In Broadcast - June 2013 - 58

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

N E W S

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 20 - JUNE 2013

InFILE

KIT Delivering Video On Demand
The idea of video on demand has been around for 20 years or more, but back then there was no
technology to make it happen…

By Mark Christie
CTO, KIT digital

or close to ten years we have
been talking about the aspiration
of delivering to consumers the
content they want, when they want
it, where they want it.
But it’s only in the last couple of
years that all the pieces have fallen
into place to make this a reality.
First, we have the connectivity, with
broadband getting more ubiquitous
and the 3G cellular network ﬁnally
getting built out in the UK.
Second, we have the devices. It
really is only three years ago that the
ﬁrst version of the iPad was launched
(3 April 2010, to be precise), hard
though it now is to imagine a world
without them. The tablet revolution
gave us a device we could carry
anywhere with a screen that was big
enough to make watching more than
the briefest video clip pleasurable.
Alongside smartphones and
tablets we also see games
consoles providing a portal into
the home, capable of delivering
excellent image quality. And now
the consumer electronics companies

are very keen to sell us connected
TVs, essentially one screen with both
an HDMI connector and an ethernet
port on the back.
This makes video on demand
not just practical, but attractive.
Consumers, perhaps spoiled by
BBC iPlayer and Channel 4’s 4oD,
now expect to be able to catch
up on what they have missed at
their own convenience. Putting
programme libraries online is no
longer a pipe dream, it’s necessity
if broadcasters are not to risk
alienating their audiences.
You know that, when it seems that
everything is perfectly aligned, there
must be a downside somewhere.
And indeed there is a downside
for TV Anywhere. To deliver a
huge number of combinations of
resolution, audio format, codec,
wrapper and delivery platforms
requires a lot of extra technology
which has to be paid for.
Research from independent
analysts TDG Research predicts
that, by 2020, the consumption

C4’s 4oD Catch Up service

of broadband
video content
stored and
distributed
over an open
IP architecture
– TV Anywhere –
will exceed the
consumption
of traditional
broadcast
television
programming.
So broadcasters
have to explore
new
a n d 2Si - KIT digital’s white label social programme guide app
innovative ways
to gain market share and, importantly,
While received wisdom is that
generate new revenue streams.
pre-roll advertising is best online,
While there are some download
you can put traditional commercial
business models in play at the
breaks into a programme, replacing
moment, allowing you to buy
the broadcast advertising with
content to store on your device or
something better suited to the
even to burn onto a DVD yourself,
delivery platform.
increasingly the trend is for
The big advantage of any online,
streaming content. Consumers like
on demand delivery is that there
the immediacy of it – they decide
is a two-way communication so
to watch a programme and it starts
advertising can become interactive.
immediately – and better broadband
That does not necessarily imply
delivers it. Intelligent adaptive
clicking away from the content: you
bitrate systems like Apple’s HLS
could use proﬁling based on what
and Microsoft’s Smooth Streaming
the consumer chooses to watch to
make this possible even over cellular
make sensible predictions about the
connectivity.
sort of advertising that might appeal,
Video on demand is funded in
then present that in a way which
three fundamental ways, or four if
invites the consumer to click through.
you count giving it away to build
At KIT digital we’ve worked
audience loyalty. You can pay directly
with many of the world’s leading
for the content you watch, either as
broadcasters, including Channel 4
pay per view (transactional video
and Sky, to develop the platforms
on demand or TVoD) or by paying
which allow them to serve the
a monthly subscription for a range
burgeoning video on demand market.
of content (subscription video on
Together, we are developing the
demand or SVoD).
solutions that deliver on the promise
The third way is the traditional
of real revenue opportunities
broadcasting solution of advertisingand new ways to monetise the
funded video on demand (AVoD).
content archive.

Artel Video Systems Simplifies Ethernet Traffic Transport
A

rtel Video Systems, a leading
global provider of broadcastquality video transport solutions,
has announced that its DLM205
and DLC205 9-Por t Gigabit
Ethernet aggregators and optical
transceivers
are now
shipping.

Artel Video Systems’ DigiLink
video transport platform

Integrating seamlessly within
the company’s DigiLink video
transport platform, both singleslot modules are the ideal solution
for broadcasters, CATV operators,
telco operators, and video service
providers looking to aggregate
Ethernet traffic across a single
optical or electrical connection.
The versatile DLM205 and DLC205
feature innovative designs for
aggregating up to nine channels
of 10/100/1000 Ethernet trafﬁc for
transport across electrical or optical
networks. Nonblocking, supporting
a total capacity of 18 gigabits of
Ethernet traffic, the modules

combine three electrical and two
multi-purpose SFP cages with four
internal ports supporting trafﬁc from
other modules in a chassis, plus
chassis management into a single
Ethernet connection. The DLM205
features integrated DL-Manager
HTTP and SNMP capabilities
to enable DL4000 chassis inband management.
“More users are looking for a solution
for transporting a combination
of contribution quality video and
Ethernet data across a single optical
link,” said Richard Dellacanonica,
President of Artel Video Systems.
“The DLM205 and DLC205 are

designed to maximise efﬁciencies
and cost savings for broadcasters,
video service providers, and other
users by aggregating up to nine
channels of Ethernet data and videoover-IP trafﬁc, including chassis
management, for transport across
a single optical or electrical link.”
The latest additions to the
DigiLink Video Transport Platform,
the DLM205 and DLC205
Ethernet aggregators continue
Artel Video Systems mission to
simplify broadcast-quality video
transport by providing the most
reliable, cost-effective, and fully
integrated solutions.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/?first=Phillip&last=Izzard&search=Go https://twitter.com/inbroadcast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpzEatLsHdE&feature=youtube_gdata_player https://www.facebook.com/InBroadcast http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/inbroadcast/id468652679?mt=8 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.branded.inbroadcast&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5icmFuZGVkLmluYnJvYWRjYXN0Il0. http://WWW.INBROADCAST.COM http://www.youtube.com/user/KITdigitalchannel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiB1J_cs5jY http://www.artel.com/products/detail/digilink-video-transport-chassis

In Broadcast - June 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - June 2013