The Video Service Provider of the future

A video service provider is a service provider that gives professional video transport services to broadcasters, OTT streaming service providers, and others needing video contribution or distribution services. Programming carried by the video service provider can traverse the internet bypassing (going over the top of) existing and legacy infrastructure (such as satellite) to provide consumers access to a vast array of live and on-demand content.

In this article we’ll deep dive into the area of video on demand providers and teach you everything you need to know.

Video on demand providers – Taking advantage of the internet

Unlike broadcasts where content is pushed to users, this web-centric model means content is pulled by end devices. When users watch streamed content they are making a request and the device browser starts to pull that content to the device.

Crucially, this enables the consumer to interact with the video. Video on demand providers can use the two-way nature of internet streaming to their advantage: by gathering data on consumers to tailor content and to invite viewers to interact with the content to enhance the user experience.

Video on demand providers either distribute content that is live, or played back on demand, or both. For video on demand (VOD) this will be a playout file requested from the library, transcoded into renditions for the ABR ladder and chunked up. For live streams it’s likely to originate uncompressed from a studio or remote camera or be lightly compressed to mezzanine or contribution quality.

Many video service providers of live content will record live streams to enable their consumers to playback, pause and rewind on-demand to enhance monetization options. Video on demand providers of live sports may similarly also broadcast an event live (over legacy infrastructure and their own website) and clip up video packages for distribution to social media.

Any live video service provider must have a video contribution network. Video produced at a location (such as a studio or sports stadium) is contributed to the event’s rights holders. In turn, the rights holders (typically, local broadcasters) will manipulate the feed with their own production graphics and video inserts before distribution to their viewers.

Media IP backbone for video service providers for VOD and streaming services

n recent years the demand from broadcasters, and sports rights holders in particular, to transition their live event operations to a remote production model has intensified. The ability to streamline costs yet deliver rich content to viewers hungry for live experiences is a strategic necessity in the fight for audience share.

Broadcasters, sports organizations, over the top (OTT) companies, and esports businesses are competing to offer their audiences worldwide more immersive viewing and gaming experiences. At the same time, they need to transform how they operate through cost efficient full remote or distributed production.

To meet the demands of their customers, video service providers require a resilient high bandwidth media IP backbone.

Net Insight solutions can facilitate lossless, lightning-fast content transfer across all stages of the media value chain. The ability to provide everything from uncompressed video, to J2K down to MPEG compressed video is critical. Net Insight provides video service partners with this ability which is an advantage they can pass on to their media customers.

Explore the meda transport solutions of the future

Explore our high-performance media transport products, Nimbra and Aperi. Provide lossless media transport of any type of infrastructure and focus on what really matters – your content and the creation of it. Let the Nimbra and Aperi platforms do the heavy lifting day after day, so you don’t have to.

CASE STUDIES

World’s largest Nimbra networks to HD

EBU has selected Nimbra platform for the Eurovision fiber network

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU)

World’s largest alliance of public service media organisation

Since 2004, when the EBU selected Net Insight’s Nimbra platform, the EUROVISION Fibre Network (FiNE) has evolved with Net Insight’s latest products and features.

The EUROVISION satellite and fibre network is one of the largest and most rock solid in the world. It delivers more than 80,000 hours of programming every year, the majority of which is live sports. Its undisputed reputation for flexibility and reliability is reflected in the prestigious events it regularly carries on the EUROVISION network.

“We continue our solid relationship with Net Insight for the development of our network since we aim to be the standardbearer for QoS and reliability around the world.”

Related resources

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