This blog was originally posted on Videonet’s IBC Official Blog.

This blog looks at one of this year’s key themes – the issues surrounding content creation and innovation. As the marketplace swells with competition, and consumers become more fickle than ever, the issue of how to proactively tackle the content challenge has returned with vigour.

To keep up with subscriber expectations, video service providers (VSPs) must address the twin challenges of video content explosion and device expansion. Most recently, the record numbers of viewers worldwide who watched the London 2012 Olympic Games have highlighted how imperative it is for providers to establish a TV Everywhere strategy that can deliver premium quality video content to a diverse range of devices, both in real-time and across time-shifted viewing options. Significantly, this huge broadcasting event also revealed that the rise of second screen viewing is currently not only redefining how viewers engage with content, but also how they source and discover it. As such, the processing of content to operate seamlessly across multiple screens is integral to the evolution of the multiscreen experience as a whole.

Complementing the requisite live video services, VSPs are confronted with the challenges of satisfying the diversifying consumption behaviours of today‘s ‘on-demand’ culture – they must expand the reach of their video libraries while delivering a more encompassing selection of content. In order to get ahead of the competition, providers need access to a flexible set of tools capable of supporting a host of idiosyncratic viewing habits across VOD and nDVR services.

A critical element in this toolbox is the ‘packager,’ which prepares files for delivery to a specific end user device. A complete and versatile packaging solution is required to ensure the most efficient delivery of both popular ‘short tail’ content, as well as ‘long tail’ content that is requested less frequently by on-demand viewers. And now these traditional definitions for the popularity of content have a new dimension – how popular the requesting device and packaged protocol is. For short tail programs, providers can pre-package this content by transcoding all assets into every bitrate, resolution and adaptive streaming format to reach any device, whether TV, tablet, PC, laptop or smartphone. For long tail niche content, VSPs can transcode video, creating a set of mezzanine format files, that can later be packaged ‘on the fly’ into multiple formats for just-in-time delivery, eliminating storage of vast amounts of unused files. Implementing such a flexible video processing architecture not only enables providers to progressively build up their VOD libraries, offering a more diverse range of content, but also significantly alleviates other persistent complexities of video distribution, such as costly storage and bandwidth issues. In doing so, operators can cost-effectively provide a video service that is not only flexible and reliable, but meets subscribers’ diverse viewing preferences across a variety of content and devices.

In an increasingly connected media world, it is essential that providers implement future-proof architectures and technology to support evolving trends and innovations. By installing the appropriate infrastructure capable of supporting the streaming of video services to multiple screens on the schedule deemed appropriate by the consumer, VSPs can be confident in their ability to satisfy market demand, to grow their subscriber base and ultimately boost their bottom line.

At Cable-Tec Expo booth #443 and TelcoTV booth #819, RGB Networks will be showcasing its eVIA multiscreen delivery solution, highlighting how it helps VSPs tackle the challenges of content delivery in multiple formats, across multiple screens in live on on-demand applications. Come visit us to see this advanced technology in action!