KitPlus | Articles

4K Streaming and the Future of 8K

by Keith Wymbs Issue 87 - March 2014 There is little doubt that 4K and Ultra HD video will take hold over the next three years. These higher-resolution video types are a genuine advance from traditional HD and they likely will progress more quickly than their HD predecessor given the solid digital foundation now in place and advances such as high-e...

Submitted by Keith Wymbs

Published 01 April 2014

Looking to the Cloud for broadcast business success

by Tom Donoghue Issue 87 - March 2014 More and more, todays highly competitive and rapidly evolving marketplace is ruled by consumer demand for seamless anywhere, anytime, any-device access to high-quality content. Broadcasters are learning quickly that competitive advantage is all about finding new ways to engage audiences and attract advertisers...

Submitted by Tom Donoghue

Published 01 April 2014

Dick Hobbs questions how it got to be 2014 so soon?

by Dick Hobbs Issue 85 - January 2014 As we get ourselves ready to launch in to the new year, I have a few thoughts to share with you. The first is prompted by a press release which landed in my inbox back in December. IBM to acquire Aspera was the headline. Aspera is a business started by a fearsomely clever mathematician, Michelle Munson. She cam...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 February 2014

Ask the experts: What is MAM?

by Rino Petricola Issue 85 - January 2014 Media asset management: what exactly is it?While the precise definition varies from person to person, a common description tends to emerge. Media asset management (MAM) is a solution that allows media content including audio, video, and graphics to be ingested, annotated, cataloged, managed, protected, sear...

Submitted by Rino Petricola

Published 01 February 2014

The new DPP standard

by Craig Newbury Issue 85 - January 2014 Why and how is the DPP standard significant for broadcasters and other media facilities across the U.K, and beyond? The Digital Production Partnership (DPP) was founded in January 2011 by the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, with representation from Sky, Channel 5, S4/C, UKTV, and BT Sport, to help speed the transit...

Submitted by Craig Newbury

Published 01 February 2014

Moving into the IP based 4K UDTV camp

by Chuck MeyerIssue 84 - December 2013 There appear to be two parallel trains of inertia currently taking place in broadcast, one of course being the onset of 4K UDTV, the other being the transition to an IP-based content transport infrastructure. For many, the rapid changes and associated question are daunting, even for experienced professionals....

Submitted by Chuck Meyer

Published 01 January 2014

OTT: Back to basics

by Lorna GarrettIssue 84 - December 2013 Going over the top opens up boundless opportunities. Just make sure you work with someone who can help you over the potential pitfalls. Not that long ago, if asked to envisage a family watching television, you probably would have pictured Mum and Dad seated on the sofa, while a couple of children lay sprawle...

Submitted by Lorna Garrett

Published 01 January 2014

Get the lowdown on HEVC compression

by Keith WymbsIssue 84 - December 2013 The high-efficiency video coding (HEVC/H.265) compression codec, which was standardized earlier this year, brings broadcasters and other content distributors multiple opportunities, including:- Decreased bandwidth enabling the addition of more channels and increased quality while lowering bitrates. - Improved...

Submitted by Keith Wymbs

Published 01 January 2014

Driving customer loyalty with OTT

by Jakub KabourekIssue 84 - December 2013 The multi-screen revolution is being driven by the consumer and is developing quickly. It offers huge potential and a bright future for operators adopting OTT across multiple devices. By delivering quality television services operators are expanding their market potential and thereby significantly increasin...

Submitted by Jakub Kabourek

Published 01 January 2014

Leaping over the top

by Bob LambIssue 84 - December 2013 Around the world, consumers are becoming addicted to viewing over-the-top (OTT) video on the device or screen of their choice, anywhere and at any time. For broadcasters, content owners, and service providers, the ability to deliver broadcast-quality media over the open Internet presents a tremendous opportunity...

Submitted by Bob Lamb

Published 01 January 2014

Service providers should see OTT as a revenue opportunity

by Haggai BarelIssue 84 - December 2013 Todays content service providers can use over-the-top (OTT) content to enhance the viewing experience for their subscribers and generate revenue for their service offerings. To accomplish this, however, service providers must overcome the initial - and justified - belief that OTT is a threat that must be bloc...

Submitted by Haggai Barel

Published 01 January 2014

MTV3 uses sports-specific framework to build interactive...

by Henriette SaetherIssue 83 - November 2013 As any sports rights holder knows, those rights come with a lot of moneymaking potential. MTV Oy (not to be confused with MTV, the music television), Finlands largest commercial broadcaster has exclusive rights to broadcast the Finnish national team ice hockey matches in Finland. The matches are broadcas...

Submitted by Henriette Saether

Published 01 December 2013

Embracing the 4K future with next generation encoding tec...

by Kevin CookIssue 83 - November 2013 Whats keeping todays media and broadcast operators up at night? To find out, just walk the floor of any 2013 broadcast industry trade show. Only a few short years ago we were obsessed with the digital transition and migrating to HD operations, followed by adoption of 3-D technologies. And now, todays big challe...

Submitted by Ludovic Pertuisel#

Published 01 December 2013

Will Strauss looks at the growth of MediaCityUK and dock...

by Will StraussIssue 81 - September 2013 Whats up Dock?In less than three years Dock 10 has grown from a mere studio operator with add-ons to a fully-fledged digital media service provider. Will Strauss tracks the changes. MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester is exactly as the name suggests: a towering metropolis pumping out TV, radio and dig...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 October 2013

Powering a richer media experience on set-top boxes

by Achim BosseIssue 80 - August 2013 Todays television viewers are increasingly using the Internet to download, share, and consume media on a variety of devices. Traditionally, DTV and IPTV service providers have relied on DVB MPEG-based technologies to deliver linear television services and IP technologies like multicasting or RTSP for VOD. Howeve...

Submitted by Achim Bosse

Published 01 September 2013