With the proliferation of platforms, content owners have never-before-available opportunities to monetize their content in ways that reach consumers on their preferred viewing devices. However, making the most of those opportunities isn't without its challenges.

Traditional media workflows were never designed to deal with all of the subtleties that must be taken into consideration before a piece of content created originally for a viewing experience, such as in the home on an HDTV, can be monetized for audiences watching on their smartphone or tablet.

The secret to success is finding workflow methods that leverage tools such as AI and ML to automate reworking content for new platforms, thereby preserving revenues that otherwise would shoulder the added expense of manually repurposing content.

In this September 2024 Webcast, TV Tech Contributing Editor Phil Kurz and Costa Nikols, Exec-Team Strategy Adviser, M&E Telos Alliance, discuss the challenges and opportunities in optimizing content monetization.

TV Tech has gathered broadcast industry experts from Dell Technologies and NVIDIA, along with the International Trade Association for Broadcast and Media (IABM) to discuss the  M&E tech trends and buzz from the recent IBC23 show.  

Tune in to this live webcast, Tuesday Oct. 17 at 2PM ET  as we unpack the hype and discuss the transformation happening in the world of broadcasting.

Live production benefits from a long list of new technologies that have simplified workflows and enabled a wider range of creativity in content production. Plus, these technologies are enhancing the ability of nontraditional organizations to produce and deliver live content to an expanding range of viewers. 

On Tuesday, June 27 at 2 PM EDT, join industry experts from Dell Technologies, Matrox, Ross and Remote Control for the latest TV Tech Talk on remote production and hear about the latest developments and what to expect in the future across topics including:

• Innovations in SDI and ST 2110 live production facilities
• Increasing affordability and use of virtual sets
• The growing role of cloud-enabled services in live events
• Breakthroughs in processing and storage technologies

Click here to register for this free event. 

The 2023 NAB Show was filled with product announcements and new technology advances, including major advances in AI, broadcasting, cloud production and virtual workflows. 

In the May 25th webcast, TV Tech moderator Wes Simpson and experts from Ross Video and AI Media discussed their visions of how the media playing field is evolving to support improvements in creativity and increase viewer engagement.

The free webcast is now available on demand. 

UPDATED 6/20: Whether it is a detailed presentation for a new product or a deep dive into an industry hot topic, webcasts and in-person events are great ways to learn about what’s new and exciting in the broadcast industry.  

Here is an overview of upcoming webcasts and in-person events and how to access them.

ResolveCon23
Aug. 25-27
Embassy Suites at Washington Square in Portland, Ore.

This three-day conference promises an unparalleled opportunity for both beginners and advanced users to learn, network, and elevate their skills in the world of DaVinci Resolve. Register here: https://www.groundcontrol.film/resolvecon

IBC 2023
Sept. 15-18
RAI Amsterdam

Register here: https://show.ibc.org/

WASHINGTON—TV Tech and Sound Video Contractor are hosting a new webcast, “How Video Compression Affects AV and KVM Systems,” featuring a Black Box senior director.

AV Technology Contributing Editor Tim Albright will host John Hickey, senior director of R&D and KVM systems at Black Box, in the 45-minute webcast that will offer insight into compression technologies and schemes, use cases for different application scenarios and how the right compression algorithm can make the difference for professional AV and KVM systems. 

The webcast will take place on March 30 at 11 a.m. ET. For more information, or to register, click here. 

WASHINGTON—Since March, broadcasters around the world have had to shift to the new reality of producing content remotely. However, many of the systems put in place were meant to be temporary—a way of staying on the air, but not a long term way to produce content. 

Remote production doesn’t seem to be going anywhere though, as executives have realized the advantages it provides, including reduced costs and increased flexibility. But there are also challenges in the transition to remote.

In “Remote Production—Rebuilding for the Future,” a new webcast presented by TVTech Talk, a panel of industry experts will discuss the technologies and techniques that can be applied to make the transition to remote production.

The webcast will be moderated by TV Technology contributor Wes Simpson, and the panel will include Richard Dominach, director, Product Management, Raritan; Robert Erickson, strategic account manager, Sports/Venues at Grass Valley; Jim Jachetta, CTO and co-founder of VidOvation; and Ian Main, technical marketing principal at Teradici.

“Remote Production—Rebuilding for the Future” will take place on Dec. 9 at noon ET. More information and registration is available online. 

WASHINGTON—Most production has by necessity become remote production, but what does that look like? And even more importantly, what will it look like next?

The latest episode of TVTech Talk, “Remote Production—Embracing Flexibility,” focuses all on the techniques and technology that have changed since production went remote and how this “new normal” has transformed the media and entertainment industries, broadcasting and newsgathering, streaming, education, enterprise and events.

A panel of industry experts discuss technologies that make remote production possible through using the cloud and IP, new advances that are enabling better connections and workflows, and how media professionals are adapting.

The “Remote Production—Embracing Flexibility” TVTech Talk is now available on-demand. Download here. 

Why has the transition to working from home been so difficult? A typical broadcaster’s network infrastructure was never designed to serve so many remote connections and functions, plus cybersecurity safeguards are inferior for home-based workers.

During this On-Demand webinar, Teradici Technical Marketing Principal Ian Main will share how:

• Teradici PCoIP (and other Teradici products) can provide broadcasters and their home-based workers with a secure, efficient, and scalable virtual work environment
• How ILM and other users are using PCoIP today, and how easily broadcasters can implement PCoIP in their own IT infrastructures.

Speakers:

James Careless, contributing editor, TV Technology

Ian Main, technical marketing principal, Teradici

Listen on-demand here.

WASHINGTON—Pearl TV, the consortium of nine station groups working to advance local NextGen TV, has added a new webinar scheduled for Aug. 19 to its ongoing series of ATSC 3.0 webcasts.

The consortium split the one-hour content security and protection webinar scheduled for Aug. 12 into two separate 60-minute educational webcasts, says Dave Folsom, Pearl TV lead technical engineer.

“We realized once we got into it that it was going to take more than just one webinar,” says Folsom. “It’s an awful lot to take in in just one hour.”

The Aug. 12 webinar on content security, presented by Peter Van Peenen, a technology consultant to Pearl TV, will examine the means by which ATSC 3.0 protects a broadcaster’s signal from “bad players” who might copy material or take other steps to distribute NextGen TV content illegally, says Folsom.

The webinar also will look at the role of the ATSC 3 Security Authority (A3SA), an independent organization set up by Pearl TV, the stations participating in the Phoenix Model Market and TV networks to oversee content security policies.

During the Aug. 19 webinar, Van Peenen and Oscar Marcia, president and CEO of Eonti Inc., will present on the service protection provisions of ATSC 3.0. Unlike content security, which is designed to protect against theft, service protection protects against “man-in-the-middle” attacks, says Folsom.

Using a certificate authentication process—not dissimilar to the concept used to ensure a web browser is on the website that a user desires—ATSC 3.0 provides for making sure a TV receiver is actually looking at a TV station, says Folsom. Eonti manages the public and private key authority set up to certify viewers are receiving the signal they intended to receive, he adds.

Online registration for the Content Security webinar on Aug. 12 and the Service Protection webinar on Aug. 19 is available on the Pearl TV website. 

COVID-19 has compelled broadcasters to use home-based workers extensively. In doing so, both sides have had to endure lower-quality performance and productivity in content creation, plus the reduced capabilities available to home-based users compared to those working in production centers and studios. 

These problems have arisen because a typical broadcaster’s network infrastructure was never designed to serve so many remote connections and functions. Add the inferior cybersecurity available to home-based users (and the incursion risks this poses to broadcasters), and working from home has been a necessary workaround at best.

Fortunately, there is an available, feasible, and affordable IT solution to all of these problems. It is the innately secure communications protocol known as Teradici PC-over-IP (Teradici PCoIP). 

In place of traditional two-way data communications, Teradici PCoIP compresses, encrypts and transmits only video pixels from the broadcaster to home-based/remote users. The actual file remains within the broadcaster’s domain, with any interactions going through a secure interface that keeps the content safe. 

On the home workers’ display screens, everything looks the same. The video quality is lossless and color accurate, while the entire experience of connecting from any remote location via PCoIP looks and feels like using a conventional computer at work. Video editing performance is unaffected because Teradici PCoIP technology can deliver full-motion video up to 4K at high frame rates to home-based/remote computers.

Teradici PCoIP has been adopted by many industry players including Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) of Star Wars fame. Because PCoIP sends pixels rather than complete files, its bandwidth requirements are relatively small. This is why ILM uses PCoIP to share dailies between its San Francisco headquarters and collaborators worldwide. Doing so avoids sending proprietary video files as large as 100GB or larger over the internet.

On August 11, 2020 at 2pm eastern, Teradici Technical Marketing Principal Ian Main will share how Teradici PCoIP (and other Teradici products) can provide broadcasters and their home-based workers with a secure, efficient, and scalable virtual work environment. He will also detail how ILM and other users are using PCoIP today, and how easily broadcasters can implement PCoIP in their own IT infrastructures.

To register click here.

As the consumption of media expands to new platforms, there are new ways to deliver the information and entertainment consumers want. Find out what is on the horizon for new gear to help broadcasters transition to NextGen TV as well as how 5G and OTT will impact the television industry. 

Speakers:

Tom Butts, Content Director, TV Technology

Michael Guthrie, Technology Specialist and Sales Strategist, Harmonic Inc.

Listen on demand here.

ATSC 3.0 promises to revolutionize our industry by combining over-the-air broadcasting with the power of IP. To help you prepare, TV Technology offers "3.0: What You Need to Know," an hour-long webcast featuring insight from four industry experts on the topic:

Lynn Claudy, Chairman of the ATSC board and Senior VP, Technology, NAB

Mark Aitken, Senior VP of Advanced Technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group and President of ONE Media 3.0

Pete Sockett, Director of Engineering & Operations, WRAL-TV, Raleigh

Dave Folsom, Consultant, Pearl TV

In this webinar, we examine the technical challenges in deploying ATSC 3.0, focusing on the RF basics and look at the importance of single frequency networks and how ATSC 3.0 can co-exist with 5G. We talk about the gear needed, estimated costs and how you will need to work with the FCC and what the ATSC and NAB can do to help.

BURLINGTON, Mass.—The rise of social media, digital and smartphones as go-to sources of news and information for millions of consumers is transforming how broadcasters view their role as a critical source of news, weather and sports, says Ray Thompson, director of Market Solutions, Broadcast & Media at Avid.

“Just repurposing stories that go out over traditional OTA [over-the-air] broadcast won’t cut it,” he says Thompson. “Having a social/digital strategy is a requirement as data shows more and more people rely on mobile and social platforms for their news/sports source.”

To register for the “Social Media Platforms –Profit or Problems” webinar, Nov. 21, click here.

Thompson and Craig Wilson, product evangelist, Broadcast & Media at Avid, will present their perspectives on the evolution of TV newsrooms as they leverage social, digital and mobile Nov. 21 at 1 p.m. EDT during the “Social Media Platforms –Profit or Problems” TVTechnology webinar, sponsored by Avid Technology. (Full disclosure: I am moderating this hour-long webinar.)

In the past, journalists focused their efforts on creating news stories for TV or one particular news show or bulletin with specific deadlines, says Wilson. “Now they need to be able to produce across many platforms and meet almost instant deadlines.”

No longer do journalists hold stories till airtime. Today, they are looking to publish as soon as they have information and then refine and update the story throughout the day as well as produce a package for the evening news, says Wilson.

As a consequence, workflows and the thinking of journalists and news managers are changing in newsrooms. “Journalists now have lots of competing demands for their time, and it requires a new, creative mindset to deliver throughout the day on these platforms and then on-air,” adds Wilson.

One workflow strategy that’s popular among stations is merging traditional TV news teams with digital/social media teams into a single unit. “Even if they are not merged, stations want them to collaborate and to be as efficient as possible so they can pool their resources and deliver the biggest bang for their buck in terms of content production,” adds Wilson.

While disruptive to traditional TV newsroom workflows, these new platforms offer broadcasters that leverage their full potential benefits that extend far beyond bringing news to consumers faster, says Thompson.

“As producers develop content, they may be publishing to different social, web and app platforms that are built to cater to different demographics,” he says. “This can help stations realize higher ad rates and higher CPMs as the ads served are easier to deliver to a specific audience and demographic group.”

The availability of analytics about consumers of news on these social and digital platforms enables broadcasters and other content creators to deliver metrics to ad buyers looking to reach different groups with ads, he says.

“To be successful, content creators and publishers must deliver a TV-like experience –meaning no buffering—to any device, anywhere, anytime, then measure both the network –meaning reliability--and the playback, including who is watching, for how long and potentially where, and last but not least, develop a more catered experience based on the types of content and shows a user is watching,” says Thompson.

To register for the “Social Media Platforms –Profit or Problems” webinar, Nov. 21, click here.