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Cable operators in the US are still failing to match Internet TV players for quality of experience despite having their own multiscreen offerings, according to research commissioned by pay TV subscription, billing and CRM vendor Paywizard. Americans are being drawn to the higher level of customer service from providers like Netflix and Amazon according to the study, characterized by features like quick and easy signup, lack of contracts, free trials, instant account changes, transparent billing, and the ability to leave and return at any time.
Digital media has failed at its original vision and is now turning into the third leg of the television business, said Michael Wolff, a tech entrepreneur and author of the book “Television Is the New Television: The Unexpected Triumph of Old Media In the Digital Age.”
While there’s been a lot of talk about how large multi-channel video distributors—mostly cable and satellite TV—are using highly automated over-the-top (OTT) infrastructures and other forms of streaming methods to reach new customers with on-demand and live audio and video content, many independent TV station groups and individual stations themselves have also begun targeting the variety of mobile devices now in consumers’ hands; but for different reasons.
I was all set to write my next chapter on standards and terminology when the The Broadcast Bridge published an article quoting the Olympic Broadcast Service (OBS) that said, 4K is just a Bus Stop to 8K (along with 22.2 audio channels).
When most of us think of “over-the-top” television, we think of video programming distributed over the internet by services such as Netflix, Amazon, Apple and a host of other online programmers. But the OTT business is rapidly changing — bringing in a diverse new group of niche players who are filling in the programming gaps as the major players shift to more mass market programming.
It has already been a big year for CDN launches with new entrants along with developments from the large existing players such as Akamai and Amazon. At least three somewhat overlapping themes can be identified, optimization for Ultra HD (UHD) content, CDNs specializing in delivery to mobile devices and moves into the field by satellite platform providers.
Since the dawn of digital production, many links in the workflow chain have produced their own metadata. Now the “Production in the Cloud” project is making all that metadata useful.
Viewers want big displays and big displays look their best with new UHD 4K content. While the content is being developed today, producers still grapple with difficulties and challenges facing them as they create new UHD 4K images. That quality level must soon become as common the HDTV equivalent.
