32
April 2018
Will 4K/UHD come
to Asia via OTT?
One of Europe’s largest telecoms operators
is using Edgeware’s systems to scale its
over-the-top (OTT) TV service, in order to
deliver popular live sports content over its
in-house content delivery network (CDN).
Johan Bolin, VP of products at Edgeware,
said: “We expect to see more and more
premium TV and sports content being
delivered by OTT services. That puts higher
demands and expectations on the delivery
network, with an increasing need for scale
and quality.”
Anevia acquires Keepixo
Anevia, a provider of over-the-top (OTT)
and IPTV software solutions, is acquiring
video compression software expert Keepixo.
The acquisition, according to Anevia, will
enable the company to offer operators and
broadcasters a new end-to-end encoding,
transcoding, storage, packaging and deliv-
ery solution that will comply with standards
such as 4K/Ultra HD (UHD) high dynamic
range (HDR) and HEVC/H.265. Damien
Lucas, CTO and co-founder of Anevia, said:
“With the recent addition of CMAF for
ultra-low latency, Content Aware Encoding
and virtualisation, Keepixo products are
among the best solutions for OTT encoding
and are a perfect match with Anevia’s exist-
ing portfolio.”
Next Month @ X-Platform
HbbTV
PANELLISTS
Chong Siew Loong
CTO
StarHub
Michael Cronk
Chairman,
Alliance for IP Media
Solutions (AIMS)
Peter Bithos
CEO, HOOQ
W
ith the chase to differentiate over-the-top
(OTT) services, and deliver the best pos-
sible viewing experience for
all types of audences, pump-
ing in as much 4K/Ultra
HD (UHD) content seems
a logical move. Or is it?
Steve Davis, vice-pres-
ident and general man-
ager, Asia-Pacific, Ooyala,
tells APB: “OTT service
providers’ shift to 4K/
UHD content means
significant additional investment in me-
dia infrastructure, much more so if they
produce their own content.
“This could include acquisition of new
types of video equipment and upgrade of
compute power, bandwidth, storage (on
premise or in the cloud), and more. The
ROI for 4K/UHD content needs to come
from service or ad revenue, and providers
need to decide if their content is compel-
ling enough to justify a premium.”
In essence, launching 4K/UHD con-
tent is costly, and it is important for service
providers to have deep insights on viewers’
preferences and timing to launch, Davis
advises. For example, is there a sufficient
installed base of 4K/UDH devices, he asks.
“In markets where videos are predomi-
nately consumed through mobile devices,
it doesn’t make sense to rush to 4K/UHD,
though more and more, we are seeing
❝ OTT service
providers’ shift to
4K/UHD content
means significant
additional
investment
in media
infrastructure,
much more so if they produce
their own content. ❞
— Steve Davis,
Vice-President and General Manager,
Asia-Pacific, Ooyala
Telco scales sports OTT
service with Edgeware
Is OTT primed to be the leading platform
to distribute 4K/UHD content in Asia-
Pacific, and what do OTT service providers
need to take into account before
launching 4K/UHD services in the region?
Shawn Liew reports.
While 4K/Ultra HD OTT services are not prevalent today, can content
genres such as live sports compel viewers to consumer 4K/Ultra HD
content over mobile devices?
With advanced features from encoding to playout, Neulion provides a 4K/UHD HDR service
with everything needed to broadcast, distribute and monetise 4K/UHD content for rights
holders.
the introduction of 4K/UHD-capable
mobile devices.”
In regions lik