At this year’s TV Connect (which you might remember as IP&TV World Forum), we’ll be showcasing RGB’s ‘Multiscreen 2.0’ solutions for delivery of advanced IP video services.
What is Multiscreen 2.0?Multiscreen 2.0 solutions enable video service providers to expand initial TV Everywhere capabilities with improved tools for efficient and effective delivery of live and on-demand video, and monetization of all multiscreen services.
The powerful combination of RGB’s VMG, TransAct Packager and TransAct Encoder/Transcoder (with critical SDI capabilities) enables key applications, including nDVR, targeted ad insertion and automatic loudness correction. Download these white papers now for more information:
And don’t miss this new report from Videonet – read how some of the most advanced operators in Europe are deploying hybrid networks for delivering multiscreen/OTT alongside traditional pay-TV services.
To learn more about Multiscreen 2.0, click here to schedule a meeting at the show or just drop by stand #236 for demos and discussion. We look forward to seeing you in London!
At this year’s CSTB show in Moscow, a hot topic will be the preparations being made for the distribution of next year’s Winter Olympics being held in Sochi, Russia. Last year’s London Olympics set a new standard for multiscreen distribution of The Games, so the local operators have a high standard to surpass.
One video service provider already well on their way is MegaFon – Russia’s second largest mobile operator. As outlined in yesterday’s press release, MegFon has deployed RGB’s Video Multiprocessing Gateway (VMG) and TransAct Packager to perform the transcoding and packaging for delivery of IP video services to iPhones®, iPads® and IP set-top boxes. They’re taking advantage of the high capacity of RGB’s solution, with an initial rollout of 130 channels, and soon they’ll capitalize of its flexibility by adding support for Android devices.
Further highlighting the activity in the region, MUX4, operated by Digital Broadcasting in the Czech Republic, is deploying both the VMG and RGB’s Broadcast Network Processor to grow their DVB-T MPEG-4 service. Take a look at the press release to learn more.
If you’re attending CSTB this week, come visit one of our reseller partners for more information on the next generation of multiscreen solutions: BCC booth #4.463, CTI booth #4.438, ISPA booth #4.460, Kontur-M booth #4.433 and Netris booth #4.468
Propelled by the availability of low-cost, high-resolution connected devices, consumers have rapidly bypassed the ‘novelty’ phase of TV Everywhere turning acceptance into expectation. With the demand that any media should be available essentially on any device over any network connection, 2013 is going to be an exciting year for multiscreen!
Looking ahead, we here at RGB Networks have compiled the top 10 industry trends we see for 2013:
1. IP Video
Internet-based video consumption will continue to boom, driven by the proliferation and popularity of mobile devices and connected TVs and changing consumer habits. With more than 70 IP video customers worldwide, including three of the top MSOs in North America, our advancements in video processing technology are enabling video service providers (VSPs) to retain the competitive edge for the year ahead.
2. TV Everywhere Expansion
Significant broadcast events like the London 2012 Olympic Games have hammered home how imperative it is for providers to establish an all-encompassing TV Everywhere strategy that can deliver premium quality video content to a myriad of viewing devices. With many TV Everywhere rights deals negotiated in 2012, and certainly more to come, many hurdles to the deployment and expansion of TV Everywhere services have been removed. Over the next year, operators will therefore need intelligent, high-capacity and scalable solutions to begin or grow their delivery of content to a multitude of devices, which can equally address all related infrastructure and network issues while still keeping the balance sheet in check.
3. Streamlining and Cost Reduction
The need for streamlining operations and cuttings costs will be imperative in 2013 and as a result, integrated, scalable, future-proof solutions will be the focus of attention. In the quest to deliver content to any connected device, innovative adaptive streaming technologies like RGB’s just-in-time packaging – which can alleviate the challenges intrinsic to growing TV Everywhere services such as storage, bandwidth and other headaches – will be in high demand.
4. nDVR Services
Operators’ enthusiasm for nDVR will see significant growth over 2013, driven by the fact that it is a “sticky” service that can reduce subscriber churn, while also generating revenue from subscribers who might not otherwise pay for multiscreen services. With the development of integrated solutions to deliver on-demand services alongside live multiscreen video, operators will be able to meet subscriber demands and reap the benefits of IP video’s rapid evolution better than ever before.
5. Monetization
Content monetization through techniques such as targeted ad insertion will be a critical piece of the multiscreen puzzle in 2013. As the video delivery industry is busy keeping pace amid a landslide of changing consumer tastes and competitive positioning against pure OTT services, difficult questions concerning business cases and financial justification of multiscreen investments have come to the forefront. Coupling ad insertion with other revenue-generators such as nDVR services, as well as with cost reductions, VSPs will be looking for profitability in multiscreen this year.
6. Securing Content
As consumption of mobile video continues to grow, VSPs will increasingly require an access and rights management system that unifies revenue security for video services and prevents piracy of high-value video content delivered using adaptive HTTP streaming. Selecting the right streaming and security combination will enable providers to offer a richer consumer experience with more personalized choices in regards to content, time and place.
7.Multiscreen Ecosystem Partnering
As the multiscreen ecosystem expands to offer new services, strategic partnerships enabling integration with various market players such as ad decision systems, DRM and CDNs will be essential in adapting and thriving in a changed economic climate. We will see many multiscreen solution providers building sustainable and strategic partnerships over the next year to ease pressure on existing business models, further enhance technological offerings and help guarantee longevity of service.
8. Rise of the Second Screen
Social TV or second screen companion viewing is currently not only redefining how viewers engage with content, but also how they source and discover it. Presenting providers and advertisers with an unprecedented opportunity to engage and interact with their audiences, personalization of content and targeted ad insertion become two sides of the same coin for operators when endeavoring to capitalize on this trend for 2013.
9. Audio Regains Importance
High caliber audio is a cardinal ingredient in the consumer TV viewing experience. However, in recent years audio has taken a backseat to video as VSPs pushed to get basic multiscreen service offerings up and running. With 2013 being dubbed by many as a year of the “second wave” of adaptive bitrate delivery, audio has begun to enter the discussion again, primarily spurred by the CALM Act legislation in the US and other pending regulation around the world. In 2013 savvy VSPs will be turning their attention to implementing solutions capable of not only manipulating compressed streams in order to facilitate audio consistency and maintain industry compliance, but also to deliver a premium overall audio/video experience.
10. The Sum of it All: Multiscreen 2.0
Multiscreen 2.0 represents the next generation of TV Everywhere, consisting of a combination of solutions that enable operators to reduce costs and streamline operations in live, on-demand and time-shifted environments. This advancement of multiscreen technologies will facilitate the monetization of services across screens with hyper-targeted adaptive bitrate ad insertion, ensure the seamless delivery of premium audio across IP devices, and boost the multiscreen business case and return on investment.
Let us know in the comments below what trends you’re keeping your eye on for 2013. We look forward to sharing more on these topics in the weeks and months to come. Check back often, follow us through social media, and come see us at an upcoming trade show. Happy New Year!
After 16 intense and emotional days, the London 2012 Olympics has flown by. A herculean effort has been made by broadcasters around the globe to ensure coverage of the Games was constantly available to their audiences and at the touch of a button. NBC’s TV footage of the Games has been deemed ‘the most-watched television event in U.S. history’ successfully attracting 219.4 million viewers. It also trounced online records, recording nearly two billion page views and 159 million video streams of Olympics coverage. While on the other side of the pond, the BBC has reported that its overall Olympics TV coverage reached 51.9 million people, with 106 million requests for Olympic video content across all online platforms, more than double the amount of requests for any other event.
So, what has the 30th Olympiad told us about our viewing habits? In a poll of 100 visitors to the RGB Networks blog looking into how they were planning to watch the Olympics, we gained some intriguing insight into the consumption habits of our readers.
One key revelation is that more of our respondents (30 percent) planned to watch the Games on a PC/laptop than on a TV (28 percent) in a remarkable break away from traditional TV viewing habits. Indeed, nearly 70 percent of our readers said the way they were watching the Games this year differed from past years. Moreover, nearly 28 percent of respondents estimated they would watch online while at work – a trend that is sure to grow given the breadth of content and streaming capabilities available online.
With nearly 16 percent watching on their mobile phones while on the move, the survey further indicates that our readers were expecting to be able to access coverage of what they wanted to see, wherever they wanted to see it. This is reflected in NBC’s two Olympic TV Everywhere mobile apps which were ranked the #1 and #2 most-downloaded apps of the week on iTunes.
Forty-two percent of our respondents stated that they would definitely supplement their viewing experience with the use of a second screen. Billed as the first ever ‘truly digital games,’ viewers harnessed the use of social media platforms in record numbers to ensure they could constantly interact with the record-breakers and comment on events as they unfolded. Looking at Twitter numbers alone, a phenomenal 150 million tweets referencing the Olympics were generated over the duration – 9.66 million tweets captured the flurry of the opening ceremony while an astonishing 80,000 tweets a minute were posted as Usain Bolt swept the 200 meter sprint!
It has been thrilling to watch London 2012 unfold as a truly multi-platform event and one that catered directly to viewer’s demands. As sure evidence of things to come, our poll shows a growing trend of multiscreen viewing across multiple platforms and notably, the use of a second screen to complement the principal viewing experience. If there is anything we can learn from the raft of spectacular athletes that flew across our screens in those captivating 16 days, video service providers need to ‘go for gold’ with the best infrastructure systems in place for the next phase of multiscreen delivery. Without a comprehensive TV Everywhere plan, providers are sure to fall behind the competition as viewer expectations continue to change.
The biggest broadcasting event of the decade – and some even predict in all of history – the London 2012 Olympics is about to descend upon video screens across the globe. An estimated four billion people will tune in for over 5,000 hours of Olympic coverage, which will be provided to viewers in approximately 200 countries. Billed as the first ‘truly’ digital Olympics, the industry has been abuzz with what infrastructure overhaul will be needed to keep up with the various new demands that the London 2012 Olympics will require. Indeed, it’s astounding to think how technology has developed since the event last took place four years ago – mobile apps were rare, tablets yet to penetrate the market and watching live TV on mobile phones without any delay or jitter seemed a distant reality.
Discussions surrounding how video consumption habits have changed since the last Olympics have dominated media reports for months. Now, it is no longer essential that we either watch events live, wait for re-runs (which are often just as awkwardly timed as live showings) or settle for just catching the highlights during the news. Consumers today have the ability to watch Olympic moments wherever and whenever they wish, on pretty much whichever video-enabled device they choose.
So we thought we would conduct a poll over the next few weeks in the lead up to the opening ceremony on July 27 to get an accurate picture of how our readers will be watching the Games – we want to know which device will be your viewing platform of choice, where you’ll choose to watch them, if this differs from the last Olympics and how (if at all) you’ll be supplementing your viewing experience with a second screen. Fill out the poll here and help us take a snapshot of how consumer viewing habits have changed over the course of the last four years!
Last week RGB Networks returned to Cologne, Germany for our sixth year exhibiting at ANGA Cable. With an attendance of 16,000 trade visitors and the percentage of international visitors rising from 43% last year to 50% this year, the attention on RGB’s solutions soared with video service providers and the media focused intently on multiscreen deployment issues.
With discussions centered on the challenges cable operators currently face when developing successful, competitive strategies, our unique multiscreen delivery solutions ideally positioned us to address these concerns. There was particular interest in our eVIA solution, which enables multiscreen IP video delivery and monetization, our latest innovation just-in-time packaging, which reduces the need for storage and network bandwidth, as well as our support for MPEG DASH, the new adaptive streaming standard.
For those of you who were unable to meet with us at the exhibition, take a look through some snapshots below of RGB at the show (and on our Facebook page) – and check back often as we start our preparations for out next big European adventure at IBC in only a few short months!
As we welcome in June, RGB is preparing to head off to yet another European event. This time it’s ANGA Cable 2012, Europe’s leading trade fair for cable, broadband and satellite. With over 16,000 visitors from around the world it’s sure to be another great event for all participants.
We believe that 2012 will be the year that mass roll-outs of multiscreen IP video will really take off. As we now see the smaller operators entering the market, the larger operators with active deployments are taking things to the next level—looking to monetize services with targeted ad insertion and to optimize their architectures with new technologies.
Regardless of which category you fall into, the team at RGB can help you assess your requirements and design a multiscreen solution that will meet your needs today and provide future-proof options for your next phase of TV Everywhere services.
To get you thinking as you prepare for the show, here are a few of the hot technologies that you can see highlighted next week at RGB’s stand:
Just-in-Time Packaging: This newest innovation from RGB has been the hottest topic with operators at recent events and we look forward to its European debut. Download our white paper now to learn how this “on the fly” packaging technology can save you significant storage costs as you deploy adaptive bitrate VOD and NDVR services to multiple screens and reduce your headaches as you move to new adaptive streaming formats, such as MPEG DASH.
MPEG DASH: Are you up-to-speed on this new adaptive streaming standard? Take a deep technical dive with our new white paper.
Adaptive Bitrate Ad Insertion: RGB and BlackArrow just announced the first complete solution for multiscreen ad insertion and addressability. Read the press release and download the solution overview to learn how you can target specific ads to any device, increasing subscriber engagement and generating new revenues.
This year marks two of the United Kingdom’s national treasures reaching their 60-year ‘diamond’ celebrations, both of which had significant impact on the world of broadcasting – Queen Elizabeth II, one of nation’s longest-reigning monarchs, and Sir David Attenborough, one of world’s longest-serving broadcasting legends.
Almost exactly 60 years ago today, in 1952 the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was the first to be televised live on British television. There was only one channel available (the BBC) and just over two million TVs owned in the UK. Many believe that the Coronation was the catalyst required for the nation to be truly interested in television – following the broadcast, the number of households with television sets in the UK shot up to nearly 7 million by 1957.
Today, the Royal Family’s Youtube channel alone has received over 37 million video views. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations are being broadcast live on hundreds of channels all over the globe (and on catch-up and on-demand). During the Queen’s Coronation most people had to crowd around the only television set in an entire village, while today, we have access to video content anytime, anywhere and on a growing number of devices that would likely boggle the minds of those original viewers. Bearing in mind that the first mobile phone (nicknamed ‘the Brick’ as it weighed nearly a kilogram!) was only released 29 years ago, the fact that consumers already expect high-quality video content on mobile devices today is pretty indicative of how fast video delivery technology is moving. With most large operators already offering TV Everywhere services and the majority of smaller ones following suit, it’s time for the rest to jump on board before they fall behind in an increasingly competitive video delivery marketplace.
In terms of technological advances, Sir David Attenborough, whose broadcasting achievements were recognized by the IBC’s International Honour for Excellence last year, has experienced all of these developments professionally. In fact, it was during his 60-year tenure at the BBC that the channel became the first to offer regular color programming in Europe, and his work spans black and white to HD and 3D video content.
However, while technology has certainly advanced, not all has changed in the broadcasting world. When color televisions were first released, the uptake was remarkably slow – primarily due to high prices – and as such, color programming was limited due to the lack of consumer interest. This bears quite the resemblance to what’s happened recently with 3D and Smart TVs. Furthermore, the development of color television in Europe was hindered by a continuing division on technical standards. Again, this strongly echoes the current market, with standards still not standard, and just a couple of months ago, yet a new adaptive streaming protocol—MPEG DASH—has been introduced (see our thoughts on that here).
It’s clear that in this day and age, the key for any operator looking to solidify their market position is to ensure they have a sustainable business model and to future proof against any new technological developments – an inevitability in the video delivery industry. What do you think are the biggest developments in broadcasting history over the past 60 years, and what will change for video delivery over the next 60? Leave your comments below.
As The Cable Show kicks off today, we’re excited to announce our partnership with BlackArrow to deliver hyper-targeted advertising across all video-enabled devices. The integration of BlackArrow’s Advanced Advertising System and RGB’s AIM multiscreen ad insertion solution provides video service providers (VSPs) with a first-of-its-kind, end-to-end ecosystem for monetizing TV Everywhere services.
Targeted advertising has long been the holy grail of ad insertion for VSPs, but it has been difficult to attain. Now, with the proliferation of unicast adaptive bitrate (ABR) technology and the introduction of the BlackArrow/RGB solution, VSPs finally have the tools to address specific ads to an individual, improving the user experience and offering a new source of revenue. Check out this solution overview for more information.
Advanced advertising isn’t the only hot topic we’ll be highlighting in Boston this week. Stop by booth #2141 for more on a variety of multiscreen technologies, including:
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.
At this year’s TV Connect (which you might remember as IP&TV World Forum), we’ll be showcasing RGB’s ‘Multiscreen 2.0’ solutions for delivery of advanced IP video services.
At this year’s CSTB show in Moscow, a hot topic will be the preparations being made for the distribution of next year’s Winter Olympics being held in Sochi, Russia. Last year’s London Olympics set a new standard for
Propelled by the availability of low-cost, high-resolution connected devices, consumers have rapidly bypassed the ‘novelty’ phase of TV Everywhere turning acceptance into expectation. With the demand that any media should be available essentially on any device over any network connection, 2013 is going to be an exciting year for multiscreen!
After 16 intense and emotional days, the London 2012 Olympics has flown by. A herculean effort has been made by broadcasters around the globe to ensure coverage of the Games was constantly available to their audiences and at the touch of a button. NBC’s TV footage of the Games has been deemed ‘
The biggest broadcasting event of the decade – and some even predict in all of history – the London 2012 Olympics is about to descend upon video screens across the globe. An estimated 
As we welcome in June, RGB is preparing to head off to yet another European event. This time it’s ANGA Cable 2012, Europe’s leading trade fair for cable, broadband and satellite. With over 16,000 visitors from around the world it’s sure to be another great event for all participants.
As The Cable Show kicks off today, we’re excited to 
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: