In Broadcast - October 2017 - 30

30

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 7 - Issue 10 | October 2017

InForm

Solving The Metadata Mess
By Roger Franklin, CEO, Crystal...

O

ver the last decade or so, there's
been a substantial shift in the way
viewers consume video content. OverThe-Top (OTT) content has boomed in
popularity, so much so that consumers
expect, rather than demand, its
provision. This proves problematic
for both linear broadcasters and OTT
providers, given the cost and resources
required to reformat content for OTT
viewing, and the fact that much of this
content is given away for 'free'.
Metadata and SCTE 35 markers add
value in the OTT world, and in linear
broadcast, are absolutely essential.
Oftentimes, metadata and SCTE
35 messages are the only way to
monetise content provision, signalling
ad opportunities and enabling the
dynamic insertion of targeted ads.
Without SCTE 35 messages, these
actions would be almost impossible.
SCTE 35 metadata markers have
been inserted into content for over
two decades. With good intentions, the
standard has been updated numerous

times, but the result of this is that no
two content owners use the exact same
SCTE messages to trigger the same
actions (such as an ad opportunity).
This creates several problems - the
incorrect labelling of content segments,
inaccurate insertion of content or in
some cases the failure to insert any
content or ad at all, meaning a loss
in revenue and unhappy advertisers/
viewers.
SCTE 35 messages now travel
through multiple transcoders. This
can sometimes corrupt the message,
resulting
in
the
presentation
timestamp (PTS) buried within the
message passing on the wrong number
to the downstream equipment. In many
instances, the message will either
arrive late or too early, meaning the
segment inserted may overlap the
beginning or end of the content coming
before or after the break.
Aside from being a massive pain for
distributors, the problems with the use
of SCTE 35 are damaging the overall

Fig.1 Crystal Metadata Cloud

potential of OTT because it effects the
monetisation of content, and in worst
case scenarios irritates viewers.
At NAB New York, we're excited to
be launching a solution to what we call
'the metadata mess'.
Crystal Metadata Cloud (see Fig.1)
uses
patent-pending
Temporal
Fingerprint technology to transmit
metadata out-of-band from the
transport stream, and crucially
resynchronise it on a frame-accurate
basis with the content in the
downstream distribution chain.
This removes the problems caused by
programmers using multiple types of

SCTE 35 messages by identifying points
in the video, defining what these points
mean and translating this information
into whichever message format the
distributor prefers.
The Cloud-based solution will
complement SCTE 35, ensuring the
survivability of uncorrupted metadata
from origination to reception, in
any format the distributor chooses.
Multichannel
video
programme
distributors (MVPDs) downstream
can now replace content for rights
management and dynamically insert
targeted ads accurately, regardless of
the actions of the programmer.

LiveU Broadens Live Video Access
By Ronen Artman, VP of Marketing, LiveU...

C

ellular bonding technologies are
central to the shift in news and
sports coverage. There is previously
unheard of levels of mobility, speed
of deployment and cost-effectiveness,
and wider access to high-quality live
video use for media companies.
For LiveU, celebrating our 10th
IBC this year, it's now not only about
the quality of our technology and
innovations like our HEVC Pro Card that
can be slotted in to our flagship LU600
unit for 4K resolution, it's also about
services around our products.
A prime example was the launch
at IBC of AP Live Community in
partnership with Associated Press.
Combining AP's global news network
with LiveU's technological expertise,
this new online platform expedites live
coverage of breaking news and events
in any location by connecting live video
publishers and contributors using LiveU
technology around the world, be they
freelancers or production companies.

AP Live Community, which is free to
access, makes it straightforward and
cost-effective for any broadcaster to
book a service provider for a specific
time to cover anything from live
breaking news to the coverage of
planned events. The platform enables
publishers to offer their consumers a
wide range of live content, including
events they otherwise may not have
been able to cover, and those where a
live feed is needed immediately.
All service providers registered
to the platform use LiveU's groundbreaking technology for cellular
bonded transmission with automatic
pairing through the AP Live Community
platform, ensuring seamless live
broadcasting directly into the live video
publisher's LiveU server.
All billing is handled by AP,
eliminating the need to set up ad
hoc payments and guaranteeing that
service providers are paid promptly by
a single and reliable entity.

Partnership: AP Live Community

Following a successful pilot program
across Europe, AP Live Community
is now being expanded globally. The
platform gives those service providers
the opportunity to pitch exclusive
content or, with our Cloud-based
technology facilitating content sharing,
increase their revenues by offering
their content to multiple publishers
simultaneously.
At IBC we also announced the
expansion of our Solo product line
of professional-grade wireless video
encoders. These offer an affordable,
easy to use, single interface to produce
online content by adding features such

as real-time graphics using the new
Solo Studio.
We now also offer the Solo HDMI
encoder, which offers a lower priced
and flexible option for live online
coverage.
The Solo app (iOS) is the simplest
way to get started with live
content, combining cellular and
Wi-Fi connections for more reliable
streaming than smartphones alone.
The LiveU Solo portal user interface,
accessible on any web-enabled device,
has also been significantly upgraded.
The world of live video has never been
so dynamic.
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://crystalcc.com/ http://www.liveu.tv/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - October 2017
