digitalrapidsTM

Focus sponsored by:

The need formulti-platformstrategies

There's little doubt that multi-

platform content delivery

has evolved from 'promise

and potential' to a commercially viable

reality - and a necessity for content

and rights owners striving to stay ahead

in today's competitive media environment.

Distributing programming for just a single

medium overlooks not only the opportunity

to generate additional revenue from

delivery to new platforms and devices,

but also the opportunity to further build

brand awareness and mindshare across

a broader audience - as well as retaining

existing audiences. Meanwhile, astute

media companies are taking advantage

of cross-platform promotion to build

interest in traditional properties.

The term “convergence” has often been

used (or overused) with regard to the

melding of the television experience with

devices such as mobile phones, as well

as the combining of traditional video and IT

technologies that have enabled it. However,

the array of viewing options creates a

degree of audience fragmentation. While

the new multi-platform world is not a zero-

sum equation - for example, the number

of viewers now watching shows on their

PC doesn't mean that all of those viewers

no longer watch traditional broadcast

television - there are certainly viewers who

treat the new devices as replacements,

rather than additions, to their previous

viewing habits. Some viewers now choose

to watch news highlights on the Web at

their convenience, instead of the scheduled

evening newscast that they used to

frequent. Traditional broadcasters, cable

and satellite operators cannot afford to

ignore the impact of the Web, mobile, and

other 'alternative' distribution channels.

Encoding for everythingFor content and rights owners looking

to take advantage of new platform

opportunities, this “audience divergence”

is accompanied by a parallel technical

divergence - the encoding formats,

and unique special features, required

to optimally reach each of these devices.

Television over IP (whether viewed on

a PC or set-top box, and delivered publicly

through the Internet or through a closed

network), broadcast, cable and satellite

distribution, mobile phones and personal

media players - all of these targets have

their own unique characteristics, and

no one encoding format optimally serves

them all. 'Encoding for everything' requires

encoding solutions that optimally support

multiple formats, and the specific needs

of each device.

While H.264 (also known as MPEG-4

Part 10) has gained the most initial

traction across the broadest range of

professional applications (including IPTV,

cable, mobile phones, personal media

players, and high-definition DVD formats),

other formats also have strength in specific

applications. VC-1 is a key presence

on many of the same platforms, and

- in the form of Microsoft Windows

Media - has deep penetration in Web

video, further bolstered by the launch

of Microsoft Silverlight earlier this year.

When forming multi-platform strategies,

content providers building Web presences

also can't ignore additional formats like

the video capabilities of Adobe Flash.

Whatever the format, it's critical

it be delivered with the best possible

presentation quality. While content itself

is still king, even the best content can fall flat

unless delivered at the quality today's

viewers demand, and audience retention will

be strongest when the viewing experience

meets or exceeds these expectations.

Single-format encoders, or those

optimised for a single compression type

with additional formats simply tacked

on, are at a disadvantage against available

format-flexible alternatives. Digital Rapids

StreamZ and StreamZHD encoding

systems, for example, support a broad

range of file and codec formats, and we've

gone to great lengths to optimise both

performance and quality with each one.

Beyond quality and format flexibility,

support for the specific needs of each

target platform is important. Encoding

is about more than just compression.

Advanced features like support for “trick

play” modes for set-top box playback are

important for VOD and IPTV. Support for

Closed Captioning alongside the encoded

video is not only a practical benefit,

but also a regulatory requirement in some

countries when delivered to a television

set (but not yet for delivery to PCs and

mobile devices). And compatibility with

existing infrastructures - such as support

for modern advanced compression

formats in an MPEG-2 transport stream

- is also critical for smooth deployment.

Just as content distribution can no longer

be thought of in terms of a single platform

or device, it cannot be addressed

comprehensively today by a single format.

Digital Rapids encoding solutions offer the

flexibility to address all of the key formats

optimally at top quality while meeting the

unique requirements of each platform,

delivering immediate and lasting

advantages for those capitalising

on the expanded breadth of distribution

opportunities. CSI

Encoding for multiple platforms and devices still meansmultiple formats and unique requirements for each, saysBrick Eksten, president, Digital Rapids Corporation

Diverging convergence

page thirty four www.csimagazine.com Cable & Satellite International sept-oct 2007

“Support for Closed Captioningalongside the encoded video is not only a practical benefit, but also a regulatory requirement.”

digitalrapidsTM

StreamZ from Digital Rapids

Cable & Satellite International sept-oct 2007 www.csimagazine.com page thirty five

digitalrapidsTM

W ith content now readily

accessible via the Web

and mobile devices,

multi-platform delivery has become

an accepted means for content owners and

broadcasters to reach their audience. As

viewers are increasingly pulled in multiple

directions by alternative forms of content

available via sites such as You Tube,

PVR-based viewing etc, the traditional

television viewing audience is becoming

more and more fragmented.

In order to remain competitive, it's essential

to maintain a strong brand across the many

delivery platforms if broadcasters and

content owners are to stay ahead in the

current environment. Add to this the fact

that content delivery is only going to get

more diverse, and the need to maintain

mindshare by keeping a finger in the mobile

and Web pie is evident.

“Providing content for multiple devices

also helps retain existing viewers and

defends against the audience

fragmentation caused by increasingly

diverse viewing options. Meanwhile, astute

media companies are taking advantage of

cross-platform promotion to build interest

in 'traditional' properties,” says Brick

Eksten, president of Digital Rapids.

As the world moves towards

more widespread use of multiple

platforms and devices, it's essential that

media organisations keep their audience's

needs at the forefront of their strategy.

Consumers will only continue to demand

access to top quality content, on the device

of their choice, as and when they want it.

Eksten believes that it's important that

the costs associated with this diversified

content delivery framework are

appropriately controlled. “Focusing on the

encoding specifically, the encoding

solutions chosen must provide efficiency

that makes re-purposing content for

multiple platforms economically viable,”

he says.

In other words, if separate encoders are

required for each format and/or the special

requirements of each platform, it becomes

costly and inefficient from both a workflow

and a financial perspective.

“Solutions that can, in an automated

fashion, output multiple formats from the

same source offer benefits in operational and

equipment costs,” Eksten adds.

UK broadcaster C4 bought a total of 23

StreamZ encoders from Digital Rapids used

for VoD, mobile TV, streaming and other

content delivery services. C4 also supplies

content to the likes of Virgin Media, BT

Vision and Homechoice for VoD and

Internet-based service. Although news and

sports are currently the most common

genres for multiple platform delivery,

premium programmes such as C4's Big

Brother are now also being made available

via BT, Virgin and the broadcaster's own 4

on Demand service.

Using products like the StreamZ, both

current and archive material can

be transcoded to file-format

using 50Mbps MXF

source media. Once

the content has been

transcoded, it is

combined with metadata,

after which it can be sold

to third-party providers for

use via VoD, Web-based or

mobile/3G delivery.

It's not just broadcasters that

can benefit from the additional

revenue opportunities of multi-platform

delivery; record companies such as Universal

now have a means of leveraging their back

catalogues, while broadcast service providers

are able to offer a wider range of packages

to their customers.

Flextech Television, the content division

of digital television and broadband provider

ntl:Telewest has also installed Digital

Rapids' StreamZ encoding system. They are

being used to encode full programmes to

WMV for VOD use via the company's

broadband network (Virgin Media) and

MPEG-1 and MPEG-4 formats for use by its

mobile carriers.

Following a deal with Disney, Flextech

has acquired series such as Alias, Most

Haunted and Ghost Towns for encoding

to its broadband video on demand

service. In addition, Flextech encodes and

delivers content loops for its Bravo and

LIVINGtv branded mobile channels on

Orange TV and Vodafone Live. The

content comprises of 'mini-shows' (or

mobisodes) of approximately five minutes

that have been edited together with

stings, idents, promos etc to create a one

hour loop. Once encoded, these content

loops are delivered to MobiTV and

BSkyB for distribution via Orange TV

and Vodafone Live.

The various encoding formats (H.264,

SMPTE VC-1, Adobe Flash etc) required for

each device does pose a challenge.

Ignore quality at your perilIf the perennial issue of audience churn

is to be tackled, it's critical it be delivered

with the best possible presentation

quality, according to Eksten. He goes on

to explain that it's important to realise

that encoding is about more than just

compression. It's also important to

consider advanced features such as 'trick

play' modes for set-top box playback

which are important for VOD and IPTV.

Closed Captioning and compatibility with

existing infrastructures - such as support

for modern advanced compression

formats in an MPEG-2 - is also critical for

smooth deployment.

These considerations need to be

balanced out with the fact that a

widening array of viewing options creates

audience fragmentation. With PVRs and

products like Slingbox thrown into the

equation, viewers can now choose to

watch content at a time of their choosing,

via a device that best suits their needs at

any given time. With this trend only set to

continue, Eksten warns that traditional

broadcasters, cable and satellite

operators cannot afford to ignore the

impact of the Web, mobile, and other

'alternative' distribution channels. “To

minimise churn, delivery to all of these

new platforms must be done in such a

way as to create a satisfactory viewing

and service experience meeting the

viewers' expectations,” he adds. CSI

Multi-platform content is key to counter the trend of audiencefragmentation, says Farah Jifri

Retaining yourviewers