There are now
many software-based solutions that can provide on-the-fly content delivery and
reliable monitoring of QoS/QoE, thus empowering the delivery of jitter-free
content to multi-screens. The name of the game is to cost-effectively capture
and maintain eyeballs by embracing hybrid transmission strategies. Lara Tan
reports.
With the rise of streaming to multi-screens, IP
delivery is no longer constraint to broadcast TV. Instead, the new golden standard of IP-delivery is encompassing an array of connected
video formats and codecs, thus enabling broadcasters to deliver pristine
content over multiple platforms – IPTV, smartphones and laptops.
According
to a research conducted by Media Partner Asia (MPA), from January-April 2020,
online video streaming has increased by 60% in South-east Asia. Popular video
platforms in the region such as Netflix and Viu experience 115% and 275%
increase in video consumption respectively, while iQiyi emerges as a dark horse
as it experiences an increase of 500%.
The
research was carried out in four South-east Asian markets, namely Indonesia,
the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
On the
other side of the world, Europe is also experiencing a surge in video
consumption. Coupled with the demand of network for teleworking during the
lockdowns, networks are experiencing an unprecedented network congestion during
peak hours of the day. In March this year, Vodafone has recorded a 50% surge in
Internet traffic in some of the European countries.
To ease
the network infrastructure, European Union has requested streaming giants such
as Netflix to adapt the throughput of video streaming to SD (instead of HD)
during critical working hours.
As IP
solutions form the main backbone for multi-screens delivery, how best can media
companies overcome the network congestion?
GatesAir
wow-ed the IBC crowd last year with the launch of its Intraplex Ascent – a
next-gen video and audio-over-IP that allows broadcasters to manage content for
point to multi-point distribution
Ascent
offers two distinct features for IP transport: the ability to manage multiple
Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) streams on a centralised platform, and its
integration of GatesAir’s Dynamic Stream Splicing (DSS) software.
Leveraging
a single stream splicing buffer, DSS software supports the duplication of SRT
streams with video and embedded audio over separate network paths; therefore,
it further differentiates itself from the crowd as DSS diversifies SRT data
across redundant networks, and enhances protection against packet losses and
network failures.
“As our
new Ascent SRT Gateway application supports stream splicing, we can effectively
reduce latency for SRT re-transmission, and optimise network redundancy for
video distribution,” says Keyur Parikh, vice-president and general manager,
Intraplex Product Group, GatesAir.
Parikh
adds: “This is especially useful for our customers who are distributing
real-time video and audio over microwave, fibre and IP connections, and
transporting those high-bandwidth streams to multiple studios or transmitter
sites.”
The
Ascent also allows broadcasters to ascend and support more streams and
destinations on-demand, with video bandwidth speeds of up to 200Mb/s at the
base level.
With less auxiliary hardware for various codecs,
Ascent brings value to broadcasters by freeing up equipment racks and simplifying operations.
With its
proven RelayCaster delivery of A/V over public IP networks, Rohde & Schwarz
is offering high-quality real-time media contribution and redistribution links
over long distances. Its RelayCaster using adaptive bitrate encoding is able to
cope with wider bandwidth variations.
While
mobile and remote broadcasting proliferates during the Covid-19 pandemic,
Dejero’s Smart Blending Technology simultaneously aggregates 3G/4G/5G cellular
connections from multiple wireless network providers to deliver enhanced
reliability, greater bandwidth, and expanded coverage for remote broadcasting.
Richard
McClurg, Dejero’s marketing vice-president, says: “The option to further blend
broadband and satellite connections, or in fact any other IP connection, means
that if a connection is lost or becomes congested, we automatically re-route
packets in real time to other connection paths to ensure high-quality video
transport.”
McClurg
maintains: “Being able to access connectivity is the key to transmitting video
from breaking news scenes, at major sporting events in crowded or remote
locations and during extreme weather conditions, when signal strength varies
from network to network.”
The
virtualisation of hybrid-IP transmission and workflows during the current
pandemic has posed a new challenge for media operators.
In a
recent poll conducted by Zixi, a global leader in live video-over-IP, 81% of
the global media companies believes that, in the event of a Black Swan event,
they require a permanent remote workforce to ensure reliable transmission of
broadcast-quality live-streaming operations from remote locations.
Zixi has
since provided three-month complimentary use of its ZEN Master, a cloud-based
Video Control Plane to facilitate the provisioning, orchestration monitoring
and management of live video streams by workers in remote places.
“While an
abundance of Zixi’s customers have virtualised their workflows and have been
able to reduce on-site employees by as much as 80%, many media organisations
have not – and are now scrambling,” said Gordon Brooks, executive chairman and
CEO, Zixi. “The number of companies that have broken the glass on what were
long-range plans is keeping us very busy and we hope we’re making a
difference.”
Qligent, a global software developer in edge
solutions, is also making a difference through its innovative solutions that
allow monitoring and visualisation of Media Quality of Service (QoS) and
Consumer Quality of Experience (QoE). Its software-based monitoring solution,
Qligent Vision, aggregates all quality and operational data of the distribution
chain – terrestrial, cable, satellite or IPTV networks – into a single-view for
real-time monitoring. It also supports video codecs of MPEG-2, MPEG-4
H.264/AVC, HEVC and various IP flows: UDP/RTP unicast/multicast/ broadcast
streams.
The
Qligent Vision also envisions the future through data mining and machine
learning to enhance QoS, as well as addresses issues that confronts
broadcasters, MVPDs and OTT service providers.
Lang
Cooksey, product manager, Qligent, tells APB+: “Monitoring IP signals at multiple points in the distribution
chain for QoE and QoS is the best way to ensure that the transmission meets the
needs of the content provider and its customer expectations.
“These
tools can be used to dig deeper and assist in finding root causes of QoE and
QoS issues.
“They can
also be used to analyse trends and issues to help predict and prevent
problems.”
Sinclair
Broadcast Group, one of the largest broadcasters in the US, has deployed a
hybrid Qligent Vision to monitor its QoS/QoE, compliance and transmission
across 191 TV stations in 89 markets that cover more than 600 channels of
programming.
Qligent
Vision is deployed as an on-premise hardware; its monitoring probes will
accommodate compliance and QoS/QoE monitoring.
For instance, the probes will ingest ASI, IP and
RF signals, initiate high-resolution recording, and transfer content to the
cloud for compliance monitoring and recording.
Furthermore,
it monitors Sinclair’s transmitters and RF facility management systems.
“Qligent
has been a true partner for Sinclair, working diligently to ensure their
feature set and system architecture aligned with our goals of minimising
on-premise hardware, centralising data aggregation and leveraging cloud-based
management, which collectively make Qligent Vision a great choice,” says Mike
Kralec, VP of Technical Operations and deputy CTO, Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Kralec
continues: “They ensured that our licensing not only matched our deployment
model, but also provided a low total cost of ownership, ensured our training
and addressed our change-management concerns, and that simple scalability and
resiliency goals were also accounted for.
“We see
this as a critical tool for enabling data-driven operational decision-making
well into the future.”
For many
organisations, Covid-19 has accelerated their digital transformation process.
In the media industry, virtual and remote broadcasting will emerge as the new
norm in the coming months. Thus, it is vital that media operators harness
hybrid transmission strategies to ensure that their existing legacy structures
are efficient and cost-effective.
Today,
there are many software-based solutions that can provide on-the-fly content
delivery and reliable monitoring of QoS/QoE, thereby empowering the delivery of
jitter-free content to multi-screens and cater to a wider range of demanding
viewers.
The name
of the game is to cost-effectively capture and maintain eyeballs by embracing
hybrid transmission strategies.