Originally all terrestrial broadcasting was composed of analog signals using analog transmissions, but today both audio and video is transmitted using digital data streams over electromagnetic (EMF) waves. This conversion of analog audio and video to a digital packetized format has led to a new method of content delivery in the form of streaming media. Today over half of all American households receive at least part of their news and entertainment via streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu (Strangelove 5).
Broadcast engineers who have worked in the industry for a decade or longer have observed great change in technology in a relatively short length of time. These veteran engineers have had a front row seat to the exponential rate of technology advancement and the convergence of information technology with the broadcast industries. For example, before the days of broadband high speed internet connectivity, a path to the World-Wide-Web was delivered to the home through a phone line; something that most homes in America no longer have today. This extremely slow connection to the internet (in some cases as low as 9600 bits per second) was facilitated using a modulator / demodulator, or more commonly known as a modem. Fax modem speeds increased to a rate of 56kbps or 56000 bits per second by the mid 1990s before improved technology, such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and Cable Internet, began taking over the market near the turn of the 21st century (Ahfeldt, Koutroumpis, and Valletti 3-5). Interestingly, the fax modem was one of the earliest analog to digital converters; something that broadcasters, at the time, did not know would become such a vital piece of hardware in the years to come. This analog to digital conversion process has become a Pandora’s box for advances in technology for media delivery.
For decades the primary delivery of television to the home has been via coaxial cable, satellite, and terrestrial reception using electromagnetic waves. More recently, internet connectivity has also been delivered to the home using these same methods. Today, many households have television and broadband Internet delivered to the home via fiber optic cable. With these technology advances came major improvements in bandwidth, connection speed, and picture resolution and quality. Home internet connection speeds in some cities today can reach rates as high as 1Gbps. This is 1,000 times faster than the 1Mbps speed common with DSL and early broadband cable delivery. US household have increased from an average broadband connection speed of 10Mbps in 2011 up to 31Mbps just one year later. In 2015, the FCC redefined broadband as internet connectivity speeds over 25Mbps, an increase from the 2010 benchmark of 4Mbps download and 1Mbps upload rate (Griffith).
Compression technology of high resolution video content combined with lighting fast internet connectivity have opened the doors to new and exciting ways of delivering media to the home. These new methods of delivery were impossible just a couple of decades ago and the possibilities for the future are endless. First, we will look at Over-the-Top (OTT) service providers. OTT can be defined as any video service that is delivered “over-the-top” of an internet service provider. These services require a direct subscription to the OTT content service provider. Some examples of OTT services include Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. OTT differs from TV Everywhere in that no TV service subscription, such as cable or satellite, is necessary to view their content. OTT service providers are basically their own entity. TV Everywhere services are delivered “over-the-top” of your internet service, but they do require a subscription to a cable or satellite service. Examples of TV Everywhere providers are ESPN+, HBONow, and Discovery+. CBS transitioned from a TV Everywhere offering to its own OTT pay service, Paramount+, and others have followed. However, John Martin (CEO of Turner Broadcasting) feels that TV Everywhere and OTT services should not be separate, stating “I think we could do both [TV Everywhere and OTT video], I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive. I think the two can be complementary” (qtd. In Gruenwedel). Martin feels that the two methods of content delivery will ultimately converge to support each other (Gruenwedel). Time will tell if this is indeed the case.
Another term used today when discussing new forms of content delivery is Live TV Streaming. Live TV Streaming is the process of transmitting and broadcasting live television programming from multiple networks through one service over the Internet. A broadband connection is used as the medium to transmit Live TV Streaming along with a receiver device such as ROKU and Amazon Fire. A few popular services include DirecTVNow, SlingTV, and Pluto TV (“Top Free”).
Similar technology to Live TV Streaming is Internet Protocol Television or IPTV. IPTV is the delivery of television content over a computer network using the Internet Protocol (IP). There are three types of IPTV: video on demand (VOD), time-shifted IPTV, and live IPTV or IP simulcasting. All three forms of IPTV can be viewed either on a computer using a web browser or delivery to a set top box. Popular IPTV services include ACE IPTV, Necro IPTV, Magic IPTV, and SetTV (“Best IPTV Service Providers 2017 Review”).
Because of the explosion of interest in these new media technologies, large media conglomerates have changed their organizational chart to mesh the fields of IT and broadcast engineering under one heading. With the new technologies in use today it is impossible to be a broadcast engineer without a strong understanding of all things IT. A broadcast engineer must know how bits and bytes are transported over a network and what is required to encode and decode digital video to prepare it for distribution over many platforms. The basic understanding of computer hardware and software necessary in the past is no longer enough. Broadcast engineers must now be as familiar with network infrastructure as they are with video and audio workflows (Salazar). These new avenues for receiving content have brought on a demand for broadcast engineers who are able to adapt to a digital world. As traditional wireless transmission, online, and on-demand delivery methods merge, a new breed of hybridized engineer must emerge.
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