IBC’s introduction to OTT

Opening the discussions at the IBC Content Everywhere Europe Hub this coming September is ‘IBC’s Introduction to OTT’, which will kick off the programme of sessions.

Eight sessions have been curated to provide visitors with editorially-independent introductions to some of the new concepts, technologies and business models at the intersection of broadcast and broadband.

Staged in the Hub Theatre at the heart of Hall 14, these free-to-attend sessions will be complemented by a full schedule of demonstrations that showcase a broad cross section of the latest products and services that are contributing to the exponential growth in the distribution of digital media online.

IBC’s Introduction to over the top (OTT) at 13:00 on Friday at the show will explore the implications for broadcasters and content creators of the new route to media distribution that isn’t bound by the conventions of traditional linear broadcast.

Conceived as a beginners’ guide to OTT and content everywhere, this first session will explain the processes by which content can be made available online and the sometimes bewildering jargon behind technologies such as codecs and encoding, muxing and streaming players. Speakers will also try to explain who the different players are in this alternative value chain and how they all fit together.

From the present to the future, the panel discussion programme will conclude on Monday on 12 September at 15:30 with a look at the roadmap for new mobile technologies that will impact the smart screens that are in so many people’s pockets.

The session will look at how the broadband capabilities of smartphones and tablets are being enhanced with upgrades to the mobile industry’s 4G LTE standards and the progress being made by LTE-Broadcast which has the potential to make broadcasting to large numbers of mobiles a more practical reality. Panellists will also look at how these developments fit in with 5G and the Internet of Things.

by: Fergal Ringrose