In this session, presented by the Society of Cable Television Engineers (SCTE, a BEIT Conference Education Partner), industry experts explain the latest innovations for distribution of broadcast television signals by multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs). The first major topic is using the Emmy® award-winning Event Scheduling and Notification Interface (ESNI) standard (ANSI/SCTE 224) to automate local ads, blackouts and alternative content across diverse areas. The experts demonstrate the positive impact of ESNI on blackout control architecture and implementation. They explain the benefits of content acquisition centralization (vs. local acquisition) and detail the major reduction in content processing costs (transcoding, distribution bandwidth, etc) associated with the removal of the need for individualized channels per blackout DMA.
The second major topic is the transition from a broadcast cable infrastructure to unicast IP-based cable services based on the ANSI/SCTE 214-x suite of standards MPEG DASH for IP-Based Cable Services. These standards are intended for the development, operations, and maintenance of IP based cable services and are useful for those creating, ingesting, and delivering content for adaptive streaming services. Of particular interest is a discussion of features in MPD and segment conditioning from the newest MPEG DASH Specification and usage constraints of it, focusing on linear channel considerations including multi-language, MPD carriage of SCTE 35 events, and media defaults.
