HBO Europe Offers a TV Everywhere Guide for Broadcasters
HBO had a successful rollout with HBO Go, both in the U.S. and across Europe, and at the recent Streaming Forum conference in London two execs spoke about how they pulled it off. First, Péter Riz the head of the HBO Go technical deployment for HBO Europe, talked about the service, then Péter Dikházi, the CTO of Digital Media Experience, offered advice on presenting video online.
"if you have content that you want to put on the internet, what are the key questions?" asked Dikházi. "First, format: On-demand; I want to do a live stream; I want to offer downloads. If I have content -- this is multi-track audio, single track audio, I have multi-channel Dolby surround, or I have a movie with subtitles. Based on this, we need to choose a format."
As Dikházi went on to explain, sometimes contractual obligations determine how a broadcaster can present content online.
"Another thing is the codec. The codec is important in the case of content preparation and the device, because -- as you saw in the previous presentation -- not all devices support all codecs. Consider the resolution and bandwidth, because you might have HD or 4K streams, but the content license limits this. Sometimes, you use HD content for broadcast. In the OTT case or with TV Everywhere you aren't able to do maximum HD. The second thing is bandwidth. What is the best bandwidth for this?" Dikházi said. "Another important question is how many formats to choose to support."
For more tips on achieving a positive TV Everywhere rollout, watch the full video below.
Case Study: HBO Europe – A Broadcaster’s Guide to the TV Everywhere Universe
This case study reveals how a successful traditional broadcaster entered into the diverse TV Everywhere market. Hear about how HBO Europe solved real-time challenges – including DRM, delivery formats, content delivery, and licensing issues – with the creation of the HBO GO service. The session will include a demonstration and will share some business-related figures.
Péter Dikházi, CTO, Digital Media Experience LLC — Hungary
Péter Riz, Head of HBO GO Technical Deployment, HBO Europe — Hungary