cloud provides a single infrastructure that is being managed from a single place , reducing operational and management costs . The cloud infrastructure offers unified selfprovisioning , easy installation and configuration , as well as simplified upgrades . n Scalability and elasticity : Moving to the cloud increases scalability and elasticity , as the video layer can be scaled independently from the storage layer . For example , during prime time , significant compute and streaming is required , which is provisioned automatically . These shared resources can be released back to the cloud once they are no longer required and used by other applications and services .

“ The advantages of cloudbased implementations are now coming to the foreground , offering the agility necessary to enable operators to push the boundaries of broadcasting ,” Paris-Mascicki says .

Indeed , using the cloud for playout promises to be most beneficial , says Sidney Ho , head of sales-APAC at Amagi . He points out to APB : “ When you look at traditional models of satellite delivery

for the playout of a single HD feed , the costs can range anywhere between US $ 250,000 and $ 350,000 per annum in Asia , and upwards of $ 400,000 per annum in Europe . In comparison , cloud-based storage and playout can offer the same benefits at a fraction of the traditional model cost , without compromising on broadcast quality and SLAs ( Service Level Agreements ).”

With cloud broadcast , there is no upfront investment and most providers offer a pay-as-you-go model that results in no Capex and low Opex , Ho says .

“ The other big advantage is that once broadcasters upload their content to the cloud , they will be able to distribute it to any location across the globe , as per their business expansion needs . In comparison , traditional satellite and fibre models require new infrastructure to be set up for each region , with relevant content being stored and managed from expensive data centres .”

Using cloud storage , broadcasters can completely eliminate the high costs associated with physical data centres for storage and archi-

val , and in addition , cloud playout for disaster recovery is emerging as the most prominent of the use cases , Ho says , as this method is a departure from the current approach of managing an expensive parallel satellite infrastructure to de-risk in case of disasters .

He adds : “ When using cloud technologies , broadcasters can activate the parallel feed only when required . This way , broadcasters can offset a bulk of Capex and Opex that they may have allocated towards disaster recovery infrastructure .”

With all these tantalising prospects the cloud offers to playout , what should broadcasters keep in mind when choosing the right cloud partner ?

Ericsson ’ s Paris-Mascicki says flexibility and adaptability are crucial .

“ Regional laws are changing , and new services are demanding more storage and processing requirements . A broadcaster needs a vendor that can ensure seamless solutions over time . As things change , a flexible infrastructure will allow for ease and speed in

Amagi offers an overarching cloud broadcast platform , Cumulus , that encompasses content preparation , channel playout , delivery and monetisation .

adding new services , storage allotments and devices .”

Also , there is often a business or technical need to supply a hybrid solution — some cloud , some dedicated hardware , she says . “ A company which allows for seamless augmentation and replacement of legacy TV services with new cloud-based solutions will mitigate a great deal of risk , as well as increase your time-to-market .”

Amagi ’ s Ho gives some pointers as well . He says some of the aspects that broadcasters may want to consider are the following : n Future-readiness of the solution in terms of over-the-top extension , ad-insertion , channel regionalisation , monetisation , and 4K / Ultra HD support . n Ability to deliver live content .

n Ability of the solution to stitch a broadcast workflow supporting media asset management , subtitling , QC and voice-overs , among others . n Support for digital video effects including credit squeeze and L-Bands , among others . n Dynamic graphics insertion capability , preferably based on Adobe After Effects , as it overcomes limitations of traditional template-driven graphics solutions . n Military-grade data security for the cloud and at the edge devices , if any . n Flexibility to include lastminute changes to playlists . n 24x7 multi-channel monitoring with well-defined SLAs n Remote playout management .