Mediaproxy

Post-pandemic normalcy returned to Amsterdam as broadcasters and vendors convened, but a palpable sense of economy and efficiency blanketed the International Broadcasting Convention.

Multiviewers continue on an evolutionary fast track for broadcasters, taking on multiple forms of video, becoming NDI capable and even adding browser-based options for more flexibility.

NAB attendees with their curiosity peaked by ChatGPT had loads of AI-related questions for vendors and the cloud, virtual production and FAST channels dominated other conversations in the annual Las Vegas convocation. Pictured: Brainstorm combined camera feeds from talent in front of a green screen and an LED wall into one screen (upper right) at its NAB booth.

Broadcasting has been transformed by a raft of technological innovation, notably AI, streaming, automation and personalization. As Erik Otto, chief executive of compliance monitoring specialist Mediaproxy, explains, 2023 could be when everything begins to connect, paving the way for a fully interactive broadcast future.

Armed with automation facility, AI and a move to the cloud, compliance monitoring has moved far beyond baseline capabilities and into content repurposing and ad monitoring, among other features. Next up is more audience data via ATSC 3.0 and readying to meet forthcoming OTT compliance needs. Pictured: Nexstar uses the Clip Factory feature of its Actus QA/Compliance system to clip original content back to broadcast.

Quality of service (QOS) and quality of experience (QOE) monitoring has been bedeviled by the proliferation of streaming channels, including FAST, and ATSC 3.0, but vendors say they continue to improve an arsenal of tools to help overwhelmed broadcasters keep track. Above, Telestream’s centralized QOE and QOS monitoring management enables automated surveillance of each video transition as well as data aggregation and deep dive analytics, enabling identification of quality issues and their root causes.

IBC’s first in-person event since 2019 may have fewer days and attendees than at its high-water mark, but vendors are packing their schedules with meetings and say they’re excited to be doing business in person again.

Vendors are enriching their quality of service and quality of experience offerings to appeal to broadcasters, for whom sub-par viewing experiences are not an option. Above: Anupama Anantharaman, vice president of product management at Interra Systems, at the 2022 NAB Show with the Orion real-time monitor dashboard for QOS (Photo by Jennifer Pallanich).

Modern technology has extended the reach of monitoring beyond the master control room (MCR) backwards into other parts of the broadcast center and forwards into the further distribution chain. It has also enabled monitoring by exception, allowing operators to only scrutinize video or audio feeds if a problem has been detected and requires human intervention.

In a post-Volicon era, monitoring and compliance tools have gone beyond just making sure content meets regulatory requirements, moving into new broadcast environments and rolling out features designed to ease workflows. Above: Vela’s Encompass product showing both channel and transport stream analysis to help ensure quality of service.

Viewers can be unforgiving when it comes to the quality of their video viewing experience, whether it’s OTA or OTT, though the latter presents more complicated challenges for monitoring vendors. They’re responding with an array of technologies to keep viewers from clicking away. Above: The Weather Channel was an early adopter of OTT and OTT monitoring, pictured here using an Actus OTT quality assurance solution.

In its post-Volicon period, compliance monitoring companies vying to fill the void are expanding their offerings; tapping artificial intelligence for automation and cloud-based methods; and building more versatile tools. Above, TAG Video recently received certification to monitor Dolby Atmos.

In a post-Volicon landscape, broadcasters are scrambling to replace their compliance and monitoring services. They face vastly different regulatory requirements for OTT in doing so, but also an upside of new features including AI, on-prem, cloud or hybrid options and built-in tools for analysis and sales. Above, Mediaproxy’s LogPlayer is a cross-platform HTML5 user interface that facilitates seamless access to media and metadata across a network of global deployed LogServers.

Broadcasters must deal with a host of complexities in delivering consistent video quality to their OTT viewers. Vendors are trying to help — and cut monitoring costs — with a range of technologies including monitoring by exception, real-time distribution alerts and using machine learning.

Compliance monitoring solution providers look to take advantage of an “unprecedented” situation after Verizon announced plans to phase out its U.S. market-leading product.

Making sure that 4K signals maintain their integrity offers big, new challenges. “It’s a change in physics, in the way you make the cameras and capture the images,” says Phabrix’s Phillip Adams. “We need new instruments to understand what is happing with the high-dynamic range.” And then there are issues when the signals are also being distributed over broadband and mobile networks.