Archive for the 'IPTV' Category

Video Content Dictates Distribution and Monetization Strategy

Published by
Brendon Mills
at May 18, 2009 in transactional transcoding, TransAct Platform, IPTV, Mobile Video, Transcoding, Internet Video and Uncategorized. 0 Comments    Email This Post

The unprecedented growth of mobile, Internet and IPTV content is taxing legacy video delivery models:

• Commercial Internet video traffic will increase 5X by 2012
• User-generated video content will increase 3X by 2012
• 2/3 of all mobile traffic will be video by 2013
• 14.3 billion online videos were viewed by U.S. Internet users during December, 2008 alone

The fascination with being able to view both professional and user-generated entertainment content on Internet and mobile devices will not taper any time soon, but there is equal if not higher demand for instant access to a staggering volume of educational video, instructional video, enterprise sales and marketing video and surveillance video – by public, private and government constituents.

In the video below, we take a look at the different levels of video content - premium, amateur and reference - and how they impact distribution and monetization strategies.

Part 2: Frost & Sullivan Interview

Published by
Brendon Mills
at March 7, 2008 in IPTV, Mobile Video, Internet Video and Transcoding. 0 Comments    Email This Post

We’ve received great feedback in response to Part 1 of our interview series with Dr. Gerry Purdy, Vice President and Chief Analyst with Frost & Sullivan.  In Part 2 we begin discussing the impact that the iPhone and YouTube have had on the mobile user experience.  We also talk about the opportunities and the complexities of mass video distribution across all three screens - Internet, mobile and IPTV.

We hope you’re enjoying the series.  Look for Parts 3 and 4 coming soon…

Value of the Video Long Tail

Published by
Brendon Mills
at January 21, 2008 in On Demand Transcoding, IPTV, Mobile Video, Internet Video, RipCode V4, Transcoding and Uncategorized. 0 Comments    Email This Post

In a recent Mashable post by Mark Hopkins, he discusses the intrinsic value of the video long tail, in particular the difference between current event and news-based video versus video produced for enjoyment.  At RipCode, the video long tail is a topic that we are very familiar with. 

When you talk about video long tail content, it’s important to understand the unique challenge to content creators, aggregators and network operators striving to expand their video distribution by offering support for a greater number of devices extending their reach to the “3 screens” – Internet, mobile and IPTV.

Each device supporting video playback maintains one or multiple media profiles defining what types of content is supported.  These media profiles are differentiated by many variables including resolution size, codec implementation, aspect ratio, scan method, and network protocol.  So it’s no longer just about making long tail video available for viewing on a PC, but to any video enabled device.  

Pre-transcoding video can be a practical approach when working with smaller video libraries supporting a limited number of supported profiles; however, it becomes problematic for content aggregators who have large libraries and ingest a high volume of content on a daily basis.  As the size of a video library and number of supported profiles grow, so does the data storage requirements.

 As we talk about on our website, by transcoding video on-demand, content creators can realize value from not just the most popular and widely viewed video, but from the video long tail as well.  Until now, it was deemed too resource intensive to pre-transcode and store less widely viewed titles in multiple file formats – like the news-based video that Mark talks about in his blog.  But by changing the nature of transcoding from a “pre-transcode” methodology to one where video is transcoded only when a customer requests it, this opens the door for less popular content, enabling content creators and syndicators to monetize their entire video library.

The Collision of Traditional Television and IPTV

Published by
Brendon Mills
at November 1, 2007 in Internet TV, IPTV, On Demand Transcoding and Transcoding. 0 Comments    Email This Post

Television has traditionally been distributed by cable or satellite systems.  Internet television or IPTV uses the Internet to deliver video from a source to a target device such as a Web browser or set-top box.
 
Joost, VeohTV, WiTV, Babelgum and, most recently, Microsoft Internet TV are some of the prominent players jostling for market share in this rapidly emerging space.  Additionally, sites such as YouTube Mobile and MySpace TV, two top online destinations, will continue to drive traffic and generate demand for online/mobile video consumption.  (Brightcove has a good summary of why Internet TV matters.)
 
The recent public beta of Joost, a raising star in this space, has generated a fair share of media coverage about the realities of Internet TV.  The big question: Is the promise of high quality and snazzy user interface enough to pry eyeballs from traditional TV to Internet TV?  Neither Brad Stone at Bits nor Michael Garrett at Web TV Wire seem impressed with Joost—citing bandwidth problems, overloaded P2P architecture, and general lack of incentive for users to interrupt Web browsing to watch Internet TV.
 
Liz Gannes at NewTeeVee posted a great video interview with CEO Mike Volpiwho noted that Joost is targeted at the early adopters, not the mainstream TV consumer.
 
This is fair commentary from the end user perspective.  From RipCode’s perspective, we feel that Internet TV has already made significant inroads in capturing television eyeballs.  The fact that a user-submitted YouTube parodyon Brittney Spears can secure over 10 million views in less than two weeks, thus rivaling the viewership metrics on an average prime-time television program, is a phenomenon that is hard to ignore. 

The Conference Board and TNS reported last week that more consumers are watching TV online.  Report highlights include:

  • Close to 16 percent of American households who use the Internet watch television broadcasts online.
  • Three out of five respondents say that watching TV online is just more convenient, while one third say they go online to avoid watching commercials.
  • Streaming and free downloads are the top methods for viewing TV online.
  • Respondents said that TV on the Internet has replaced news programs as their most widely viewed online content.

And In-Stat has published a report in the last few weeks titled Trends Favor Mainstream Acceptance of Internet TV.  In the press release announcing the report, the In-Stat summary states that overall:

  • Respondents to an In-Stat survey felt online video will become more mainstream over time
  • Social networking aspects are starting to play an important part on how the newer generation wants to watch and interact with TV.
  • Primary detractors for online video continue to be download speed, user interface, cost, and quality of video

We could not be in more agreement with these findings.  Feedback from our customer engagements confirms the same trends.  Social networks and search engines in particular appear to be gaining viewership at a faster rate than most other models.  The question will be, how long will it take for the traditional channels to generate a counter solution to the rapid growth of Internet TV?
 
For RipCode, the rapid change and uncertainty in Internet TV and how the traditional television markets will respond is the key to our business model.  In just about every possible outcome, the resultant business model will require significant transcoding to accomplish the task of combining traditional television viewership with the Internet experience.  In addition, as these two worlds collide, the resultant combination of video libraries only fuels the need for the On Demand Transcoding℠ methodology.
 
Bonus link: 33 Ways to Watch Free TV Online.