The television broadcast industry
has undergone several rounds of radical transformation over the past few
decades. Free-to-air transmissions gave way to paid cable alternatives which,
in turn, had to make room for Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite services. CRTs
vanished, replaced by larger flat panel screens. The venerable standard-definition
resolution standard was superseded by a new high-definition standard, which was
itself superseded by a still newer ultra-high-definition standard. Traditional
analog broadcast technology was everywhere replaced by computer-age digital
technology. And then, of course, there was deregulation, the advent of the
smart phone and tablet, and the rise of the Internet, which between them changed
everything again.
The Over the Top Netflix Phenomenon:
One of the most remarkable
successes of the new age of broadcasting is Over the top (OTT) video on demand
(VOD) transmission across the Internet. OTT transmission has spawned a whole
new generation of “cable cutters,” who spurn traditional broadcast television
with its rigid schedules and fixed choices, in favor of free or low-cost
subscription services, with a virtually unlimited range of content available
anytime on any connected device, be it a smart phone, a tablet, a notebook, a
computer monitor, or a big-screen smart TV. Two of the most popular new OTT
providers are Netflix and Hulu. Although these and other OTT companies like
Amazon and You Tube have significantly disrupted Western markets, Asian DTH
service providers claim to remain unperturbed, because, according to them, OTT can’t
beat DTH in the foreseeable future.
Skinny Bundles & Better Transmission Quality:
The main attractions of OTT
services like Netflix and Hulu are personalization and binge watching. While
these attributes can’t be brought to standard broadcast services, whether
provided over air, cable or DTH, broadcasters are ditching their overwhelming
and confusing 400-channel lineups to go with linear bundles. These bundles provide
users with less to choose from, which is
a better strategy to promote longer “view” times. Many Asian markets are going
with streamlined packages that cover news, preschool children’s programming,
premium factual content and lifestyle.
Just as broadcasters are
transmitting less and becoming more quality conscious, fleet operators are also
looking into ways to enhance the viewer experience, fully capitalizing on HD
and, in some cases, 4K device proliferation.
Telairity Helps the DTH Sector Excel:
Telairity has always lived up to
its promise of providing the best SD and HD encoders in the industry. It
provides key DTH components like:
- High-compression Encoders so HD transmissions won’t overload broadcast capacity.
- Professional Decoders to decompress, descramble and reformat signals.
- Premium modulators that generate L-Band and IF-Band satellite signals fully compliant with the DVB-S/S2, DSNG standards.
