tvbe march 2016
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A window to the future: The broadcast technology report from CES 2016. Interview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVS. Ericsson's aquisition strategy. UHD insights and analysis.TRANSCRIPT
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www.tvbeurope.com
March 2016
Interview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVS
Ericsson’s acquisition strategy
UHD insights and analysis
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CENTRALIZEDDECENTRALIZED
Business, insight and intelligence for the media and entertainment industry
A WINDOW TO THE
FUTUREThe broadcast technology
report from CES 2016
Interview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVSInterview: Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO, EVS
Ericsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategyEricsson’s acquisition strategy
UHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysisUHD insights and analysis
01 TVBE Mar16 FC_v1.indd 1 19/02/2016 17:09
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new tvbe template remade.indd 1 18/02/2016 17:34
TVBEurope 3March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
I know I say it often, but it really
is a privilege being a journalistic-
type in this industry. The pace
of change undergone, and the
likely rate of advance on the
horizon fuels a writer’s thirst for
knowledge; and in the absence
of knowledge, some considered
opinion on the road that lies ahead.
In amongst the speculation
and informed commentary, there lie some
fundamental truths about what is happening
to this beloved marketplace of ours. Often,
the winds of change are most keenly felt
around the major trade shows, and that has
certainly been the tradition within broadcast.
What is now apparent is that developments
directly impacting our sector are increasingly
emanating from non-broadcast events, which
tells us plenty about the composition of the
new broadcast environment. A
recent example was the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES), which has
been on the radar of broadcast
and media companies for some
time, and this year saw the UHD
Alliance launch its Ultra HD Premium
standard. Las Vegas in January is fast
becoming the fi rst major event of
the year for broadcast technology
and to assess the lay of the land at this year’s
show, Adrian Pennington gets to grips with all of
the latest news and views.
We also feature an exclusive interview
with the Muriel De Lathouwer, CEO of EVS,
as Holly Ashford fi nds out about her fi rst year at
the helm, shaking up the company structure, and
her thoughts on the year ahead. n
James McKeown Editor-in-Chief
Welcome
Untitled-2 1 17/02/2016 17:13
The winds of changeEDITORIAL
Content Director and Editor-in-Chief: James [email protected]
Deputy Editor: Holly [email protected]
Staff Writer: James [email protected]
Group Managing Editor: Joanne [email protected]
Contributors: Michael Burns, David Davies, George Jarrett, Adrian Pennington, Philip Stevens, Catherine Wright
Sales Manager: Ben [email protected]+44 207 354 6000
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Sales Executive: Nicola [email protected]+44 207 354 6000
Head of Digital: Tim Frost
Human Resources and Offi ce Manager: Lianne Davey
Head of Design, Hertford: Kelly Sambridge
Senior Production Executive: Alistair Taylor
Sales Director: Mark Rankine
Managing Director: Mark Burton
US Sales: Michael [email protected]+1 (631) 673 0072
Japan and Korea Sales: Sho [email protected]+81 6 4790 2222 CirculationFree [email protected] Tel +44 1580 883848
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
NewBay Media is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association
© NewBay Media 2016. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the copyright owners. TVBEurope is mailed to qualifi ed persons residing on the European continent. Subscription is free.
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Printing by Pensord Press, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood NP12 2YA
It’s not just NAB that’s turning our attention to Las Vegas
Philip StevensProduction editor
Michael BurnsPost production editor
George Jarrett Business editor
David DaviesAudio editor
SECTION EDITORS
03 TVBE Mar 16 Welcome_final.indd 1 19/02/2016 10:35
In this issue4 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
The Perennial Millenials: LEK Consulting’s � rst life-stage analysis of millennials highlights a threat to traditional TV companies
Bloomberg Television hauled 12 tons of equipment up a Swiss mountain for the meeting of the World Economic Forum. Philip Stevens looks into the project8
34 Business 40 FeatureInterview26
Muriel De Lathouwer spoke to Holly Ashford about her role as CEO at EVS, shaking up the management structure and her outlook for 2016
The Consumer Electronics Show returned to Las Vegas in January. Adrian Pennington reports on the technology, the trends and the future of TV
TVBEverywhere
Opinion
Production
Ericsson’s Thorsten Sauer shares details of the company’s latest acquisition, FYI Television
Industry authorities from Ericsson, V-Nova, and Om-nitek o� er their views on the UHD ecosystem, with a focus on compression and test and measurement
12
28
04 TVBE MAR 16 Contents_final.indd 1 19/02/2016 10:40
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new tvbe template remade.indd 1 18/02/2016 17:35
Opinion and Analysis6 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
O ur current distribution systems are
still primarily via satellite; and right
now when we hear about playout
from the cloud, for the vast majority of cases,
broadcasters and playout solutions providers
aren’t really talking about true playout from the
cloud, but simply moving some non-real-time
operations into the cloud.
Uncertainty is fuelling virtualisationAs a long-serving officer and current secretary/
treasurer for SMPTE, I have it on good authority
that broadcasters no longer want to be in the
infrastructure building business.
Broadcasters want a software-based, process-
agnostic platform that can be readily adapted
to whatever signals and formats that need
to go out to their viewers. They want to leave
infrastructure to the Amazons and Microsofts of
the world in order to focus purely on content
creation and curation, and who can blame
them considering the overwhelming sense of
uncertainty that the industry is currently facing.
In fact, there has never been so much
uncertainty amongst broadcasters as there
is today: will I need to migrate to UHDTV/4K?
Will satellite and cable distributors carry the
UHD version of my signal? How should I build a
UHDTV/4K facility? Using SDI as quad-3G or 12G?
Over coax or fibre? Or over IP uncompressed
using 2022-6, Aspen, or TR-03? Or compressed
over IP using Tico, LVCC, etc? Will new
transmission platforms force me to redesign
my playout system? US broadcasters are also
Where do we really stand with virtualised playout?
BroadStream Solutions’ VP of Technology and Business Development, Peter Wharton, is convinced that virtualised playout will bring significant advantages to the business of TV network distribution, both technically and economically
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06 07 TVBE Mar16 Opinion_FINAL2.indd 10 22/02/2016 10:02
TVBEurope 7March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Opinion and Analysis
having to consider the impact of the spectrum
auction and whether it means their station will be
consolidated, become a hub, or indeed whether
they will stay in business at all. It’s this uncertainty
that is fuelling virtualisation.
The cloud isn’t quite ready for real-time playoutBeing fully virtualised sounds wonderful and
many claims have been made from playout
solutions providers that they can already move
playout to the cloud. In reality, almost every
‘cloud playout’ system we’ve seen to date puts
only the non-real-time components in the cloud
and still uses a player at the edge with SDI inputs
to take in and switch the live feed; they still
utilise a media cache for content pushed from
the cloud and they rely on a GPU engine for
graphics insertion and SDI outputs.
Recently, a major US network and its playout
solutions provider claimed they had moved their
network’s playout operations to the cloud, when
all they really did was move the main content
stores a few states away and tie the facilities
together with multiple 10G dedicated private
fibre connections so that the entire corporate
enterprise could share the same storage
architecture. But, the automation, cache and
playout still occurs in the same building it did
30 years ago.
Typically, only the non-real-time components
of a playout system are being ‘virtualised’ at
present: media management, storage, archiving,
traffic, scheduling, and logging. All of these are
prime candidates for virtualisation because they
are ‘bursty’, itinerant operations; actions that
use a lot of CPU cycles for a brief period of time
and then go dormant until needed again. The
playout engine works non-stop 24/7/365, so
it wouldn’t see much in the way of CPU
savings if virtualised. Virtualisation, as it stands
today, only makes sense for pop-up channels
and disaster recovery. Occasional use playout
applications, such as temporary election
channels or sports event channels will be the first
adopters of true cloud playout, and through their
experience and maturation, they will pave the
way for future primetime, live channels to play
completely from the cloud.
A gradual shift to virtualisationPlayout solution specialists today are working on
developing the same resiliency and redundancy
for cloud-based playout as the industry has
always demanded from its broadcast cores:
just as broadcast equipment manufacturers
adapted telecommunications networks and
satellites for broadcasting 60 years ago.
For the time being, moving full-time
playout to the cloud is a bridge too far
for most broadcasters. But, it won’t be
long before full playout from the cloud
becomes commonplace. n
’There has never been so much uncertainty amongst broadcasters as
there is today’
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06 07 TVBE Mar16 Opinion_FINAL2.indd 11 22/02/2016 10:02
Opinion and Analysis8 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
D ebate is rife in the broadcast industry
about the media habits of millennials,
people aged 17 to 35 today, but until our
work, The Perennial Millennials, was published in
January this year, there had been no analysis in
the UK of the generation’s media consumption
by life stages. Our research reviewed the
media choices and preferences of six sub-groups
of millennials, from people living at home
with their parents, through to those having
children themselves, against the media habits
of older non-millennials.
Our findings will be a wake-up call to many in
the industry as they show that millennial habits
remain very different to non-millennials across
the six life stages of the generation, that their
take-up of over the top (OTT) services like
Amazon Prime and Netflix is already high and
likely to be a substitute, not a complement
to traditional pay and free TV, and that the
generation’s media decisions and preferences
are spreading virally to older groups.
Whilst millennials and non-millennials spend
about the same amount of time consuming
media, millennials are online for a far greater
proportion of their time. OTT viewing is
widespread across all life stages of the millennial
generation, including the older groups; 38 per
cent of millennials without kids and 32 per cent
who are parents have an OTT subscription,
versus just 15 per cent of non-millennials. Sixteen
per cent of millennials also reported that they
expect to spend more on subscription OTT
services in the next year (compared with only
six per cent of non-millennials).
What’s driving the mass migration of the
millennial generation to OTT is access to content
not available on traditional TV channels, either
pay-TV or Freeview, and the convenience of
being able to view this content on demand.
On-demand is particularly important for drama
with around 75 per cent of millennials stating a
preference for watching drama at the time they
choose rather than at the time of broadcast
and close to 50 per cent preferring to watch
more than one episode at a time.
The devices millennials use for watching is also
different from non-millennials. Less than half of
millennial video viewing is on the TV, as laptops,
PCs, tablets and smartphones are being used
instead. In contrast, three quarters of non-
millennial viewing is via the television.
The second standout finding of our work is
the impact of OTT subscriptions on traditional TV
use. Whereas OTT is largely complementary with
pay-TV (and Freeview) for non-millennials, it is not
for millennials, and this is the case across all life
stages of the generation. Of the non-millennials,
about three quarters of people with an OTT
service say that the amount of time they spend
viewing traditional TV hasn’t been affected
significantly as a result of their OTT subscription.
OTT has had a very different effect on millennials,
for nearly 60 per cent of people across the
generation with an OTT service say that their
consumption of traditional TV has declined
significantly as a result. The impact on the future
of pay-TV is yet to be seen but the research
shows that 45 per cent of millennials with pay-TV
now also have or plan to have a subscription
based OTT service in the next year. Critically, two
thirds of this cohort of millennials say they expect
to cancel or cut back their spend on pay-TV
after subscribing to OTT.
Millennials’ preference for internet-based
media is further evidenced by their view of
traditional versus new media brands. When
asked to score companies on a scale of one to
ten, where ten is love and one is hate, YouTube
and Amazon are rated nine or ten by nearly 40
per cent of millennials and Netflix by 30 per cent.
The big traditional brands all came in at less than
20 per cent. YouTube is especially important for
millennials of all life stages; 47 per cent of the
generation pre-family and 42 per cent of those
with children use YouTube every day, versus just
12 per cent of non-millennials.
Looking to the impact of OTT on non-
millennials’ future use of pay-TV, whilst Netflix
and Amazon Prime might not be substitutional
for non-millennial generations right now, our
research indicates that millennials’ preferences
are spreading virally to older groups of people,
through networks of family and friends. This would
suggest that a reduction in spend on pay-TV by
these older generations could become a reality
in the not too distant future. An early indicator
is that OTT uptake is significantly higher for non-
millennials with children at home compared to
other non-millennials; secondly, of those non-
millennials that already have or plan to subscribe
to an OTT service in the next year, like the
millennials, about two thirds expect to reduce
or cancel their pay-TV as a result.
Our research may outline a bleak scenario
for traditional broadcasters but it is too early to
say just how big the impact will be. Subscription
levels to OTT may be rising steadily, month by
month, but the trends identified by our survey
have yet to feed through to the traditional pay-
TV customer numbers: in the last quarter of 2015,
The Perennial Millennials
L.E.K. Consulting’s first life-stage analysis of millennials highlights a threat to traditional TV companies, writes Martin Pilkington, head of L.E.K.’s European media, entertainment and technology practice
Martin Pilkington
8 9 TVBE Mar16 LEK Opinion_final.indd 10 19/02/2016 12:35
TVBEurope 9March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Opinion and AnalysisBT added nearly 100,000 new TV customers,
and Sky acquired 146,000 new television
subscribers in the UK and Ireland.
The TV industry has always monitored
consumer patterns very closely, created
attractive and highly competitive products
and excelled at selling them. The pay-TV
companies have developed slim bundles and
low cost OTT to take on the likes of Amazon
Prime and Netflix. They are also seeking to
leverage triple and quad play convergence to
offer highly competitive packages to lock-in and
generate more income from existing customers,
as well as acquire new ones.
Our research identified several new products
that captured millennials’ interest, incorporating
features and content to match the generation
preferences and behaviours. These include a
combination of a small number of selective pay
channels with a large catalogue of on-demand
box-sets and movies, integration of online and
TV content, a single searchable interface,
access across all devices, and the ability to clip
and share content. The flip-side of such products
is the increased likelihood that millennials
will cancel their existing pay-TV bundles.
Undoubtedly, the next few years will be
increasingly competitive and challenging ones
for traditional broadcasters. Our work highlights
the two big questions of just how quickly
millennials will continue to move away from
traditional pay-TV packages to cheaper, slimmer
bundles, and the new pure play OTT brands;
and how soon afterwards older generations
will follow in their wake. The key takeaway is
that the traditional media companies will need
to innovate far further and faster to create
propositions that capture the interest and wallet
of the millennial generation. n
Effect of subscription OTT on traditional TV viewing (pay-TV and Freeview) in last 12 months: Percentage of respondents with subscription OTT
100
80
60
40
20
0Non Millenials All Millenials Millenials, no kids Millenials, with kids
Impact on viewing of similar content via traditional TV services (Pay or freeview)
No effect
Some decrease
Significant decrease
Completely replaced
Source: L.E.K. Perennnial Millennial Survey
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
201602_200X135.pdf 1 2016-01-14 오후 2:45:41
8 9 TVBE Mar16 LEK Opinion_final.indd 11 19/02/2016 12:35
Opinion and Analysis10 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
Two years ago, Sony decided to lease a
space at Pinewood Studios, turning it into
the Sony Digital Motion Picture Centre
(DMPC). The Centre is now home to continuous
workshops and tutorials on Sony systems and the
theory and skills needed to use them.
In January, the Sony DMPC was host to the
UK leg of Sony Technology Days, which featured
a half day of general training covering three
sessions, ‘4K and HDR production’, ‘New live
infrastructure over IP’, and ‘Workflow production
from capture to archive’. Sony Technology
Days is part of a European roadshow which has
travelled from Turkey to Poland over the past few
months, showing off kit and know-how.
Of all the equipment on display, the one
that garnered the most attention was the Sony
BVM-X300 Trimaster EL OLED critical reference
monitor, showing 4K HDR about as well as you’re
likely to see it on a grading monitor. Whenever
you show quality 4K high dynamic range images,
you inevitably attract a crowd.
HDR’s time has come (hasn’t it?)Peter Sykes, Sony Europe strategic technology
development manager, delivered Sony’s HDR
primer to the attendees and explained why
HDR’s time has come.
First of all, HDR movies and TV content are
shipping. Last year Amazon became the first
VoD provider to distribute HDR content. Netflix
followed with Marco Polo available in HDR. And
Disney released Tomorrowland in an HDR version
showing in a few select Dolby Vision cinemas.
Once the distribution workflow gets up to
speed, there will be plenty of market incentive
to regrade new HDR versions of any number
of feature films, high-end TV productions,
music videos, even ads. But delivering in HDR
is pointless unless you have displays that can
reproduce HDR. This is where the development
has slowed to the pace of the consumer’s
willingness to upgrade. Will people switch to HDR
TVs? Probably. The fact that a 4K HDR display
consumes notably more power than even a
standard 4K monitor is a potential issue, and the
uncertainties around standards have slowed
things down as well. But HDR TV’s are becoming
more available for those who want them.
HDR workflows are here (pretty much)The HDR post production workflow is also
becoming more robust and simplified. Cinema
cameras have been able to capture the image
information needed for High Dynamic Range
images for some time, but affordable HDR
grading monitors have only appeared recently.
There’s the Sony BVM-X300, of course. Also
Canon’s 24-inch DPV2410 and 30-inch DP-V3010,
Dolby’s Dolby Vision 32-inch monitor and Vizio’s
65-inch and 120-inch monitors, which run on the
Dolby Vision system.
A reference monitor doesn’t need to be
gigantic to be effective for HDR grading. A 30-
inch 4K monitor viewed at arm’s length provides
as much or more picture detail as a dubbing
theatre projector, a fact confirmed by Pablo
Garcia Soriano, the Sony Digital Motion Picture
Centre “colourist in residence”.
There is no monitor available that can
reproduce the entire BT.2020 colour space,
the colour gamut standard for UHD TV’s. The
Sony BVM-X300 monitor gets about 80 to 85 per
cent of the way there. And HDR standards for
mastering and delivery are finally here. SMPTE
developed its ST 2084 HDR standard and there’s
the Hybrid Log-Gamma standard too, jointly
developed by the BBC and NHK. It’s hoped that
the Hybrid standard will be recommended by
the ITU. Sony also has its own SLog3 system, which
it intends to hold onto until an industry standard is
universally accepted.
HDR live broadcasting is a reality (in theory)The first live HDR broadcast trials have been
done too. Last year Sky Deutschland held a trial
broadcast of live UHD in High Dynamic Range
of the German Supercup Final from Wolfsburg
Stadium with a fibre link to Munich. Sony
participated, supplying their HDC-4300 cameras
and the BVM-X300 monitor.
The aim of the trial was to evaluate how 4K
HDR characteristics worked in a live chain to
an HDR screen, and also, just as importantly, to
an SD screen. There was a single camera feed,
and different configurations were compared
by switching between them (manually), every
fifteen minutes.
The test compared the SMPTE ST 2084 and
the Hybrid Log-Gamma standard,. The latter
performed particularly well in outputting back
to a Standard Dynamic Range, suggesting
that Hybrid could be the best option for HDR
in live broadcast.
It would appear all the pieces are in place.
HDR has elbowed its way past 4K (and 8K and
stereoscopic) as an eye-grabbing, audience
and artist-pleasing advancement. It’s not just a
leap forward in quantity (of pixels or inches), but
a leap forward in quality, transforming video to a
literally brighter and more vibrant medium. n
Sony wants you to learn about HDR, writes Neal Romanek
HDR’s time has come
10 TVBE Mar16 Opinion_final.indd 10 19/02/2016 11:48
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TVBeuro_MonarchHDX_broadcast_ad_UK_1115.indd 1 2015-11-17 08:16:50new tvbe template remade.indd 1 18/02/2016 17:36
For several days each January, the great and
the good from the world of politics, finance
and entertainment appear at the Swiss ski
resort of Davos for the annual meeting of the
World Economic Forum. In fact, the highest town in
the world plays host to many who are the highest
in their profession. And with the eyes of much of
the world on this resort, it is obvious that the media
interest is intense. This year was no exception,
especially as the Forum took place at a time when
the financial markets are somewhat in turmoil.
One of the key players in that media coverage
was Bloomberg Television.
“We’ve been covering the World Economic
Forum in Davos for more than ten years,” reveals
Anastasia Ellis, managing editor, Bloomberg
Television, EMEA. The annual meeting not only
attracts leading politicians, business leaders,
academics and not-for-profit ambassadors to
discuss the state of the global economy, but also
plays host to the international media scrum, eager
to gauge reaction to the topics discussed and key
policy announcements.”
Widespread coverageBloomberg’s team on the ground publishes
stories across the web, connected and mobile
devices, television, radio and print magazines.
It specifically produces 11 hours of live television
coverage each day, while radio is on air for five
hours. Bloomberg’s suite of mobile products has
more than 33 million downloads and over 13
million unique monthly users, and includes the
Bloomberg TV+ and Bloomberg Radio+ apps.
Bloomberg TV and Radio also streams free on
Bloomberg.com Fronting the TV coverage were
some of Bloomberg’s veteran broadcast faces
including Tom Keene, Francine Lacqua, Erik
Schatzker and Stephanie Ruhle.
Pre-planningEllis says that planning for such a huge logistical
challenge begins more than six months in
advance, when production and technical staff
look at designing and sourcing all the equipment
needed for the trip to Davos. “We pre-build the
set and wire it all up in the UK first and transport it
two to three weeks before it all kicks off. A team of
eight Bloomberg and five Global Link technicians
then descends on the Congress Centre to pull
it all together and test equipment to ensure the
potential for glitches is minimised.“
The broadcaster has more than 30 editorial staff
on the ground at Davos for Bloomberg Television
and Radio, which includes the on-air talent from
London and New York. In addition, there are
production staff and engineers to ensure the more
than 25 interviews and panels each day are aired
as quickly as possible. Alongside Bloomberg’s
Television and Radio personalities are around
ten print reporters and editors who are writing
original content for the Bloomberg Terminal
and Bloomberg.com
“We haul more than 12 tons of IT and broadcast
equipment up the mountain,” declares Ellis. “That
includes several kilometres of cable, over 100
screens, 50 PCs and four server racks. All packed
up in more than 50 flight cases, shipped from our
warehouses. This makes it Bloomberg’s largest
annual shipping exercise.”
Through Bloomberg’s Content Service, the
company licences its premium audio and video
content, photos and data to broadcasters and
content providers globally. “This enables us to bring
our award-winning financial, business, political and
technology reporting to a broader international
audience,” says Ellis.
Although Bloomberg Television and Radio
content is in English, the company has several
content localisation agreements with broadcasters
globally. Attending Davos alongside Bloomberg
this year are Bloomberg HT from Turkey, Mexico,
Mongolia, Canada and Bloomberg TV Bulgaria
who broadcast in their local languages.
Cold comfort“Our chief challenge is producing world-class
output in minus 13 degree conditions. One of
the biggest tests is lighting.
Production12 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
Peak financePhilip Stevens finds out how coverage of a mountain-top world summit is handled by one broadcaster
12 13 TVBE Production Bloomberg_v3 FINAL3.indd 54 22/02/2016 10:29
Production TVBEurope 13March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Our rooftop studios face south in order to
take in the view of the Davos valley, which
also means we’re shooting directly into the
sun. In order to combat this we need to
light the studios with giant HMI lights. This
requires endurance from our anchors
having to look into glaring lights all day.”
The teamFor its multi-camera programmes, Bloomberg
Television works with its Swiss television
production partner, Global Link. Three camera
operators work across the two studios, while
four production staff man the control room. In
addition, Bloomberg uses an original digital
video team of two.
“Our studios pack a total of five Panasonic P2
AJ-PX800 and our digital video team uses C100
Mark 2 cameras. Content is stored, managed
and published across all media platforms using
MRC, Bloomberg’s own MAM platform. A team of
global editors based in Davos, London and New
York work across the day to ensure a seamless
operation throughout the conference.
Editing is carried out using Adobe Premiere CC,
Avid After Effects and Avid Media Composer.”
Making use of IPShe continues, “The most innovative and unique
technical aspect of our set-up is the way we
integrate the Davos newsroom with our corporate
and broadcast IT network. Usually a field operation
means satellite uplinks and internet connections
for video transport and communication. Instead
of that arrangement, we connect our pop-up
newsroom to Bloomberg’s corporate IP network.
“All video transport and IFB/ talkback
communication globally is done via IP over this
highly capable infrastructure. This allows journalists
to browse our central video servers, work with
minimal delays in live transmissions to New York,
and even use the same IP telephones that they
are used to from their home bureaux.”
Ellis concludes, “The eyes of the world
are on Davos, and we take great responsibility in
providing reliable information and insight
for those who can’t be in Switzerland for
these few days.” n
www.asperasoft.commoving the world’s data at maximum speed
”We pre-build the set and wire it all up in the UK first and transport it two to three weeks
before it all kicks off” Anastasia Ellis, Bloomberg
Television EMEA
12 13 TVBE Production Bloomberg_v3 FINAL3.indd 55 22/02/2016 10:29
Cost Innovation
We understand the constant pressure media organizations face to reduce cost from their operations. That understanding is reflected in the development of solutions that maximize efficiency and productivity across the media production chain; including collaborative editing, color and finishing, extensive MAM, workflow automation and resource planning, uniquely intelligent Media BiometricsTM monitoring and control and comprehensive automated playout solutions.
IP Innovation
SAM is at the forefront of developments in IP, we offer products that work today in the SDI domain and allow expansion into the IP world without excessive risk or substantial upgrades. Our switchers, routers, infrastructure and playout systems are all available with IP interfaces supporting both uncompressed (SMPTE 2022-6 and VSF TR-03) and a range of compression formats, including VC-2. Familiar control interfaces provide hybrid SDI/IP operation.
All-RoundInnovation.SAM’s unique mix of experience and energy is complemented by a true belief in innovation. It is fundamental to everything we do, and helps us deliver solutions that really make a difference to our customers.
Image Processing Innovation
Our image processing technology is renowned the world over. Offering a complete range of high quality format and framerate conversion that covers every need, from high-end drama to fast-action sports and corporate events. Developed and refined over many years, our patented conversion algorithms produce stunning results, even from the most challenging material.
4K/8K Innovation
For us, UHDTV is all about enabling you to create more compelling content and deliver more immersive viewing experiences for your audiences. So whether you are producing a live sporting event, posting a TV drama, or finishing a feature film for theatrical release, SAM can help you take advantage of all that UHDTV has to offer – without blowing your budget.
If you want to go IP immediately, next year
or 5 years from now, we have products and
systems you can invest in with confidence.
UHDTV is about enabling you to create more compelling content and deliver more immersive viewing experiences.
The SAM Difference.
Our innovation can help you make a difference. Visit:
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TVBEurope 440x290 SAM Innovation.indd 1 15/12/2015 16:52new tvbe template remade.indd 2 16/12/2015 10:54
Cost Innovation
We understand the constant pressure media organizations face to reduce cost from their operations. That understanding is reflected in the development of solutions that maximize efficiency and productivity across the media production chain; including collaborative editing, color and finishing, extensive MAM, workflow automation and resource planning, uniquely intelligent Media BiometricsTM monitoring and control and comprehensive automated playout solutions.
IP Innovation
SAM is at the forefront of developments in IP, we offer products that work today in the SDI domain and allow expansion into the IP world without excessive risk or substantial upgrades. Our switchers, routers, infrastructure and playout systems are all available with IP interfaces supporting both uncompressed (SMPTE 2022-6 and VSF TR-03) and a range of compression formats, including VC-2. Familiar control interfaces provide hybrid SDI/IP operation.
All-RoundInnovation.SAM’s unique mix of experience and energy is complemented by a true belief in innovation. It is fundamental to everything we do, and helps us deliver solutions that really make a difference to our customers.
Image Processing Innovation
Our image processing technology is renowned the world over. Offering a complete range of high quality format and framerate conversion that covers every need, from high-end drama to fast-action sports and corporate events. Developed and refined over many years, our patented conversion algorithms produce stunning results, even from the most challenging material.
4K/8K Innovation
For us, UHDTV is all about enabling you to create more compelling content and deliver more immersive viewing experiences for your audiences. So whether you are producing a live sporting event, posting a TV drama, or finishing a feature film for theatrical release, SAM can help you take advantage of all that UHDTV has to offer – without blowing your budget.
If you want to go IP immediately, next year
or 5 years from now, we have products and
systems you can invest in with confidence.
UHDTV is about enabling you to create more compelling content and deliver more immersive viewing experiences.
The SAM Difference.
Our innovation can help you make a difference. Visit:
Color & Finishing Editing, Storage & Replay
Production Switchers
Routers & Multiviewers
Modular Infrastructure & Conversion
SAM product sectors
Media Processing Software
Asset & Workflow Management
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Support
TVBEurope 440x290 SAM Innovation.indd 1 15/12/2015 16:52new tvbe template remade.indd 3 16/12/2015 10:54
Production
With automation in the radio industry
as the trailblazing example, TV
broadcasters everywhere are
migrating away from proprietary, hardware-
based workfl ows and towards all-IT, software-
based production environments. Since these
solutions run on commodity hardware, they
open the door to new workfl ow effi ciencies,
reduced OPEX and CAPEX, less dependence on
specialised technical staff, and the fl exibility to
deliver more powerful and scalable production
environments. These benefi ts are especially
compelling in a TV newsroom, where every
second counts in the drive to deliver breaking
news to viewers before the competition.
With a software-based live production
workfl ow, broadcasters can build a ‘virtual
control room’ for managing switchers,
automation, graphics, and video playout from
any location and any time using a web browser.
The software enables a repeatable, reliable
environment for packaging and presenting
the content with fewer touch points. And by
automating all essential production functions,
the newsroom is able to deliver the news to air
quicker and with greater accuracy.
AcquisitionAt ChyronHego, we had these attributes in
mind when we acquired VidiGo earlier this
year. VidiGo Live, is a multi-camera production
environment that provides camera SDI inputs/
outputs, video playback, graphics, audio, and
automation capabilities. The technology extends
the BlueNet graphics creation and playout
workfl ow system and provides our joint customers
with an IT-based production solution. Euro Media
Group (EMG) deployed VidiGo Live software in
four live multi-camera production galleries, and
saw it as a way to reinvent live broadcasting
by separating equipment from the physical
location of the production. In this confi guration,
cameras and a production server are the only
equipment required at the remote galleries, with
production controlled over an IP network from
a centralised studio. n
16 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
Producing news programmes is expensive, and this genre, like all others, is looking to save money while still being creative. One solution is automating newsroom systems. TVBEurope asked several suppliers to offer their perspectives based on their systems
By Sören Kjellin, chief technology offi cer, ChyronHego; Reinout Lempers, commercial director, VidiGo
Going all-IT for speed and effi ciency
The automated newsroom
The TV2 Fyn newsroom
Sören Kjellin
16 17 18 TVBE Mar16 Automated NRoom_FINAL.indd 54 19/02/2016 12:40
Production TVBEurope 17March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
By Knut Alfred Andersen, EVP automation worldwide sales, Vizrt
F or many years, large broadcasters and
content distributors have used automation
as a way to reduce operational costs and
launch new channels with minimal investment.
For smaller stations, the cost and workflow
efficiencies can be just as significant as they
battle for viewers against the bigger players. This
includes controlling robotic cameras, and using a
large number of graphics and live sources.
Vizrt was recently approached by Danish TV
station TV 2 Fyn, which was looking to upgrade
its facilities. The station mainly broadcasts news
and talk shows in SD, as well as syndicated
programming from its Odense HQ. It was,
however, keen to become more competitive by
delivering more content, of a higher quality.
To achieve this, its production team, headed
up by Michael Jensen, decided to fully automate
TV 2 Fyn’s control room and two studios.
More than financialThe move wasn’t about saving money; rather,
TV2 Fyn wanted to improve the on-air look
and free production staff from repetitive tasks
so they could be more creative. The channel
also wanted to produce programmes with
repurposed content and unique production
values, and to present viewers with more
content, both on linear television and online.
Vizrt installed a Viz Mosart studio control
system to operate within TV 2 Fyn’s two studios.
The system controls two robotically driven HD
cameras in one studio, and six in the other.
There’s also a Studer stereo mixing console to
handle audio feeds, and a broadcast graphics
system that will soon be replaced with a Vizrt
template-based production solution.
Prior to the automation of the control room
and two studios, TV 2 Fyn was producing four or
five news shows every day. Now the team is able
to create the same number of shows, plus a news
channel that’s live for six hours a day.
Producers can now edit video, create
graphics, and build an entire broadcast all from
within their (NRCS) or rundown creation tool. n
Improving productivity and channel output through control room automation
Knut Alfred Andersen
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16 17 18 TVBE Mar16 Automated NRoom_FINAL.indd 55 19/02/2016 12:40
Productionwww.tvbeurope.com March 201618 TVBEurope
Production
By Ben Davenport, director of marketing, Dalet
W hen considering automation in news
workflows and production, it’s easy
to focus on the resource ‘saving’,
with robotic cameras, automatically populated
rundowns and metadata-driven dynamic
graphics generation. Indeed, if they’re willing
to multi-task, it is almost possible to create a
production with only the on-screen talent.
However, like so many other areas of the
media industry, these developments can
fundamentally change the process of creating
news in an immensely positive way.
Diversity, speciality and creativityAutomated aggregation of sources and
simplified representation of feeds to journalists
and producers enable a far greater diversity of
information into the newsroom environment. In
turn, this enables news outlets to cover not only
the big stories, but also the specialist and niche
topics or to explore different angles. This enables
producers to differentiate themselves and their
product from other outlets and productions.
For many of us, it will not seem long ago when
there was little difference between the 6pm and
9pm bulletins on the premier television channels
or the hourly ‘updates’ on radio. Workflow
automation has massively reduced the time-to-
air for breaking news, meaning that developing
stories can be delivered in a progressive and
continuous manner that is captivating for
readers, listeners and viewers.
But perhaps most importantly, moving from a
process-driven to a story-centric methodology
in the production with back office and ‘heavy
lifting’ functions that are highly automated, has
levelled the technological playing field and
shifted the emphasis to creativity and talent
where outlets try to differentiate themselves.
In news more than any other discipline in the
media and entertainment industry, technology
has been adopted in a way that massively
increases the reach of news content and news
production. Automation means that the same
content used and produced in the studio is
simultaneously re-versioned and re-purposed
efficiently, responding to the requirements
of multi-platform publishing, eliminating task
repetition, reducing organisational silos and
increasing consumer reach and engagement. n
Change can be positive
‘Workflow automation has massively reduced the time-to-air for breaking
news, meaning that developing stories can be delivered in a progressive and
continuous manner’Ben Davenport, Dalet
The TV2 Fyn director is able to control the complete programme from a single position
Ben Davenport
16 17 18 TVBE Mar16 Automated NRoom_FINAL.indd 56 19/02/2016 12:40
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Multi-format FlexibilityBuilt from the heritage of SAM’s award-winning KahunaTM switcher, Kula uses innovative FormatFusion3TM technology to seamlessly mix any format, up to and including 4K - eliminating the need for external conversion equipment. Creative PowerKula offers up to 5 keyers per M/E, 24 channels of DVE and floating/auxiliary keying resource. Up to 36 inputs and 18 outputs, plus a massive internal clip and still store ensures high impact productions every time.
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TVB 290x220 SAM KULA.indd 1 09/02/2016 17:43new tvbe template remade.indd 1 18/02/2016 17:39
Production20 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
Blackmagic Design cameras are used throughout the Be Curious sets
Lofty idealsS
wiss television channel, Be Curious TV,
broadcasts a huge range of lifestyle
programming, all of which is united by
a single theme; curiosity. Launched in March
2015 by entrepreneur and former lawyer, Leila
Delarive, the channel produces more than 80
per cent of its own content, with magazine style
programming covering culture, entertainment,
discovery and cooking, as well as debate and
society matters. Distribution of the programmes is
via cable and the internet.
“Our content is accessible for everyone,”
explains Delarive. “However, there is a distinct
look, feel and attitude that runs through all of
our programming. As the channel name
suggests, the programmes have been
developed to inspire curiosity as well as show
and talk about what other media channels do
not. Through this approach we hope to express a
different point of view.”
Head of production Elie Wenger explains that
the Be Curious studios have been designed
to feel like a loft apartment. “We wanted our
presenters, guests and audiences to immediately
feel at home in their surroundings, to fit with our
inclusive and relaxed style of presenting. Also,
it gives us the ability to segment the content
into the most relevant part of the loft. For
example, we have cookery programmes in the
kitchen and debates in the living areas.”
The 270sqm studio facility is located in
Préverenges, a suburb of the city of Lausanne.
The design plan for the studio sets and
subsequent construction was completed in
just 75 days by local interior architecture
partnership, Adeli. “Be Curious is the first
architectural experience for Adeli studios in the
world of TV,” explains founder, Siavosh Adeli. “Our
client was especially interested in our vision of this
closed world in order to create a universe apart
and a totally different decor from all the other
stage set designs.”
Within the unique studio space, each element
of the channel’s bespoke Blackmagic Design
production workflow, built by systems integrator
PAD, has been designed with this informal
concept in mind.
“Our studio is equipped with five Blackmagic
Studio Cameras HD, which are used across all six
different set-ups in the loft, and all of which can
be controlled by camera operators on the studio
floor, as well as by the production team via ATEM
Control Software,” states Wenger. “All cameras
are manned, with one mounted on a slider, but
which can also be used with a crane.”
He says there were both aesthetic and
technical advantages for the team that the
Blackmagic Design solution brought to the
channel’s production design. “As we are not
a news channel, we wanted to create a look
and feel for our programming that is distinctive;
something that had welcoming, warm tones
to it. And that is exactly what the cameras allow
us to do, thanks to the access to colour
correction that the control software gives us.
We did consider other options, but felt this
was the right one for our particular feel.”
Philip Stevens looks into the production workflow of an unusual Swiss channel
“We wanted our presenters, guests and audiences to immediately feel at home
in their surroundings, to fit with our inclusive and relaxed style of presenting”
Elie Wenger, Be Curious
20 22 TVBE Mar16 Production Be curious_FINAL.indd 20 19/02/2016 12:43
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Productionwww.tvbeurope.com March 201622 TVBEurope
Efficient workflowWhile the camera operators take responsibility
for framing and focus, the iris control and primary
colour correction are carried out by the team in
the master control room through an ATEM 2 M/E
Production Studio 4K.
“Our directors carry out their own vision
mixing. As well as the high quality broadcast
mixing effects that the ATEM delivers, its colour
correction tools in the software are so powerful,
that this provides us with our final grade,
and there is often no need for further post
production,” continues Wenger. “This means our
production workflow from acquisition to deliver is
extremely efficient; perfect for the
huge amount of content we are producing in
house on a daily basis, and at the same time still
keeps the ‘Be Curious’ look running through all
of our programmes.”
While all camera signals are routed over
optical fibre into the ATEM 2 M/E switcher, the
actual programme mixing is executed with
an ATEM 1 M/E Broadcast Panel, and camera
control through a touchscreen tablet.
“This flexibility is perfect for us, as we can
segregate the controls easily, whilst the ATEM
switcher acts as the linchpin to our entire
production hub,” explains Wenger. “The CCU
camera control can either be situated in the
MCR or out on the studio floor, depending on
what’s appropriate for a particular programme,
and whereabouts in the studio we are shooting.
It gives us ultimate flexibility.”
On the audio side, Be Curious has opted for a
Roland M200i. This is a 32-channel digital mixer
that can be controlled with or without iPad. It
incorporates 17 motorised faders, dedicated
buttons and knobs for key functions, 24 onboard
inputs and 14 outputs with the capacity to be
expanded up to 64x54 and the ability for multi-
channel recording up to 40 channels.
All of Be Curious’ shows are recorded on to
three HyperDeck Studio Pro broadcast decks,
ready for later transmission, however the
channel already has plans to incorporate live
programming into its schedule.
“We are completely tapeless,” says Wenger.
“Editing is carried out on Adobe Premier Pro,
with the live graphics coming from Adobe
After Effect and Illustrator.”
Lighting for the studio is handled by Run The
Show DMX. This system is a DMX box controlled
by an iPad with a professional light application
specially designed to be really easy to use.
The box has its own WiFi router so the iPad can
broadcast DMX information in a safe and
private mode, while the dedicated network
is protected by WEP key.
Unique user“Be Curious has a very distinct identity as a
broadcaster, and this was clearly outlined from
the start of the technical planning,” explains
Philippe Baudet, a director of Systems Integrator,
PAD. “The Blackmagic Studio Cameras were
the perfect choice for the studio’s fresh,
modern take on lifestyle, and their seamless
integration with the ATEM production workflow
means that the team has much more time to
concentrate on producing high quality content,
wherever they are filming.” n
Production
“As the channel name suggests, the programmes have been developed to
inspire curiosity as well as show and talk about what other media channels do not”
Leila Delarive, Be Curious
Cookery programmes are just one feature of the Be Curious schedule
Local architecture partnership, Adeli designed its first TV sets for Be Curious The set design allows for musical items to be included in programmes
20 22 TVBE Mar16 Production Be curious_FINAL.indd 22 19/02/2016 12:43
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new tvbe template remade.indd 1 18/02/2016 17:43
Some production companies, it seems, are
still not learning the cardinal rule of post
production: don’t leave it till the last minute.
The pace of workfl ow in many industries today
seems to be increasing faster than seems possible
and we’re constantly hearing that familiar refrain
‘we want it now’. This is particularly true of a
broadcast industry that is in the throes
of one of its perennial changes.
Commissioning deadlines are being truncated,
schedules and viewing habits shift and change.
With whole series appearing at once on the likes
of Netfl ix and Amazon Video, and with other
channels likely to follow suit, producers can be
working on multiple projects at one time. Last
minute revisions are very common.
But the demands that the industry has for quality
post production work have not diminished. In
fact, demand has increased while timeframes
have remained static or worse still, shrunk.
While this means that there is plenty of
work around, we’re still hearing some facilities
complain that producers are confi rming bookings
with sometimes just a week’s notice, or even later.
Clients rocking up to the facility at literally the
last minute are not unheard of.
Facilities are, by their very defi nition and
business model, there to facilitate, so they aim
to be fl exible and accommodate such requests
as much as possible, within the time and budget
constraints that production managers may have.
However, it’s clear from conversations and
comments we’ve been hearing that post
production practitioners would really rather they
were less of an eleventh-hour appointment.
They are also increasingly being called upon
to be resource managers as well as providers of
creative services. Indeed, with the rise in demand
for UHD and HDR, and even VR/AR in some cases,
the complexity and scale of the workfl ow and
the systems required has exploded.
Storage needs are expanding for the much
bigger fi les required for this type of output; if you
combine this with a series of anything from six to
thirteen episodes sitting on a server, a massive
resource problem soon becomes obvious.
Again, facilities are planning for this and invest
in new hardware and services to cope, but
such fl exibility costs. Clients don’t always realise
just how much; the relative ease of transferring
large fi les and the wide availability of cloud
services, cheap hard disks and fast commercial
broadband today can fool the unwary into
Post ProductionPost Production24 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
Fixing it for postEarly and continuous dialogue with facilities, whether they deal in picture post, VFX or audio, can prove invaluable, writes Michael Burns
when audio mattersnatural sound – in the home
www.jungeraudio.com
junger_TVBE_200x65.indd 2 10.08.15 10:32
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24 25 TVBE Mar16 Burns Post Production_FINAL.indd 54 19/02/2016 15:38
Post Production TVBEurope 25March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Post Production
thinking programme data transfer and storage
is a cheap and instant process. There’s also
media asset management, use of dedicated
private IP networks, and various levels of storage
infrastructure to consider, as well as media
compliance and delivery to broadcasters,
all of which can cause an unprepared hike
in costs for a production when they require
dramatic changes or an increase in capacity
at the last minute.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Over years
of interviews and conversations with facility
managers and post professionals, I’ve heard
the same advice offered for producers and
line managers; get in touch with the post house
during your pre-production stage.
Just as there are a number of footage
acquisition workfl ows, there are many ways of
handling, editing and fi nishing footage and
programme material. The two are often linked
and a facility will be able to advise and plan
for the best and most economic workfl ow in
advance and prepare for any unexpected
changes later on. Every facility I’ve ever spoken
to seemed happy to assist with any queries
producers have about workfl ows or best
practice, as they will often be able to provide a
better and more creative service as a result.
That same suggestion has been echoed from
facilities across the sector: whether they deal in
picture post, VFX or audio; having a chat with
them before a project starts is invaluable.
As Greg Gettens, head of audio at Clear Cut
Pictures, once told me, this can make sure both
facility and producers have the same vision for a
project. “Sound is very subjective, so having this
discussion beforehand means you can use the
limited time in the dub to create a soundscape
that the clients want,” Gettens said. “In addition
to this I have found we can eliminate most
problems that crop up well before the producer
gets to the dub stage: in turn, this means your
dub can be fully focused on creative issues.”
And it should be an ongoing conversation. A
comment I’ve heard many times now is that the
term ‘post production’ is no longer a relevant
descriptor for the business, as these facilities
can be involved on projects from the creative
concept through to execution and delivery. So
it’s a bit mystifying to fi nd that some productions
are still to this day only thinking of post as they’re
approaching deadline.
If they need more proof of the benefi ts, BVE
in London last month hosted a panel session
on this very subject: ‘Fail to plan, plan to fail:
Establishing direct communication to succeed
in the post production-production relationship’.
Under discussion were proven methods from
post houses on how to ensure a more cost-time
effective workfl ow, and how documenting
workfl ows and consulting regularly can
ensure successful delivery.
So producers should try, if at all possible, to get
in touch with the facility fi rst, and keep talking
to them. There should be no need to have a
panicked post production, even with today’s
pressure-driven schedules. n
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24 25 TVBE Mar16 Burns Post Production_FINAL.indd 55 19/02/2016 15:38
Muriel De Lathouwer has spent almost
20 years in the telecoms, IT, high tech
and media industries, with senior roles
at Accenture and McKinsey, and IT telecoms
operator BASE. Her strong work history is coupled
with sound knowledge and understanding of
these fields; she holds an engineering degree
in nuclear physics from Université libre de
Bruxelles, and an MBA from renowned business
school Insead, near Paris.
“I’m an engineer by background,” says De
Lathouwer, who following stints at management
and IT consultancy firms, “decided to do
something more entrepreneurial” and joined EVS
in 2013. She served on the board of directors,
as chair of its strategy committee, and then as
interim president of the executive committee
following the departure of Joop Janssen in
October 2014, with an official appointment
announced in February last year.
One of her main achievements during her
short time as CEO was during the initial four or
five months as interim president, she explains.
Just two weeks after taking up the position, key
changes were made to the company structure,
“from an organisation that was organised along
with the four markets – sports, entertainment,
news, media – and to organise it more simply,
around commercial organisation, product and
market organisation, and R&D technology.” This
was the first step, says De Lathouwer, to building
a new management team. This involved a
change in the structure of the team, from
“a situation where we had a very large
committee of about 14 people, to a smaller
executive core team of five people, plus me.”
The group meets every week to “really, together,
as a team, make decisions.”
In parallel to overseeing this reshuffle of human
resources, De Lathouwer was also instrumental
in launching a strategy preview, examine
“the evolution of the market, the trends, how
they would impact on business, what are the
opportunities, and is there a need to make
adaptations to our strategy.” Hardly light work
for the early stages in a new role. The benefits of
this overhaul were soon in evidence, and “thanks
to this reorganisation we have already seen the
results.” Internal efficiencies mean that “it is much
easier to reallocate the resources to get internal
mobility and to better manage resources”. The
smaller team also allows for more effective
and comprehensive communication because
“decisions are taken with different stakeholders
around the table with the different axis or
dimensions of the company” and “it allows you
to cover 360 degrees of each challenge or
opportunity, to take that decision together
and afterwards to make sure that the decision
goes down the organisation.”
Chairing EVS’ strategy committee “really
allowed me to understand the broadcast
industry” and “the situation of the company” in
particular. 2015 was a year of highs for EVS: the
live broadcast of the 230th El Clásico football
match in Ultra HD in March; delivering the first
ever multicam second-screen experience for an
international multi-sport event at the SEA Games;
and providing fans with enriched media content
over 4G Broadcast for the FA Cup Final. In
addition to developments in technology, it is also
those related to workforce which have formed
De Lawouther’s standout moments as CEO:
“What I’m extremely happy about is being
able to build this management team”, she
says. To “bring this new decision-
making process”, and develop
a new the management style,
“from the CEO who decides,
to a team which is built
around the CEO, who
decide together.”
De Lathouwer’s
previous work
experience – in R&D at
Accenture, strategic
thinking at McKinsey,
and an operational
role at BASE – has
equipped her well
to oversee and
unite the leadership
team at EVS. “If you
look at those three
angles” she explains, “it’s really helpful, because
I understand the R&D, which is 50 per cent of
our FTE; I understand the marketing strategy
and business aspect; and I already have the
operational experience.”
Yet, a good CEO is never merely a sum of its
work experience parts. De Lathouwer clearly
has a strong vision for the brand and company,
which has retained its dominant position in the
market for some years. “To first maintain this
position and deserve this position all the time”
she says, it is imperative to keep on innovating,
“making sure we can always really understand
the needs of our customer and make sure that
we bring pragmatic solutions that address their
needs.” By devolving power and taking a more
diplomatic approach to decision making and
company development, De Lathouwer hopes
EVS can continue “to deserve [customers’]
loyalty and confidence.” Retaining this
confidence in a
broadcast
industry
Feature26 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
Inside the chief executive’s officeIt has been over a year since Muriel De Lathouwer was officially appointed CEO of live broadcast specialist EVS. She spoke to Holly Ashford about her time at the company, shaking up the management structure, and her outlook for 2016
26 27 TVBE Mar16 EVS CEO Feature_final.indd 54 19/02/2016 10:41
TVBEurope 27March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature
bombarded with “technology disruption” seems
far from straightforward. The likes of IP, the
cloud, and 4K have all created challenges and
opportunities; how will EVS harness and profit
from these in the year ahead? “You anticipate
them and take advantage of the benefits, to
make sure that you allow your customer to take
advantage of those changes, while preserving
their existing investment,” says De Lathouwer.
“One of the biggest challenges is related to IP
and the new business model that IP allows”, she
says, stressing that it is not a question of if IP will
happen, but when. “With every technological
change you have to make sure you invest at
the right time, in the right standard” because
“if you invest too early, you might not have
the best ROI for your investment, but too late
is not good either.”
EVS has developed a new strategy, IP4Live,
which supports manageable migration to IP
through open and interoperable solutions and
COTS-based equipment utilisation. IP transition
should happen “step by step at the rhythm
of the customer” explains De Lathouwer, and
IP4Live aims to bring the benefits of IP-based
workflows to live production while preserving
existing investments. The launch of the strategy
coincided with De Lathouwer’s inauguration
as CEO, but she maintains humbly that IP was
something which was “already part of the
thinking” before she took on the role. Instead,
she says, the initiaive was created collaboratively
with the executive committee to make it
“extremely clear” to customers that EVS
would “really help them and support them”
in the transition to IP, and develop a clear
message regarding this.
EVS will no doubt continue to announce
new strategies and innovations this year, not
least as the summer will see both the Rio 2016
Olympics and Paralympics, and UEFA Euro 2016
tournament beamed to the screens of millions.
It is at such big events and flagship projects,
says De Lathouwer, that “we bring all the
new innovation that’s afterwards going to be
projectised and offered to all of our customers.”
She also hints that events such as Rio are “a
push in trying new technologies, to launch new
technologies”, but unfortunately is unable to
elaborate on what this will involve.
In addition to her position as EVS CEO, De
Lathouwer is also a member of Women on Board,
a Belgian and European network of women
members of boards of directors. The aim of
this non-profit is to create a pool of talented
women ready to take up board positions, and
to facilitate access to this pool for Belgian
enterprises searching for female directors.
Working in the “very male-dominated” nuclear
engineering and technology fields, does De
Lathouwer feel enough is being done to address
the similar gender divide in the broadcast
industry? “It has never been an issue for me”,
she says, rebuffing any notion of sexism with the
assertion that “you have some stereotypes…
but then you have to behave like a leader. I’ve
always managed to evolve in my career” she
continues, because “when you have the same
competencies as your male colleagues and
you work in the right environment there is
nothing that should block women.”
De Lathouwer’s success is clearly down to her
“competencies” as well as her ambition and
leadership qualities, assets which are not inherent
to all. Overcoming the gender divide within the
industry is not about giving women a helping
hand, De Lathouwer implies, but about hard
work and earning and deserving your success.
However, she also acknowledges the problem of
fewer women entering “technology-type studies,
therefore less graduating, and less entering the
industry.” If you want to address this problem, she
says “you have to do it from the start.”
De Lathouwer says she finds it “very difficult” to
comment on the gender divide in the broadcast
industry, and instead highlights the need for “not
simply gender diversity, but all types of diversity”.
One of the most significant things she has learnt,
she says, is “how powerful a team can be when
you have different people from completely
different backgrounds, different cultures,
different ways of thinking, different references”.
A new type of collaborative thinking and
teamwork has been introduced to EVS by De
Lathouwer during her time as CEO, and benefits
have been reaped from the “different ways of
thinking” within her team. Coming from a non-
broadcast background, her knowledge of the
industry was only from the EVS board, “not
from the heart of broadcast”, and so “I had
to be more humble because I knew that
the knowledge of the industry resides within
my team.” Ideas are exchanged and
decisions are made as a team which creates
“a different kind of dynamic.”
The pace of change and acceleration in
the industry is “enormous”, and with two high-
profile events this year, EVS’ innovations will be
thrust into the spotlight. The development of
new strategies and products can no doubt be
credited to De Lathouwer, though the CEO is
keen to underline the importance of the unit she
has assembled around her; “I strongly believe in
the power of a team” she concludes. n
“When you have the same competencies as your male colleagues and you work in the
right environment there is nothing that should block women”
26 27 TVBE Mar16 EVS CEO Feature_final.indd 55 19/02/2016 10:41
It is traditional for press to wait in
line for up to three hours just to
get into jam packed Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) news
conferences, but this year along
with those of the major TV vendors,
the queues were snaking round the
block for YouTube. Samsung and LG
press events were still standing room
only, but they lacked the buzz of
keynotes from Netflix and YouTube.
This was symbolic of the show’s
key theme, which was of power
draining from old TV straight into
digital video.
“I believe digital video will
overtake TV to become the single
largest way people spend their
free time before the end of the
decade,” predicted YouTube chief
business officer Robert Kyncl, the
day after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings
announced the next steps in global
domination by lighting up 130
new territories for the OTT
subscription service.
Smartphones are emerging as
the TV screen’s biggest competitor,
and are increasingly being used
for long form viewing, not just
short clips. Kyncl said the average
viewer now watches one hour 15
minutes of digital video per day,
a number that will grow. Google
claims that YouTube on mobile
alone reaches more 18 to 34 and
18 to 49 year-olds than any cable
network and that 600,000 people in
the US cut their cable subscriptions
last quarter.
Added to that, TV shipments
are down, with IHS reporting the
biggest annual decline in five years
for Q2 2015. It expects no growth
in 2016 either.
The CTA (Consumer Technology
Association), which owns and
produces CES, was slightly more
optimistic. It projects revenues will
reach $19 billion for all TV sets and
displays in 2016, on par with 2015,
as volumes drop one per cent to
just under 40 million units. Well-
established technologies including
smartphones, televisions and
laptops will lead to a small growth
in the CE market this year. While
these categories account for 51
per cent of the industry’s revenue,
the catalysts for future growth
are newer innovations such as
wearables, virtual reality
(VR) and drones.
“The industry is at an inflection
point, because nascent categories
will continue to gain market share,”
explained Shawn DuBravac, chief
economist, CTA.
It’s doubtful that any of the
3,800 exhibiting companies truly
achieves the impact they want
at CES amid all the white noise
and the shouting matches which
constitute a stand interview.
So let’s boil it down. From a tech
point of view CES 2016 was about
High Dynamic Range (HDR) and
VR wrapped in an increasingly
omnipresent Internet of Things (IoT).
Drone dataThe CTA expects US sales of
drones to reach one million units
in 2016, a 145 per cent increase
TVBEverywhere28 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
“UHD sets will be at 21 per cent of sales globally in 2016” Steve Koenig,
Consumer Technology Association
The TV is on its way to becoming just another appliance, writes Adrian Pennington, who was in Las Vegas to report on this year’s Consumer Electronics Show
CES 2016 attendees testing a VR headset in the Sands Expo CenterCES 2016 report
28 29 30 31 TVBE MAR16 TVBEverywhere_final.indd 32 19/02/2016 15:28
from 2015’s total. The US Federal
Aviation Authority has mandated
registration of all UAVs in response
to increased mid-air incidents
involving them, one reason why
leading developer DJI launched
a beta geofencing system called
Geospatial Environment Online
(GEO), designed to prevent drones
from operating in restricted areas.
GEO fitted, a DJI drone will
update maps and restrictions
based on unfolding events,
including sports competitions. It’s
expected to go live later this year.
Indeed, data gathered by drones
is thought to be an even more
compelling business case than pure
video. “If you shoot a 3D map and
print it with your 3D printer, you can
get a 3D model of your house, for
example,” suggested DJI executive
Brendan Schulman. “There are lots
of cool things you can do with the
data you collect.” No giant CE
company has yet made a move
into drones (Sony has development
plans and Intel just acquired drone
firm Ascending). “Companies
deciding to do drones learn
just how hard they are to
do,” reckoned 3D Robotics,
CRO, Colin Guinn.
“It’s arguably the most complicated
consumer electronics.”
2016 for VR lift offWith over 120 companies touting
VR or AR developments in Vegas,
VR was the hit of the show. When
Facebook’s $600 Oculus launches
at the end of March it will help VR
unit sales this year to top 1.2 million
in the US, marking a 500 per cent
increase from 2015 (source: CTA)
and accounting for $540 million
in revenues. The Diffusion Group
reckons global revenues related
to VR will top $18 billion (€16.6
billion) by 2025.
Among companies entering
the fray is Zeiss, which applied its
knowledge of optics to the VR One
GX, a phone-based head mounted
display costing $130. Unlike
Samsung’s Gear VR, a phone-tray
solution enables the Zeiss device
to work with any smartphone on
the market today.
NextVR hosted a private viewing
of a live streamed NBA game
between the Chicago Bulls and
Boston Celtics, produced with
NextVR investor Time Warner-
owned Turner Sports. The company
also reported that it worked with
TVBEurope 29March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
TVBEverywhere
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings takes the stage for the popular CES keynote
28 29 30 31 TVBE MAR16 TVBEverywhere_final.indd 33 19/02/2016 15:28
TVBEverywhere30 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
Qualcomm to develop software
for the new Snapdragon 820
processor that enables delivery
of live 360-degree content to
mobile phones.
One area that promises to
give the VR market even more
traction will be the increasing
availability of 360-degree VR
cameras. Nikon’s unveiling of its first
action camera, the KeyMission 360,
which shoots 360-degree video in
4K from a 20.8-megapixel sensor,
was a surprise. Well-produced
content is “desperately needed”
to help VR take off, according to
Hollywood execs at a panel on the
topic. “A lot of good technology is
being developed but there’s also
a lot of bad content,” opined Cliff
Plumer, president of VR developer
Jaunt Studios.
Sony said it would start selling
$300 VR PlayStation goggles by Q2
2016 and Fox announced a
minority investment in VR firm
Osterhout Design Group. It
also unveiled The Martian VR
Experience, companion piece to
Ridley Scott’s feature.
David Greenbaum, one of the
directors of the Fox Innovation Lab
that co-produced The Martian
VR project, added; “We thought
we were just doing R&D, but now
people want to buy [VR content].”
However, Eric Shamlin, executive
producer at content studio Secret
Location, warned: “It’s probably
going to be 2017 before VR content
is something you can monetise.”
HDR to the rescueTV and DVD player makers are
pinning their hopes on HDR to
reinvigorate the living room big
screen as the place to experience
the best sound and image.
Helping smooth consumer sales
by streamlining the marketing
speak used to promote a screen’s
brightness, the UHD Alliance
announced ‘Ultra HD Premium’, a
top of the range specification for
distributing and displaying content.
To meet the specs, screens must
deliver 10-bit colour bit depth, and
they must reproduce at least 90 per
cent of the P3 colour gamut,
the same as digitally projected
theatrical exhibition. In terms of
HDR, the screen must meet SMPTE
ST2084 EOTF and deliver certain
peak brightness levels.
This should help 4K TV sales to
achieve the $10 billion revenue
predicted by the CTA in US retail
this year. Indeed, all 2016 OLED
models from LG feature the Ultra
HD Premium seal of approval.
Panasonic’s new flagship DX900
LED TV series, also has Premium
certification as do units from
Samsung and Sony.
“UHD sets will be at 21 per cent
of sales globally in 2016,” said Steve
Koenig, CTA, senior director of
market research. “The vast majority
of those will be 50 inches and
above. And, as set makers move
to 1080p for sets smaller than 50
inches and 4K for sets larger than
50 inches, the demise of 720p
seems inevitable.”
OTT delivery models can easily
accommodate the 20 per cent
extra data over ‘normal’ UHD,
hence Netflix and YouTube
announced plans to launch UHD
HDR content later this year. Hastings
claimed; “We have over 1,000
engineers focusing on better
global delivery, more intuitive
UIs, incredible picture and
audio quality.”
Yet this is a lot more complicated
for broadcasters who are still
struggling to deliver HD without
heavy compression. Frustration with
the broadcast HDR standardisation
process has forced Technicolor
and Philips to marry their respective
“A lot of good technology is being developed but there’s also a lot of bad content”
Cliff Plumer, Jaunt Studios
Nagra used CES to present its new all-in-one TV experience, intuiTV
28 29 30 31 TVBE MAR16 TVBEverywhere_final.indd 34 19/02/2016 15:28
TVBEurope 31March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
TVBEverywhere
HDR technologies. The approach
will offer backwards compatibility
to standard dynamic range
displays, just like the BBC/NHK’s
HDR proposals and include an HDR
solution for live broadcast.
But since Technicolor
and Philips own a set-top
box business they are keen
to badge their consumer
boxes – and screens/STBs
of third parties – as offering
Technicolor HDR and to
compete with
rival Dolby Vision.
Dolby announced that
Warner Bros., Universal, MGM,
and Netflix will all support
Dolby Vision with new releases
and catalogue titles mastered
in the format. Owners of 2016
LG 4K OLEDs will be able to
stream HDR content from Netflix on
LG’s updated webOS 3.0 Smart TV
platform later this year.
And in cooperation with Amazon,
LG OLEDs will offer the newest
original HDR content via
Amazon Video.
Just another appliance“We believe the future of TV
is still TV,” declared Anthony
Smith-Chaigneau, senior director
of product marketing, Nagra,
presenting the company’s
new all-in-one TV experience
called intuiTV. Targeted at
pay-TV operators as a managed
cloud-based platform for
adding any mix of premium
content with live TV, VoD, SVoD,
PVR and social TV.
“The advanced TV market is
broken and heading toward a
cold computer dashboard of
coloured tiles,” added Smith-
Chaigneau.
“We believe in unifying
this fragmented market for
the consumer by having all
their entertainment in one
place and delivering a much
better experience.”
With Samsung’s flagship UHD
TV KS9500 users can adjust the
lighting, watch the baby monitor,
and even create “mood schemes”
with a group of smart devices.
They could even watch TV if
they wanted.
The CTA suggests IoT will drive the
consumer tech industry to $287
billion in revenues, an all time high.
“The exponential growth of the
IoT and the lightning-fast speed of
innovation are key reasons we’ll see
such strong growth across so many
tech categories,” said Shapiro.
Julie Brill of the US Federal Trade
Commission described what the
future of the IoT will look like.
“The internet will disappear
through it and devices will just
start to be connected, the way
we think about electricity now,”
she said. The TV is becoming just
another appliance. n
Nikon unveiled its first action camera, the KeyMission 360
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T F1 is France’s biggest broadcasting group,
its flagship channel drawing the country’s
largest audiences, with an average 22 per
cent share of the viewing market. In addition
to the main free to air channel TF1, the private
group also owns several free to air digital
terrestrial channels; TMC, NT1 and HD1, targeted
at slightly different demographics, in addition to
a news only channel, LCI. The group also boasts
one of the leading VoD services in the country,
MyTF1VOD, as well as a very popular catch-up
service and a number of internet sites.
Not surprising then, that when it comes to
adopting new broadcasting technology, it will
want to make sure that it is properly tried and
tested. The group has understandably taken
a cautious approach to 4K.
“Our main concern is whether our audience
is interested enough in this new technology to
justify the huge financial investment it requires,”
explains Hervé Pavard, director of technologies,
information systems, internal resources and
security for the TF1 Group.
The company has been testing the technology
for the last three years, in different live situations,
most notably on one of TF1’s most popular
programmes The Voice, both in 2013 and 2014,
as well as on BBC format Danse Avec Les Stars
(Strictly Come Dancing) and on a few football
matches before the World Cup in Brazil.
“We conducted trials with Sony F65 and F55
cameras, which we found are more appropriate
for film and TV drama production than for use in
live situations. One of the problems was adjusting
the cameras’ focus and depth of field, most
particularly during the football games because
you don’t know where the players are going to
go to next, you have to adjust all of that in
live conditions. It’s much easier when you can
Feature32 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
“We found out fairly early on, by testing HD and UHD cameras next to each other, that the 4K images were not hugely compelling
compared to the HD ones”
Hervé Pavard, director of technologies, TF1 Group, shares his outlook on 4K, HDR and the cloud with Catherine Wright
TF1 remains cautious about
4K and HDR©
Yan
n D
eja
rdin
/TF1
32 33 TVBE Mar16 TF1 Feature_FINAL.indd 54 19/02/2016 14:38
control the situation for a TV drama. “You
know exactly what the actors will do and
when they will do it,” he describes.
But even more importantly, these trials also
enabled TF1 to assess whether 4K would bring
a big enough change compared with HD to
seduce the broadcasting group’s viewers.
“We found out fairly early on, by testing HD
and UHD cameras next to each other, that the 4K
images were not hugely compelling compared to
the HD ones. The audience has to be equipped
with at least 70-inch TV sets to start seeing a
difference. When it comes to pixel resolution,
there is no ‘wow factor’,” he indicates.
HDR does provide that wow factor, he agrees,
even though huge problems remain, one of
which being the actual standard itself. “There
are three different ones out there; Dolby’s,
the Technicolor/Philips one and the BBC/NHK
standard. We will be testing different options
during the year but we certainly have not
made our minds up yet. We want to understand
how it will all work in a real production
environment and in what I call a glass to
glass situation, from the camera to the TV set
in the viewer’s room,” he says.
Among the possible trials, some might take
place during the Euro next June, for which TF1
has some of the broadcasting rights. “UEFA has
already announced that four matches will
be broadcast in 4K, so it will be up to us to see
how we fit in with it. We might plan a demo of
some kind,” he admits.
One of the concerns is backward compatibility
from SDR images to HDR ones. “It remains unclear
whether you get a normal or a bad quality HDR
image when you convert from one to the other,”
he indicates. Another one is the licensing cost,
knowing that Dolby has in the past demanded a
high fee for licensing some of its technology.
For all these reasons, TF1 is still far away from
adopting 4K in the broadcasting and production
of its free-to-air channels.
“We’ve decided to go down that path slowly.
Quite a few 4K TV sets have been sold in France,
but very little 4K content is available at this stage
and I‘m not even sure that the first 4K sets are
really able to broadcast 4K images. But one
of the areas we‘re closely looking at is 4K for
our VoD service and also anything to do with
an OTT environment. Because the economic
model makes sense; you can ask you subscribers
to pay a premium for 4K content or a 4K
channel,” he says.
Having said that, he does believe that 4K will
succeed as a widespread technology and will
eventually become ubiquitous, contrary to
3D. “3D should be a lesson to us all, there was so
much enthusiasm for it but the audience didn’t
follow. So let’s take things slowly,” he cautions.
The group is however less cautious about
cloud technology. “We’ve been using cloud
systems for back office tasks such as personnel
management or administration for the last three
years and have learnt a lot about safety. We‘ve
also started using it for archiving purposes and
have adopted Microsoft Azure’s system. We’re
also using a private cloud system for production,
with our own data centre on site. Our aim is to
have a private cloud on an outside data centre
next,” he explains.
Cloud systems are not used when transmission
on time is a real issue. “The risk of not finding
the content on time and all the queuing up of
files makes it difficult to use for our main news
programme at 8pm, for instance,” he describes.
Unlike some other broadcasters, TF1 hasn’t had
trouble recruiting software engineers with the
right skills. “We started using the technology three
years ago, and we also trained our engineers at
the same time, so we have had time to adapt to
the new skillset,” he concludes. n
TVBEurope 33March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature
“3D should be a lesson to us all, there was so much enthusiasm for it but the audience didn’t follow. So let’s
take things slowly”
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32 33 TVBE Mar16 TF1 Feature_FINAL.indd 55 19/02/2016 14:38
Business
When it comes to the
adroit tactic of capability
extension through
acquisition, no corporation does
it better than Ericsson. The latest
intake will be the Texas-based
entertainment metadata and
rich media content specialist FYI
Television, which derives its success
from tracking 9,000 TV networks
and producing aggregated
content and scheduling data in
customised formats.
The logic of this tie-up screams
content discovery, and for the fuller
picture TVBEurope spoke to Thorsten
Sauer, the executive who drove
the acquisition and integration
of both Technicolor’s broadcast
service division and Red Bee
Media. Sauer is head of Ericsson’s
broadcast and media services
business worldwide, leading a team
of 2,500 industry specialists.
“Content discovery is broad
enough as a topic, and it touches a
lot of different pieces that Ericsson
does,” he said. “With the rise of
content and the multitude of ways
for us to access it, there is a level of
support needed to give users help
to find xthe right content.
“We do quite a bit in that area,
therefore FYI obviously gives us the
opportunity to cover a very large
part of the content created in north
America,” he added. “We want to
go far beyond that, besides pure
metadata. Consumers appreciate
all the new ways of accessing
content, and they appreciate
that there’s much more content
available, but they increasingly
grow frustrated with how
difficult it is to find what they
are strongly interested in.”
Basically, content discovery
is the description of content in
a very deep way and linking
that data to other forms of data.
Ericsson’s Media First platform is
on the front line.
“The opportunity we have
with this new generation of
platforms is to present content in
a very immersive way and target
something based on preference,”
said Sauer. “Past preferences is
one opportunity to present
content, and the extrapolation
of past preferences to fauture
demand is another.”
This all starts with knowing
the content, describing scenes,
following the trail of an actor
perhaps, or opting for happy, sad
or action scenes. The consumer is
just as likely to buck the profile and
look for something very different.
“FYI plays a key and integral
role in that,” said Sauer. “We are
the leading provider of metadata
in Europe. We cover 27 countries,
dealing with all the languages
and different local content. We
approximate that 40 per cent of
this is American-produced content,
so we are now very close to the
source with the FYI acquisition.”
Going deeper in terms of
exposing content to the
consumer will match
with aggregating the data and
presenting it to content creators,
who can then use consumption
behaviour to inform their projects.
“We understand the big
challenge today to being
successful is to provide a great
experience and we feel we have a
lot of the assets and ability there,”
said Sauer. “Content discovery is
working hand in hand with the TV
platforms we provide to telecoms
companies because the UI is no
longer the old-school EPG type
experience. It is more pictorial
because consumers want the
information put together in a
more immersive way.’
Spotting trends earlyConsumers are both fickle
in terms of staying with a
content supplier, and
generally unhappy
about paying for
the content they
access. The paradox
is that they will pay
for better quality
pictures.
“We see two
things,” said
Sauer. “It there is a
convenient choice
at an affordable price
people will forego the
illegal ways of finding free
content. They will say
if there is a good
subscription
service and
a finite
sum of money to pay that they
are happy to pay for the
convenience of legally
scrolling through the options.
“And there is generational
change. There are snippets and
short form content available for
free on YouTube, and that provides
a certain fascination,” he added,
“We see in every market we
looked at (nearly 40) that YouTube
is always the stronger producer
of video, and consumers tend to
spend more time with it. Facebook
plays eight billion views a day
and volume wise it is probably
close to You Tube.”
Ericsson is a business-to-business
company servicing the likes of the
BBC,
ITV
34 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
An acquisition in content discovery
Thorsten Sauer, head of broadcast and media services at Ericsson, spoke to George Jarrett about the company’s latest acquisition
34 35 TVBE Mar16 Business Ericsson_FINAL.indd 54 19/02/2016 14:35
Business TVBEurope 35March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
and Liberty Global, so in a sense
it is one step removed from the
consumers of content. But its huge
sample research projects have
given it a sharp edge.
“It is enormously important to be
very closely in touch and to spot
trends very early,” said Sauer. “That
informs our decisions on where
we want to invest in developing
new propositions. It is also highly
appreciated by our customers
because very few of them have the
opportunity to do something similar.
“It positions us with a very positive
image but more importantly it
informs us about trends at an
early stage and how consumer
behaviour changes,” he added.
The key struts of the network
society are mobility, broadband
and cloud services. The heart of
this is faultless connectivity, and
broadband does not reach
masses of consumers as yet.
“The foundation of our strategy
is the network society. Cloud,
broadband and mobility are
enabling factors, but the value
of being connected is rising,
connected to content wherever
we are. We do all of that today
and we feel the need for our
expertise is also reaching industries
where we have not played so
much,” said Sauer.
This relates to Ericsson’s industry
and society division, which focuses
on verticals like utilities and
transportation. Has Sauer detected
the fear amongst the traditional
broadcast vendors that their time
might be up? Ericsson predicts 26
billion connected devices in 2020,
so sustaining a USP is vital.
“This is an industry in
transformation and this requires
a new set of capabilities. We
are moving to something more
internet-like where you have fairly
standardised hardware. The logic,
the value sits in the software,
which requires new skills,”
said Sauer. “You will
see some companies
adapting to that,
and some not being
able to. “You have to continuously
change and adapt. The motto
of our network society is we have
to broaden to remain relevant,”
he added. “Across all industries
the importance of software is just
increasing rapidly, but broadcast
people still have time to adapt
and adjust because this industry
moves in cycles.”
You could be out-scaledFor the competence transition
FYI Television is the perfect fit for
generating high quality metadata.
“FYI is almost 100 per cent North
American, and we have some
American content plus a lot of
global content,” said Sauer. “What
we also see is an increasing number
of aggregators, and with Netflix
and Apple it has become a global
business. This global perspective
is one of the key changes to the
broadcast industry.
“A lot of the infrastructure and
the competences that you need
require skill and scale. There is an
increasing demand for having a
provider of services and solutions,
which can act globally, and
that is why it is so important for
us that we have that capability.
As a company we are morphing
and with colleagues from FYI
Television coming in we will get
new perspectives. The topic of
personalisation is going to be
huge,” he added.
What about the broadcasters?
Being medium sized in a big local
market is starting to look shriveled.
“One of the fundamental insights
that we have for our customers
to remain relevant is they have to
partner and make smart choices.
With increasing competition
and with so many companies
competing on a global basis, you
can be out-scaled,” said Sauer.
Sauer’s division provides that
scale through a logic that runs
from content discovery to access
services, to media management,
and to playout origination. This
is leveraging knowledge, but
he wants to expand back
up the chain.
“We are moving closer to the
people that are doing all the
exciting work, in both shooting
and post production. Some of
these things are extremely relevant
for our work on the metadata side,”
said Sauer. “The best place and
time to capture a lot of data about
the content is in production.”
The spare elementOne recent example of the value in
Ericsson’s consumer research is the
Sub Saharan service NuVu, which
uses spare Telco capacity to trickle
feed content to mobiles. Ericsson
runs the whole project including
licensing the content, so is it a
customer of its own expertise?
“Yes, sort of. What we saw in
the sub-Sahara area, and it goes
for other areas of the world, is the
people don’t have a legal and
affordable chance to access
content,” said Sauer. “A growing
middle class is getting into the
affordability range to spend
money on entertainment but they
don’t have TV sets. They do have
a smart phone though.
“We expect the number of smart
phones regionally to go up to 900
million by 2020. The broadband
connectivity in those markets is not
sufficient. We wanted to solve most
of the problems with a good quality
affordable service without surprises
(like broadband data bills).”
The key behind NuVu is the
intelligent client software
with network site components
that identifies when content
can be delivered.
“Smart phones cost £30-50 in
Africa, and they have a screen in
their hands. They are getting close
to where they can afford to pay
for entertainment, and there has
been no good proposition for them
so far,” said Sauer. n
“The best place and time to capture a lot of data about the content is in production”
Thorsten Sauer, Ericsson
www.mediagenix.tvwww.mediagenix.tv
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Business
Nevion, which was built on
the merging of Network
Electronics, Video
Production Group and T-VIPS
out of Tandberg, has come to
wider industry notice through its
VideoIPath and software designed
networking (SDN) technology and
its roles in both the VRT/EBU LiveIP
Sandbox project and The Alliance
for IP Media Solutions (AIMS).
At 19 years old it was not
embedded in traditional broadcast
and SD to HD thinking for too long,
and its expertise in SDN aligns it very
well for the coming IP era.
“This will be the next phase for
Nevion for sure, and it will be the
future for broadcast. It is migrating
for good reasons,” said CEO Geir
Bryn-Jensen. “Content consumption
has seen dramatic change over
several years, and what we see is a
triple effect of that. It is happening
upwards in the value chain. It
has changed the delivery and
distribution of content. And the
pressure is now on for the long
established media companies
to adapt to the competition from
new media players.
“They need to create more than
just slightly different content, much
more of it, and go multi-platform,
but the sources of revenue like
licensing monies are changing,”
he added. “And with advertising
revenue being distributed around
other platforms, what we see is that
the traditional broadcast customer
has to do more, and they often
have less resources, or at least no
more, to do it with. This drives the
need for increased efficiency.”
This has accelerated the
transition to new technologies and
the bringing of IT and IP disciplines
to production. “People did not
want to talk about it, but three
years ago it started to get some
interest. A year ago there was a
lot of interest, and at this point in
time we are sitting with ten projects
and they are much more than
proof of concept,” said Bryn-
Jensen. “People are building new
facilities and they want to create a
sustainable future environment.”
Nevion had focussed on
contribution networks but now
it is transferring its expertise and
core technologies into the facility
market to enable software defined
environments for production.
What advantages have come
from participation in the Sandbox
36 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
Virtualising media productionVirtualising media production, and virtualising functionality: George Jarrett talks to Nevion CEO Geir Bryn-Jensen
36 37 TVBE Mar16 Business_FINAL2.indd 54 22/02/2016 10:31
Business TVBEurope 37March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Project? “We have validated more
than what we have learnt. We had
a working hypothesis when we went
in and were pleased to see what
we believed has been proven.
The Sandbox project came at the
right time,” said Bryn-Jensen.
Armed with both a technology
and a strategy, come the last IBC
Nevion was both part of the IP
Live initiative and able to launch a
software-defined networking starter
kit with the requisite orchestration
platform. “The LiveIP project proved
that the vendors could collaborate,
which was good for everybody
involved. Our kit gives the user
a low-cost entry level and the
chance to trial the new technology
and see that it actually works,” said
Bryn-Jensen. “We saw that it was
not the time to take an incremental
step but take a bold step. It is not
just deploying IP technology for
media production, but enabling the
virtualisation of production. This is
the business benefit.”
Not locking the user into somethingJoining AIMS was also a no
brainer. “The background for all
the founding members has been
that the customer and vendor
communities have both now
embraced the fact that there will
be a future related to IP,” said Bryn-
Jensen. “But I think there is still a lot
of uncertainty in terms of standards,
and there is still an amount of fear
of the change among our users.
“The good of AIMS is to come
together as competitors and say,
‘Hey we are all supporting each
other in creating new services
that are interoperable’. We are
not going to lock anybody into
something,” he added. “We will not
be the standardisation organisation,
and the user community
understand that we have VSF and
SMPTE to do that work and the
Interoperability testing. The EBU and
AMWA are also important.”
A hybrid interim is a necessity
because of the massive investments
in infrastructure and technology.
“You can create a hybrid network
or solution by utilising all that
traditional broadcast equipment
and putting it into a virtualised
network that makes that asset
virtually accessible from anywhere.
Using legacy technology in
combination with new software
defined networking principles
gives you have a hybrid network,”
said Bryn-Jensen. “A lot of the skills
and competences are in place.
The core business of the typical
end user that we work with is
developing content. It is our belief
that there is a gap in network
technology competency, but
it depends where you are,” he
added. “The interesting question is,
will the broadcasters build their own
IP network as they owned their own
traditional networks, or outsource
to a service provider specialising in
running those networks?”
A lot of value disruptionVirtualisation has been a common
concept (starting off in playout) for
some time, but has the Nevion user
base bought the concept yet of it
reaching into production?
“Not everybody, but they are
starting to engage with it. The LiveIP
project is proof of concept, and
the ten projects we are engaged
in now are driven by the need to
build new green field production
environments,” said Bryn-Jensen.
“With virtualising assets you need
that software defined network to
make it happen. The other piece
of virtualisation, which is not fully
there yet, is virtualising functionality,
which today is sitting as purpose
built hardware.”
Generic media nodes and
software enablement are the
way forward, along with new
infrastructures. Where does
VideoIPath come in? “For the
complexity and the management
as you move into SDN, it becomes
for us absolutely critical. It will
orchestrate everything in the
infrastructure and ultimately also
the workflow,” said Bryn-Jensen.
The old conception of a
broadcast market is something he
sees as vanishing as 2020 looms.
“Within that time frame there will
be dramatic change driven by
the acceleration in consumer
consumption. Take a world player
like Akamai: will it define itself as
part of the broadcast market, or
is it part of a different market? The
screen in the hand and 5G will be
the big kickers forward, and the
giant aggregators will have an
impact on the business models
and the sources of revenue typified
by established broadcasters.” With
so many continuing acquisitions
happening under the umbrella
of consolidation, how vulnerable
will Nevion be in the immediate
future? “I think we are an object
out there; we would be a good and
complementary asset, but it would
not be in anyone’s interest to bring
us into something that is traditional.
With much of the consolidation
over recent years there has been
a lot of value disruption. We have
prepared Nevion for what’s to
come, spending five years to do
it. The philosophy behind this is to
combine core skills from traditional
broadcast, IT enterprise, wider
IT skills and competencies, and
telecoms data.”
Will we see much progress at
NAB and IBC in terms of the total
transition to IP from SDI?
“We are back to standards
again. I think you will have to
wait until NAB 2017 to see
significant progress. We will
see steady progress all of this
year through that momentum
for standardisation, and the
collaboration between players,
but NAB next year will be one of the
biggest milestone. The virtualisation
of media production is what we
are pushing for.” n
www.mediagenix.tvwww.mediagenix.tv
WORKFLOW
Optimize your
Optimize linear broadcasting and on-demand services in a single system and streamline your workfl ows company-wide.www.mediagenix.tv
Geir Bryn-Jensen
36 37 TVBE Mar16 Business_FINAL2.indd 55 22/02/2016 10:31
Audio
D eclaring the advent of
a new era in any area of
technology is a notoriously
tricky business. Broadcasting
certainly hasn’t escaped its
fair share of ill-advised forecasts;
in recent years, just think of
the bright future widely, yet
erroneously, predicted for 3D to
fi nd a case in point.
The scale of the disappointment
felt about the commercial
performance of that technology
has – perhaps inevitably –
engendered a greater sense
of reservation about making
bold predictions. Look at the
conversation that has surrounded
the arrival of 4K, notably more
cautious in tone than that
around 3D, and signifi cantly more
preoccupied with the practicalities
of implementation.
If this more ‘sensible’ tone helps
to channel energies and investment
more effectively, then it’s hardly to
be discouraged. But the industry
would be a slightly greyer place if
predictions were to be dispensed
with entirely, so it’s with modest
trepidation that this month’s
Audio Feature outlines three key
forecasts for 2016 which suggest
that, collectively, we are now
embarking upon a new era of
broadcast audio.
1As recently as three or four
years ago the conversation
around audio networking –
and specifi cally Audio over IP (AoIP)
– was largely held in the realms of
the theoretical. In some quarters,
it was discussed as a technology
that was ‘many years off’ and,
even when it did arrive, was more
likely to be the preserve of a small
group of early adopters than
a mass-adoption tool.
Very few people are still taking
that tone in 2016. Numerous
broadcast centres and OB
providers are implementing AoIP
infrastructures, in the form of
both refi ts of existing facilities and
new-builds. The advantages of
moving towards a fully networked
infrastructure in terms of audio
workfl ow management and
fl exibility are no longer the subject
of debate, they have been proven.
It seems clear that the advent
of standards such as AES67,
which defi nes interoperability
between existing networking
transportation technologies, and
the newly-published AES70 control
standard (based on the work of
the OCA Alliance) have played
a fundamental role in bolstering
industry confi dence in AoIP; in
a nutshell, we are talking about
the basic security that ‘product
X will work with product Y’. But
it’s also helped that networking
vendors have continued to refi ne
the messaging surrounding their
solutions in order to convey the
benefi ts as clearly and explicitly
as possible to end-users. Audinate
with Dante, and ALC NetworX with
Ravenna, can be said to have
been particularly successful in this
regard, complementing their core
marketing activities with increasingly
far-reaching educational initiatives.
With new licensing and compliant
product announcements being
made on a weekly basis, it is also
evident that potential investors
in AoIP now have an extensive
ecosystem of products from which
to choose. Hence the suggestion
that the ‘if’ question no longer
applies; it is ‘when and how
best’ to apply IP audio that now
preoccupies broadcasters and
their service providers.
2We will see some signifi cant
developments around
immersive and interactive
audio technologies.
If AoIP is the defi nition of a
‘gamechanger’, then what does
that make NGA (Next Generation
Audio) technologies like immersive
or interactive audio? At their most
ambitiously applied they hold the
potential to completely transform
the way that we think about –
and execute – broadcast audio.
Numerous individual developments
suggest that we are on the verge
of something big. In this regard, CES
2016 may retrospectively come to
be regarded as a major milestone,
with Dolby Laboratories and the
MPEG-H Audio Alliance showcasing
their latest developments related
to the ATSC 3.0 next-generation
broadcasting standard.
Using only integrated television
speakers, Dolby’s demo highlighted
improved bit rate effi ciency,
intelligent loudness management,
dialogue enhancement, multi-
language support and hybrid
delivery, as well as immersive
and personalisation features
like stereo virtualisation and
loudness description.
Meanwhile, the MPEG-H
Audio Alliance of Fraunhofer IIS,
Technicolor and Qualcomm
drew attention to the ability of
MPEG-H Audio to allow viewers to
adjust the sound mix in line with
their own preferences.
The determination of which
audio system will be standardised
as part of ATSC 3.0, a process that
is expected to reach fruition within
the next few months, will obviously
be fundamental in helping to
kick things up a gear. But in the
meantime, expect broadcasters
and vendors to be spending an
increasing amount of time talking
up the potential benefi ts of these
new technologies, both as a
complement to the 4K picture
experience, and as a signifi cant
evolution in their own right.
38 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
‘These are arguably the most exciting times for broadcast
audio since the transition from analogue to digital got
underway’
Predicting a new phase ofbroadcast audio
Immersive production and IP-based workfl ows mean that broadcast audio is arguably on the threshold of its greatest period of change since the analogue/digital transition got underway. But is the industry ready for the shift in skills that will be required? David Davies explores
38 39 TVBE Mar16 Audio forecasts_FINAL.indd 54 19/02/2016 17:07
Audio TVBEurope 39March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
3 There will be a renewed
emphasis on the importance
of broadcast audio engineer
education and ‘refresher training’.
The advent of 5.1 wasn’t without
its challenges for broadcast
audio engineers, but that could
be as nothing next to the step-
change that accompanies the
arrival of immersive and interactive
audio. And it won’t just be about
the new technology, but also
the creative decisions that will
be involved in optimising the use
of these new techniques.
More than ever, it seems
probable that broadcast audio –
especially for large sports events
or entertainment spectaculars,
where the scope for immersion
and interaction is most significant
– will necessitate a more artistic
approach to mixing in terms of
delivering light, shade and the
variable dynamics that will make
for a satisfying experience over the
course of a few hours. This will surely
require more intensive collaboration
between mixers, producers and
other key creatives involved in the
production of such programmes.
At undergraduate level, audio
engineer training is now highly
responsive to technological trends
throughout broadcast. But once
engineers have qualified and
moved out into the industry, it seems
inevitable that they will require more
frequent refresher training to ensure
their skill-sets remain up to par.
So there we have it: three
predictions that suggest audio will
rise even further up the broadcast
industry agenda during 2016. These
are arguably the most exciting
times for broadcast audio since the
transition from analogue to digital
got underway, and this year we are
likely to witness strong indications
of how these technologies
might ultimately translate to the
mainstream. And at the risk of
making a very bold final prediction,
one might reasonably expect
the process of explaining and
promoting NGA to the viewer to be
one of the major stories of 2017. n
Whilst the issue of loudness
has certainly not gone
away, it would be fair
to suggest that the EBU’s R128
Loudness Recommendation has
resulted in significant progress in
terms of audio normalisation across
the European broadcast sector.
Originally published in August 2010,
R128’s primary recommendation
is the normalisation of audio
at -23LUFS ±0.5LU (±1LU for live
programmes), measured with
a relative gate at -10LU. But it is
accompanied by a number of
guidances, several of which have
been updated as of late January.
In the previous version of the
supplement dealing with short-
form content, users could deploy
either a maximum momentary or
a maximum short-term loudness
measurement as a parameter to
characterise and control the level
of commercials, promos, etc. In
the new version only the short-term
measurement is specified in a move
that EBU expects will “help simplify
content exchange and reduce
costs in daily operations”.
In addition, the ‘EBU Mode’
Loudness Metering specification
(EBU Tech 3341) has been updated
with new minimum compliance
requirements and a number of
clarifications. Meanwhile, the
complementary EBU Loudness Test
Set has been extended with 15
new test signals, designed to help
implementers check if equipment
measures Short-Term and
Momentary Loudness, as well as True
Peak levels correctly.
A number of manufacturers have
already confirmed their support for
the new updates, including RTW,
which highlights compliance with
the Touchmonitor instruments, the
SurroundControl 31900 and 31960
series, and all software products that
perform loudness measurements. A
steady stream of announcements
by other vendors should be
expected as spring gets underway.
Of course, a heightening of trade
show activity is synonymous with
this particular change of season,
and as expected the previews
for NAB are now flowing through
at a rate of knots. At BVE, held in
London this February, Fairlight’s
EVO.Live converged console,
Riedel’s Tango TNG-200 networked
communications platform (with
support for AES67 and AVB
standards), and Roland’s M-5000C
digital mixing desk – which was
billed as being suitable all manner of
applications, including broadcast,
touring and theatre – were among
the primary audio-related highlights.
As for NAB…well, look out for
the April edition of TVBEurope for a
countdown of those new products
that audio professionals should
be looking out for when they step
onto the showfloors of the Las
Vegas Convention Centre.n
David Davies provides a round-up of recent developments in the audio industry
News update
www.mediagenix.tvwww.mediagenix.tv
VODStreamline your
from content acquisition over
scheduling to publishing and
package your content using
miniplaylists or render channels.
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38 39 TVBE Mar16 Audio forecasts_FINAL.indd 55 19/02/2016 17:07
Feature40 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
The latest perspectives on UHD
Most of the necessary requirements for
large-scale 4K/UHD adoption are now in
place. The UHD Alliance has announced
its consumer standards, 4K TV sets are affordable
and widely available, and content is increasingly
being captured in 4K/UHD. Multiple providers of
OTT TV services have also announced new 4K
streaming channels. However, broadcast TV is still
resolutely in HD and SD, with economic barriers
acting as the primary obstacle to adoption of 4K
in broadcast.
The importance of next generation advanced video codecsMultiple announcements of next-generation
advanced video codecs in 2015 have
highlighted the need for the industry to provide
a technological solution to many of the barriers
to the wider adoption of 4K/UHD. Any viable
solution will have to provide better compression
performance and the ability to leverage the
existing infrastructure in the timescales that are
vital for broadcasters to launch compelling 4K/
UHD services. For content providers working
in this increasingly competitive landscape,
understanding the impact of these technologies
has never been more important.
The benefits of efficient compression
technologies in reducing video delivery costs and
improving quality are widely accepted. What is
less commonly understood is the
extent of savings that new compression
technologies can enable. By rewriting the
rules that previous codecs relied upon, the delivery
of 4K/UHD is now an economic reality, with
products and solutions available across
the media delivery ecosystem.
Live sport remains key for broadcasters to
compete with the OTT providers that have already
launched 4K/UHD services. A 2015 survey by Frank
N Magid found that nine out of ten sports fans
still watch sports through a TV set, demonstrating
that top quality live sport is one of the main
weapons that broadcasters use to gain and retain
customers against newer rivals.
The recent first UHD broadcast of the ‘El Clasico’
game between Real Madrid and Barcelona was
as an exciting demonstration of how 4K live sports
can be delivered to consumers using infrastructure
that is already laid out. New solutions using novel
compression technologies, such as V-Nova
PERSEUS in this instance, were used to contribute
visually lossless 4K/UHD content from the stadium to
the studio over existing 1Gbps telco circuits, which
are also used to deliver the multi-feed HD services.
The upgrade only required the deployment of
encoding and decoding products (P.Link 4K) that
leverage this technology. The availability of these
products off-the-shelf meant that the solution was
tested, trialled and deployed in weeks. 4K/UHD
delivery is an invaluable viewer proposition for live
sports broadcasters. Against the background of
substantial challenges in matching OTT 4K delivery,
this progression is a real boost for the industry.
Planning for the presentAs more and more consumers are exposed
to, and accept, 4K content delivered via
OTT, broadcasters will need to be able to deliver
UHD to keep their viewers engaged across all
screens. With mobile video viewing continuing
to grow, it is essential for providers to be
thinking about a mobile-optimised content
delivery strategy.
New compression technologies allow for
streaming 4K/UHD video even beyond
traditional broadcast networks and fixed
landlines. A recent trial by telecoms provider EE
demonstrated that live-streaming of
high-quality 4K/UHD and HD content over
4G networks is possible in both congested and
remote areas of the UK using next-generation
codecs. The trial also demonstrated that these
solutions are deployable today, on the current
population of consumer devices, through
software upgrades.
Keeping up with 4KThe mobile and IP revolutions no longer describe
an ecosystem of the future. Video consumption
is already booming; high-quality services
and convenience are crucial in maintaining
this generation of viewer’s engagement and
loyalty. New initiatives, such as the formation of
the Alliance for Open Media in 2015, founded by
Amazon, Google, Netflix and others, reflect the
industry requirement for increases in compression
efficiency beyond the roadmap of HEVC. It is
vital to translate these requirements into solutions
that support the deployment of new consumer
TV services. Solutions that can leverage next
generation codecs are now available and
already proving extremely important in enabling
providers to offer advanced video services
that win viewers and new revenues. This way,
providers big and small, are benefiting from the
economic advantages provided by advanced
compression technologies. n
By Fabio Murra, SVP product and marketing, V-Nova
Unleashing UHD with next-generation advanced codecs
“4K/UHD delivery is an invaluable viewer proposition for live sports broadcasters”
Fabio Murra
In a break from the usual roaming, conceptual discussions around UHD, this issue we invited a selection of industry authorities to offer more granular perspectives on specific parts of the UHD ecosystem, covering compression and test and measurement
40 42 TVBE Mar16 Feature_FINAL.indd 54 19/02/2016 17:20
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www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
Feature42 TVBEurope
T oday’s television landscape is now defined
by the unique demands of a diverse
consumer audience. Content providers
are concentrating on seamlessly delivering
video content across a variety of different
platforms, with each offering providing a flexible,
dynamic and personalised user experience,
through a network optimised for video delivery.
Nevertheless, at the heart of all of this, is the
need to deliver content of the very highest
quality. Enhancing the level of detail, colour and
depth of image is a fundamental requirement
in the television viewing experience. As new
technologies emerge, consumers want the
physical experience of immersion that features
such as Ultra High Definition (UHD) content
and larger screens enable.
Although the vast majority of television viewers
have not experienced UHD content, mounting
consumer demand for high quality video
has helped generate huge investment in this
area. UHDTV represents an all-encompassing
immersive viewing experience that puts the
viewer at the heart of the action, enabling a
much more realistic experience akin to looking
through a window, rather than a scene on the
screen of a conventional television.
The importance of ‘HDR+’ for UHD-1 Phase 2 servicesFirst generation 4K or UHD TV (which the industry
refers to as UHD-1 Phase 1) sets have been in
the marketplace for the last one to two years.
They offer four times the pixel density of HD at
3840x2160 pixels, which has the potential to
greatly improve the picture quality. However,
they are unable to offer the immersive
enhancements that consumers are demanding.
Now, by using very high performing compression
technology, combining 4K resolution with
High Dynamic Range (HDR), Wide Colour
Gamut (WCG), and deeper sample bit depths,
service providers can deliver a higher quality
picture as part of the next generation of 4K
UHDTV, known as UHD-1 Phase 2.
HDR provides higher contrast levels (the
combination of deeper blacks and higher peak
whites) than current TV systems, which viewers
realise as more realistic images. The human visual
system interprets contrast as greater sharpness or
higher resolution. This enables the viewer to see
the greater detail in dark areas simultaneously
with detail in brighter areas, delivering a far more
realistic and valuable enhancement for content
such as live sports. For instance, viewers can now
watch the flight of a ball during a football match
with greater clarity and detail in the picture,
even if half the stadium is in shadow and the
other half is exposed to bright sunshine.
There are a number of enhancements
in development within the UHD-1 Phase 2
services. The combination of HDR, WCG and
10-bit sampling, which the television industry is
increasingly referring to as ‘HDR+’, potentially
represents the most significant innovation in the
television viewing experience since colour was
introduced. The image can be so realistic that
it appears to pop out of the screen itself, and
significantly, its impact is not so dependent
on viewing distance, in contrast to viewing
4K higher picture resolution.
HDR+ can be adopted across multiple
platforms and offers ‘the best bang for the bit’
so to speak because the improvements can be
realised without much increase in the bandwidth
over conventional TV services (ie, standard
dynamic range with narrow colour gamut)
of the same picture resolution. Increasing
picture resolution from HD to 4K requires a
substantial increase in bandwidth. These
enhancements will deliver an exciting and
visually captivating experience to the consumer,
fulfilling the early promise of UHD-1 Phase 1.
Overcoming bandwidth constraintsThe new High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)
technology is a critical factor in overcoming a
number of economic and technical bandwidth
constraints of direct-to-consumer networks, a
crucial development in enabling UHD content
delivery to the home and to mobile devices.
Its place as the encoding standard of choice
for delivery to the home for all formats beyond
existing HD is obvious, as 4K UHD greatly
impacts the bitrate needed.
The HEVC codec itself combines a range of
advanced coding tools which deliver superior
compression efficiency over those of previous
video codecs, up to 50 per cent more efficient
or half the required bitrate of MPEG-4 AVC.
For 4K UHDTV, the bitrate reduction may
even exceed 50 per cent.
Ultimately, the decision maker will be the
consumer. By enhancing the realism of live TV,
the television industry can deliver a viewing
experience that will make TV viewers feel closer
to the content on screen than ever before. This
is the perpetual opportunity for content owners
and TV service providers; by delighting the TV
consumer every day with addictive, immersive
content, the television experience will be so
great, viewers will never want to leave. n
By Matthew Goldman, senior vice president technology, TV and media strategy, Ericsson
How compression technology is changing the delivery options for UHD content
“As new technologies emerge, consumers want the physical experience of immersion
that features such as UHD content and larger screens enable”
Matthew Goldman
40 42 TVBE Mar16 Feature_FINAL.indd 56 19/02/2016 17:20
A joint venture partnership of
See you again next year
in Amsterdam.
ISE2017_SeeYou_220x290_.indd 1 15.02.16 11:42Full Page Template.indd 1 2/15/2016 12:17:26 PMnew tvbe template remade.indd 1 18/02/2016 17:45
Although buying test and measurement
equipment isn’t on the top of most
people’s shopping lists, it can be
quite difficult to manufacture, test, integrate
or operate new technology if you don’t have
the right tools for the job with the appropriate
interfaces (SDI, HDMI or IP). The needs of
manufacturers, testers, integrators and operators
are different, but there is a set of well-established
tools of the trade that is needed by all.
Physical layer analysis toolsPhysical layer analysis of the actual analogue
signal is essential for manufacturers, installers and
infrastructure engineers to ensure that the SDI
signal quality, whether it be HD, 3G, 6G or 12G,
is a as good as possible and that jitter is within
specified limits. Tools include auto-measuring
Eye Pattern display, jitter meters, jitter histogram
and jitter frequency spectrum instruments.
Picture monitorPicture monitors can give confidence that
video is present and correct, however if
the resolution is not high enough and the
screen size is not big enough they can mask
underlying issues.
For UHD/4K material, the Picture monitor
can be the first place to spot things wrong with
square division (SQ) and sample interleave (2SI)
image construction. The native UHD resolution
is 3840x2160 (4096x2160 for 4K) and low
resolution displays (such as 1024×768, 6.5-inch;
or 1920x1080, 9-inch screens) may hide errors
and artefacts. Having the ability to view the
picture at native resolution on an external
HDMI or DisplayPort monitor also provides
a high level of confidence that all is well.
Audio metersAudio meters have always given confidence
that the audio is present, at the correct levels
and is on the correct channels. In the new
UHD/4K world there is the potential for a large
number of audio channels on each physical
link. Here audio meters allow you to check that
the audio channels are correctly assigned when
converting between physical interfaces.
Video, audio and ancillary status displaysVideo, audio and ancillary status displays give
confidence that the data structure is correct
as they can show the quality of the data
Feature44 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
UHD 4K: The tools of the tradeWith UHD/4K now being adopted by a large number of organisations, there is an increasing need for the appropriate test equipment to support manufacturing, commissioning and the day to day running of any UHD/4K equipment installation. Alan Wheable FISTC, MITOL, senior technical author at Omnitek examines the tools of the trade
44 45 TVBE Mar16 Omnitek FeatureFINAL3.indd 54 22/02/2016 10:55
TVBEurope 45March 2016 www.tvbeurope.com
Feature
structure by reporting sync word errors and
metadata packet CRC errors. These are the
ultimate indicators of link quality as errors start
to occur immediately if signal jitter is too high
or cable lengths are too long.
Gamut metersChecking that colour component levels
are within legal limits is essential when any
image processing, grading or colour space
conversion has been performed and whenever
programme content comes from a range of
different non-professional devices such as
mobile phones, action or drone cameras.
Video timing displaysVideo timing displays are necessary to ensure
that the video at any point in the equipment
chain is correctly timed to the studio reference.
This is essential in installations using quad link
3G-SDI (both for SQ and 2SI) and in dual link
6G-SDI applications. The timing between studio
reference and IP interfaces is equally critical.
The interlink tolerances are quite small with
these types of interface and the correct interlink
timing makes the difference between a good
picture and a corrupt picture. Video timing
instruments show the relationship between each
input and the studio locking reference. Although
the video timing display cannot show temporal
image differences between the different links,
the use of a temporal test pattern sequence
can be used to immediately identify them.
Waveform monitorsThe waveform monitor has traditionally been one
of the essential tools for anyone working in the
video industry and is used for level alignment,
quality control and grading to touch on just a
few areas. With UHD/4K at frame rates above
60Hz the default colour space (BT 709) will
be replaced by BT 2020 which extends the
viewable palette of colours and improves
dynamic range. The correct conversion
between these two colour spaces will be an
area of concern and will need checking
wherever the conversion takes place.
The importance of waveform monitors in
UHD/4K content creation and distribution has
been increased by the need to ensure that
conversions between different physical interface
types, encoding methods (SQ and 2SI) and
colour space conversions (between BT 709
and BT 2020) are correct.
Waveform monitors need to be of appropriate
native size (or zoomed size) to see any digital
level issues (for example when converting
between eight, ten, and 12-bit video), image
construction issues (for example when converting
between interface types and encoding
methods) and colour space issues. Although
some T&M equipment may boast UHD/4K
waveforms, these are often low resolution
displays that give a level of comfort and
familiarity, but may hide underlying issues.
Vectorscope displaysThe Vectorscope display is the traditional tool
for checking primary colour alignment and
assessment of the actual image ‘colour’. A
significant limitation of the vectorscope is
that it can only display the YCbCr subset of
the full colour spectrum. Although this basic
tool provides a level of usefulness in UHD/4K
applications, other tools such as waveforms and
gamut charts are required to ensure that the
new BT 2020 colour space rendition is correct.
Data and cable viewsEven if you have a large enough full resolution
display and are using appropriate test patterns/
images, you may not be able to see if the
image is constructed correctly. This can be
especially difficult when checking conversions
between different physical interfaces and
between encoding methods. The only way
to ensure that the right source video data
sample is ending up in the right place in the
destination is to have data and cable views
that allow individual pixel values to be traced
to the destination image via whichever physical
interface is being used.
Test pattern and tone generationVideo test patterns and audio tones have
always been used to ensure that equipment
is set up and working correctly. Inserting known
test patterns and audio tones into the start
of the equipment chain and ensuring that you
get the same at the end of the chain. This
method has worked successfully for HD-SDI
and 3G-SDI but with UHD/4K, come a range of
new link types and a new colour space, that
require new test patterns and sequences.
Colour bars, multiburst and ramp may show
that the static image path is working correctly.
However, moving test patterns or sequences
are necessary to check for encoding,
compression and temporal artefacts in
each ink. This is important if existing
infrastructure is being adapted for quad
link 3G-SDI applications. A temporally
changing test pattern sequence will show
up artefacts in the image that would
otherwise go unnoticed.
With UHD/4K comes the potential for
far more audio channels and the greater
chance of channel configuration issues.
With codes of practice for conversion
between different link types not yet established,
a fully configurable audio test tone generator is
a requirement to check the correct levels
and channel assignments. n
44 45 TVBE Mar16 Omnitek FeatureFINAL3.indd 55 22/02/2016 10:55
46 TVBEurope www.tvbeurope.com March 2016
C ord-cutting: it’s the phrase that strikes
fear into every pay-TV executive; a
net decline in pay-TV homes driven by
economic pressure or the migration of customers
to free or alternative entertainment platforms.
Whether this trend is the result of classic ‘cord-
cutters’: pay-TV customers choosing to leave;
or the so-called ‘cord-nevers’: customers
choosing to not engage from the start, is
open to debate. The net effect is the same
though; the number of pay-TV homes in
the affected market gets smaller.
Outside the USA, persistent decline in pay-TV
homes is a relatively new phenomenon. And
on the face of it, the performance of the
global pay-TV business in the third quarter of
2015 was strong. Overall pay-TV is still growing
globally. Further, the number of countries that
saw a net decline in pay-TV during the quarter
stood at 15, down from 23 in the second quarter
of the year and 21 in the same quarter a
year earlier. So does that mean pay-TV is back
on track? The answer is not straight-forward.
Picking the point at which a blip becomes a
directional trend is key to future strategy, and
the indicators for the spread of cord-cutting
seem to be pointing in the wrong direction.
There’s another cause for concern too. There
is a noticeable shift in growth markets towards
low-value emerging markets that bring with them
additional economic or political challenges.
Let’s look at the three key trends. Firstly, despite
the fall in the third quarter and a marked
seasonality, the number of countries hit with a
decline in cord-cutting is on a distinctly upward
trend. The markets impacted are diverse, ranging
from Turkey and Poland through to Israel, New
Zealand, Brazil and Canada. Some, like those
in the Middle East and central Europe are
economically driven. Others, like Spain, are being
impacted by pay-TV platform changes. The
reason for concern, though, is that the markets
being hit are showing some consistency. Of
the 15 markets that fell in the third quarter, 13
also declined in either the previous quarter
or the same quarter a year earlier.
The second trend going the wrong way is
an increase in the size of the fall in affected
markets. That means that where declines are
happening, they’re getting worse.
So now to the good news...kind of. On a
global basis, pay-TV still grew strongly in the third
quarter of 2015 adding more than 12 million
new homes. The problem is that growth is driven
disproportionally by one market: China. Indeed,
among the top ten growth markets, countries
that fall into the categories of ‘emerging’ and
‘challenging’ feature heavily. Alongside
China, India, Russia and Nigeria are seeing the
strongest number of net pay-TV additions and
look set to continue to drive growth. There are
a few surprising additions in the top ten. Thanks
to Sky, German was one of the top performers
in the third quarter of 2015.
So, if cord-cutting outside the US is a still small
but increasingly noticeable trend and if growth
continues to shift to low value markets, what
are the implications for the wider industry? First,
let’s be clear: we are not predicting the end
of pay-TV as we know it, far from it.
But with value beginning to be eaten
away, we do expect to see pay-TV operators
continuing to push back on rights costs and
channel carriage and fees, particularly of
second-tier channels. Conversely, this may in
turn lead to an increase in direct-to-consumer
launches in markets impacted by either cord-
cutting or a slow-down in pay-TV growth as
content owners look to make up short-falls.
The irony is that it may well be Netfl ix, the
company most often cited as a cause of
cord-cutting, that will show traditional players
where to look next. Its recent global launch
proves, even with limited global rights, it
is possible to push the button on a wide
geographic roll-out of an OTT channel
without local teams and costly negotiations. n
Is global cord-cutting here to stay?Data Centre
By Guy Bisson, research director, Ampere Analysis
‘Pay-TV grew strongly in the third quarter of 2015, adding more than 12 million new
homes’
Cord-cutting amplitude
Source: Ampere Analysis Source: Ampere Analysis
Cord-cutting volume (declining markets only)
# m
ark
ets
de
clin
ing
in q
ua
rte
r
# m
ark
ets
de
clin
ing
in q
ua
rte
r
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
-20
-400
-600
-800
-1,000
-1,200
-1,400
-1,600
01 2
013
02 2
013
03 2
013
04 2
013
01 2
014
02 2
014
03 2
014
04 2
014
01 2
015
02 2
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03 2
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01 2
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02 2
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03 2
013
04 2
013
01 2
014
02 2
014
03 2
014
04 2
014
01 2
015
02 2
015
03 2
015
Total loss in declining markets (000s) Total loss in declining markets (000s)
46 TVBE Mar16 Data Centre_FINAL2.indd 46 22/02/2016 10:38
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Gain access to executives and practitioners engaged in ‘content everywhere’ across Europe and beyond
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