APB PANELLISTS
2 EDITORIAL
Start planning for your transition to IP today
For the broadcast industry , 2018 is shaping up much as 2017 is ending — the need to study and leverage emerging technologies that are changing the face of broadcasting and how content is being consumed by the tech-savvy peoples around the world .
Of these technologies , which one will have the most impact on broadcasters in the new year ? It is critical that we take a good hard look at IP technology , where the approval of the first standards within SMPTE ST 2110 has arguably lit the fuse for an accelerated transition to IP in 2018 .
Many broadcasters , including some in the Asia-Pacific region , have begun to design their media facilities around an IP core . Even those who have not are expressing a keen interest to learn how IP can provide them with the agility and flexibility to move their business forward .
Last month , APB and systems integrator Ideal Systems welcomed a number of broadcasters in Hong Kong and Singapore to a series of seminars entitled Professional Media over IP : Building a future-proof media facility , where they heard a number of distinguished speakers share valuable tips on how they can successfully plan their own transitions to IP .
Of course , while SMPTE ST 2110 will go a long way towards eliminating the issues of interoperability and open standards in the transition to IP , it has to be emphasised that the transition to IP will be a gradual one .
As Michel Proulx , keynote speaker at the seminars pointed out , IP entails higher system complexity , so a gap in knowledge and skillsets still need to be filled . And perhaps contrary to some belief , transitioning to IP will incur higher cost than maintaining current systems .
SDI , as a proven technology for many years , will continue to be relevant for a number of years to come . The continued prominence of 12G-SDI at many key broadcast trade shows around the
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Dr Amal Punchihewa
Director , Technology & Innovation Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union
Angeline Poh Assistant Chief Executive ( Industry Development ) Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore
world is perhaps a clear indication that hybrid IP / SDI deployments will feature prominently in the near term , as broadcasters plot their transition paths to IP that best suits their individual needs .
However , it is arguable that only the most myopic who will deny that the transition to IP is inevitable . Proulx , a media consultant and ex- CTO of Miranda Technologies , emphasised that converting to IP is not just about replacing SDI . Instead , he identified two key transitions taking place — replacing SDI infrastructure with IP , and replacing dedicated hardware devices with software and virtualisation .
As software-based devices mature and become more common , the benefits of IP will become more evident , Proulx added . He also advised broadcasters to take their time in transitioning to IP , but the main caveat is this — start planning for your transition to IP today .
And perhaps that is the main takeaway for broadcasters in 2017 . While the very real benefits of IP have been well documented , it is perhaps impractical to expect all broadcasters to make a full and immediate transition to IP today — the cost and complexity of doing so will simply be too prohibitive at the moment .
But as much as Rome was not built in a day , it is time for broadcasters to start embarking on the road to IP — by developing a deep understanding of the technology , the skillsets needed and how it can help them to retain eyeballs when the Tokyo Summer Olympics comes around in 2020 .
SHAWN LIEW MANAGING EDITOR
APB PANELLISTS
Dr Peter Siebert
Executive Director The DVB Project
Stan Moote CTO IABM
Andrew Anderson
Head of Broadcast Operations Seven West Media
December 2017 ( volume 34 issue 10 )
EDITORIAL managing editor Shawn Liew , shawn @ editecintl . com contributing editor ( technology ) Karl K Rossiter , karl @ editecintl . com contributing editor Shirish Nadkarni , shinads @ yahoo . co . uk senior reporter Josephine Tan , josephine @ editecintl . com
CORRESPONDENTS
■ India Shirish Nadkarni , shinads @ yahoo . co . uk
■ USA Mike Feazel , mfeazel @ gmail . com
PRODUCTION production editor Zuraini Ridzwan , zuraini @ editecintl . com sub-editor Genevieve Chan , genevieve @ editecintl . com senior multimedia designer Raymund Jaudian , raymund @ editecintl . com multimedia designer Waldomar Zuniga , waldomar @ editecintl . com ad / office administrator Irene Lok , irene @ editecintl . com accounts manager Tan Hui Min , huimin @ editecintl . com
MARKETING director - sales & marketing Jessie Tan , jessie @ editecintl . com manager - sales & marketing Lynn Chee , lynn @ editecintl . com
CIRCULATION & PROMOTIONS Lynn Chee , lynn @ editecintl . com
PROJECT COORDINATOR Jotham Tobiah Lim , apb @ editecintl . com
PUBLISHING publisher / editorial director Andrew Yeo , andrew @ editecintl . com
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■ Japan Mikio Tsuchiya
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■ USA & Canada Gary L Rhodes
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