BROADCAST TECHNOLOGY
Imagine a life without strings!
Today’s nirvana, for a modern human
being of the 21st century, has a
new definition. A user experience at
peace with all devices, without the
barriers of wired or wireless, or the
divisions of linear and non-linear; and
to consider the possibility that the
focus of humanity should be living a
life unattached to decisions made by
someone else.
B Y ASHISH M UK
M odern m en , w om en an d k ids seek a l if e
where connectivity is a given and continuity is
the result of such connectivity.
Imagine an average working woman in the
21st century holding a kid in one hand, and
a smartphone in the other. Rushing to the
childcare centre and then to the metro to catch
her train, her immediate objective is to go back
to watch episode 10/season 5 of her favourite
tele-serial, which she left half-way when she
had to get ready for work. She wants to finish
seeing this episode on the metro before she
reaches her work. Also, she would like to record
multiple episodes of the programme so that
she can finish watching all of them in one go, in
a binge-watching session with her friends over
a weekend.
A whole lot of strings are missing in this
seamless interface. The show started on the
TV screen, continued on the smartphone and
may probably end during the lunch hour on the
PC at her desk. There are no wires (or strings)
attached for delivering data. The place to watch
is no longer the living room, but anywhere.
We can cater to the requirements of
this average customer today, and it involves
a variety of technologies. Streaming video
is now available seamlessly, flowing from a
single Content Management System (CMS),
“A hybrid CMS would be able
to seamlessly integrate the
various services offered
by a network, so that a
customer, who is using
multiple services, would
enjoy a better viewing
experience.”
HER J EE
which keeps track of each subscriber and her
constant desire for content and continuity,
regardless of the device.
Several large TV networks have been
implementing multiple distribution channels to
spread their content, including digital terrestrial
transmission (DTT), over-the-top (OTT), payTV and others. While the content creation
process may use the same sources, distribution
platforms could be very different. Traditional TV
uses baseband signals with a set-top box (STB),
while newer media such as OTT run TV over IP.
To be able to provide this “continuous
content” functionality, there is a complex
chain of backend platforms and providers
requiring careful management. If the same
content needs delivery over multiple platforms,
networks typically have separate infrastructure
for each type of platform and manage them in
the backend with various CMS.