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PCCW delivers 4K/UHD
content with Edgeware
The Edgeware TV Delivery Server has
been chosen by PCCW to deliver 4K/
Ultra HD (UHD) video-on-demand (VoD)
content to its pay-TV service, Now TV and
Now Player app, as well as HD content to
ViuTV’s mobile over-the-top (OTT) service.
Lauding the Edgeware platform for its
ability to limit any delays, even when
distributing 4K/UHD content, Keith
Huang, VP, product management,
technology and operations at PCCW, said:
“Our viewers’ experience is paramount,
especially for live-streamed content.
IP-delivered content should be in sync
with the same content being broadcast
traditionally.”
Globecomm’s
Anthony Sellers
takes on dual roles
Besides retaining his role as VP of
wireless products, Globecomm, Anthony
Sellers has also been selected to lead
the company’s industrial IoT (Internet
of Things) market. Reporting to Bryan
McGuirk, Globecomm’s chief commercial
officer, Sellers will oversee Globecomm’s
strategy, products and services for the
industrial IoT market. Joining Globecomm
in 2013, Sellers brings with him 23 years
of experience in designing, developing
and deploying wired and wireless
telecommunication solutions for both
commercial and government applications.
November 2016
Is OTT the
leading platform
for 4K/UHD
content delivery?
While 4K/UHD content is only available in selected countries in regions
such as Asia due to issues such as bandwidth availability and security, some
OTT service providers have pushed to the forefront in providing 4K/UHD,
and HDR content. Josephine Tan delves further.
S
ubscribers to pay-TV and video-ondemand (VoD) services will be willing to
pay 10%-30% more for access to 4K/Ultra
HD (UHD) content, claimed a new survey
by SNL Kagan and Irdeto.
The companies, in the A Clearer Picture of Growth: 2016 Global 4K/Ultra HD
(UHD) Industry Survey report, highlighted
that premium content such as live sports
and early release movies are likely to be
driving the most consumption of 4K/
UHD content.
The finding that consumers are receptive to 4K/UHD content is an important
one, suggests Godert Burghard, VP, global
marketing, Irdeto, because it justifies the
relatively hefty investment required for
4K/UHD.
He tells APB: “The findings are im-
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Godert Burghard, VP, global marketing, Irdeto: Operators
need analytics and insights to understand where piracy is
happening, so that they can modify their services to deliver
a more legal and compelling service.
portant because investments for 4K/
UHD content are high with broadband
consumption and licences for highefficiency video coding (HEVC)/H.265
for compression. Therefore, it might be
a tough business case for operators, and
it is only viable if they can monetise the
content to leverage their investment.”
Roger Harvey, regional sales director, A&Z, South-east Asia, Japan, Irdeto,
adds that OTT can be perceived to be
the best medium to roll out 4K/UHD
VoD services. He explains: “From our
survey, OTT shows the most dynamic
growth, increasing from 23% within
a year to 45% in one to three years.
When asked which distribution channel would dominate the delivery of 4K/
UHD content within one year, between
three years and beyond three years,
the survey participants, on the main,
identified OTT.”
SNL Kagan and Irdeto surveyed
475 global service providers, including
pay-TV and OTT operators. The latter,
led by Netflix, have taken an early lead
in the actual delivery of 4K/UHD content via a VoD service; some have also
stated their commitment to producing
more content using 4K/UHD and high
dynamic range (HDR) technologies.
While 4K/UHD offers more pixels,
HDR offers better pixels that have
greater depth, allowing viewers to see
brighter highlights, more detail in dark
scenes, and a wider colour range that
is more closely matched to the “real”
world on HDR screens, explains Chris
Fetner, director, media engineering &
partnerships, Netflix.
He tells APB: “These technologies
offer a new set of tools we can use to
make bright and colourful scenes really
pop, and at the same time, bring out
more detail in dark scenes.
“It gives our creators and show
❝With more devices
supporting 4K/UHD and
HDR, and paired with
improving broadband
infrastructures, there is a
significant, and growing
appetite for 4K/UHD
HDR content.❞
— Chris Fetner,
Director, Media Engineering &
Partnerships,
Netflix
runners more creative liberties and
freedom as they now can play with
lights, make the décor a character in
itself, and explore cinematics that their
audience could never visualise before.”
As one of the first OTT service
providers to deliver 4K/UHD content
to their subscribers and a producer
of original TV series in a 4K/UHD
+ HDR format, Fetner reveals that
Netflix plans to have more than 600
hours of 4K/UHD content available
by the end of this year.
With more devices supporting 4K/