Divergence: Where Broadcast and Streaming Headends Differ

With the development of video compression headends catering to broadcast, mobile and web, care is needed to architect solutions that play to the strengths of the distribution media. Traditional linear broadcasting over satellite, terrestrial and cable utilises bandwidth which is both constant and guaranteed. Mobile and web based platforms rely on networks which cannot offer the same service guarantees. Consequently streaming techniques have been developed to overcome the limitations of a network where packet loss is common and latency variable. — With the recent advances in algorithms, processing and memory density, a source can be encoded in one pass for the various bit-rates required for both broadcast and streaming applications. The prospects for multi-stream and profile handling will be explained in the context of combined broadcast, mobile and web headends. The advent of such a highly integrated headend has appeal to broadcasters keen to adopt a more streamlined workflow than the current separation of compression solutions addressing broadcast, mobile and web needs. — Producing a range of compressed profiles is only part of the solution when it comes to streaming. Adaptation of these streams to the needs of the client devices will be a significant aspect of future headends. A number of rival streaming technologies now exist which utilise the Internet's basic HTTP protocol. Adopting such a web friendly approached has enhanced the performance of video in a web environment, but little is understood on how this approach can be scaled for large channel bouquets. It is also quite likely that rival streaming technologies will have to co-exist in a headend if adequate coverage of client devices is to be achieved. The different streaming approaches will be explained and contrasted to demonstrate how multiple profiles can be handled for a wide range of channels on client devices.

Published

2011-10

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/M001081

ISBN

978-1-61482-940-9