"An IP status check for the broadcast industry", "Resistance is futile", "IP points the way forward for the broadcast industry"...
Yes, we've read the headlines too. But rather than force you into submission, scare you, or leave you feeling like you have no other choice, we want to give you the information that helps you to make a sensible decision about Internet-based distribution.
So what’s stopping you from making the switch right now?
“The Internet isn’t reliable”
Really?
Speaking to both ends of the chain, Internet-based distribution systems checks the content was sent and received. It can detect if your playout or source fails and within milliseconds it knows if your content encountered issues in transit, which means you can implement the protocols to rectify any issues quickly.
In contrast, satellite providers are keen to prove they’ve sent your content, but have no way of knowing if your affiliate received it, or successfully decoded it. And while fibre providers can promise you 99.99999% reliability, harsh as it sounds, they don’t actually care about whether your content gets there - it’s just about providing the distribution mechanism.
Internet-based distribution gives you more control and more functions ‘built in’.
Furthermore, when you add backup into the equation, it becomes even more compelling. Unlike some providers, we build in the redundancy and actually test the failover to ensure that if your primary distribution failed, the backup delivery path would work – because the last thing you want is to be responsible for a failure such as a blackout during the live broadcast of a major show or event.
“I’m trapped by my current providers”
If you’ve chosen a managed service provider to assist you with playout, generally you’ve tied yourself into a long term contract. Then when it comes to distribution, generally speaking people have a mix of both satellite and fibre. This means you probably have a three-year contract with your satellite provider, and then various contracts and service level agreements (SLAs) for your fibre provision.
Your first problem is trying to overcome the sheer complexity of the situation and make sense of it all, so you don’t oversubscribe to any particular service.
Your second problem is the shortfall; if, like many organisations, you find your distribution contract finishing before your playout contract, you could face months without any cover – what do you do?
Figuring out how to extract yourself from the situation is just overwhelming…but it doesn’t have to be.
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