RGB IP Video Blog

NAB Hot Topics

RGB Networks — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:51:19 +0000

This year’s NAB is shaping up to be very exciting and you won’t want to miss RGB’s latest innovations in IP video. Here are just some of the hot new multiscreen technologies we will be highlighting at our booth:

MPEG DASH: Read this blog posting to learn about the newest adaptive streaming standard and then take a look at our announcement – RGB is the only company to support all four major protocols for live and on-demand applications.

Just-in-Time Packaging: This newest innovation in time- and place-shifted video delivery makes it easier and more cost-effective to deliver services across multiple screens. Read more and download our white paper >>

File-to-File Transcoding: Discover why the new iPad has video service providers looking for new VOD transcoding solutions.

Hyper-Targeted Advertising: Take a look at this video that highlights how adaptive bitrate ad insertion can help strengthen the business model for TV Everywhere.

IP Video Delivery: Read this article from IPTV International about meeting the challenges of the new multiscreen delivery model.

Click here to schedule a meeting at the show or just drop by booth #SU10412 for demos and discussion.

And don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and/or Google+ for updates throughout the year.

We hope to see you in Las Vegas!

F2F: Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) Transcoding for VOD

RGB Networks — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:02:19 +0000

VOD transcoding is getting a lot of attention these days. Not that it ever went out of style, but lately it’s become front and center again for many video service providers (VSPs). I am on several customer calls and meetings per week about the topic.

Why all the attention on VOD transcoding? Simple answer – adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming. Tablets, phones, even set-top boxes are getting in the act. The new iPad “3” (even though Apple just calls it “the new iPad”) is taking ABR streaming capabilities to a new level. The new iPad’s 2048-by-1536 pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi) is double the ppi density of the iPad 2. Analysts predict that Apple will sell a mind boggling 70 million of them this year.

And Apple isn’t the only game in town – the Samsung Galaxy tab and Amazon Kindle are two other hot devices that VSPs want to reach. Not to mention connected TVs and new adaptive streaming capable set-top boxes.

Providing VOD content to these devices is an entirely new revenue opportunity that has opened up to operators – and they want to capitalize on it.

Unfortunately however (there’s always a “but” isn’t there?) it’s not that simple. The traditional VOD transcoding that is done to deliver content to MPEG-2 and H.264 capable set-top boxes doesn’t work for newer over-the-top (OTT) devices. The content needs to be coded into several different profiles (bitrates and resolutions), segmented, packaged and encrypted. Plus, different packaging is required depending on whether you want to deliver content to HLS, SS, HDS or MPEG DASH clients.

That’s where file-to-file (F2F) ABR VOD transcoding comes in. With an ABR capable transcoder (like RGB’s Linux software-based TransAct Transcoder), you can transcode all of your VOD content into every bitrate, resolution and package type to reach any device. Plus, with built-in encryption capabilities that are integrated with leading DRM providers, our TransAct Transcoder allows operators to encrypt content and push to the CDN for distribution to end devices. In fact, we have several customers doing this today – packaging and encrypting latest release movies and making them available over a CDN.

A few key advantages that customers appreciate about our offline/VOD transcoding capabilities:

Multiscreen VOD enablement
- ABR VOD transcoding to all adaptive streaming formats
- Manifest/index file creation
- HLS and SS DRM encryption

Plug-and-play into VOD ecosystem
- Watch folders and drop folders on NFS, CIFS or WebDAV mounts
- F2F XML-RPC API signaling with call back
CableLabs-compliant output including interlaced output for MPEG-2 and H.264

Plus, one of the really cool things you can do with our VOD transcoder is create a set of mezzanine format TS files that can then be packaged later for delivery “just-in-time” to ABR devices (take a look here for more information on this application).

If you want to learn more about our VOD transcoding capabilities, visit our File-to-File Transcoding page where you can download a detailed solution overview.

Just-in-Time Packaging: Cost, bandwidth, headaches-it saves them all!

RGB Networks — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:59:07 +0000

If you care about storage costs, network bandwidth or the headaches of a network upgrade, our TransAct Packager is a must-have component for your multiscreen deployment. With today’s announcement of just-in-time packaging (JITP) capabilities, this award-winning product continues to stay on the leading edge of adaptive bitrate streaming technology.

A first-of-its-kind capability, JITP enables on-the-fly packaging of video streams for delivery to any device, as it’s requested. By eliminating the need for pre-packaging, JITP saves the cost and bandwidth issues associated with storing large amounts of content for VOD and NDVR multiscreen applications.

This white paper explains the concept in more detail, providing specific use cases with cost models for storage and bandwidth vs. JITP.

Even if you have a relatively small content library today, JITP can save you headaches in other areas as well. When deploying solutions for new adaptive streaming protocols, such as the new MPEG DASH standard, JITP gives you an easy entry point, eliminating the need to convert your entire on-demand library into the new protocol all at once – do it ‘just-in-time’ and you not only save on storage, but offline transcoding costs and efforts as well. Just think – when Apple makes that next upgrade to HLS, you’ll be ready to go!

For those of you who already use the TransAct Packager in your network, adding this new JITP capability is a simple license upgrade. And for those of you who are considering adding this one-of-a kind packager to your network, click here to learn about its many other industry-leading features.

We’ll be demonstrating our new just-in-time packaging capability, along with MPEG DASH support, at NAB later this month. Come see us at booth #SU10412 and find out how you can future-proof your multiscreen deployment.

MPEG DASH Support: TransAct Packager Continues Industry Leadership

RGB Networks — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:06:44 +0000

Our many multiscreen customers around the world rely on us to stay ahead of the game on the latest industry developments and we’re proud to say we’ve done that again by being one of the first to incorporate support for MPEG DASH into our TransAct Packager.

Today’s announcement of our support for this new adaptive streaming standard highlights our commitment to keeping up with the rapidly changing world of multiscreen delivery in order to provide our customers with the most comprehensive solutions for delivering video to any device.

We’re also eager to emphasize that RGB’s TransAct Packager is the only product to support all four adaptive streaming protocols – Apple HLS, Microsoft Smooth Streaming, Adobe HDS and MPEG DASH for both live and on-demand video delivery. This is just one of many unique attributes of this industry-leading product (find out here what else it can do to help make your multiscreen implementations faster, easier and more robust).

And we’re not going this alone. We’re working closely with many industry stakeholders to ensure the rapid adoption of MPEG DASH. RGB is an active member of the MPEG DASH Promoters Group, and we’re also integrating the Packager with MPEG DASH clients, including those from AuthenTec and Netview Technology.

We’ll be exhibiting at several trade shows in the coming months and invite you to stop by our booth for a live MPEG DASH demonstration, as well as other new developments. We look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas, Boston, Cologne or wherever our paths may cross.

Multi-Multiscreen Activities for RGB at SCTE’s Canadian Summit

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:46:33 +0000

It’s going to be a busy few days for us at next week’s SCTE Canadian Summit in Toronto and we couldn’t be more excited!

In addition to showing off our multiscreen IP video solutions at our booth, our CTO (and IP video visionary), Yuval Fisher, is making the journey north of the border to speak about the benefits of a key new RGB development in IP video delivery—just-in-time packaging. Don’t miss this educational presentation on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. during the breakout session: Beyond Over-the-Top Content, Directions to a CDN Near You

And because we do truly believe that this new technology is noteworthy, we submitted our just-in-time packaging solution to the SCTE’s team of experts for consideration for their annual Technology Challenge and they agreed—we’re in! So, please mark your calendar to attend Tuesday’s keynote session at 9:15 a.m. where we’ll go head-to-head (led by our TransAct Product Director Andy Salo) with four other highly innovative tech vendors and vie for selection as the “Technology Most Likely to Succeed.” Get ready to text in your vote!

We’ve had much success lately with operators throughout Canada (from the largest on down), helping them to add new capabilities to their networks, and we look forward to speaking with you about how we can help you bring the latest video services to your subscribers.

To answer all your questions about our solutions (transcoding, adaptive streaming, statmuxing—we do it all!), you’ll find our Canadian team—Stephen Sacks and Ron Polsky—manning our booth (#107) throughout the show. Please stop by and learn more.

See you next week!

IP&TV World Forum Special: Is your network ready for the first digital Olympics?

admin — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:16:19 +0000

2012 is set to be one of the most notable years in sports broadcasting history. We’ve already seen America’s biggest sporting event – the Super Bowl – streamed live to a record-setting 2.1 million viewers, and here in London at the IP&TV World Forum, we have heard much buzz surrounding the upcoming high-profile European events, including Euro 2012 and the greatly anticipated London Olympics – already being heralded as the “first truly digital Olympics”. These must-watch events, with their inherent time zone challenges that accompany their global audience, offer video service providers a tremendous opportunity to increase subscriber appeal and loyalty by providing access to high-value content whenever and wherever the viewer desires.

With the scale and international reach of these landmark occasions, content will not just include the coverage of the events themselves, but will also encompass analysis, as well as supporting documentary and entertainment-value video, presenting a 24/7 treasure trove of content primed for live and on-demand viewing anytime, anywhere over the duration of these multi-week competitions. However, with the importance of an event like the Summer Olympics, viewers are not going to tolerate any delay or jitter, especially in races where a difference of milliseconds can separate gold and silver medallists.

As such, providers will have to ensure that their network infrastructure is ready and able to support high consumer demand to play out these IP video services to such high numbers of viewers across their growing array of devices.

Given the speed at which video-enabled devices have become a consumer necessity, any provider without a plan to deliver video beyond the television will certainly get left behind. Even the traditional television is going IP, with 80 percent of all TVs shipped in 2014 expected to be smart devices, compared to only 27 percent in 2011 (Futuresource Consulting, TV Market Report, January 2012).

Most providers have legacy infrastructure originally intended to target only one type of device. But with the right knowledge and the latest technology, they can easily and cost-effectively integrate IP infrastructure that will give them a future-proof multiscreen solution without major infrastructure overhaul needed, allowing them to provide their subscribers with the ultimate flexibility in terms of how and when they view all the action of this year’s premier events.

With the granddaddy of all TV viewing events going digital, all providers should be looking to reach as many viewers as possible with both live and on-demand content, to fully capitalize on such a huge opportunity. And as such, the IP&TV World Forum is a great opportunity for us to meet with you to discuss how to do just that. See us at stand #236 to learn more.

Or if you’re not in London this week, please let us know here how you’re looking to capitalize on the digitization of TV’s biggest sporting events. What are your biggest challenges?

Helping Operators Gear Up for Major European Broadcast Events at IP&TV World Forum

admin — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 22:12:55 +0000

2012 is the golden – or should that be diamond – year for broadcasters. With a series of high profile events happening across the summer that include the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Euro 2012 and – the biggest of all global events – the London Olympics, the year ahead presents tremendous opportunities for video service providers (VSPs) – especially when it comes to monetization.

Thanks to the explosion of video-enabled devices, including a dizzying array of smartphones and tablets, consumers already expect to access and watch premium content whenever they want, wherever they want, and on whichever device they happen to be using at that moment.

Delivering high-quality content, in conjunction with its time- and place-shifting consumption, is already tough in its own right. Add several highly anticipated broadcasting events into the mix and operators are left with an entirely new set of challenges, which they must battle out in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

With key events just around the corner, the focus must of course be on delivering first-class multiscreen video services to satisfy eager end users who want to experience the landmark celebrations as they happen. But there’s also much to be said about making the most of a captive audience – a task our Enhanced Video Intelligence Architecture (eVIA) is well-equipped to meet – by simplifying the challenges multiscreen deployments bring, but also enabling revenue-generating opportunities that drastically increase subscriber appeal (read more).

We’ll be gearing up for the excitement of the upcoming events this week at the IP&TV World Forum at Olympia, London (March 20-22), demonstrating the simplest way for VSPs to transition to a multi-device IP video environment and speed and monetize deployment through RGB’s award-winning VMG and TransAct Packager, so make sure you stop by stand 236!

We’ll also be able to talk to you about recent deployments and proof-of-interoperability testing with our growing list of ecosystem partners (here’s just one example with nangu.TV and Swisscom Broadcast). As the run-up to this year’s exciting line-up of broadcast events accelerates, we’re doing everything we can to help take the worry out of IP video deployments. Don’t miss out and stay tuned for more details to come!

MPEG DASH: The Newest Adaptive Streaming Protocol for IP Video

admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:01:22 +0000

It was bound to happen at some point. MPEG DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) has been ratified and is on its way to becoming an industry-accepted standard. There will still be a few bumps along the way, but it seems that streaming industry vendor development is moving along well. Adobe and Microsoft are active participants in the DASH Promoters Group, along with Netflix, Akamai, Samsung and many others (including RGB Networks!), and in fact Microsoft chairs the group.

What is MPEG DASH?

MPEG DASH is the MPEG standardization of Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP. DASH is described by document ISO/IEC 23009-1. For those already familiar with the three prominent adaptive streaming protocols – Apple HLS, Microsoft Smooth Streaming, and Adobe HDS – DASH can be thought of as an amalgamation of the three (for a comparison of these protocols, download our white paper).

At a high level, DASH works nearly identically to the other adaptive streaming protocols. Available stream content is presented to the player in a manifest (index) file. In DASH, the manifest is called a Media Presentation Description (MPD) file, which is in XML format. The MPD is analogous to an HLS m3u8 file, a Smooth Streaming Manifest file or an HDS f4m file. After the MPD is delivered to the client, content – such as video, audio, subtitles or other data – is downloaded to clients over HTTP as a sequence of video files that is played back contiguously.

The MPD describes the content that is available, including URL addresses of stream chunks, byte-ranges, different bitrates, resolutions, and content encryption mechanisms. The task of choosing which adaptive stream bitrate and resolution to play, and changing to different bitrate streams according to network conditions, is done by the client (again, similar to other adaptive streaming protocols). In fact the MPEG DASH standard does not prescribe any client-specific playback functionality, rather it pertains to the formatting of the content and associated MPDs only.

There are two file segment types allowed in DASH – MPEG2 TS and ISO Base media file format (ISO BMFF). MPEG2 TS is what HLS currently uses, and ISO BMFF is what Smooth Streaming and HDS currently use. This allows for a relatively easy migration of existing adaptive streaming content to MPEG DASH, as the media segments can often stay the same, and only the index files need to be migrated to an MPD format.

MPEG DASH defines and allows for different profiles to be created. A profile is a set of restrictions of media formats, codecs, protection formats, bitrates, resolutions, or other aspects of the content. For example, the DASH spec defines a profile for ISOBMFF basic on-demand.

What capabilities will MPEG DASH offer for video service providers?

MPEG DASH offers a standards-based approach for enabling a host of services that operators have traditionally offered in IPTV and broadcast environments, and extends those capabilities to adaptive bitrate delivery, including:

Live and on-demand content delivery
Time-shift services (NDVR, Catch-up TV)
Targeted ad insertion

MPEG DASH enables these features through a number of inherent capabilities, and importantly, flexibility of design and implementation:

Multiple segment formats (ISO base media FF and MPEG-2 TS)
Codec independency
Trick mode functionality
Profiles: restriction of DASH and system features (claim & permission)
Content descriptors for protection, accessibility, content rating, and more
Common encryption (defined by ISO/IEC 23001-7)
Clock drift control for live content
Metrics for reporting the client session experience

One of the most important features of DASH is its use of Common Encryption (a topic for another blog post), which standardizes a number of different, widely-used encryption methods. This allows content owners to distribute content, and allows service providers to have access to an interoperable ecosystem of vendors.

What aspects of DASH could hinder widespread adoption?

First, there are some unresolved intellectual property rights with DASH. Normally, IP introduced into MPEG standards is accepted only if the IP owner agrees to Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (RAND) terms. In the case of DASH, it is not clear that all IPR in the standard is covered by RAND terms. Second, while DASH has one name, it is a collection of different, non-interoperable profiles. So DASH doesn’t solve the problem of different, non-interoperable implementations unless DASH clients support all profiles. And this is basically equivalent to having a client that supports HLS and HDS and Smooth Streaming (which incidentally would also address the interoperability problem).

Time will tell if MPEG DASH will coexist or supersede existing adaptive streaming formats. Certainly, DASH provides quite a flexible framework for delivering streaming media content. As usual, it will depend on what the major vendors do, and whether VSPs see the benefits of augmenting or changing trajectory of in-process deployments and content offerings.

MPEG DASH Promoters Group: New Adaptive Streaming Standard Gets a Big Push

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:45:25 +0000

If you’re following the quickly evolving world of IP video, you’ve heard a lot of talk lately about the new MPEG DASH standard. Rapid progress is being made to ensure industry-wide understanding, deployment and acceptance, and we’re excited to be part of an industry consortium that is tasked with promoting this new network-friendly adaptive streaming protocol.

As a member of the MPEG DASH Promoters Group, RGB Networks joins industry heavyweights such as Adobe, Akamai, Ericsson, Microsoft, NDS and Netflix in the effort to promote MPEG’s DASH specification (ISO/IEC 23009) in the industry and other standard organizations and consortia. For more information, please take a look at this press release.

One of the objectives of the group is to facilitate interoperability tests and we plan to do a lot of that in the weeks to come. Stay tuned for more on this topic…

Mobile World Congress: Where Mobile and Video Come Together

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:21:16 +0000

With only days to go until the hottest mobile event of the year, it’s time to turn our attention to the phenomenon that is Mobile World Congress.

Every year the event draws thousands of visitors to Barcelona, all wanting to see first hand the latest and greatest that the mobile industry has to offer (last year we predicted more high-quality video on more devices). Whether it’s a new handset or tablet, a new app, or a new way of getting that all-important video content on to one or more mobile devices, Mobile World Congress is a must for anyone and everyone associated with mobile.

Over the past 12 months the mobile industry has continued to thrive, with video coming on strong as a must-have service addition. According to Cisco’s latest mobile data forecast, mobile video traffic accounted for more than half of all wireless data usage by the end of 2011, and is expected to increase 25-fold by 2016 to account for more than 70% of total mobile data traffic. With this projected growth, operators are well-advised to ready their networks for mobile video delivery or be left behind.

And with the broadcasting calendar already jam packed over the year ahead – the Summer Olympics, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and Euro 2012 (that’s soccer for our American friends) – there is a real near-term opportunity for operators to capitalize on subscribers’ desire to view video anytime and anywhere on their mobile device of choice. If you’re looking to reap the rewards of TV Everywhere and deliver those “mobile moments” to your subscribers, it is absolutely essential that your infrastructure is ready and geared up for these monumental events.

With many multiscreen IP video deployments under our belt with major operators in Europe and around the world, the team at RGB Networks can make this happen quickly and smoothly. We will be available at Mobile World Congress to review our solutions and explain how you can turn your mobile video goals into a reality. If you are interested in learning more, please contact us to schedule a private meeting in our suite. Hope to see you there!