If you’ve been paying attention to the conversation around production rooms, “cloud” is everywhere, especially the benefits. But just because we talk about the benefits of going cloud, it doesn’t mean it’s a one-size-fits-all solution.
Different productions have different needs, from the size of what’s being captured to the size of the team working on it. Not only that but transitioning to cloud can sometimes entail changing from hardware to software and adapting to a new way of doing things.
To make a leap to cloud production and make it truly work for you, some considerations must be made.
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Media has come a long way from its traditional production journey. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the previously linear path of content production, transforming the process by creating new efficiencies and allowing content to have a second life beyond its initial creation and broadcast.
With AI’s robust capabilities in tagging, managing, and preparing content, production teams can now maximize content usage while optimizing resources, creating a more reliable flow of content even in times of high demand or disruption. In this article, I’ll delve into the evolving media ecosystem, highlighting the role of AI in content management, monetization, and the industry’s future.
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Streaming might be our favorite pastime, but beneath the surface, it’s a colossal energy-guzzling process that’s taking a toll on our planet.
Today, the average consumer worldwide spends about 19 hours a week streaming video – but this can be much, much higher for some. And with a population of more than 742,200,000, Europeans could have streamed more than 735 billion hours – or 83 million years – of content in 2022 alone!
To put this into perspective, every hour of video streamed emits roughly 55g of CO2e. This would mean that Europeans streaming habits account to roughly 40.4 million metric tons of CO2e in just one year – the equivalent of driving 210 billion km, given the average gas-powered car emits 192g of CO2e per km.
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In the fast-paced landscape of the broadcast and media industries, staying ahead of the technology curve requires adaptability and agility. To overcome the limitations of hardware-specific devices and embrace the future, broadcasters, content providers and distribution and delivery service providers are turning to cloud-based solutions. By transitioning to the cloud, they can unlock new levels of flexibility, efficiency, and scalability. In this article, we will explore the advantages of cloud and cloud-based solutions, overcoming migration challenges, the importance of becoming more agile, cost efficiency and scalability, security and regulatory considerations, and the rapid adoption of IP workflows in the industry.
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The world of video content moves quickly. It’s in ceaseless motion, and this goes hand in hand with technological advancement. In this scenario, it becomes paramount for operators and distributors in the streaming space to create seamlessly functioning architectures. It’s all about tech stacks that must normalize workflows and bring together data from multiple existing services. Of course, this is far easier said than done as content owners wish to enhance their offering with a feed of growing requirements which platform operators have for their own streaming services. Progress is perpetual, think of ratings for movies and series, specific categories for niche programming, or even broadcast identifiers.
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Build vs. buy might not be the oldest dilemma in the streaming technology book, but it’s close. And when it comes to complex live streaming, the horns of that dilemma are particularly pointed.
The streaming technology market is typified by off-the-shelf, line-of-business applications that do a few things very well, but are extremely difficult or impossible to extend if they don’t do exactly what you want. That lack of customization can be a dealbreaker.
On the other hand, for a broadcaster (or large enterprise, or betting company, or …) to build its own streaming platform from scratch requires a daunting investment of time and resources—resources that would be much better spent on their core business proposition.
So let’s dig a little deeper into both buying and building, as well as look at a middle path that offers media companies the best of both worlds.
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Why is it so important to communicate the value of technology solutions to potential buyers? How will this improve their decision-making or outcomes? Because beyond the ever-present sales and marketing imperative is a more important driver: media businesses can’t fully benefit from the ecosystem of the future without understanding its significance.
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Many years ago, digitization offered a panacea; a mechanism to rid the world of analogue and proprietary digital video tape formats and make content more easily accessible and exploitable. Using supposedly non-proprietary encoding schemes, the content became independent of the physical media, so future migrations would be easy. Robotic data libraries and control software automated many processes, removing the need for many staff. Carefully annotated and indexed content using new DAM systems would make assets inherently exploitable, watermarking would offer protection, and early speech-to-text processing would make for the richest set of metadata.
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The unbelievable pace with which our industry is changing requires media companies to think ahead and develop robust strategies that help them stay ahead of the curve. As audiences consume content in new and ever-changing ways, there are now many tough challenges and exciting opportunities that all media companies need to be ready for. We are seeing more and more organizations evolving their workforce and workflows to survive and thrive.
Future-proofing a video distribution strategy does not have to be complicated. Here are four simple steps to consider in today’s constantly shifting business environment.
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While the shift from ground to cloud playout is well under way, there are several roadblocks on the path to a fully cloud-based infrastructure that will leave the broadcast industry in a transitional phase for years to come. Here, we delve into those obstacles and propose a hybrid approach for this interim period that allows broadcasters to continue utilizing their existing on-premises equipment, while reaping the benefits of cloud technology.
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