| Digital
delivery to grapple with new technologies |
| | | Indiantelevision.com
Team | |
| (22 June 2007 9:30 pm) |
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SINGAPORE: As the digital delivery movement
continues to grow and develop, there is
increasing challenge of facing up to new
technologies. File sizes will continue to
grow with technological advances, and latest
technologies will have to be developed to
adapt to the changing environment.
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| Digital
delivery is transforming people's typical workflows: instead of sending a package
and calling for a pick-up time, a consumer is clicking a couple of buttons for
the 'package' to arrive just a few hours later in digital format. The security
and integrity of the files will remain an important factor to making sure the
"movement" does not slow the transition. |
| | Dwelling
on the growing trend of digital delivery at a session at BroadcastAsia, SmartJog's
Julien Seligmann looked at the technological advances that are beginning to simplify
international media distribution efforts. He said technology had allowed companies
to optimize the management of information flow over the past decade. Each year,
a vast amount of entertainment content is created and sent internationally, including
the Asia-Pacific region, for on-air broadcast, dubbing, home entertainment, theatrical
releases, and other purposes.
Security standards and industry procedures
are quickly adapting to the digital delivery of content, as the time-gap becomes
shorter between the primary air and release dates for international premieres
and first-run television broadcasts. The fast and secure movement of digital files
is an important key to building this structure. Sending programming electronically
eliminates the need to create a tape, and the physical workflow associated with
shipping, tracking, customs clearance, quality-control and ingest at the broadcaster's
premises. Security of the transfer is an important aspect to make sure the content
is protected.
In the case of content delivery, especially for major players,
security, integrity and speed are crucial issues that can prevent a quick transition
to a tape-less workflow. Digital entertainment media files can be easily sent
around the globe.
But protecting the file from piracy is of utmost importance.
The digital delivery movement opens the door to different types of delivery methods,
with speed, cost-efficiency and ease of use as all important factors, but piracy
remains the first concern. If the transfer occurs over a fully private network
and not over the public Internet, there is no opportunity for hackers to try to
access the data.
Seligmann said one way to retain 100% data integrity
is to use the MD5 check-sum algorithm. The operation begins once a file is uploaded
to the local server over a simple FTP connection. It only takes a few seconds
and is used as a unique fingerprint of the file. When the file is sent to another
server in the network, it is first encrypted (using an AES 128 algorithm) with
the private key of the destination servers, its MD5 checksum is computed, and
the file is transferred over a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to a POP and then
to the final destination.
On the receiving end the file is decrypted
and the checksum is recalculated and cross-referenced to the original calculation
to ensure that they match. If the calculation is exact, the file is then made
available within the local server. It can then be pushed to the designated play-out
server or NLE system, minimizing user interaction with the file. This ensures
that the file sent is the file received.
With new encoding systems and
software being used, incorrectly encoded files can occur frequently, but with
the MD5 checksum, it ensures that there was no corruption during the transfer
of the file.
Access control technology can help check piracy concerns
because using the IP/DVB reliable multicast protocol used (RBC) prevents unauthorized
access to the media files transferred via satellite.
When sending a tape
for television dubbing, the tape must be shipped, risking time lost in customs
and the risk of piracy. Content providers can instead send MJPEGa or MPEG2 files
and ProTools sessions to various dubbing facilities using a digital delivery network.
Considering the time change from where a lot of the content originates in
North America, digital delivery can cut down on normal shipping time, especially
when sending to the Asia-Pacfic region, where days can be lost with the time change.
The alternative is putting the tape in the mail and waiting for two to three days
for it to arrive.
Once the dubbing work is complete, the dubbing facility
can digitally send the dubbed audio back to the Distributor, for a seamless digital
workflow. Within hours of a MPEG2 master file being sent electronically, the show
can be broadcast to the local audience. The file can also be sent to multiple
destinations at the same time, allowing for a single file to be sent to multiple
destinations rather than sending multiple tapes. Upon receipt at the broadcaster
or post house, the local operator can localize the material. If localisation occurs
at the local post house, they digitally send it directly to the broadcast station.
The station then wraps the MPEG-2 in the broadcast server format for direct ingest
and play-out.
The digital revolution removes the need for tapes, and
files can be kept in digital format throughout the whole process, he said. |
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