Frontline uses innovative new satellite antenna to enable dual-band capability on the ViaSat network, allowing safe switching from Ka-band to Ku-band from inside the satellite vehicle.
Let’s face it, there are only a small handful of points in time where our entire industry shifts and pivots in fundamental ways that change it forever. I believe we are at the precipice of one of those rare industry-defining moments. An example of a similar moment in the past was the advent of file-based workflows. There were many people at the time who thought moving away from tape-based workflows was a mistake. Today, tape doesn’t exist at all.
Object storage is not a magic bullet that can solve every archive problem. Even so, it is much easier to maintain and more effective than tape-based models in today’s “always on” content-driven society.
Software was the big winner across the board at the recent IBC 2015 in Amsterdam. This was especially true for video encoding, highlighted by the two major acquisitions of Elemental Technologies by Amazon Web Services and Envivio by Ericsson within the space of a week.
Cloud solutions are cost and capacity-prohibitive, argue LTO Program Representatives Shawn Brume (IBM); Terry Cochran (Quantum) and Laura Loredo (HP).
Anyone who wandered through IBC hall 7 this year might be led to believe that everyone is peddling the same wares. As vendors we all have a sign somewhere on our stand saying we specialize in IP solutions for broadcasters. While Video-over-IP is a big buzzword in our industry, it’s important to realize that Video-over-IP has different meanings depending on whom you are talking to.
The UHD Forum spelt out its roadmap at the recent IBC 2015 broadcasting convention in Amsterdam and indicated how it will work with its sister body the UHD Alliance to shape the future of immersive television. There was an indication that the two groups would eventually converge into one after pursuing their parallel agendas separately for the time being. But there was also a whiff of tension even among UHD Forum members with some clear disagreements over the exact form of emerging profiles for UHD.
Traditional linear playout and viewing on-demand has evolved more quickly than many expected into the concept of ‘content everywhere’ via smart TVs, tablets, smart phones and PCs, at least in digitally maturing markets. To keep up with the pace of this consumer behaviour, broadcasters need to have a number of key processes in place including multi-site, multi-format (4K is becoming a reality now), multi-platform delivery, and increasingly media business reporting. In turn, MAM systems have evolved to manage users as well as large amounts of content and related media and data such as audio languages, subtitles and all the additional metadata, images and attachments needed for non-linear distribution.
