Chapter 6

Digital Television

Distribution

Local terrestrial DTV / 4K / UHD OTA: over the air

Oculus Rift example – HMD OTT – over the top television

non-broadcast, Internet-streamed video content viewed on a digital display

What is the line between broadcast/cable/DBS-delivered “linear” television and that of on-demand streamed content

We had this discussion as we started video

Digital Distribution

All-encompassing term: Internet-Delivered Television or I-DTV.

The use of this meta-term would include current things called OTT, Connected, and IPTV streamed programming

Digital Distribution Displays are also changing.

Screen size LCD, LED, OLED, (plasma), DLP Consider a 4K TV if you want your TV to be

acceptable five years from now. OLED TVs look much better than a typical

LED/LCD, but they are very expensive. Curved TVs are a fashion statement. They don’t

benefit image quality. “smart” televisions now common

Chap 6—History & Development Evolution of digital OTA TV Today: HD vs. multicasting

Network & syndication deals Extra channels: HD or SD Local market stations and local programming vs.

national

Local creation and distribution…

Do we need local OTA signals?

Two primary areas affecting the diffusion of digital television and video in the United States— An ongoing battle over the digital television

spectrum between broadcasters, regulators, and mobile telecommunication providers—and

the diffusion of new digital technologies such as 4K-resolution DTV, mobile DTV, thin-screen displays such as OLED, and the advent of smart televisions.

Communication Technology

RTV 151

Multichannel TV ServicesAnd

Streaming Media

MVPD

Multichannel Video Program Distributors Cable, DBS, IPTV SMATV, MMDS, TVRO (see earlier chapter) Pay TV

PPV, VOD, NVOD

Cable TV

Started late 1940s Growth began in 1970s (HBO) Tree and branch architecture

Headend Reception from -- , conversion, channel assignment

Trunk Line Feeder lines Drop lines Backfeed lines amplifiers

Local geographic areas - but MSOs

Some Cable TV issues

A la carte Must carry Franchising / IPTV -- statewide -- FCC Digital cable Telephony (VoIP) -- Skype, Vonage, Google Voice... High speed internet (slow down issue) Coax / copper wires / hybrid / all fiber Multicasting DTV channels

DBS issues

Location of satellites (dishpointer) Location of uplink facilities

DirecTV: Castle Rock, CO DISH: Cheyenne, WY

Local into local HD roll-out -- MPEG-4 AVC Satellites

Launching / How launched video / multiple dishes HD locals

HD bandwidth problem Ultra HD program production and distribution For cable, satellite … any distributor:

bandwidth High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) uses

advanced compression algorithms in a new global H.265 DTV standard adopted in January of 2013 by the International Telecommunications Union. It superseded their H.264 AVC standard and uses half the bit rate of MPEG-4

Handling 4K One of the things holding 4K back has been a

lack of programming and content. Netflix got the ball rolling earlier this year by

streaming of House of Cards and other original series in 4K

DirecTV started development for providing 4K video on demand last year.

“Currently, 4K is being streamed in H.265/HEVC BT.709 color gamut, 4:2:0 color subsampling, and 8-bit dynamic range.”

Handling 4K But current advancements and standards

committees also looking at an ultra high definition spec of 10-bit color and…

Google has a competing VP9 UHD codec. StreamingMedia.com article

IPTV issues

Service locations / regulations FiOS vs. U-verse IPTV vs. cable vs. DBS vs. --- Internet

broadband 2-way benefits vs. other MVPDs Bundles -- benefits?

The Aereo Controversy

Aereo, a U.S. company founded in 2012, was a unique Over-The-Top MVPD service designed to ‘provide a remote, over-the-air antenna to each subscriber.’

What about it… ?

Streaming Media

UStream Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, iHeart, etc. Live radio stations and live ‘TV stations’

Copyright issues (who owns what?) Original site or extra distribution outlet?

Roku, Apple TV ‘you’ll need somebody to log in from their cable’ Siri demo, Google Now OK Google demo And do you need a thingcharger?

Established streaming platforms

Microsoft / Windows Media Player RealPlayer / RealProducer as encoder Apple QuickTime Apple iTunes Streaming sites

Livestream Ustream

Also... Macromedia/Flash -- technically a plug-in

Podcasting, etc.

RSS - really simple syndication ; not live streaming EV-DO -- Verizon’s Evolution Data Only Network --

‘V-cast’ wireless mobile video service (or ‘optimized)

Compare to mobile TV? (mDTV)

DVB example FiOS TV -- Verizon’s fiber optic to the home service

that offers broadband Internet, IPTV and phone service

AT&T’s U-verse IPTV service

Other terms and ideas…

Streaming architecture -- handles and synchronizes digital files: QuickTime, Flash…

Codec -- compression/decompression: a compression algorithm (or coder - decoder) A codec (the program) is not the coding or compression

format or standard – a format is the standard, a way of storing data; The codec is the program used to read or write such files.

ISMA / interoperability -- Internet Streaming Media Alliance

Other interactive TV issues

Streaming players: (comparison) Apple TV Roku Google TV Boxee

Sling Player / Sling box (‘TV anywhere’) UGC / licensing content and channels

Social issues

Who is using what type media? Teen and younger use of and access to

Predators? Subversion of parental roles? (webcams, online videos, social impact)

Loss of public service journalism Mobile media, new narrative conventions University and business training -- podcasts,

streams, online training and education