The real potential of IP, however, lies in transforming the way production teams work especially in the live production environment. Remote at-home production is just one way that IP can radically shift broadcasters approach.
Smartphone user numbers will reach 2.87bn worldwide by 2020, according to Statistica, driving consumers to access content in more diverse ways. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is no exception, seeing strong growth in mobile broadband usage; the GSMA expects penetration rates to reach 90% in 2025, up from 59% in 2017.
Combined with the growing fragmentation of the market thanks to new OTT and pay-TV providers broadcasters are under pressure to deliver services across a wide range of platforms, giving consumers anytime, anywhere access on any screen. MENA SVOD revenues will reach $2.13bn by 2024, according to forecasts from Research and Markets, with SVOD subscriptions rising to 26.51m in the same period.
Major regional broadcast networks like MBC, Rotana, Nile TV and Dubai Media Inc (DMI) are responding by diversifying their offerings to OTT, on-demand and live streaming options. However, adding these new services brings added complexity to the back office and can slow down workflows.
At a time when the 4K transition is in progress, consumer demand for stunning images, simultaneous access to content on all platforms, social media integration and captivating viewing experiences puts enormous pressure on traditional SDI environments.
As they take on these challenges, broadcasters and media houses need more flexible, scalable and agile infrastructures that can support multiplatform services, are format agnostic and can rapidly scale up or down as needed.
The solution lies in Open IP. IP is an effective way of meeting the challenges that media organisations face. Work by bodies such as the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) and the ratification of the SMPTE ST2110 standard have gone a long way to addressing early concerns about interoperability, price and the need for comparable functionality to SDI environments. This is driving market momentum.
Initiatives by AIMS and SMPTE enable customers to select best-of-breed solutions from multiple vendors, knowing that they will all work together. Additionally, a standards-based approach allows facilities to operate in an all-IP environment, eliminating the need for separate SDI and IP switching and routing infrastructures.
As with any technology migration, the move to IP must align with customers strategic objectives. An open standards-based approach to IP allows OB companies and service providers to deliver the quality of service that clients have come to expect from SDI. SMPTE ST2110 also provides greater bandwidth efficiency; reliable, fast SDI-level performance; full operator transparency in IP environments; independent audio and video routing; and clean switching.
Proprietary, closed environments are limited in their ability to adapt as broadcast requirements change. In a market where the needs of broadcasters and media organisations can change in a six- to eight-month period, protecting investments long-term is critical. An open IP approach enables them to add workflows and spin up and take down services as needed.
The effort behind SMPTE ST2110 has gone a long way towards pushing IP migration forward. Many vendors today offer native IP connectivity from cameras to production switchers, processing to multiviewers, routers and servers. Solutions from multiple vendors will be compatible with one another. This option further cements the need for open standards and their inherent interoperability.
OB customers such as Mobile TV Group (MTVG) are now investing in glass-to-glass open standards-based infrastructures for new trucks, and this trend will continue.
The real potential of IP, however, lies in transforming the way production teams work especially in the live production environment. Remote at-home production is just one way that IP can radically shift broadcasters approach.
Using IP connections allows cameras and base stations to be separated by very long distances. Once signals are received in the production centre, operators can match the cameras using operational control panels (OCPs) and switch the programme as they would in a standard live production set-up.
As IP technology matures and price points come down, IP will no longer be a solution reserved for large facilities or premium events with big budgets. Customers are already looking at creating innovative workflows underpinned by scalable, agile IP infrastructures.
