MANAGEMENT
March 2016
23
How KVM will impact broadcast
technology trends in 2016
by terence teng
Broadcasting has reached a new
phase in its evolution: we are con-
stantly hearing about next-gener-
ation IP-based workflow models
and the move to network-delivered
content. Studios and OB trucks are
currently under construction that
use IP end-to-end; live events are
being shot hundreds of miles away
from the production studios, with
content streams delivered over IP
networks, to be mixed and pro-
duced using powerful computer-
based technology.
With 4K/Ultra HD (UHD) set
to become the next broadcast
standard, and with 8K and higher
resolution expected in due course,
the ability to manage video in the
linear domain is becoming more
complex and unaffordable — to
the point of unsustainability. 4K/
UHD, quad HD, if run over exist-
ing 3G infrastructure, requires
four times as much wiring as HD,
a router that is four times larger
and so on.
This is further compounded by
the requirement for more sophisti-
cated processing, for example, HDR
and HFR, and the need to transmit
in multiple formats to an expand-
ing range of consumer devices.
Hence the drive to more efficient
Aspera and Irdeto enable
real-time watermarking
A new partnership between Aspera
and Irdeto will enable forensic
watermarking capabilities that in-
sert watermarks in real time, with
no impact on delivery quality or
speed, said the companies.
By combining Irdeto Trace-
mark with Aspera’s FASP transfer
technology, content owners and
distributors can “rapidly and effi-
ciently” deliver and receive content
all over the world while protecting
it against redistribution piracy.
The content industry needs a
fast and secure way to deliver con-
tent and be able to trace and track
it throughout its lifecycle, explained
Richard Frankland, VP of Americas,
Irdeto. “Forensic watermarking is
an essential security element of a
comprehensive content protection
programme. For the first time, Ird-
eto’s partnership with Aspera with
bring together industry-standard
content distribution and security
technologies into an end-to-end
solution with comprehensive man-
aged services,” he added.
Aspera’s FASP technology se-
curely moves large files at maxi-
mum speed, and through the new
alliance, it will incorporate Irdeto
Tracemark, an invisible mark em-
bedded to identify each individual
content stream. Tracemark works
with Irdeto’s Online Piracy De-
tection Service to make it quick
and easy for content owners and
broadcasters to trace back to the
source of a leak.
The Irdeto-Aspera partnership
was essential in order for Fox to
deploy a forensic watermark-
ing solution, without affecting
the user experience and having
minimal impact on Fox’s workflow,
revealed Ian Harvey, SVP Advanced
Technology, Twentieth Century
Fox. He explained: “This managed
service and end-to-end solution
will greatly impact the transfer of
large forensically marked files to
our customers, allowing for rapid
sharing while enabling premium
content tracking to help manage
redistribution piracy.”
Aspera’s joint solution with
Irdeto represents an “exciting
progression” in the use of forensic
watermarking in combination with
high-speed data transfer, said John
Wastcoat, VP Business Develop-
ment, Aspera. “In even the most
difficult of broadband environ-
ments, we give content distribu-
tors a more efficient way to offer
high-quality movies and TV shows,
without forsaking the advanced
monitoring and detection capabili-
ties that watermarking brings.”
network-based workflows.
KVM fits into this new regime,
which can already be considered to
be past the stage of trend and ap-
proaching mainstream, by offering
and delivering a high level of flex-
ibility and adaptability to operators
and in streamlining the broadcast
workflow.
Essentially, what KVM offers is
the ability to create ‘vanilla’ work-
stations that are totally detached
from the specific application be-
ing run at any time, yet provides
unrestricted access with picture-
perfect quality, no latency and
inst