❝ HbbTV can also provide broadcasters with valuable insights into audience viewing habits , both digital and traditional .❞
46 X-PLATFORM
April 2016
HbbTV ’ s future looks bright in Asia
In recent times , Brightcove has been heavily involved in the roll-out of HbbTV services in Australia and New Zealand . Tomer Azenkot , VP of Asia for Brightcove , shares more with APB .
How would you describe the challenges and benefits of adopting HbbTV ? Tomer Azenkot : HbbTV is an industry standard , providing an open technology platform that seamlessly combines TV services delivered via broadcast with services delivered via broadband , enabling access to Internet-only services for consumers using connected TVs and set-top boxes .
For service providers , HbbTV enhances the standard linear broadcast TV experience through personalisation , enabling any broadcaster , including free-to-air providers , to deliver rich , interactive experiences to their viewers .
For audiences , HbbTV provides the freedom to craft a highly personalised viewing schedule and to browse content on-demand through a single electronic programme . This high level of interactivity creates a ‘ lean-in ’ viewing experience that helps to keep audiences engaged .
HbbTV can also provide broadcasters with valuable insights into audience viewing habits , both digital and traditional . By capturing insight into audiences who were previously unacknowledged and poorly understood , networks are able to more accurately present their commercial value to potential advertisers . This type of insight will be extremely valuable for all networks , including those across Asia that rely on advertising revenue .
However , the biggest challenge to full adoption will be getting HbbTV-enabled TV and set-top boxes into households .
What is the current state of HbbTV in Asia ? Azenkot : The uptake of HbbTV is still in its infancy across Asia . To date in the region , HbbTV is only live in Australia and New Zealand through Freeview Plus , although there are plans to deploy these services in Malaysia and other countries over the next few years , which is a positive step forward . Worldwide , there are currently 22 countries that have adopted or plan to roll out the HbbTV standard .
What has Brightcove learnt from the massive presence of HbbTV in Australia and New Zealand ? Azenkot : The Brightcove Video Cloud HbbTV solution provides the complete support for the video workflow for HbbTV , making it easy
❝ HbbTV can also provide broadcasters with valuable insights into audience viewing habits , both digital and traditional .❞
— Tomer Azenkot , Vice-President , Asia ,
Brightcove
for broadcasters to extend existing online video workflows to TVs and set-top boxes . Recognised for its expertise in HbbTV deployment worldwide , Brightcove currently powers all HbbTV services for freeto-air broadcasters in Australia and New Zealand . This includes the likes of TVNZ , Mãori TV and Mediaworks , which have all turned to Brightcove to support their HbbTV offerings .
These partnerships have reminded us of the internal and external collaboration required with TV manufacturers and broadcasters to prove , build and deliver a successful HbbTV experience .
What ’ s next for Brightcove ? Azenkot : One of the big challenges facing digital broadcasters is the issue of ad blockers . The use of ad blockers hinders the commercial power of broadcast networks and opens it up to potential advertising revenue losses . To address these challenges , last year , Brightcove launched Brightcove Lift , a solution designed to combat ad blockers by using server-side ad insertion to stitch video content and ads together at the source . The result is an uninterrupted TV-like stream that bypasses ad blockers . As ad blockers continue to disrupt the industry , this will continue to be a focus for us .
We ’ re also looking to continue to support video experiences across the Apple ecosystem . Last year , we announced Jump Start for Apple TV , which allows brands to publish video content on the Apple TV ecosystem . As more consumers shift their viewing experiences towards new mediums , be it over-the-top ( OTT ) or HbbTV , we will continue to work with our customers to enable seamless video experiences .
Two more companies join TICO Alliance to ‘ set the bar ’ for next generation
The TICO Alliance , a coalition of companies aiming to “ set the bar ” for next-generation 4K / UHDTV and 8K infrastructures by establishing TICO compression in the new IP-based live production ecosystem , has added Leader Electronics and Bluefish444 into the fold .
TICO technology allows 4K / UHD streams to be sent efficiently and with low latency while preserving high image quality . To support transportation of 4K / UHDTV streams across an IP network or the existing 3G-SDI infrastructure , the TICO Alliance believes that new smart , fast and light compression is needed . Thus , TICO implements visually loseless compression up to 4:1 , enabling the mapping of a 4K / UHD 2160p60 stream over a single 3G-SDI link . Up to three streams of 2160p60 can be transmitted simultaneously over 10Gbps Ethernet .
For Leader Electronics , joining the TICO Alliance forms part of the company ’ s commitment to ensuring that its hardware and software solutions conform to the IP-based data-exchange formats increasingly being used in broadcast TV , radio and professional audio , said the company . Kevin Salvidge , Leader ’ s European regional development
manager , added : “ Leader is future-proofing its test and measurement products . We are allowing broadcasters to migrate from the traditional SDI world to the brave new IP world at their own pace , with test and measurement products that operate in either or both infrastructures .”
For Bluefish444 , a manufacturer of uncompressed 4K / 2K / HD / SD-SDI video cards , the TICO 4:1 compression scheme , also known as SMPTE RDD35 , will allow its customers to access uncompressed quality video at one quarter of the bandwidth , and to be transported over existing SDI infrastructures and emerging IP technologies . The benefits of TICO compression Bluefish44 customers can expect include : n A mezzanine compression scheme which is visually loseless at a ratio that can provide considerable bandwidth savings across multi ple transport and technology platforms . n Supported across existing 3G-SDI infrastructure , as well as emerging videoover-IP technology . n A small footprint in both field-programmable gate array ( FPGA ) resources and in software encode and decode operations .