BCA Show Preview - 38

38

SUNTEC SINGAPORE

A part of

MARINA BAY SANDS * SUNTEC SINGAPORE

SHOW PREVIEW | 26-28 June 2018

How to Compete in the
Evolving Broadcast Landscape
There are many challenges facing broadcasters today and particularly within the
ASEAN region, says Dennis Breckenridge, CEO, Elevate Broadcast...

T

he pressure is on to deliver everhigher quality content, more localised
programming, and to more devices. While
this programming expansion demand grows,
competition is increasing from online providers
such as iflix and Netflix who are gaining market
share driving down subscriber revenue on pay
TV. Additionally, Internet advertising dollars
continue to shift towards online and social
media sites further putting pressure on the
broadcaster. What can broadcasters do in
this marketplace to stay relevant and provide
content to the consumer which they desire, and
attract advertisers to continue their investment
on their broadcast platforms?

Empowering New Workflows
At Elevate Broadcast we are working with our
customers to find strategies which can build
their business in the face of these challenges.
We have been rolling out technologies in
the past few years that are empowering new
workflows and capabilities for our customers.
We have been able to achieve efficiencies
in the processes broadcasters are using
today with new technologies. We have been
educating customers in formats, workflows,
and practices which can lead to increased
content production and reduced costs.
At Elevate Broadcast we believe it is not
enough to use buzzwords or follow the hype
in the industry. It is our job to provide practical
ways to build our customers' business,
enabling the delivery of content to their
viewers that they desire which, in turn, grows

the consumer demand creating advertisers
support.

Developing Key Technologies
Remote production has been one area in
which we are seeing a significant and rapid
adoption by our customers. It is well known
in the industry that live and event/sport-based
production is a key form of content required as
customers and advertisers tend to be attracted
to live events. Live events however have a
large expense for the staffing, transportation,
and setup or rehearsal time. We have been
able to dramatically reduce the costs of these
productions with several key technologies
including:
* 3G/4G HEVC transmission;
* IP-based backhaul on public internet with
H.264 and now HEVC;
* Remote video processing such as colour
correction and synchronisation;
* IP communications or intercom;
* IP-based audio and Dante;
* HDR workflows.

Lower Costs, Smaller Footprint
Take, for example, LiveU 600 SIM-based
HEVC transmission system, enabling lower
transmission costs vs satellite and more
importantly, same or higher quality, in many
cases through to 4K. LiveU technology can
reduce transmission from hundreds of dollars
per hour to under twenty dollars per hour.
With the lower transmission cost and small
footprint (small backpack) one can even afford

to backhaul multiple feeds from ENG cameras
to the main remote production centre.
One Elevate Broadcast customer deployed
five units to a football match in another
country then transmitted back to their
country and production facility. The customer
then remotely operated replay, switching,
audio, graphics, etc. from their home studios.
The team who travelled was only five people
and the production team did the production
between regularly scheduled programmes
before and after the event. The result is a
huge reduction in cost for equipment and
manpower, plus control room utilisation is
increased. This one example of one match is
a saving of tens of thousands of dollars.
Another customer used the same LiveU
technology to link multiple cities and
production sites for the Commonwealth
Games using LiveU devices streaming to
multiple receiving sites simultaneously.
The production from venues, studios, or
international feeds were then seamlessly
transmitted with huge cost savings at the
event sites. The system also allowed for
more coverage and commentary enabling a
higher standard of production. It is not only
the cost and manpower savings but the
overall capabilities of coverage which could
not be achieved previously.

Creating Compelling Content

LU600 enables lower transmission costs

In the case of remote production with
stable Internet or VPN circuits, the use of
compressed IP gives the ability to backhaul
many signals and providing facilities like a full

LiveU tech can link multiple cities and production sites

OB. Now, with the cost dropping in ASEAN
countries of VPN circuits, many remote
productions can be done. Utilising products
such as Cobalt Digital 9992 HEVC encoders
streams in MPEG-2, MPEG-4, HEVC or 2110
with ARQ is possible. Add the cards' abilities
to do video processing, audio processing,
SCTE104 triggers and multi-path outputs all
in one card. Cobalt achieves density of up
to 40 channels in a single 2RU frame; the
power is near unlimited. With the low latency
option, 1080 or 4K, 4:2:0 or 4:2:2, Dolby,
etc., the card can handle the requirements
to stream the production to the Remote
Production Centre. Combine this power with
IP intercoms from Clear-Com or IP audio
via Dante and you can create complete
productions with cameras and a small rack
to connect to the network. A broadcaster
can realise substantial cost savings without
compromising production capabilities.
The key to all these examples is one size
does not fit all and as much as vendors
like to throw out words like IP, the proof
can be seen in real-world applications.
Elevate Broadcast supports our customers
in the region enabling them to create more
compelling content, create more efficient
workflows and deliver them at a better cost.
Elevate Broadcast is ready to sit down at
Broadcast Asia and discuss your production
needs. Visit booth 6H3-01 to find out how
you can redefine your production facilities
today.
www.elevatebroadcast.com
https://www.liveu.tv/ https://www.liveu.tv/ https://www.liveu.tv/lu600 http://www.elevatebroadcast.com
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