associated with this diversified
content delivery framework are
appropriately controlled. “Focusing on the
encoding specifically, the encoding
solutions chosen must provide efficiency
that makes re-purposing content for
multiple platforms economically viable,”
he says.
In other words, if separate encoders are
required for each format and/or the special
requirements of each platform, it becomes
costly and inefficient from both a workflow
and a financial perspective.
“Solutions that can, in an automated
fashion, output multiple formats from the
same source offer benefits in operational and
equipment costs,” Eksten adds.
UK broadcaster C4 bought a total of 23
StreamZ encoders from Digital Rapids used
for VoD, mobile TV, streaming and other
content delivery services. C4 also supplies
content to the likes of Virgin Media, BT
Vision and Homechoice for VoD and
Internet-based service. Although news and
sports are currently the most common
genres for multiple platform delivery,
premium programmes such as C4's Big
Brother are now also being made available
via BT, Virgin and the broadcaster's own 4
on Demand service.
Using products like the StreamZ, both
current and archive material can
be transcoded to file-format
using 50Mbps MXF
source media. Once
the content has been
transcoded, it is
combined with metadata,
after which it can be sold
to third-party providers for
use via VoD, Web-based or
mobile/3G delivery.
It's not just broadcasters that
can benefit from the additional
revenue opportunities of multi-platform
delivery; record companies such as Universal
now have a means of leveraging their back
catalogues, while broadcast service providers
are able to offer a wider range of packages
to their customers.
Flextech Television, the content division
of digital television and broadband provider
ntl:Telewest has also installed Digital
Rapids' StreamZ encoding system. They are
being used to encode full programmes to
WMV for VOD use via the company's
broadband network (Virgin Media) and
MPEG-1 and MPEG-4 formats for use by its
mobile carriers.
Following a deal with Disney, Flextech
has acquired series such as Alias, Most
Haunted and Ghost Towns for encoding
to its broadband video on demand
service. In addition, Flextech encodes and
delivers content loops for its Bravo and
LIVINGtv branded mobile channels on
Orange TV and Vodafone Live. The
content comprises of 'mini-shows' (or
mobisodes) of approximately five minutes
that have been edited together with
stings, idents, promos etc to create a one
hour loop. Once encoded, these content
loops are delivered to MobiTV and
BSkyB for distribution via Orange TV
and Vodafone Live.
The various encoding formats (H.264,
SMPTE VC-1, Adobe Flash etc) required for
each device does pose a challenge.
Ignore quality at your perilIf the perennial issue of audience churn
is to be tackled, it's critical it be delivered
with the best possible presentation
quality, according to Eksten. He goes on
to explain that it's important to realise
that encoding is about more than just
compression. It's also important to
consider advanced features such as 'trick
play' modes for set-top box playback
which are important for VOD and IPTV.
Closed Captioning and compatibility with
existing infrastructures - such as support
for modern advanced compression
formats in an MPEG-2 - is also critical for
smooth deployment.
These considerations need to be
balanced out with the fact that a
widening array of viewing options creates
audience fragmentation. With PVRs and
products like Slingbox thrown into the
equation, viewers can now choose to
watch content at a time of their choosing,
via a device that best suits their needs at
any given time. With this trend only set to
continue, Eksten warns that traditional
broadcasters, cable and satellite
operators cannot afford to ignore the
impact of the Web, mobile, and other
'alternative' distribution channels. “To
minimise churn, delivery to all of these
new platforms must be done in such a
way as to create a satisfactory viewing
and service experience meeting the
viewers' expectations,” he adds. CSI
Multi-platform content is key to counter the trend of audiencefragmentation, says Farah Jifri
Retaining yourviewers