Cover Story is an attractive one in theory . In practice , there are times when a broadcaster or streamer will require more capacity because they need to send , for example , 4K video with Dolby Atmos . Today ’ s ‘ broadcast ’ market offers a mixture of resolutions and formats and network neutrality could restrict the ability to present a variety of different service formats . RIST : From our point of view , there are only three cases , all of them well within the capabilities of the protocol : Network neutrality is in place , and RIST applications have the same service as everything else . This is the normal operating point for RIST ; or , the ISP / CDN is giving priority to RIST traffic . That is the easy situation – the network appears as a mostly reliable channel , and RIST can adapt to that by lowering the latency , as not many retransmissions will be needed ; or , the ISP / CDN is de-prioritising RIST traffic . In this case , the Source Adaptation feature just introduced in TR-06-4 Part 1 can come into play by either adjusting the data rate dynamically , or diverting the traffic to another ‘ more accommodating ’ ISP . Torque : We are now into , what ?, 20 + years of discussion on network neutrality . I don ’ t think there will ever be a clear answer which is fair to all the players . But unless network operators get into the content business , their service offerings will continually be reduced to providing ‘ just a pipe ’. With content increasingly being consumed over a range of networks and devices , what are the challenges for ensuring QoE for budget-conscious service providers / subscribers ? Accedo : As consumers tighten their spending habits a key challenge will be not just presenting high-quality content but providing it at a high perceived value that matches their individual budgets . Hybrid advertising and tiered subscriptions play an integral role in tackling this challenge as service providers may find they need to find ways in which to cost-effectively launch hybrid business models
14 EUROMEDIA to meet all their audiences ’ needs . Broadband Forum : Once broadband speed is no longer an inhibitor then Quality of Experience ( QoE ) becomes as important , if not more important , than simply bandwidth . Operators must manage the experience of their customer base to monetise and differentiate their subscriber offerings . BTS : Understanding the role of consumer data is key as audiences start to look closer at their household spending . The challenges come with understanding your viewers and personalising content , especially when it comes to advertising . If the trend of consumers opting for AVoD and FAST services over SVoD continues , the challenge will be making their experience as personalised as possible in order to improve engagement . Cinedeck : The biggest challenge here is ensuring that production workflows are optimised to improve efficiency and save costs , whilst still ensuring high-quality output . Using intelligent interfaces and smart workflows that leverage metadata , will improve the quality of content ingest . Codemill : Consumers are watching more media than ever , and they have higher expectations , so quality content is nonnegotiable . A big challenge will be managing both scale and localisation , so that service providers can offer consumers choice while keeping the cost per asset down . Media companies need the ability to select which solutions are suitable for the different types of content they are processing . As we move into a hyper-competitive phase for service providers , optimising asset value will be crucial . Interra Systems : An OTT stream traverses multiple video processing points before reaching the final consumer device . These are
encode - > transcode - > packaging - > origin server - > CDN - > edge servers . There ’ s always a chance that something could go wrong along the chain . Ideally , video is monitored for anomalies and quality at most of these points ; however , performing this monitoring requires service providers to invest in both equipment and staff . Furthermore , to cater to a range of devices and resolutions , ABR requires the creation of multiple profiles at different bit rates for the same video , which translates into high encoding , storage , and delivery costs . And for high-visibility events or premium content , collecting quality stats for all profiles at all critical locations in the delivery chain can be cost-prohibitive for many video service providers . Mediaproxy : Monitoring broadcast and streaming outputs to ensure both compliance with regulatory standards and QoE is still often regarded with a degree of reluctance by some media organisations . It is a necessity but one they are loath to commit too much of their budget to . Consequently , the challenge for all broadcasters and streamers is pretty much the same : to ensure quality along the distribution chain as efficiently and economically as possible . This is now more possible thanks to software-based analysis and logging systems , but it should be remembered that automated technology only does part of the job ; trained personnel are still required in master control rooms ( MCRs ) to oversee operations and deal with any problems . Plume : It ’ s very important that service providers employ ‘ intelligent ’ cloud-driven solutions that adapt to the needs of every device , and every user on the home network . For example , the needs of a smart TV that streams 4K UHD is very different to the