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April 2018
NEWS & VIEWS
EMA Asia to help ease content delivery woes
SINGAPORE – Vuulr , a global marketplace and digital supply chain platform for the TV and film content industry , is working with the Entertainment Merchants Association ( EMA ), an international trade body for the entertainment content industry , to launch EMA Asia .
The partnership , which covers China , India , Japan , South Korea and South-east Asia , brings EMA ’ s standards , specifications and best practices to the doorstep of Asian content owners , said Vuulr .
A Vuulr spokesperson told APB : “ As described in details within the MovieLabs Digital Distribution Framework ( MDDF ), EMA has crafted a cross-industry format
specification for delivery of licensing avails specifying how and when content can be presented to consumers .
“ This offers a standardised format for conveying avails information from a content licensor to an online platform , including identification of the title and relevant edits of the title , basic metadata to support a buying decision , identification of the licensor or studio , region and time information , and flexible business terms .”
The specification , according to Vuulr , is an active collaboration supported and currently adopted by all major Hollywood studios and most large international platforms , and represents the “ best and most viable option ” for standardising the exchange of licensing avails with Hollywood and other major platforms .
Describing how the specification has already produced “ dramatic reductions ” in manual reconciliation , the Vuulr spokesperson continued : “ In an analysis published
Proulx : ‘ Imperative ’ that TV engineers quickly learn more about real-time media over IP
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The standards that define media over IP are still evolving , he pointed out , while vendor solutions are not yet at the stage of maturity . “ In particular , IP-based components and systems are much more complex and require a great deal more ‘ engineering ’ and system configuration than their SDI counterparts ,” said Proulx .
There should be no doubt , he added , that the transition to IP is more challenging from an engineering perspective than the transition from analogue to SDI , or from SDI to HD SDI . “ Thus , it is imperative that engineering personnel involved in media learn as much as possible about media over IP , as soon as possible ,” Proulx advised .
Having spoken at the Professional Media over IP : Building a future-proof media facility seminars APB conducted in Hong Kong and Singapore last November , Proulx will be conducting an IP Master Class that will be held in Singapore on June 25 this year .
Entitled Real-time Media over IP Inside a TV Facility , the IP Master Class is organised by APB , in collaboration with Ideal Systems — and it is specifically designed to prepare broadcasters for the transition to IP by giving them now
The transition to 100 % IP infrastructure is inevitable , suggested Michel Proulx , media industry technologist and ex-CTO of Miranda Technologies . Proulx will be conducting the IP Master Class that APB will be organising in Singapore this June 25 .
the knowledge necessary to better understand whether IP is right for them .
Proulx elaborated : “ We have been using IP inside our media facilities for many years , but now , as IP is being positioned to replace SDI for the transport of real-time video and audio , IP takes on an even bigger role .
“ IP for real-time media brings new standards , new equipment and new practices . Because it is so new , it brings a fresh set of issues and challenges that need to be understood , in order for broadcasters to be ready to consider or deploy IP-based systems .”
Some of the topics that will be covered during the IP Master Class include : n How video , audio and ancillary data are transported using the by Google Play , adoption of EMA Avails reduced a 50-hour manual reconciliation to a half hour of processing time for one batch of 1,000 Avails , a benefit that can be replicated across tens of thousands of Avails . This will greatly help reduce costs and efficiency when rolled out to industry players within Asia .”
EMA standards and other standards within MDDF will also be built on blockchain technology as part of Vuulr ’ s end-to-end solution , in the process revolutioning title discovery , acquisition , sponsorship , delivery and payment , claimed Vuulr .
“ There are a lot of opportunities for blockchain to add value and transform the broadcast and media industry ,” said the Vuulr spokesperson . “ Apart from decentralisation of funds and returns , the most immediate and important benefit for blockchain is the management of rights , as blockchain allows a trustless , immutable and single version of truth to content and its rightful owner .
new SMPTE 2110 standard ; n What network topologies are available , and which topology applies to which type and size of facility ; and n How IP media networks are controlled and the impact that this can have on operations in a media facility .
“ The IP Master Class will also include real-life case studies of major projects that have implemented real-time media over IP , and participants can learn about the challenges encountered and the benefits that have been achieved by people who have actually done it ,” Proulx concluded .
For more information on the IP Master Class , visit https :// apbnews . com / event / real-time-mediaover-ip-inside-a-tv-facility-bymichel-proulx /.
WRC-19 to examine wide range of new spectrum options in higher frequency band
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— and other essential services — to half a billion homes and businesses , he added .
APSCC members — including both Intelsat and SES — are unanimous in agreeing that the proposal is not appropriate outside of the US , and is not necessary or practical in Asia-Pacific , revealed the APSCC spokesperson .
“ Rather , APSCC believes that this US-centric proposal is best understood as a good faith attempt to compromise , given the specific regulatory and market conditions in the US .”
At WRC-15 , one of the key verdicts passed was to maintain C-band spectrum primarily for fixed-satellite service ( FSS ). As the International Telecommunication Union ( ITU ) prepares to re-convene for WRC-19 next October in Sharm El-Sheikh , Egypt , is there a case to be made for more spectrum to be allocated for the IMT industry ?
Yes , said the APSCC , but not at the amount being asked for , and especially not in occupied satellite bands .
“ We expect mobile consumption to grow — in fact , the satellite industry ’ s investment in current and next-generation high throughput satellites ( HTS ) is premised in part on that growth ,” said the APSCC spokesperson . “ However , some mobile industry estimates would have you believe that , very soon , the amount of mobile data consumed will be more than if every mobile user on Earth were watching 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) video for 16 hours a day . We do not think that is a realistic projection .”
There also remains an underutilisation of spectrum already allocated to the IMT industry , further dismissing any need to displace satellite services in C-band to satisfy IMT spectrum requirements , said APSCC .
The WRC-19 agenda includes an examination of a wide range of new spectrum options in higher frequency bands whose use was “ unimaginable ” a few short years ago , but is now becoming technically and commercially feasible , said CASBAA ’ s Medeiros .
He continued : “ Indeed , we view the future 5G ecosystem as one where satellites will play an integral role , providing telcos with the ability to roll out 5G across Asia ’ s many nations and diverse geographies , moving huge volumes of data to base stations — whether urban or remote — from which the telcos
World Teleport Association ’ s Robert Bell : “ I would expect satellite operators , telcos and national governments to continue a strong defence of their exclusive right to spectrum at WRC-19 .” can deliver services to customers .”
However , there should be no doubt that C-band satellite services remain vital in reaching out to large populations in Asia-Pacific , where mobile networks simply do not exist , or are currently underdeveloped , Medeiros emphasised .
“ We urge governments in Asia to focus on sustaining services to those populations too while working together to find different frequencies — outside those used by satellites — to help expand video delivery to urban consumers over 5G networks .”
Having confirmed the importance of C-band spectrum for satellite at WRC-15 , governments and regulators need to remain resolute and fight to retain that spectrum for satellite , and avoid any new IMT identifications , especially in Asia-Pacific , said APSCC .
About half of the world ’ s satellite cellular backhaul sites are located in Asia-Pacific , and most of them are using C-band spectrum , the APSCC spokesperson pointed out . He also highlighted how C-band is used throughout the region not just for broadcasting , but also to bridge the digital divide by extending the reach of mobile networks to even the most rural and remote locations .
“ It would be foolish to cannibalise this vital backhaul spectrum just so those already with broadband can get more broadband .”
Asia-Pacific represents a “ radically different ” spectrum market than is found in the US or Europe , in which frequencies above C-band are dominant .
What does not broach argument is how satellite and terrestrial mobile cannot use the same frequency at the same time , without satellite being “ silenced ”, cautioned Robert Bell , executive director of the World Teleport Association ( WTA ).
He notes that because of dense population centres and the presence of heavy rainfall in Asia-Pacific , C-band will continue to be crucial for lifeline telephony , broadband access , TV and radio distribution , as well as disaster response .
Sounding a warning bell to regulators , he cautioned : “ Any effort to simply open satellite bands to terrestrial use will produce major service interruptions in a region where C-band is indispensable .
“ I would expect satellite operators , telcos and national governments to continue a strong defence of their exclusive right to spectrum at WRC-19 .”