Monday, December 7, 2015

Streaming Content and Video on Demand: are they Really Pushing Broadcast by Schedule to the Back Burner?



Just think for a minute. How did your grandparents consume content on their television sets? They structured their commitments around the schedule of the broadcasting companies for the privilege of enjoying their favorite shows. 

Then came the era of live telecasts and the element of anticipation was added to the mix. From sports championships to beauty pageants, millions of eyeballs greedily took in events and results, as they happened in real time and were as knowledgeable and savvy as the newspaper editors. 

At the turn of the new millennium though a trend burst onto screens, literally, and it was that of personalized, streaming content. It allowed viewers to watch what they wanted to when they wanted to and at their own terms of frequency and ‘pauses.' And the concept of non-linear visual entertainment was born. 

But is traditional television going the land-phone way? Will it soon be an object of nostalgia for times simpler?

If the advertisement numbers for linear entertainment are to be considered, conventional ‘TV’ is still a powerhouse and will continue to be so for a very long time to come. 

WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY? 

Those with industry experience and objectivity feel that content personalization on streaming platforms, like Netflix and Hulu, make for an enjoyable experience. But some disadvantages and problems will slowly but surely manifest themselves, disillusioning enthusiastic adopters.
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  •   First and foremost, with choices come the penalty of potential user interface complications. People need to jump from one platform to another to enjoy features that they like. Yes, broadcasts provided next to nothing regarding interactivity and convenience when compared to the streaming and VOD options of today but Millennials think differently, and they want the best of all that is available to them. Thus with engagement (that stems from tailoring hands-on what one can watch) comes the fatigue of navigating different applications which can get tedious after a while. And the broadcast system can be supplanted only when the alternative is just as easy a habit to slip into.   
  •  Analysis Paralysis is also a likely problem. With so much going on, leisure time is wasted in ‘deciding what to watch’ instead of actually watching it. Busy Millennials can get exasperated by the growing number of options presented to their overstretched minds, and this might cause friction where non-linear viewing is concerned. The world may as well return to the comfort of the couch and allow someone else – the broadcasters - to take decisions on their behalf for the majority of their entertainment needs 
  •  Last but not the least, fragmentation may actually bump up prices. Personalized content promises to be cheaper than channel bundles because you only pay for what you wish to enjoy. But a closer evaluation of this business model shows that in the search for a ‘complete’ viewer experience that can justify the shift from good old television broadcasts people often end up subscribing to more streaming content platforms and channel modules than they realistically need to. A la carte sounds lucrative and cost-effective but rarely is so.


SO THE FUTURE IS…

Linear entertainment is not going to retire anytime soon. It is simply going to evolve. It will stick to its broadcast model and its simplicity but will offer a roster of personalization features for the people who would like to take advantage of them. Recording programs, the ability to play and ‘pause’ live television, movies on demand are just a few examples. More is on the horizon – especially with the popularity of smart television sets that can access the internet. 

Streaming services will continue to play second fiddle and provide content that is completely in control of the audience for when it is in the mood to diligently choose its entertainment.
So hold on to your flat screens and your Direct-to-Home cable guy. The revolution is still far away. 

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Telairity Provides Encoding for the XV Pacific Games

The start of the XV Pacific Games is just under a week away and we’re excited to announce that Telairity will be providing encoder and decoder lines to the Games. Our equipment will be provided by MiseOpoint, an Oceania-based systems provider.

The multinational games will feature athletes from 22 island nations and will take place in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from July 4-18, 2015. The games were created in 1962 to foster friendship among the Pacific Islands by bringing together different cultures, ideas and interests all united under sport. Held every four years the Pacific Games has a wide selection of sports, including track and field, swimming, lawn bowling, and “va’a” or boat races. Some of the participating nations are American Samoa, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Australia, and New Zealand.

More than 3,000 men and women athletes will compete in 28 different sports in nine separate venues throughout Port Moresby and the Games are viewed by attending athletes as a warm up for 2016’s Olympic Games in Brazil.

Telairity will be providing our BE7100 and BE8100 encoder lines as well as our popular BE5502 Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD) to the nine different venues to ensure a multi-format, low-latency transmission path for the live game coverage. The IRD is a full-featured professional 4:2:0 MPEG-2 and H.264/AVC (MPEG-4) HD/SD integrated receiver and decoder for broadcasters, cable operators, and telecoms. The BE7100 encoder is scalable, fully programmable, low latency broadcast quality encoder for standard definition format. For HD video compression in real time we offer our 8000 series encoders.

Viewers around the world will watch the Pacific Games via the LiveStream Internet video service while Oceania Broadcasters will downlink a 4 channel multiplex from Intelsat 19. All signals will be transmitted via IP to the International Broadcast Center (IBC), and redistributed over the Pacific by satellite for video and Internet viewing. All broadcasts will be available in French and English. IBC will provide the English broadcast and the French-language feed will be from France Televisions to French-language territories.


To learn more about Telairity and our products and solutions, visit our website. We also post more broadcast news and company updates on our Twitter and LinkedIn.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Interactive Trends in TV Broadcasting

With all the recent advancements in technology, it’s an exciting time to be working in television. One of the newest trends is using Internet TV to engage audiences by making the viewing experience more interactive, using technologies like graphical analysis, animation and virtual reality broadcasting. This is particularly true in the sports broadcasting arena, where new interactive ideas seem to appear daily.

One new product unveiled at the 2015 NAB Show was LaunchPad, from Reality Check Systems in partnership with Vizrt. LaunchPad is an interactive touchscreen, which provides real-time predictive analysis, social media integration, and new enhancements to the tablet controller. This technology works with Vizrt’s Viz Libero 3D sports analysis, which allows soccer presenters to engage fans with real-time, illustrative replays, custom graphics, and more.

Another new technology designed to bring audiences a different viewing experience is NextVR, which provides broadcast virtual reality technology. Even the most avid sports fans aren’t always able to attend live games, and few among those that do attend are able to get premium floor seats. Via virtual reality technology, however, fans anywhere can experience live events from the best seats. Though NextVR is currently only available through the Samsung Gear VR virtual reality headset connected to the Samsung Note 4, VR technology seems destined for general cross-platform availability. NextVR has already been tested by the NHL and NBA for use in live sporting events and the NFL may use the technology to help quarterbacks study opposing defenses in a realistic environment.


At Telairity we will continue to monitor advancements in interactive and other technologies. To learn more about how we can help with your broadcast, visit our website. We also post more TV and broadcasting news on our Twitter and LinkedIn.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Telairity Unveils New Products at NAB Show

As we mentioned in our last blog post, in addition to attending CABSAT, we will also be exhibiting new products at the NAB Show located in Las Vegas, NV in April. The entire show runs from April 11-16, 2015 with the exhibits opening on April 13th. The event is hosted by the National Association of Broadcasters and brings together broadcasting professionals from all over the United States as well as many other countries around the world. Attendees will also be able to attend conferences, workshops, and hear speakers such as John McAfee, Norman Pattiz, and Adam Carolla.

Telairity will be located at booth SU7516 in the Upper South Hall where we will be showcasing our next generation encoding technology, based on our brand new video processor, the TVP840. New TVP (Telairity Video Processor) technology, in conjunction with a complete redesign of our direct-execution AVClairity H.264/AVC (MPEG-4) encoding firmware (to maximize the efficiency of our new hardware), enables us to create a whole new generation of real-time encoders that are smaller, lighter, and far more powerful than any previous generation. Attendees can stop by our booth to see all our new products and speak with our team.


To view all our products, visit our website. We also actively post more broadcasting news on our Twitter and LinkedIn pages.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Meet Telairity at CABSAT

Telairity will once again be exhibiting at CABSAT this March at stand 218 in Hall 2. The trade show runs from March 10-12th at the Dubai World Trade Centre and is one of the biggest broadcasting, satellite, and digital media events for the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia region. The event brings together some of the world’s leading content producers and connects them other industry professionals involved in capturing, exchanging, managing, distributing, and monetizing content.

In addition to seeing all the latest product developments in the exhibit halls, attendees also have the opportunity to attend a variety of conferences discussing the latest trends in broadcasting, such as the Middle East Post Production Training Conference, the GVF Satellite Hub Summit conference, the Content Delivery Hub seminar, and The CABSAT & NABSHOW Collaborative Conference. Attendees of the last mentioned conference will have the opportunity to see Telairity again during April 13-16, at the USA NAB show (held annually in Las Vegas, NV), at booth SU7516 in the Upper South Hall.

At CABSAT, Telairity will be unveiling for the first time anywhere systems using its next-generation encoding technology, based on a brand new generation of the Telairity Video Processor, the TVP840. Our new video processor, in combination with completely redesigned Telairity AVClairityรค H.264/AVC (MPEG-4) encoding firmware, enables a whole new generation of encoders that are smaller, lighter, less power-hungry, and far more versatile than anything previously possible. To see the products we will be showcasing, be sure to visit our booth during the show, or contact us in advance for an appointment to secure a private visit with the Telairity team. We will also be tweeting about the show, so be sure to follow us on Twitter