IPV6 Explained.

First of all apologies for the delay in posting another topic on this blog. I have been somewhat engaged on other items.

I will publish another post in the week covering the topic of OTT or Over The Top delivery. A very interesting subject indeed, one that needs to be be discussed as many broadcasters are suffering the dilemmas and issues of how to cover OTT.

In the meantime, some of you may know that I am a network guy. Recently i was asked to explain IPV6. Now I have been exposed to IPV6 in small amounts due to network labs and trials etc. But we have all been slightly protected from having to configure and use IPV6 in anger. Good old IPV4 still works in most networks found on premises.

So here goes :) Before we do i can recommend that you download the BitCricket Sub net IPV4 / IPV6 calculator and or another. Very useful. Sub Net Calc

Increasing the IP address pool was one of the major forces behind developing IPv6. It uses a 128-bit address, meaning that we have a maximum of 2¹²⁸ addresses available, or 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456, or enough to give multiple IP addresses to every grain of sand on the planet. So our friendly old 32-bit IPv4 dotted-quads don't do the job anymore; these newfangled IPs require eight 16-bit hexadecimal colon-delimited blocks. So not only are they longer, they use numbers and letters. At first glance, those mondo IPv6 addresses look like impenetrable secret code:

2001:0db8:3c4d:0015:0000:0000:abcd:ef12

Under IPv4 we have the old familiar unicast, broadcast and multicast addresses. In IPv6 we have unicast, multicast and anycast. With IPv6 the broadcast addresses are not used anymore, because they are replaced with multicast addressing.

IPv6 Unicast

This is similar to the unicast address in IPv4 – a single address identifying a single interface. There are four types of unicast addresses:

• Global unicast addresses, which are conventional, publicly routable address, just like conventional IPv4 publicly routable addresses.
• Link-local addresses are akin to the private, non-routable addresses in IPv4 (10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16). They are not meant to be routed, but confined to a single network segment. Link-local addresses mean you can easily throw together a temporary LAN, such as for conferences or meetings, or set up a permanent small LAN the easy way.
• Unique local addresses are also meant for private addressing, with the addition of being unique, so that joining two subnets does not cause address collisions.
• Special addresses are loopback addresses, IPv4-address mapped spaces, and 6-to-4 addresses for crossing from an IPv4 network to an IPv6 network.

Multicast

Multicast in IPv6 is similar to the old IPv4 broadcast address   a packet sent to a multicast address is delivered to every interface in a group. The IPv6 difference is it's targeted   instead of annoying every single host on the segment with broadcast blather, only hosts who are members of the multicast group receive the multicast packets. IPv6 multicast is routable, and routers will not forward multicast packets unless there are members of the multicast groups to forward the packets to. Anyone who has ever suffered from broadcast storms will appreciate this mightily.

Anycast

An anycast address is a single address assigned to multiple nodes. A packet sent to an anycast address is then delivered to the first available node. This is a slick way to provide both load-balancing and automatic failover. The idea of anycast has been around for a long time; it was proposed for inclusion in IPv4 but it never happened.

Several of the DNS root servers use a router-based anycast implementation, which is really a shared unicast addressing scheme. (While there are only thirteen authoritative root server names, the total number of actual servers is considerably larger, and they are spread all over the globe.) The same IP address is assigned to multiple interfaces, and then multiple routing tables entries are needed to move everything along.

IPv6 anycast addresses contain fields that identify them as anycast, so all you need to do is configure your network interfaces appropriately. The IPv6 protocol itself takes care of getting the packets to their final destinations. It's a lot simpler to administer than shared unicast addressing.

Address Dissection

2001:0db8:3c4d:0015:0000:0000:abcd:ef12

__________|____|___________________

global prefix      subnet  Interface ID

The prefix identifies it as a global unicast address. It has three parts: the network identifier, the subnet, and the interface identifier.

The global routing prefix comes from a pool assigned to you, either by direct assignment from a Regional Internet Registry like APNIC, ARIN, or RIPE NCC, or more likely from your Internet service provider. The subnet and interface IDs are controlled by you, the hardworking local network administrator. :)

You'll probably be running mixed IPv6/IPv4 networks for some time. IPv6 addresses must total 128 bits. IPv4 addresses are represented like this:

0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:192.168.1.25

Eight blocks of 16 bits each are required in an IPv6 address. The IPv4 address occupies 32 bits, so that is why there are only seven colon-delimited blocks.

The localhost address is 0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0001.

Naturally we want shortcuts, because these are long and all those zeroes are just dumb-looking. Leading zeroes can be omitted, and contiguous blocks of zeroes can be omitted entirely, so we end up with these:

2001:0db8:3c4d:0015:0:0:abcd:ef12

2001:0db8:3c4d:0015::abcd:ef12

::192.168.1.25

::1

An ipv6calc is invaluable for checking your work. Suppose you're not sure if your compressed notation is correct. ipv6calc displays the uncompressed notation:

Another method of watching content is soon to arrive......Or is it??

is taking steps toward releasing a video-streaming device in time for the festive period , according to people briefed on the company's plans.

The set-top box, which would pit the online retailer against a host of established rivals, is a small device that resembles a Roku Inc. player and is similarly styled as a platform to run apps and content from a variety of sources, these people said. It would also serve as a delivery vehicle for Amazon's existing streaming video service—available as part of its Prime membership—which competes with Netflix Inc.

Why would Amazon do this? The Wall Street Journal lines out several arguments, 

This provides direct-to-TV hardware to enable Amazon’s OTT TV service to bypass the currentreach of secondary platforms (like game consoles) on which Amazon’s apps are preloaded.

I would counter this statement and that it is rubbish. As a consumer I have to go and buy another piece of hardware to receive content. Why? I am sure that Netflix identified this and decided to piggy back on the hardware manufacturers to increase the reach of the product. The results of this decision speak for themselves. Just ask incumbent pay-TV players how nice it would be not to have to subsidize their set-top boxes And that’s what this will end up being, a subsidy, as Amazon sells its hardware at break-even or below so that it can sell its services.

It could provide a physical platform through which Amazon can sell cloud-based gaming.

I would counter this statement and point out that you can do this on other hardware and does not need to be proprietary hardware.

Amazon could provide “a truly complete package of streaming sources…that would be compelling.”

With the exception of maybe Apple, every Every hardware and service vendor in the net-to-TV space seeks to offer a “complete package” of streaming sources. That’s not the issue. The issue is how creating a meta-service above this diverse set of content to help organize and improve the user experience (I’m thinking here of improvements in search and UIs). Roku has done well executing on this vision, and that’s what takes: execution. And let’s be honest: Amazon may allow in other third-party apps, but will most certainly preference its own content.

What do you think?? 

Me.... I thinkAmazon should toss the hardware idea and vigorously pursue a Netflix-like embedded app strategy. It must focus its efforts on differentiating its service from Netflix, not wasting millions on rolling and supporting a new iSTB. Keeping the video service tied in some way to the larger mass merchandising market vision is critical, and this was accomplished in part by tying the service to Prime membership (very smart move).

More Good News for NewTek

Source: NewTek

At the end of 2012, the UK National Lottery operator Camelot, in partnership with the BBC, which broadcasts the draw, updated the draw presentation formats. This change triggered a search for new production equipment and techniques.

The Saturday evening show is televised and incorporates live performances, as well as the main draws. The challenge was to move the other draw results shows to an on-line format that provides lots of sizzle, a fast turnaround and plenty of branding, all produced reliably, but with minimum staffing and equipment.

“Most people just want to quickly catch up with their results in the week, so we decided to deliver short, succinct results shows via our YouTube channel, website and social media outlets,” explains Max Tilney, Channel Editor, Digital Content, Camelot UK Lotteries Limited.

The new online show format, shot at Pinewood Studios, is produced using a TriCaster live production system that has introduced a great deal of automation and simplification to the production process, at an affordable cost.


 “We wanted a streamlined, efficient and reliable workflow, as we only have one chance to get each draw right,” Max says. “When it came to choosing a production system, we went through a rigorous review process together with the Pinewood team and looked at many products on the market. TriCaster was the clear choice to give us a complete standalone production operation, with all the features we needed and more. All within our budget.”

Since January 2013, the Initial Endemol production team has used TriCaster to produce the EuroMillions results on Tuesdays, the Lotto and Thunderball results on Wednesdays, and the EuroMillions and Thunderball results on Fridays.

IMG 1903-cFor the studio-based Lotto and Thunderball shows, five Panasonic HE60 remote head cameras are pre-set to capture wide shots and close-ups of the lottery machines, and the numbered balls as they are drawn. These locked-off feeds are then sent to the TriCaster. A PC-based graphics system linked to the ball machines and the TriCaster automatically produces a graphic for each ball, and triggers the correct voice-over to announce which ball has been drawn. An operator vision-mixes the camera feeds and graphics, and then creates a second pass to add additional sound bites before preparing the file for export and upload to YouTube.

The results show is uploaded approximately an hour after the draw, and is subsequently embedded into the National Lottery website and social media sites.
Chris Jones, Senior Producer, Initial Endemol, explains, “The YouTube feed is a one-off continuous as-live presentation, and we wanted to make it as quick as possible, rather than building a slow process with an edit. Having the TriCaster has enabled us to create as near to a finished product as possible in one pass.”

IMG 0141-cThe EuroMillions draws are produced in a rather different way, as the satellite feed is sent from Paris, to all countries that participate in the draw. The clean feed goes directly into Pinewood’s TriCaster and the system concurrently applies a crop to remove the Paris show’s graphics. As Chris says, “This is a great feature of the TriCaster, as it shaves considerable time off our turnaround, and the editor can then easily apply our local branding, graphics and voice-overs before exporting. The TriCaster has more than proved its worth for this project, and it has shown us that there are lots more things we could do with it down the line. It is fantastically versatile and has some brilliant features, like being able to take in and output lots of different video formats, simultaneously.”

Paul Darbyshire, Broadcast Director, Pinewood Studios, says, “The TriCaster does exactly what we employed it to do, quickly and simply. The production team is very happy with it, as it has enabled them to automate a large part of the process and minimise turnaround times, all within their set budget. Its flexibility and portability offer the potential to use it for future programming outside the studio environment for multi-camera events.”

Big Data for Broadcasters

3 questions that I want to answer here:

1. What is 'Big Data' ?
2. How big is big to justify it being labelled 'Big Data'?
3. What does Big Data mean for Broadcasters?

So what is Big Data? 

Well lets start at looking at the book of knowledge to enlighten us. 

Big Data is the term for a collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using on-hand database management tools or traditional data processing applications. 

From this definition we are saying we have so much data that current conventional technologies are not any use when it comes to cataloging, indexing and reviewing this data?

The book of knowledge continues... The challenges include capture, curation, storage, search, sharing, transfer, analysis and visualization. The trend to larger data sets is due to the additional information derivable from analysis of a single large set of related data, as compared to separate smaller sets with the same total amount of data, allowing correlations to be found to "spot business trends, determine quality of research, prevent diseases, combat crime, and determine real-time roadway traffic conditions.

As of 2012, limits on the size of data sets that are feasible to process in a reasonable amount of time were on the order of exabytes of data. Scientists regularly encounter limitations due to large data sets in many areas, including meteorology, genomics, connectomics, complex physics simulations.

I take the wiki extract as a summary of how Big Data came about and the challenges that certain industries and arenas face when trying to house keep this data and produce tangible trends and analysis. 

But are we saying that broadcasters are being challenged with Big Data issues? Do they really have so much data that it is to be classed as Big Data? I am not an expert, just an observer. But I highly doubt that current broadcasters face this issue or am i being incredibly short sighted, probably you tell me?? One thing is true however, broadcasters do need use data collected in a more efficient and intelligent manner.

I found this posting incredibly useful when it comes to further describing Big Data. 

Source: http://timoelliott.com/

The Original Big Data

Big Data as the three Vs: Volume, Velocity, and Variety. This is the most venerable and well-known definition, first coined by Doug Laney of Gartner over twelve years ago. Since then, many others have tried to take it to 11 with additional Vs including Validity, Veracity, Value, and Visibility.

Big Data as Technology

Why did a 12-year old term suddenly zoom into the spotlight? It wasn’t simply because we do indeed now have a lot more volume, velocity, and variety than a decade ago. Instead, it was fueled by new technology, and in particular the fast rise of open source technologies such as Hadoop and other NoSQL ways of storing and manipulating data.

The users of these new tools needed a term that differentiated them from previous technologies, and–somehow–ended up settling on the woefully inadequate term Big Data. If you go to a big data conference, you can be assured that sessions featuring relational databases–no matter how many Vs they boast–will be in the minority.

Big Data as Data Distinctions

The problem with big-data-as-technology is that (a) it’s vague enough that every vendor in the industry jumped in to claim it for themselves and (b) everybody ‘knew’ that they were supposed to elevate the debate and talk about something more business-y and useful.

Here are two good attempts to help organizations understand why Big Data now is different from mere big data in the past:

Transactions, Interactions, and Observations. 

This one is from Shaun Connolly of Hortonworks.  Transactions make up the majority of what we have collected, stored and analyzed in the past. Interactions are data that comes from things like people clicking on web pages. Observations are data collected automatically.

Process-Mediated Data, Human-Sourced Information, and Machine-Generated Data. 

This is brought to us by Barry Devlin, who co-wrote the first paper on data warehousing. It is basically the same as the above, but with clearer names.

Big Data as Signals

This is another business-y approach that divides the world by intent and timing rather than the type of data, courtesy of SAP’s Steve Lucas. The ‘old world’ is about transactions, and by the time these transactions are recorded, it’s too late to do anything about them: companies are constantly ‘managing out of the rear-view mirror’. In the ‘new world,’ companies can instead use new ‘signal’ data to anticipate what’s going to happen, and intervene to improve the situation.

Examples include tracking brand sentiment on social media (if your ‘likes’ fall off a cliff, your sales will surely follow) and predictive maintenance (complex algorithms determine when you need to replace an aircraft part, before the plane gets expensively stuck on the runway).

Big Data as Opportunity

This one is from 451 Research’s Matt Aslett and broadly defines big data as ‘analyzing data that was previously ignored because of technology limitations.’ (OK, so technically, Matt used the term ‘Dark Data’ rather than Big Data, but it’s close enough). This is my personal favorite, since I believe it lines up best with how the term is actually used in most articles and discussions.

Big Data as Metaphor

In his wonderful book The Human Face of Big Data, journalist Rick Smolan says big data is “the process of helping the planet grow a nervous system, one in which we are just another, human, type of sensor.” Deep, huh? But by the time you’ve read some of stories in the book or the mobile app, you’ll be nodding your head in agreement.

Big Data as New Term for Old Stuff

This is the laziest and most cynical use of the term, where projects that were possible using previous technology, and would have been called BI or analytics in the past have suddenly been rebaptized in a fairly blatant attempt to jump on the big data bandwagon.

How big is big then?

I think the answer here, is it depends. Or nobody actually knows how much data is required to categorize it as big data.  A rather loose and fuzzy term to associate. Secondly how is big data handled and managed? Who is currently doing big data???? I think this image sums it up for me :)

 

What does Big Data mean for Broadcasters?

With new / current broadcast delivery methods, broadcasters actually do have a a great deal of metric and analytic data combined with global and regional torrent activities (see Netflix !How they judge what content to publish). Linked with social media activity we end up with a number of data sets that need to be combined, indexed, reviewed, cultivated etc to provide signals and opportunities for broadcasters. 

In summary Big Data is the new buzz word and is a broad brush in my humble opinion. 

James

Future of Broadcast TV

The words of Joel Espelien from the TDG research group:

One nice perk about being an analyst covering the future of TV is that I get to talk to lots of people across the TV ecosystem about their challenges and concerns. Put simply, what keeps TV guys up at night?

In recent weeks, many of my client conversations have coalesced around a single theme: the future of broadcast TV.

What do we do with broadcast?
How do we retain the existing broadcast audience?
How do we win younger viewers back?
How do we make broadcast relevant again?
So what is the future of the broadcast? Two main points.

Broadcast is evolving from a technology into a content marketing concept.
The technology industry’s concept of the “product launch” provides the template for what the future of broadcast will look like.
Broadcast is about Marketing, not Technology.

If you’ve read this far into one of my opinions, you are aware that I believe the future of TV is an app. Put another way, the linear broadcasting (digital, analog, or otherwise) model of TV is being supplemented (in the future, perhaps even overtaken) by an app model based upon on-demand streaming to downloadable interactive software clients (apps) on every device with a screen. For the full version of this argument, please check out my report The Future of TV: A View from 2013.

Today the clearest example of this phenomenon is Netflix, which doesn’t broadcast anything. Nevertheless, the marketing function of broadcasting (i.e., getting new content in front of viewers at a single point in time) is highly relevant to Netflix. The Associated Press posted a great article last summer upon the release of Netflix’s new original series, Orange is the New Black. In a nutshell, after weeks of heavy promotion to its users, Netflix posted the first episode of the new series at midnight on July 11, 2013. Note that this was not a live stream. Netflix simply published the episode for viewing anytime on-demand. Even so, and despite the late hour, people watched in droves. Within thirty minutes after its release, Orange is the New Black Episode 1 was already the third most popular show on all of Netflix! Chris Jaffe, Netflix VP of Product Innovation, summed up the phenomenon perfectly, “This is Silicon Valley’s equivalent of a midnight movie premiere in Hollywood.”

Broadcast = Launch.

In the old world, broadcast meant live programs, simultaneously both the beginning and the end of a viewing opportunity. Now you see it, now you don’t. That’s why they invented reruns and DVRs.

Product launches are a very distinct concept. There is a beginning, which may be (but doesn’t have to be) “live.”  More importantly, there is no end. People who miss the live broadcast are not excluded from enjoying the experience at a later time.

The purpose of a launch is to create excitement and community, as the most passionate fans have the same experience at more or less the same time. The new Grand Theft Auto 5 video game was launched on September 17, 2013. It did $800 million in revenue on its first day. It’s been on sale ever since – just saw a stack of them at my neighborhood Walmart on Saturday. Now that’s a launch.

Of course, unlike movies or video games, TV shows consist of multiple episodes. In the new world, companies like Netflix can release all the episodes at once (as it did with Arrested Development), or one at a time (as it did with Orange is the New Black). A variety of combinations are possible.

Releasing one new episode per week feels like traditional TV.
A new episode every night for two weeks feels like an old-school miniseries (remember Roots?).
Posting a whole season at once is reminiscent of DVDs.
In any case, if distributors are serious about embracing the launch model, the episodes need to go up and stay up rather than disappearing after 24, 48, or 72 hours.

Conclusion

As an industry concept, “broadcast” is becoming less and less useful. As Netflix has shown, it is possible to have compelling launch events around new TV shows without broadcasting (and even without live streaming). If the future of TV is indeed an app, the future of broadcast TV is to serve as a launch pad for new TV content.

The Future of Live and On Demand TV

The global TV industry has reached a tipping point in its evolution that will witness changes in viewer behaviors and the appearance of new business models as the distribution of TV content continues to change, according to a new report from IDATE.

The chart depicts the growth of video service revenue on fixed and mobile networks among so-called EU-5 nations, including Germany, France, the U.K., Italy and Spain (million EUR). Source: IDATE.

The report, “World TV & New Video Services Markets,” lays out different scenarios for the future of the industry. Its business-as-usual scenario predicts live viewing will be overtaken partially by on-demand viewing. Additionally, piracy will create obstacles for the transition from viewing content playing back from physical media to online streaming. The report also forecasts under this scenario that increased competition in the pay TV market will impact pricing and that ad rates for live TV will fall while growing for video on demand.

The report says that if the future follows the business-as-usual path, the video market on fixed and mobile networks worldwide will grow by an average of 3.2 percent per year from 2013 to 2025. That figure includes average growth of 2 percent for live TV and 14 percent annual growth for on-demand service.

Growth in developed markets will be much lower, the report says. For example, Europe’s top five markets (EU-5) — Germany, France, the U.K., Italy and Spain — will see annual growth at 1.6 percent from 2013 to 2025, with the live TV market — including broadcasters’ catch-up TV services — declining 0.7 percent. On-demand services, however, will experience an average annual increase of 18.5 percent.

The other scenarios portrayed in the report include “the music industry syndrome” and “the best of both worlds.” Under the former scenario, video services exist in a disruptive environment that will see an annual shrinking of 0.8 percent in the EU-5 nations. Further, the decline will not be offset by on-demand services, which will fall by 4 percent annually.

The latter scenario predicts an average annual growth of 3.9 percent, including 2 percent growth for live broadcasting services.

Source : Broadcast Engineering

UHD Logo Programme

In June of this year, DIGITALEUROPE announced the start of its work to develop a UHD logo programme for Ultra High Definition consumer equipment. 

DIGITALEUROPE announces its initial findings on the baseline capabilities of UHD Consumer Displays:

Native Resolution: 3840 x 2160 Pixels
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Colorimetry: ITU-R BT.709
Colour Bit depth: 8 Bit
Frame Rate: 24p/25p/30p/50p/60p
Audio: PCM 2.0 Stereo

DIGITALEUROPE’s ‘Beyond HD’ Group have concluded that these parameters will form a baseline for Consumer UHD Displays from their first market launches for the short to medium term.

As display technology will continue to evolve, DIGITALEUROPE does not want to speculate beyond these baseline UHD characteristics until the consumer uptake of the new UHD products and services is understood.

John Higgins, Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE notes: “DIGITALEUROPE’s membership contains all of the major TV manufacturers and as such, is in a unique perspective to comment on how the nascent UHD market will develop. While many industry stakeholders speculate on the future UHD market, DIGITALEUROPE feels that the time is right to announce these initial findings to give some guidance to the market on short to medium term UHD Consumer Display capabilities.”

Source Digital Europe

4K about to jump the chasm?

4K here to stay and is the next kid on the block. 

The next big thing, 4K consumer units are now coming down in price and early adopters now look certain to be joined by the early majority in the next 6- 12 - 18 Months.  A market place edging towards the 4K UHD trend. 

Really!!, do we really believe that in the year that we will know someone with a 4K TV?  It is an extremely fast paced industry, with the convergence of broadcast and technology arenas the growth and evolution is at warp speed.

So with consumer units coming down in price (still expensive for my liking), slowly but surely. Then we need to start seeing decent 4K content.  From live events, such as sports and concerts to high profile TV serials. 

But to cover the gaps from producing and delivering true- pure 4K content we need a filler to get us over the hump.  

We have seen this before when we moved from SD to HD. What occurred to the existing SD content???

That's right it was up-converted to High Definition. So I can see the same happening here with the trillion minutes of 2K HD content being up-converted to 4K. 

The good bet is that we will see a number of 2K to 4K up converts taking place. Simply taking a 2K pixel and quadrupling it in size. But this adds no quality to the newly generated 4K image and quite frankly may even reduce the image quality and look really bad. So a major degree of enhancement or digital manipulation will need to take place during the conversion process.

On the flip side manufacturers have begun to equip standard 1080P players with 4K upscaling capabilities. While this is definitely an improvement over imagery that has not been upscaled, it still does not compare to true 4K resolution. Just as with DVD players that upscaled their content to 1080P, upscaling noticeably reduces the appearance of blockiness and jagged edges, but falls short when it comes to depicting more detail.

You have to read Scott Wilkinson's piece at AVS FORUMS which discuss's and reviews the Technicolor and Marseilles Demo "4K Image Certified" Upscaling.

According to Technicolor :

the TECHNICOLOR IMAGE CERTIFICATION DELIVERS HIGH-QUALITY 4K CONTENT

4K TVs can replicate the Hollywood movie experience with a stunning image at home. 

The problem is not having 4K content.

Now, imagine seeing a standard 1080 Blu‐Ray disc movie upgraded to a stunning 4K image.
Technicolor is now making all of this a reality.

Up-convert processing enables makers of Blu-ray players and set-top boxes to solve the 4K content dilemma.

Technicolor 4K Solutions

What caught your attention at IBC 2013

First all, congratulations and well done to all the exhibitors at IBC 2013 (all 1400 plus ) for another fantastic show.

Numbers are up from last year, as the show continues to grow. This year saw 52,322 pairs of feet hit the show halls. Up from 50,937 the previous year.

Show highlights for me this year included the the first 4K (UHD) Live transmission from London to the big screens at INTELSAT.

Live 3840 x 2160 resolution, 4:2:2, 10-bit, 60 frames-per-second screening on Sunday of the Saracens v Gloucester rugby match

4K it seems in my opinion has the staying power more so than 3D to be the next step in broadcast. However it's shelf life may be cut short as manufacturers and broadcasters press ahead for 8K.

This is even more evident when the IOC awarded Tokyo the 2020 Olympic Games. Thrusting NHK's long term super Hi-Vision project on the masses.

The manufacturers of the consumer units have a job on there hands to make units affordable as we edge towards the 2020 deadline. Maybe we will never get to 4K and by pass it all together, food for thought?

Another highlight for me was Panasonic's new PX 5000. Bit rate and bit depth is really covered here. Plus the add-ons for cloud connectivity and storage media cards 2x P2 and 2x Micro P2 cards. A really knock out piece of kit that is on sale next month.

Is Live TV the only Savior for Linear TV?

LINEAR TV  =  Time-and-channel-based TV, Linear Video, Linear Schedule, Linear Programming, Appointment-based TV, Traditional Television

Definition:
(1) Television service where the viewer has to watch a scheduled TV program at the particular time it’s offered, and on the particular channel it's presented on. Opposite of this would be incorporating the use of DVRs, VCRs or Video on Demand.

(2) When the broadcaster wants your attention only to be focused on the TV program. Typically this leaves little call for interactivity. They certainly don't want you to leave the show by going to your computer. They only want your attention to be on that show and it's advertisers.

(3) (Linear TV) - Non-interactive television.

In turn,  Social media has come to the rescue of linear television by turning programmes into must-see events!

Live events are the the only savior for Linear TV model?
	True
	False
pollcode.com free polls

BSkyB and 4K

Sky trials live Ultra HD

Source Broadcast Now

Sky has ramped up its Ultra High Definition (UHD) tests - with a Premier League fixture the UK’s first live broadcast in the 4K format.


The broadcaster used four Sony F55 cameras (pictured) to capture the action in Saturday’s Premier League game between West Ham and Stoke City.

Sky said the test, which was not transmitted outside of its premises, was part of its ongoing work to meet any future demand for UHD.



It follows the October 2012 test at the Emirates, when Sky put UHD cameras from Sony, Canon and Red through their paces as part of a pre-recorded trial.

The West Ham v Stoke City match was transmitted live over satellite to Sky’s West London base from a Telegenic OB truck which was positioned at Upton Park.

The footage was encoded as four synchronous full HD feeds by Ericsson over a Eutelsat transponder to its HQ in Isleworth, where it was shown on a Sony 84” UHD TV at a resolution of 2160 X 3840 and at 50 frames per second - double the current HD rate of 25Fps.

Sky used the quad full HD (QFHD) format of four full HD tiles to construct the image.

Two UHD servers from EVS were used for replays and graphics.

4K potential

In a blog post, Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis said the test showed “live sport in UHD has real potential”.

He said: “The broadcast also demonstrated the capability of our satellite platform, which is ideally placed to continue supporting high-bandwidth video.

“That said, we’ve still much more to learn, particularly about how to make full use of UHD from a live production perspective.”

Francis added that as Sky continues with its R&D work it would “keep a close eye” on the number of UDH TVs that are sold in the UK.

“As and when affordable UHD TVs are available, over the next few years, our early leadership will position us well.”

A Sky spokesperson added: “As you’d expect from Sky, we are constantly experimenting and evaluating new technologies which may help our customers get more enjoyment from the TV they love.

“As part of this research we have successfully broadcast a test event in Ultra HD.  It’s yet another UK first for Sky.

“We will continue to test and learn so that we’re ready as and when the market for Ultra HD begins to develop.”

Channel in a Box...... At IBC 2013

Channel in a box or CIB for short. Or even called an ICD integrated channel device. Whatever the label, the aim of the game is to provide the same levels of service currently found in traditional broadcast chains, plus quality, device capability, flexibility and reliability all from this 1 box.  All of which should be cheaper to put into service and maintain than the current models which have been in place for some years.




I keep reading the phrase play out out providers are 'experimenting' with this new way of delivering programming and launching new channels at the drop of a hat, albeit at an competitive rate in these harsh economic times.

When does the experimenting stop?

Surely now we have got to a stage in product development that these types of product have reached a tipping point. Providing quality and reliable programming output that delivers against the most strictest of service level agreements. It is reported that the long held fears of the server reliability is now a distant memory with both server and software improvements.  I actually believe that with the decline of the linear transmission model, less and less capital will be available and so CIBs offer a suitable solution going forward. To quote Senior Product Manager Karl Mehring at the UK Based Snell Group

"More of today’s consumers expect to view content when and where it’s convenient and on the device of their choosing,” Mehring said. “These market dynamics are forcing broadcasters to offer a broader range of services without a commensurate increase in revenue per service to finance the supporting infrastructure.  Out of these requirements has emerged the concept of a “channel in a box,” a turnkey broadcast production system that combines master control and playout functions into a single, compact unit. By reducing the number of complex, high-maintenance systems in a production workflow, a CIB solution offers great potential for helping broadcasters run a leaner and more nimble operation." Source Broadcast Engineering

At IBC this year it will be interesting to see the huge number of companies offering a channel in box solution. From the well established automation companies such as Snell offering ICE, Harris Broadcast offering VERSIO and recently Pebble Beach offering Stingray. Grass Valley with the GV Edge , Plus a number of others from Oasys, Miranda, Pixel Power......  The list is endless.

Each CIB has the fundamentals, plus a layer of unique features and benefits that sets them apart from the competition.

Who ends up being the market leader and preferred vendor? Time will tell and to be honest whoever that vendor is, they are set to do rather well! As the global channel-in-a-box market is estimated to grow from $43.4 million in 2012 to $146 million in 2017.

Who has the best CIB product in you opinion?
	Snell
	Harris
	Grass Valley
	Evertz
	Pixel Power
	PlayBox
	HARDATA Smart Server
	Harmonic
	Pebble Beach
	Oasys
	Florical
	Miranda
pollcode.com free polls

Security.....

10 Immutable Laws of Security

I love this page from Microsoft declaring the 10 laws of security..... Most of which I have to say is just good old common sense. But then again there a lot of stupid people out there !!

Source Microsoft 10 Immutable Laws

Here at the Microsoft Security Response Center, we investigate thousands of security reports every year. In some cases, we find that a report describes a bona fide security vulnerability resulting from a flaw in one of our products; when this happens, we develop a patch as quickly as possible to correct the error. (See "A Tour of the Microsoft Security Response Center"). In other cases, the reported problems simply result from a mistake someone made in using the product. But many fall in between. They discuss real security problems, but the problems don't result from product flaws. Over the years, we've developed a list of issues like these, that we call the 10 Immutable Laws of Security.

Don't hold your breath waiting for a patch that will protect you from the issues we'll discuss below. It isn't possible for Microsoft—or any software vendor—to "fix" them, because they result from the way computers work. But don't abandon all hope yet—sound judgment is the key to protecting yourself against these issues, and if you keep them in mind, you can significantly improve the security of your systems.

Law #1: If a bad guy can persuade you to run his program on your computer, it's not your computer anymore 
Law #2: If a bad guy can alter the operating system on your computer, it's not your computer anymore 
Law #3: If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it's not your computer anymore 
Law #4: If you allow a bad guy to upload programs to your website, it's not your website any more 
Law #5: Weak passwords trump strong security 
Law #6: A computer is only as secure as the administrator is trustworthy 
Law #7: Encrypted data is only as secure as the decryption key 
Law #8: An out of date virus scanner is only marginally better than no virus scanner at all 
Law #9: Absolute anonymity isn't practical, in real life or on the Web 
Law #10: Technology is not a panacea 

Odemax FIRST EVER NET DELIVERED 4K FILM!

Odemax.... 

looks like the Red Bee company logo !

Odemax are the first to deliver a 4K movie to the home.
The unlikely group to pull off this next step in the fast paced evolution of TV you have never heard of. We all thought Sony would break this ground first, but no !

Last month, a REDRAY player downloaded a Ultra HD/4K movie for the very first time, a milestone in 4k online distribution.  The film, which was a 23-minute short titled “The Ballad of Danko Jones,” starring Elijah Wood.

The movie at 23 minutes in length was 3GB in size and took over an hour and a half to download by an OdeMax customer over Time Warner Cable and was encoded with RED’s UHD Codec. A file size of 3 GB for a film that’s not even a half hour long? Blimey !
It’s important to note that the film was downloaded and stored on RED’s REDRAY Server and not streamed, but streaming is sure to come.

And while the 23-minute short weighed in at a hefty 3GB download, according to Odemax, the download was merely a private beta test of the network architecture to select users that used less compression, presumably to stress test the connection.

Odemax/Red says that the compression settings of the REDRAY codec can create feature length file sizes of 6GB. And even if that’s true, you’re talking about taking three hours to download a film to watch it with current consumer grade bandwidth speeds.

In other news, representatives from BBC and BSkyB will co-chair a new forum to outline the requirements for Ultra HD televisions, before any new sets are plastered with "Ultra HD-Ready" labels.
The new UHD-Forum will outline the benefits of the new format which, the Telegraph reports, will help to avoid a repeat of the public confusion surrounding 'HD Ready,' claims when high-def sets first arrived.

The group, led by the UK's Digital TV Group (DTG), will also decide whether a 'UHD profile' should be established, requiring manufacturers to meet certain standards in order to call their TV's 'Ultra HD'.

The sets currently on sale only have to meet the '4K resolution' can call themselves Ultra HD, but the forum sees variables like colour, frame rate and dynamic range as also contributing to the new viewing standard

A number of 'Ultra HD' sets from Sony and Samsung (like the S9 Ultra) have already gone on sale in the UK in the last few months, starting at around £3,999 and are available from Curry's and PC World.
Sony has pledged to begin streaming 4K movies later this year, in light of the current dearth of Ultra HD content available to consumers.

Adobe Anywhere Launched

Collaborative Cloud based Adobe Anywhere

At this year's NAB conference in April, Adobe previewed Adobe Anywhere for video, and it's now available for everyone.

Anywhere is a new component to the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, one that lets users store video assets in the cloud and work collaboratively with people anywhere in the country. Anywhere now works with Premiere Pro CC and Prelude CC. Adobe adds that After Effects CC support should come later this year.

With Anywhere, Adobe is targeting broadcasting, education, and government, or any large organization that needs video collaboration. Anywhere is hosted locally but run in the cloud off a cluster of servers. It contains two parts: the Anywhere Collaboration Hub, which stores project information and allows collaboration, and the Adobe Mercury Streaming Engine, which lets remote workers access files without long download times.

Whinge!

Why has adobe opted for this new rental model? It does feel like I am never in control and just paying money to someone for a product that essentially I will never own.

Is this to combat piracy? Is this model going to make Adobe more money?

NY  Times technology columnist David Pogue recently reviewed the suite and noted that it will mean higher prices for many users. Pogue condemned the move, saying " Adobe isn’t offering the rental plan -- it’s dictating it.

The 800-pound gorilla of the creative world has become the 1,600-pound gorilla." In a follow-up blog post, Pogue said Adobe is sacrificing customer happiness for greater profit.

In July 2012, as part of its partnership with the University of Salford, Adobe sent two of its engineers over to MediaCityUK to work alongside students testing the latest, pre-release Adobe software product, 'Anywhere'. This is a video record of that project, shot and edited by Louis Lablom, MA student.


To find out more about the Adobe and University of Salford MediaCityUK research partnership please visit http://www.salford.ac.uk/MediaCityUK/.......

Shock Horror... BBC Ditch 3D

Disappointing.......

That was the main reason that the BBC gave for dropping 3D. No audience, no real demand for 3D content on their telly boxes by the British public. 

I should state that the BBC haven't 'ditched' 3D per say, just put it on hold, with no scheduled date to revive it. 

Kim Shillinglaw, the BBC's head of 3D (not for much longer!) stated that "I have never seen a very big appetite for 3D television in the UK" 

She continued 

"We will see what happens when the recession ends and there may be more take up of sets, but I think the BBC will be having a wait-and-see. It's the right time for a good old pause."

She said that around half of the estimated 1.5 million 3D TV owners in the UK turned on the BBC's 3D coverage of the Olympics, but only 5 per cent of viewers (That's 75,000, which when compared to the number of active B&W TV's in the UK  estimated at 13, 000 you can see that 3D is a very popular choice for the likes of you an me)  bothered to watch the Queen's Christmas message to the Commonwealth, figures Shillinglaw called "disappointing." Given Her Majesty's customary scowl during such coverage, the 5 per cent figure is understandable.

What happens to the head of 3D?  Is Kim put on hold indefinitely? No sadly not, (only joking ! ) she'll go back to her day job as head of science and natural history at the BBC once the 3D unit is shut down.

Answers please....

Why do they not come out and just say, you know what we got sucked in, wasted your money and actually we are stopping the 3D service. Why string it out?

Good news

It is not all bad, the  last programme to be aired by BBC will be a Dr Who special in November 2013.

First Technicolor, Now Red Bee

From Telephones to TV, Ericsson Making a Commitment to the Television Broadcast Industry

Communications giant Ericsson, yes Ericsson who made phones and in 2012 was announced as the largest provider of wireless network equipment has announced its intention to acquire UK-based services company from an entity controlled by Macquarie Advanced Investment Partners. The planned purchase – which is subject to the usual regulatory approvals – comes at a time of profound change for the synchronicities between the broadcast sector and communications providers, as highlighted by BT’s forthcoming launch of its own dedicated sports channels.

Ericsson says the purchase would support its strategy to grow in the broadcast services market, and would bring into the fold 1,500 highly skilled employees, as well as media services and facilities in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Australia.

The move follows on from the introduction of Ericsson’s broadcast services business in 2007, and its subsequent expansion with the acquisition of Technicolor’s Broadcast Services Division in 2012. If the new deal goes through, Red Bee Media will be incorporated into Ericsson’s Business Unit Global Services.

Magnus Mandersson, executive vice-president and head of Business Unit Global Services at Ericsson, says: “Ericsson is making a step change to our business, cementing our commitment to TV and broadcast services and continuing a journey we started in 2007. We can create value for broadcasters by making digital content more accessible, enabling monetisation of TV content more efficiently. Video traffic shows very strong uptake in the mobile networks and Ericsson can address the need of both broadcasters and telecom operators through our technology expertise and services capabilities.”

From my point of view, there surely has to be a conflict of interest if this goes through. It would mean the play out services for all BBC, ITV and Channel 4 channels come under the Ericsson global division. That has to be a concern, no?

Reading 'Broadcast Engineering who spoke  exclusively to Thorsten Sauer, Head of Broadcast Services at Ericsson.

Why the acquisition?

“The primary focus was to broaden our offering,” Sauer said.

As Ericsson Broadcast Services expands, will it run out of Tier 1 customers?

“We would like to offer our services to all customers that can benefit.” Sauer said. “The skill set we are building is relevant for broadcasters large and small. (As an example) some of the skills (from Red Bee) in content distribution are relevant to cable and telco side.”

Sauer continued on this theme of new customers.

“We would be interested in new customers that want a high-quality service," he said. "We have to have a good offering for different market segments. Some customers have big demands with live content; another segment has more thematic channels with a different channel requirement. We believe (in this latter area) we can add a lot of value though industrialization of processes.”

Ericsson clearly wants to offer a high quality of service, but to be competitive, it will do that in a highly industrialized way.

One area Red Bee has been active in is the skinning of streamed content with the RedPlayer. The RedPlayer second-screen app has proved a success, being adopted by several leading broadcasters. This will dovetail with the recent acquisition of Microsoft’s MediaRoom IPTV platform. IP delivery is not new to Ericsson.

“We already operate 80 streaming channels in Scandinavia, so that side of Red Bee will strengthen our proposition.” Sauer said. “We can leverage the complementary skill sets of the middleware we have, with the user interface design from Red Bee.”

Red Bee has products as well as services, notably Piero, 3D analysis technology for televised sporting events. How does that fit with the managed service portfolio?

“Piero is an interesting technology," Sauer said, "but we need to understand it better before making any judgment.”

From its past as BBC Broadcast, Red Bee also provides access services including captioning and audio description, as well as creative services for channel branding and promotions. Ericsson operates limited access services in the Netherlands, so the acquisition will strengthen this area. This becomes another offering to its customers, especially with the legal requirements in many countries to provide the services.

3D is Dead Long Live 4K

ESPN Sports Ditches 3D 

I have been stating for a long time and even more so at NAB and IBC when this gimmick was floated as the next big thing to hit the TV industry since HD. 3D is a fad, not a long term feature that will stick around. 

Was I right?

Well, ESPN Sports, owned by Disney has pulled the plug on the 3D venture.

ESPN 3D will cease transmissions by the end of the year, launched in 2010 with offerings that included American football, Masters golf and action from the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

But the channel said customers have not warmed to the technology, citing a “lack of demand from the majority of consumers.”

Disney is now looking to focus their efforts on Ultra HD or 4K TV rather than 3D broadcasts.

“We are committing our 3D resources to other products and services that will better serve fans and affiliates,” said ESPN spokeswoman Katina Arnold.

The channel charges an average of US$2.79 from each subscriber, and is carried by Time Warner Cable Inc, Comcast Corp and DirecTV, amongst others.

Will others follow?

In short, yes !

Back in January of this year, BBC North controller of production Mark Harrison reckons the tech is yesterday's news. 

I am surprised that other broadcasters have not followed the same path as Disney by pulling the plug on 3D. 

If I was a betting man, I would wager that BSKYB will announce in the next 6 to 12 months of a reduction in 3D services.  

In summary, this is not news, just an assertion that  3D is and was a fad and a gimmick. Was that not obvious to all in the industry? Apparently not. I am sure that 3D will have its place in the movie theaters and games consoles, just not on our TV screens