Inflight Connectivity Goes Global

Cable Satellite International

Airlines are increasingly utilising high speed broadband to differentiate their service and keep pace with passenger demand at 40,000 feet.

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In response to intensifying consumer demand for the content they want when they want it, airlines are increasingly employing wireless streaming and portable devices as a value service to enhance passenger experiences. These new services present an opportunity for airlines to increase consumer bases, create new revenues and reduce cost. It also presents new business for satellite bandwidth and broadband systems providers as the demand for global inflight connectivity expands outside the US.

“The aeronautical mobility sector is a key target market for SES and is poised for strong growth in the coming years,” said SES' chief commercial officer Ferdinand Kayser, in tieing up a deal last September to supply satellite bandwidth to aero communications supplier Global Eagle.

The demand is clear. With 81% of passengers carrying a smartphone, and nearly 20% carrying a smartphone, a tablet and a laptop, people want to view content over their own devices, as they do on the ground. Inmarsat quotes figures that show passenger demand for inflight connectivity has increased in the past twelve months with 52% of consumers believing it an important area of investment, and 54% saying they would use their mobile device to stay in touch with the ground.

“Many people dread being out of mobile phone contact,” states OnAir Aero, a provider of in-flight connectivity services. “They are used to being connected wherever they are. There is no reason why that should change just because they are flying.”

The global in-flight entertainment (IFE) segment is estimated to total more than $3 billion annually. The industry has been growing at nearly double-digit rates and is expected to expand more rapidly over the next few years. Certainly, with the number of commercial aircraft with high-speed, broadband communication links projected to quadruple to more than 13,000 by 2023, competition for eyeballs in mid-air will intensify.

“Consumer demand for any content at any time on any device is changing the cost-benefit equation for airlines and high-quality, scalable, flexible video streaming solutions will play a significant role in this transition,” says Lionel Bringuier, senior product manager, Delivery Products for Elemental Technologies. “Infrastructures based on legacy hardware will not be able to keep pace. Airlines and IFE vendors need to be able to easily prepare their technology infrastructures for live linear streaming at the lowest possible total cost of ownership. That strategy starts with a continuously upgradeable video processing and delivery infrastructure that can bring premium content to viewers no matter what device they’re using or where they are.”

Increasingly, consumers expect their video anywhere, on any device and want to view that content with DVR controls like time delay, pause or repeat. They will come to expect this onboard airplanes, too. Live streaming TV – particularly time-shifted TV that ensures no passenger ever has to miss the end of their movie or show because their journey is over – presents an interesting opportunity for engaging and capturing consumers and monetising. But it also provides new technical challenges with more content protection when the passengers are 'taking the content' out of the aircraft.

“On-demand TV reflects how people increasingly watch TV shows and films but there is the question of which channels to show, in which language, along with the associated licensing rights,” states OnAir. “This is less of an issue when flying only over one country (such as the US) however it is very complex when flying international routes.”

Pay models

Pay per view, pay by usage (MB), pay by duration and sponsorship are some of the different business models in play although these pay models are based around broadly two deployment models.

In one, airlines preload content and specialised in-flight apps onto tablets that are distributed in cabins, suggests Bringuier. In another model being deployed by IFE vendors, airlines install a plane-wide content streaming system with a wide variety of movies, TV shows, games, music and other content along with broader Internet access. Airlines can stream content to passengers’ devices and to wireless screens they distribute or build into seats.

For example, when upgrading entertainment options on the fleet of 757s it flies between Paris and New York in 2012, French airline OpenSkies (owned by British Airways) bought nearly 500 Apple iPads and preloaded them with videos to hand out to passengers instead of adding more seat back video systems. Outside the US, multiple airlines - such as Air France/KLM, China Southern, El Al Israel, Emirates Airlines, Jetstar Group, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Qantas Airways and Singapore Airlines - distribute or rent tablets to passengers and offer on-board wireless video systems that stream movies and TV shows and provide broader connectivity. In the US, carriers including American, Delta United and Southwest offer BYOD (bring your own device) streaming. Passengers connect to the airline’s onboard WiFi and stream content from its server-based onboard library.

OnAir's VOD product OnAir Play, combines inflight connectivity with films, TV, music, games, magazines and newspapers. Passengers have access to a full range of content including live news and sport, updated throughout the flight and can buy destination-based goods and services to ease their arrival. The passenger simply connects to the Wi-Fi hotspot using their own personal electronic device to access all the content. The content is also available through the embedded seat-back screens and overhead screens.

As well as pre-loaded content, OnAir Play Live is able to push content, for example news and sport, to the aircraft during the flight, giving passengers access to the latest developments. The content is tailored for each airline. For example, the news updates can come from the airline’s home country, wherever the aircraft is in the world.

Such systems can save airlines cost. According to the Wall Street Journal, the OpenSkies iPad system cost about $250k to install per plane in contrast to the $3 million per airplane that typical in-flight entertainment systems cost to wire in. An onboard wireless system could reduce hundreds of pounds without the miles of cabling required for traditional seatback systems. The WSJ reports that getting rid of screens on a single 767 Lufthansa airplane with 260 seats could save 80 metric tons of fuel a year or nearly $90,000.

Wireless systems also offer airlines future-proofing opportunities. Typical on-board seat-back entertainment systems last five to ten years and have no hope of keeping pace with rapidly shifting consumer behaviour and expectations. Airlines can keep up by opting for building less on board – including a software-upgradeable video processing enabled infrastructure.

With the current adoption rate below 10%, though, Wei Li, Senior Consultant, Euroconsult warns; “It seems providers and airlines still need to work together to find more sustainable business models in order to attract more passengers to use the service.”

Video heads the list of potential connectivity applications but is far from the from only one. For example, in the cabin it not only includes passenger connectivity but also crew communications and inventory management, crew rostering, credit card payments and telemedicine. In the cockpit, applications include connected electronic flight bags and route information as well as aircraft health monitoring. Some service suppliers (Inmarsat is one) can provide a service to cover all of these applications from cockpit to cabin.

“Successful, sustainable business models will likely evolve and hybridize just as we have seen with OTT and TV Everywhere services over the past couple of years as airlines, IFE vendors, programmers and advertisers identify the monetization models,” says Bringuier.

Bandwidth provision

Air to ground (ATG) WiFi is best suited to domestic coverage, certainly over large continental landscape markets like the US and China.

“It can provide High Throughput Satellite-comparable bandwidth and can leverage existing cellular infrastructure,” says Li. “However, for geographically fragmented markets, the licensing process will be very long and costly.”

The biggest driver for revenues is the demand for more bandwidth on regional routes for passenger and crew connectivity via Ku-band and HTS systems, states NSR's Commercial Mobility via Satellite, 10th Edition report published last summer. In-service Ku-band units will grow to just over 9,400 by the end of 2023, with most units on narrow-body airframes. This blistering pace is made possible by aircraft being outfitted on the production-line by the likes of Boeing and Airbus, mostly for North American carriers.

The rate of growth should see a slowdown around 2017/2018 when HTS units installs start to grow. HTS systems will start gaining marketshare in 2017 and as such, short-term gains are key for Ku-band.

Gogo, arguably the world's largest IFE brand, has satellite agreements in place with SES (for coverage over the US., Atlantic Ocean and Europe) and Intelsat for coverage over portions of the Atlantic and northern Pacific oceans, as well as routes over South America, Asia, Africa and Australia).

In the US it uses a Ku-band antenna for downlink to the plane and terrestrial ATG uplinks from the plane. Its latest technology, 2Ku, expands its reach globally, and deploys two Ku-band antennas for speeds of 70 Mbit/s. All Delta Air Lines international fleet and all of Virgin Atlantic's craft are being fitted with the solution.

Whether ATG or satellite delivered to the craft, one of the most important aspects of inflight connectivity is that it is available consistently. International airlines in particular need to be able to provide their passengers with a consistent service throughout every flight, whether they are flying over land or water, regardless of territory.

“The provision of consistent global connectivity is particularly important for international airlines,” says Leo Mondale, president, Inmarsat Aviation. “SwiftBroadband (Inmarsat's IP-based, high-speed data service) is the only global L-band network, and GX Aviation will be the only global Ka-band network.”

The introduction of Inmarsat’s global Ka-band network, Global Xpress (GX), early in the second half of 2015, will be a game-changer says Mondale. For the aviation market, it will provide speeds of up to 50Mbps to the aircraft, “enabling airlines to satisfy what has now become a basic need for people, keeping them connected throughout the entire journey.”

Inmarsat is working on a European Aviation Network, operating over S-band, to cover countries within the European Union, along with a complementary ground network. It will be integrated with its L-band and Ka-band networks, allowing Mondale to claim Inmarsat will “provide airlines with the highest capacity and connectivity available.”

Last summer, in-flight network switching between six satellites and three Ku- and Ka-band networks was demonstrated by ViaSat.

The test flights validated ViaSat's 'best available service' premise, a concept that borrows from mobile cellular communications. Similar to the way a cell phone roams between 3G and 4G or LTE, satellite network-switching can benefit customers in the same way, as higher performance satellite coverage areas are introduced to new regions. The airborne broadband terminal integrated a ViaSat Ku/Ka-band antenna with ViaSat mobile and broadband modems, and a third-party modem.

ViaSat's Exede in-flight internet enable broadband satcoms on 200 commercial aircraft operating over the ViaSat high-capacity Ka-band satellite network in North America. The company has also significantly expanded its global Ku- broadband airborne network to address enroute connectivity for business aircraft. Applications include live HD TV streaming.

Most of OnAir’s 21 airline customers currently use Inmarsat SwiftBroadband, which it says provides cost-effective and consistent global coverage. It is, though, agnostic about the radio link provided the technology is available for use on aircraft.

“This simple statement covers a very complex undertaking,” it states. “Inflight connectivity is subject to two areas of regulation. The first is that the airborne hardware needs certification from international and national aviation regulators. The key criteria are that it is robust enough to withstand the pressures of flying and that it does not interfere with the plane’s avionics. The second is telecoms regulatory approval for the use of the spectrum. The key objective is to ensure inflight connectivity does not interfere with ground networks.” (OnAir currently has authorizations from over 100 countries, with the list growing each month).

Since different providers use different infrastructures (and even the same provider is not able to use the same network in different regions due to the limitation of ATG or satellite coverage) quality of service is due for development.

“Many passengers complain that QoS is not equal over oceans as over continents,” says Euroconsult's Li. “This will negatively affect the passenger experience and slow down growth. QoS is expected to be harmonized in the coming years as more global and multi-regional mobile satellite networks deploy. Moreover, satellite operators have started to work closer with inflight connectivity providers prior to the launch of satellites and thus more inflight purpose-made satellite beams are expected in the future.”

Outside of the US, the TV service is primarily VOD but the introduction of HTS provides more bandwidth at low per MB price to the market, making satellite more affordable to travelers and making live broadcasting an option.

“The satellite industry is still trying to find a balance between the HTS spot beam and the regular larger beam for the investment of future satellites,” says Li. “It is difficult to tell what will be the usage mix between broadcast type services and data intensive point-to-point services in the next 15 years (typical life time of a satellite). In addition, the ATG is becoming increasingly competitive, especially over continents. Also for the business model, satellite industry now has a choice between providing the connectivity to passengers and providing network infrastructure to service providers. The infrastructure only model will ensure higher margin and is easier to operate. However the end to end service based model can ensure the market share.”

The State of Mobile Video 2015

Streaming Media Europe

The smartphone has overtaken the tablet as the go-to device for TV Everywhere consumption; the U.K. is poised to lead the world in mobile connectivity; telcos will gain more spectrum, but not quickly enough; and LTE-Broadcast is coming to market.

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Video is the largest and fastest-growing segment of mobile data traffic, which in turn is driving significant increases in internet traffic. IGR projects that mobile video will account for 71 percent of all mobile network data traffic in 2016, and according to the Mobile Analytics Report, published by Citrix in September, video generates 42 percent of daily data traffic volume on any given network.

In its Mobility Report (June 2014) Ericsson concludes that rising smartphone subscriptions are the main driver for the rise in video over mobile. In Western Europe, mobile data traffic is expected to grow more than 8 times up to 2019. The improved speed and capacity of high-speed packet access (HSPA) networks, combined with the deployment of LTE, will fuel consumer demand for a better user experience.

Globally, Ericsson finds that video is the largest contributor to traffic volumes on any device and represents 35 percent of the mobile data traffic associated with smartphones and 50 percent on tablets. These figures are roughly comparable to those from BBC iPlayer, for which requests to view from tablets (37 percent) and smartphones (24 percent) now dominate. Yet smartphone usage on iPlayer is growing more quickly (at 32 percent year-on-year) than tablet video requests (25 percent), a trend mirrored in macro findings from the latest Adobe Video Benchmark.

Indeed, the smartphone has overtaken the tablet as the go-to device for TV Everywhere consumption.

Adobe reports that 13.6 percent of video starts are instigated from smartphones, while 13 percent come from tablets. Video requests to smartphones rose 59 percent over the last year, more than double the 29 percent rate of increase of tablet requests. Adobe attributes this growth in smartphone video use to larger screen sizes (the iPhone 6 Plus, for instance, boasts a 5.5" display) and rising penetration of the devices.

Ofcom figures report that 44 percent of U.K. homes own a tablet (up from 25 percent in 2013) and that six out of 10 Britons own a smartphone (Deloitte puts the figure at 35 million people) and are consuming video in various forms, including streaming movies and TV, UGC, and video telephony, over both cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

U.S. and U.K. users prefer Wi-Fi to cellular networks because of better network speed, cost, and reliability, according to Ericsson.

Global mobile subscriptions are expected to reach 9.3 billion by 2019, with 5.6 billion of these being for smartphones.

“The rapid pace of smartphone uptake has been phenomenal and is set to continue,” Douglas Gilstrap, senior vice president and head of strategy at Ericsson, says in the report. “It took more than 5 years to reach the first billion smartphone subscriptions, but it will take less than 2 [years] to hit the two billion mark.”

Its research also noted that by 2019, almost two-thirds of the world’s population will be covered by 4G/LTE networks.

As a result, video advertising on mobile phones is on the march. In the first half of 2014 mobile video advertising grew 196 percent to £63.9 million (about $100.4 million) and is now the fastest-growing digital ad format, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau U.K. Digital Adspend in a report conducted by PwC.

“Mobile’s share of the digital ad pie has tripled in 2 years, accounting for a fifth of total spend—rising to nearly a third of display and over half of social media ads,” says Dan Bunyan, manager, PwC. “As 4G becomes more prevalent and phone screens become larger, it will play an even bigger role in driving digital ad spend—particularly video.”

4G on Fast Track

4G services are leading to a rapid increase in demand for mobile video, with subscribers on 4G mobile networks being 1.5 times more likely to watch video than subscribers on 3G networks, according to Citrix.

The report found that 4G subscribers are more likely to watch long-form video content and watch it at a higher resolution. “LTE (4G) clearly drives increased demand for mobile video,” Anna Yong, senior product marketing manager at Citrix, said in an accompanying release. “On average, each request results in longer viewing times than 3G as demand shifts from more short-form content such as that hosted by YouTube, to longer-form content such as that hosted by Netflix.”

However, European 4G network coverage lags behind that of the U.S., where at least 19 percent of the country had coverage compared to just 2 percent in Europe at the start of 2014, according to mobile operator trade body GSMA.

John Giusti, GSMA’s head of policy, blamed this on delays in the release of the 800 MHz band. “There is not yet meaningful take up of 4G in Eastern Europe, and in Western Europe the percentage is only 3 percent compared to 25 percent in the U.S. and 24 percent in Japan,” he says.

There are business impacts. “In Europe live streaming from cameras in the field is just starting up,” says Gustav Emrich, JVC's European product manager. “There is a demand, but in terms of network coverage and rollout of 4G LTE, Europe is far behind the U.S. Even in Germany if you stray too far from a major urban centre connectivity will fall away.”

Neelie Kroes, the outgoing EU commissioner for digital agenda, made it her mission to urge member states to license their 4G spectrum, facilitate investment in wireless broadband, and extend coverage beyond urban areas. In a keynote to the industry at IBC she said, “It’s time for EU countries to put 4G deployment at the top of their digital to-do list, and support a true digital single market.”

The EU expects 80 percent of the EU population to be covered by LTE by 2018. The GSMA projects that LTE will make up 53 percent of connections in Europe by 2020, and coverage will reach 91 percent of the population. Those projections mean rapid growth, which began in 2014 as operators in most major European territories began rollout, and will really fly in 2015.

Deutsche Telekom, Europe’s largest carrier, is rolling out a 4G network in Germany. Other carriers include Dutch operator KPN, Norway’s Telenor, and Telia Sweden—but it is the U.K. market and in particular Everything Everywhere (EE) that are leading the way.

The joint venture, forged by T-Mobile and Orange (and bought by BT in February 2015), has made the most of its full year jump-start on competitors. In return for yielding a slice of its 1800MHz spectrum in 2012, EE got to use part of its existing 3G bandwidth to launch 4G, and by end of 2014 had 6 million subscribers and over 75 percent national U.K. coverage, with 100 percent on the cards by 2016.

After launching a year later, in August 2013, Vodafone and O2 are aiming for 98 percent coverage by end of 2015. Deloitte expects total 4G subscriber numbers to exceed 10 million by the end of 2014 in the U.K. Regulator Ofcom demands that 4G reach 98 percent of the U.K. population by the end of 2017, but rollout looks ahead of that target.

So much so that U.K. networks are exploring advanced services. After a trial across East London’s Tech City (home to Google and multiple high-tech businesses), EE plans to spread LTE-A, promising speeds up to 300Mbps to other major U.K. cities by early 2015. Vodafone has announced the same, beginning with London, Liverpool, and Birmingham. Vodafone Spain has already rolled out LTE-A in three cities, and Swisscom is preparing to launch LTE-A in 2015. O2 parent company Telefonica has begun testing LTE-A in Germany.

EE's ambitions further include trials of a 400Mbps service, which would make it the fastest 4G provider in the world. Those speeds are likely to first be seen at Wembley Stadium, the national sports venue in north London, with a wider rollout planned for 2016.

From lagging far behind mobile broadband economies such as South Korea and even the U.S., by 2017 the U.K. may have leapt into the lead.

So confident are telecom operators of business based on video that two of them are launching TV services. EE will market a £300 (about $471.51) STB with access to Freeview channels and BBC iPlayer. This will compete directly with YouView, the collaboration between broadcasters and broadband companies including the BBC and TalkTalk. While it was a home TV service on launch, EE plans to migrate the service to its 4G network. In response, Vodafone—which already runs multiplatform TV services in Germany, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands—also announced its intention to open a similar offer in the U.K.

Reporting company earnings in November, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao said that one-fifth of its mobile data in Europe is from its 4G network. “Video and audio today is 40 percent of the total traffic. Video is increasing to almost 90 percent in Europe,” he said. “YouTube and Facebook are helping to drive this growth.”

The EU is also investing €700 million (about $872 million) in 5G technology, which is reckoned to be deliver speeds around 10 times faster than 4G connections. It’s also looking for commercial spending to bring the total to more than €3 billion (about $3.74 billion). 5G standardisation isn’t expected until at least 2020 although LTE and LTE-A is considered part of it.

“We need to think beyond borders and come up with a global approach towards 5G by the end of 2015,” Kroes urged. “5G will offer totally new possibilities to connect people, and also things—cars, houses, energy infrastructures. However, we are still a decade away from 5G deployment and we still do not have an EU-wide 4G network on which 5G will be built.”

In November, Nokia signalled its intention to build a test case for 5G in the north of its native Finland.

Europe Poised to Open Up Spectrum

The debate about spectrum can be a dry topic, but the decisions on its allocation have far-reaching consequences for industry and consumers.

The immediate debate hinges on the 700MHz UHF band currently used to service 250 million people in Europe with free-to-air digital terrestrial TV.

FTA broadcasters might have to cede this frequency to mobile operators after a recommendation to the European Commission. Pascal Lamy’s report, commissioned by the EC and published in September, proposed that 700MHz be dedicated to mobile usage by 2020.

The report also proposed that the remaining UHF spectrum below 700MHz be safeguarded for broadcasters until 2030.

Debate over the resource intensified during the year with compelling arguments heard from both sides. Those in the mobile camp maintain that even getting hold of 700MHz to boost 4G and LTE-Broadcast capacity) by 2020 is several years too late.

“Limiting Europe’s flexibility on the possible coexistence of mobile and digital broadcast services until 2030 will discourage investment in world-leading mobile networks,” Anne Bouverot, director general of GSMA, said in response to Lamy.

“Europe is at risk of falling behind in terms of global competitiveness,” added GSMA’s Giusti. At IBC he questioned whether terrestrial TV or mobile provided greater economic contribution.

“The answer is unambiguous. In 2013 the economic value of mobile in the EU was €269 billion (about $335 billion) compared to €48 billion (about $59.8 billion) for digital terrestrial television (DTT) and radio. We estimate that the divide will grow stronger with mobile value increasing 77 percent in the next decade and TV dropping by 50 percent in the same time frame.”

EU figures suggest that viewing to DTT has dropped by 10 percent in the past year. Some broadcasters are moving toward a broadband-only content delivery—the BBC’s decision to axe BBC3 from the airwaves and make it online-only from 2015 is a case in point.

Countering the broadcast lobby’s argument that DTT provides valuable public service, Guillaume Lebrun, director of spectrum and technology policy at Qualcomm, says, “Mobile is also an enabling force in ecommerce, vehicle, and home connectivity, health and education.”

The EBU naturally takes the opposite line. The case against the cost of clearing DTT from the spectrum outweighed the benefit of the switch by a factor of four, it says. “There is no proven demand for 700 MHz yet, and 800 MHz is not fully deployed,” says Simon Fell, EBU director of technology and innovation. Recognising that mobile traffic will increase by 50-60 percent by 2017 he suggested most of that growth will be absorbed by Wi-Fi.

Comcast weighed into the debate with an eye-catching calculation that were mobile broadband charges chalked up the same way as Wi-Fi is used to stream video, it would cost $2,000 to watch every episode of Breaking Bad in a month.

Protecting the spectrum until at least 2030 is also important to protect investment in new public broadcast services such as HEVC codecs for UHD. Tests on this in 2014 included sending 4K live feeds of the World Cup from Brazil and over the DTT infrastructure in the U.K., organised by the BBC.

“The Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast live to 190 million people. How is that possible over mobile?” Fell asked. “The value to the public is immeasurable and cannot be reduced to a rolling 2-year contract.”

In the U.K., Ofcom is assessing the situation and believes that even if 700MHz were allocated to mobile free to view TV can still be safeguarded. The German government and its FTA broadcasters come to a similar conclusion and plan to use HEVC and new DTT transmission scheme DVBT2 in a rollout beginning 2017. For broadcasters this means DVBT2 can be used to deliver mobile broadband services and should prevent any culling of bandwidth below 700MHz.

“I welcome the migration by terrestrial networks from 700MHz but to discuss spectrum below that would destroy the DTT platform,” says Lars Buckland, secretary general, Broadcast Networks Europe.

The debate is characterised as black and white, when in reality a balance needs to be found. “Rather than exercising judgement we could take a massive gamble based on ideological belief or political imperative,” says Jonathan Thompson, CEO, Digital UK. “Now is not the time to risk Europe’s most popular TV platform on shaky business models and uncertain economics. DTT will be the backbone of free-to-air broadcast for many years to come. This is not about sticking our head in the sand. If we don’t innovate in the way we use spectrum we don’t deserve to hold on to it.”

LTE Broadcast: From Test to Commercial Reality

The broadcast mode of LTE (eMBMS/Evolved Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service), in combination with HEVC and MPEG DASH, is being tested to address growing consumer demand for video services.

Video-intensive bandwidth demands explain why mobile video is such a drain on the network, but by multicasting live content over cellular networks, carriers could conserve valuable 4G capacity. By using LTE-Broadcast, carriers could reduce demand on networks by 12.5 percent and by 15 percent at peak hours, according to iGR.

At the beginning of the year, South Korean mobile network operator KT began the world’s first national LTE-Broadcast service, preceding a series of trials by operators in the U.S and Europe.

The most visible was a collaboration by the BBC, EE, Qualcomm, and Huawei at Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games in July. Three events were streamed simultaneously using eMBMS in MPEG-DASH and sent over IP to a Huawei server situated within the EE test labs. Content was encapsulated within multicast and transmitted on the 2.6GHz spectrum. Those attending the showcase in Glasgow were be able to watch the footage on their mobile devices via 4G broadcast.

EE plans another stadium trial in Q1 2015 with 4K content with commercial deployments earmarked for 2016, again beginning with stadiums.

Stadiums have been the focus of tests to date since they provide a concentrated population of smartphone users whose network congestion could be relieved by LTE-B. On top of that, telcos and rightsholders spy opportunities to deliver in-stadia services such as live stream feeds, replays, and statistics. Airports are other target venues where people are most likely to stream the same content. While unicast on-demand video will remain the main delivery model, LTE-B promises useful capacity management.

Mike Wright, group managing director of Australia’s Telstra, which conducted its first LTE-B test at Melbourne Cricket Ground last January, says that there are two main benefits. “One is about the way we more efficiently design a network which is going to save us costs, and then there is potential for new services and new revenue streams. When you put the two together you have a business case.”

Telstra’s test used 6GB of bandwidth to air three live streams, rather than 2GB of bandwidth per channel for each connected user. Other applications include broadcast to moving vehicles (connected cars), digital signage, and emergency service broadcasts.

“There will be a core range of applications for this tech, which will get it started,” says Wright. “Once established in the network, it will begin to grow on its own. We just need to get it started.”

Vodafone partnered with Ericsson to test the tech during a soccer match at Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany; KPN did the same at Ajax’s Amsterdam Arena, as did Orange at Roland Garros and Poland’s Polkomtel at Warsaw’s National Stadium.

In the U.S., AT&T and Verizon, which tested at some at Indy car races, are expected to deploy LTE Broadcast commercially sometime in 2015. At August’s Oppenheimer Technology, Internet & Communications Conference in Boston, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo called the advent of the technology “the pivotal point that starts to change the way content is delivered over a mobile handset which opens up content into the wireless world.”

In July, Nokia and a consortia including German research body Institut für Rundfunktechnik launched Europe’s first eMBMS trials for national broadcasting. This trial in Munich was the first to apply the technology on the UHF spectrum, using part of the 700MHz band to broadcast over a 200 square-km area. 700MHz is the hotly contested spectrum used by DTT in Europe.

“Our approach is to learn if there is a new convergent system benefiting TV and mobile for both linear and on-demand personalised video,” says Klaus Illgner-Fehns, managing director, IRT. “Is there a unified air interface which can serve millions of users at the same time and provide business opportunities for both mobile and broadcast?”

According to Nokia, LTE-B promises new revenue sources for operators by distributing TV over existing mobile broadband infrastructure. Subscribers would be able to watch TV on their devices without eating into their mobile data plan and independent of network load. It would allow for a free-to-air or pay TV service while broadcasters and content providers could extend their reach to mobile users and open the door for a multitude of interactive services.

The drive to LTE has not yet been as strong in the region as in North America because Europe lacks a harmonised approach to technology rollouts. However, Ericsson is among those that suggest the lag is also the result of factors such as having well-developed 3G networks.

Devices are another impediment to wide consumer adoption, although Qualcomm has begun to introduce eMBMS support as standard issue in its Snapdragon chipsets.

Speaking on the topic at trade event IBC, Frank Hermans, Ericsson’s head of TV and media sales, said, “We see the 2015-2019 time frame holding significant revenue opportunities once you bring the ecosystem partners together of content, stadia, mobile, and technology. There is real money in LTE Broadcast. Innovation will only increase.”

Cellular Opens New Markets

There is a profound technology shift in electronic newsgathering (ENG) underway as wireless technologies augment and in some cases supplant satellite systems.

Claimed as Europe’s first cellular newsgathering fleet (CNG), BT Sport outfitted three vehicles with LiveU LU500 units and Xtender remote antennas. Each LU500 backpack can be connected wirelessly (up to 1,000 metres) or via Ethernet to the Xtender that sits on top of each vehicle.

“We now have a fleet-footed and effective way of allowing sports journalists to get the story back to us,” explains Andy Beale, chief engineer with BT Sport.

News agency ITN signed a multi-year contract with BT’s Media and Broadcast division, to provide location news teams with wireless transmission technology across London.

The camera-mounted RF system called BT Media Live will allow ITN camera crews to broadcast live or transfer footage wirelessly to its studios from locations throughout the capital linked through BT Tower.

BT also plans to cover other U.K. cities with hubs to service the RF system. “There are so many news stories in our cities, but covering them can be a logistical headache when you have to secure a connection, find somewhere to park the truck, and book satellite space. Add the costs of maintaining your own receive sites and the challenge for broadcasters is clear,” says Mark Wilson-Dunn, vice president of BT Media & Broadcast.

In the U.S., Spanish-language broadcaster Noticias MundoFOX based its entire ENG operation on LIVE+ 20/20 cellular-bonded transmitters from Dejero. MundoFOX has deployed a transmitter at each of its bureaus in Mexico City; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; and NYC, with two LIVE+ servers installed in the network’s headquarters in LA. With feeds coming into the servers from the transmitters, operators can access the content and route it as required for playout to a live broadcast, or archive it for use in a later production.

“Budget is always a large consideration for a start-up news network,” says Armando Acevedo, the network’s director of operations. “The ability to cover live, breaking news from the source is a critical differentiator but can also be a major expense area, especially if the station has to maintain costly satellite vehicles.”

The farther away from sports venues and metropolitan areas you go, the more likely satcoms are to remain the first, and in many cases, only, system guaranteed to work. You don’t have to stray into war zones or disaster aftermaths, either; rural locales in Europe are chronically underserved by reliable cellular connections.

Consequently, a hybrid of new lighter-weight, portable Ka-band satellite terminals and 3G/4G on-camera and backpack systems (which will also connect to satellite) will be in most newsgatherers’ flyaway baggage.

“The future of newsgathering will rely on hybrid multi-mode systems providing live video over a multitude of communication infrastructures,” says Ali Zarkesh, product development director at Vislink. “While the use of cellular is increasing, if you base your whole communications policy on it you have to bare in mind the limitations.”

This article appears in the 2015 Streaming Media Europe Sourcebook as "The State of Mobile Video."

Guide to...File-Based Storage

Broadcast

With the industry moving to file-based programme delivery, how should all this digital content be stored?

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/guide-tofile-based-storage/5083592.article

Having adapted to file-based deliverables, indies are now being forced to rethink strategies around content storage. Alarmingly, many producers are maintaining a room full of dusty tapes or shelves full of hard drives. A Digital Production Partnership (DPP) survey of indies last April found that 46% were storing masters on tape and 20% planned to continue to use tape as a solution. And 9% were using portable hard drives, which the DPP guidelines label “a disaster waiting to happen” because of the hardware’s failure rate.

In practice, the principles behind storing files are not all that different from those for keeping tapes. Producers still have to decide what material to keep, for how long, and how they’re going to find it again. But the introduction of the DPP’s AS-11 standard for file delivery demands a top-to-tail revision of what it means to store programme masters.

“This is a hot business issue,” says Maverick TV and North One TV head of post Donna Mulvey- Jones. “Content is at the heart of a producer’s business but how we keep content has changed. It is no longer good enough to put a tape on the shelf.”

For a start, the term ‘master’ is not entirely straightforward. The AS-11 copy sent to the broadcaster is the delivery master, but there may be different delivery master versions. Additionally, there will be a high-resolution mezzanine or edit master based on original EDLs used for re-edits ahead of transmission or downstream distribution. Associate elements necessary for versioning could include audio stems, stills, auto QC and Harding reports, graphics packages, music cue sheets, stills and an H.264 viewing proxy.

Avoiding duplication 
“You can end up with files duplicated everywhere,” says Timeline TV North post-production director Eben Clancy. “Because producers have never had to think about archive in the tape world, it is very difficult to get them to take it seriously. There is nothing built into the budget to deal with media afterwards and it’s always an afterthought.

“There’s no joined-up approach. As far as most people are concerned, the file moves through the system like a tape, but there are major questions for everyone about who keeps what version of which file, what happens when you hand it on and when it should be deleted.”

These are decisions that should not be left to individual producers, many of whom move swiftly on to the next project. These are long-term, company-wide policies that fall under the purview of a head of production.

“Companies need to decide whether to do this in-house or outsource, and that depends on whether they have the expertise internally to manage it,” says Mulvey-Jones, who is leading a review of tapeless storage at the All3Media-owned indies.

Next step: the DPP is set to publish guidance on how to catalogue, review and search content

“One of my projects is to assess how much of what we’re currently spending on warehouse space could be put into a new media asset management [MAM] system,” she says. “We can’t afford a massive MAM but we do want select content to be searchable, quickly retrievable and secure. And it has to work against a budget.”

The solution may be a hybrid of content stored on servers externally, but accessible from a MAM frontend at the indie.

RDF is also weighing the return on investment from buying and maintaining a nearline asset management system in-house against paying for outside storage provision. RDF head of technical Tara Palmer says: “We find ourselves going back to finished programming frequently, both for compliance and project development. It’s increasingly apparent that we need to search and access those master files efficiently, and that a MAM is key.”

Post facilities have taken it upon themselves to help transition clients to the new workflows. Alongside the AS-11 delivery file, it is standard practice to consolidate the elements that went into the programme with another version stored at high resolution, most likely in DNX or ProRes. Few facilities, however, are making additional revenue from storing these files on behalf of producers, although some are examining options.

Archiving services 
Evolutions, for example, is in the process of creating a web portal allowing clients, notably those of fixed-rig shows, to search and browse low-res proxies of deliverables in the mid- to long-term. Crow TV ensures its clients are offered the most usable collection of assets as routine. “There may be a revenue stream if different deliverables can be marketed,” says head of post Andy Briers.

Alongside an LTO archive for rushes, Envy has begun offering a master archiving service. “We are offering to store these assets in a long-term archive, allowing clients immediate access whenever they need it,” explains head of operations Jai Cave.

The Farm will store a one-hour programme and all assets for three years for a one-off fee of £500 as part of its single programme on the shelf (Spots) service. “If you can make the price of storing the asset as attractive as it would have been to make all those deliverables [on tape], then producers won’t see this as an additional cost sitting at the end of the delivery process, but a de facto part of the programme budget,” says The Farm joint managing director David Klafkowski. “This is not about replacing the MAM systems at the bigger production companies. Often they do not have the time to collate all of the nuts and bolts per finished episode. That is a service that post houses have traditionally done.”

The catch, however, is that the business model around file storage is one of volume. The larger indies that are most likely to have volume are also the most likely to invest in their own MAM systems, while smaller indies that are most in need of a storage policy will lack the volume or resources to make it pay.

“It’s easy for an indie to commission, say, The Farm for one job and take the next to Envy, but after a few years your master content will be all over Soho,” warns Mulvey-Jones. “It won’t be cost-effective and it won’t be secure if a facility goes bust.”

Nor are most facilities equipped with redundant data centres and petabytes of storage. “We archive everything we make a programme out of and keep an LTO for five years, along with the AS-11 and associate files, but our speciality is not in archive,” says Evolutions operations director Owen Tyler.

That’s where archive and content processing specialists like Re:fine or Ark Post Production come into their own. “Every client has individual needs so we offer a bespoke service around three levels of storage: nearline work in progress, disc-based

storage for urgent retrieval or thirdtier deeper archive on LTO,” says Ark technical consultant David Carstairs.

Clancy says Timeline would “love” to make a business out of archive but clients don’t want to spend the money. “They are willing to pay just enough so that if they had to find something they could, but they’re not willing to spend real money to make finding it easy,” he says.

DPP on Storage

The DPP has discussed whether there’s merit in mandating storage standards and determined there isn’t. However, it will publish a “definitive and more tech nical guide” to storage this summer. DPP project manager Rachel Baldwin says: “We recognise that production companies need to store a range of content, from the high-quality editable file to all programme elements. We will provide detailed guidance on how to catalogue, review and search content, and aim to standardise the terminology.”

Pinewood Lights Up: MBS Lighting

British Cinematographer 

From the start of the new year, Pinewood and Shepperton has had a new name on the lot, as well as a new partnership. Pinewood MBS Lighting. The new company will have exclusive rights to service productions to on both Pinewood sites with grip, lighting and rigging equipment.

https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/special-report-pinewood-mbs/

The business has pedigree. Pinewood formed the partnership with MBS3, the company that manages LA’s MBS Equipment Company and MBS Media Campus, their production facility located in Manhattan Beach, the base camp for James Cameron's trio of Avatar sequels. The MBS Media Campus in Los Angeles contains 15 soundstages on 23 acres, three of them leased long-term by Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment. Not entirely new to each other, MBS3 and Pinewood currently have an exclusive supplier relationship at the UK group's Atlanta property.

“We put out a request for proposal (RFP) two years ago for a lighting business partner to work with us in Atlanta,” explains Pinewood commercial director Nick Smith. He says that Pinewood examined four proposals and the one that impressed them the most was the one from MBS.

“In the US, the film lighting rental industry runs a little differently to the UK. When producers visit the lot they expect you to have a lighting provider on-site,” Smith says. The relationship seemed to serve as a good testing ground to how something like this would work in the UK. Until Warner Brothers brought in its own equipment operation at Leavesden, the UK studio market tended to shy away from exclusive arrangements. That seems to be changing and understandably Pinewood took great care in finding the right solution for its UK operations. Even though MBS had the Pinewood Atlanta agreement, the UK deal had to be vetted separately.

“We didn't take that working relationship for granted when we turned to look at the UK,” says Smith. “We issued an RFP as before, received four bids and we again felt that MBS was the best scenario for us.”

“One of the things we believe that sets us apart, and gave us the edge over competitors for the RFP, is that we are studio operators first who also have our own lighting company” says Michael Newport, EVP at MBS3. “We understand how to run a studio. We understand the studio's relationship with equipment providers and production, and we were able to customise our offering to give Pinewood ownership in the operation. It truly was a unique approach.”

In part, Smith says, this was on recommendations of clients. “MBS' reputation and quality of service, their vision and enthusiasm all played a part. They are more a partner than a simple provider of lighting. They understand the studios business and it made a great deal of sense to operate a joint venture where we could trade on the quality of both of our brands.”

Those clients are some of the biggest in the industry. “We have a number of premium clients in common” Newport echoes, “such as Marvel.”

Marvel set up production offices at MBS in 2008 until 2012 shooting Iron Man 2 and Captain America: Winter Soldier among other shows on-site; whilst Avengers: Age of Ultron shot at Pinewood last year (with pick-ups being shot in January), and Avengers: Infinity War and a possible sequel, will reportedly be shot back-to-back at Pinewood later in 2015. Pinewood is also home to Disney's Star Wars, Episode VIII, which will begin principal photography in 2015.

Newport acknowledges the established lighting, grip and rigging providers in the UK. “We new that would be a challenge for us,” he admits. “We have a lot to overcome to be accepted in the market, so we want to make sure we take the right approach.”

Consequently, MBS is keen to treat the local market with respect. It has hired Darren Smith, former sales director at Panalux UK, to head up the new venture.

“It was important for us that we started off with the right team,” says Newport. “We didn't want to come in and tell them how to do their jobs. We wanted to put together a team from the UK, based in the UK, who know how best to operate in the local market. We did a lot of due diligence and everything came back to Darren in terms of the respect that producers, DPs and gaffers have for him.”

Joining Smith’s team will be Steve Howard (technical director) and Justin Bennett (sales director). Smith said, “it was vital that the right team was assembled in order to make the company a success and the transition for our customers as seamless as possible. We have managed to pull together the correct blend of experience, drive and the know-how to accommodate our customer’s needs on both budgetary and technical levels”.

The inventory is arriving in brand new boxes on a daily basis, reflecting MBS3’s substantial investment.

Newport adds, “We're buying as much new equipment as possible. We want to make a statement. It would perhaps have been more economic to try and just buy someone else's used kit, but being a new company we felt this would bring a better offering to our customers and give us something that not everyone else has. We have substantial orders coming in to complement what we have already received.”

Among the kit will be LED lighting. “We're in a period when there's new technology emerging and when some lighting is being phased out. LED may or may not be the direction of the entire market, but we are investing in a significant amount of it.”

“One of the big differences I feel between the UK and the US market is that rental companies here seem much more involved in the process of technology and pressing the edge a bit more to develop new equipment in tandem with DPs. We want to be at the forefront of that innovation.”

Both parties seem keen to export the business partnership to other markets. Pinewood has bases in Germany, Malaysia, Canada and the Dominican Republic.

“We are definitely interested in expanding the brand out to other areas where Pinewood operates. It would be a natural progression, but for now we’re concentrating our focus on getting things on the lot right first and pushing on from there” says Newport.

Blending real and virtual elements on set: part 3

BroadcastBridge

Although augmented reality virtual studios have been around for decades, their use is only now coming of age. Previous barriers of price, design quality, graphics performance, and ease-of-use have disappeared, resulting in comparable costs for traditional studios with practical sets versus new studios with AR and VS.

https://www.thebroadcastbridge.com/content/entry/1260/blending-real-virtual-elements-sets-part-3

Discussing the topic in our third look at blending real and virtual sets are Mark Bowden, Senior Product Manager, ChyronHego and Dave Larson, General Manager, Ross Virtual Solutions.

AR, explains Larson, technically means that there is no green screen background and virtual elements can only be in the foreground or the illusion is lost. With a green screen, virtual elements can be both foreground and background.

“The biggest challenge in blending real and virtual elements is the creation of more photorealistic virtual elements and making a seamless transition between the real and the virtual,” suggests Larson. “This includes matching the lighting and the reflections of the real environment on the virtual elements so they composite seamlessly into the real environment.

“The goal should always be to create virtual elements that support and enhance storytelling. The same principles that go into making real practical elements should be applied to developing virtual elements. Designing with virtual elements needs to include the interaction of the talent with the virtual elements as well as having proper space and location for the virtual elements. Uniquely, virtual elements can defy the laws of physics, enabling new approaches in using virtual elements in storytelling.”

Bowden's advice is to approach AR as something to enhance the shoot, rather than an AR design that overtakes the set and forces the crew to shoot around AR elements. In other words, he says, the crew shouldn’t have to make any changes in their normal shooting routine; rather, the AR should blend in. AR has to work within the realm of the physical set. It should be dictated to but not dictate the show.

However, AR is not always suitable. “It should never be used if it doesn’t serve a purpose or becomes editorially jarring,” says Bowden, adding, “AR should blend in seamlessly and never distract, and it should never dictate the overall look of the set.”

Neither is it particularly appropriate for programming that requires lots of physical interaction, suggests Larson, with set elements or that requires audience participation, where the audience is unable to see the virtual elements on stage and must rely on monitors/TVs. “Environments with uncontrolled lighting can be difficult since this may change or brake the illusion,” he says.

Rehearsals are the key for talent to be comfortable with the technology. This can include placing physical marks only visible by talent to identify the location of virtual elements. “Placement of large monitors off camera to provide talent feedback so they can visually and physically interact with the virtual elements,” says Larson. Ross Video suggests a walk before you run approach by introducing virtual graphics on an incremental basis as talent works with the technology.

It takes time and patience for a presenter to become comfortable with AR elements, and also to create an environment in which the presenter looks natural with the AR. “This requires careful placement of monitors, repetition until such factors as the proper eye line become natural, and keeping the environment as simple as possible,” advises Bowden, “It’s all about making the presenter’s words work and letting the AR elements handle the complex, visual aspects of the story.”

Lens calibration is vital; in fact, its importance can’t be overstated for creating a realistic and non-distracting AR or VR experience. On too many broadcasts, the vendors note glaring AR errors because the lens was not calibrated properly. “In order to blend AR with physical elements seamlessly and in a believable manner, the lens focal length has to be perfect from tight to wide angle,” says Bowden.

“From a technology point of view, more powerful graphics will enable virtual elements to become more photo realistic with real time shadows and reflections making virtual and real seamless,” says Larson. “Improved talent interaction with virtual elements as well as advanced talent tracking technology will play a big role in the future.

“Camera tracking will become ubiquitous, where all cameras and lens will track their position and field of view, streaming the data to real-time graphics engines as well as saving the metadata for postproduction workflows. Both real-time depth keying and difference keying will be used as the technology evolves to the current level of chromakeying technology.”

At NAB2015 Ross expects broadcasters to be seriously looking at how this technology can enhance storytelling, retain/gain viewership, create new advertising opportunities and reduce future design and operational costs.

ChyronHego's take is that forthcoming solutions will enable users to automatically drive virtual graphics. As operators become more comfortable with the AR tools, we’ll start to see their use with jibs and steady cams rather than just stationary pedestals. If not this year than at the 2016 NAB Show, Bowden thinks we’ll see more dynamic cameras that facilitate this AR interaction with presenters – such as the new class of depth-sensing cameras from Intel.” 

“We anticipate that more technology companies will be showing how to practically use AR and VS for news, weather, and sports today. We also will see more use of a combination of both practical and virtual elements to enable customers to get started now and grow with the technology over time.”