SMPTE 2014

How do you deliver a glitch-free live second-screen viewing experience to millions of people around the world who live and breathe the World Cup? For Michelle Munson, co-founder, president and CEO of Aspera, it all started with quantifying the probability of a glitch based on several IT network givens and building in an appropriately long buffer to offset any hiccups.

The annual tech conference and exhibit reflected the evolution toward IP and OTT offerings in presentations, speeches and papers. It also featured suggestions on how traditional TV and film companies can move together with the newcomers toward a shared future. By far, the hottest topic was “Networked Media in the Facility” with 10 papers, ranging from an overview of audio-video bridging standards to how IP can be used to transport and switch video content in live productions. Attendees have one day left to visit the 85 exhibitors at his year’s gathering.

Sinclair’s tech guru Mark Aitken urges engineers to make sure they keep their management aware of the threat from OTT video providers. “The broadcast industry really has to unite, at least in a virtual sense, to look at what can we do to become a viable competitor in today’s marketplace,” he says. Advertising dollars have begun to leave the local TV market in favor of new media alternatives, he said. While the shift is small today, if left unchallenged “it will be a sorry state of affairs 10 years from now if we are still around.”

With all of the convention buzz during the NAB Show and IBC that IP received as an alternative to SDI for transport and routing, it’s little wonder SMPTE 2014 would offer a technical deep dive into the underlying technology making IP routing and transport for broadcasters possible. “File-based workflows are another big topic, especially with the addition of IP as a factor as well as new regulations regarding closed captions,” said Sara Kudrle, one of the conference’s chairs. SMPTE image courtesy of Vizrt.