ASIA-PACIFIC BROADCASTING

“An ageing sports star” was how Setanta Sports saw its previous pay-per-view portal — and what drove this Irish Internet and pay-TV sports broadcaster to develop one that would also deliver HD content faster. Setanta, which wanted the new site to provide its subscribers with greater functionality for a more customised engagement, recognised that the portal would need a premium content-delivery system.

In another situation, MTV Network saw that its enterprise asset-management system, ALIAS (Archive Library Information Access System), a static application supporting only videotape-based assets, needed a make-over. It sought to transform the system into one that could support both digital and tape assets. In -addition to this, the new solution would need to enhance system efficiencies and streamline the workflow for users.

Both companies found their solutions in suites of technologies based on the Microsoft Silverlight.

Silverlight is the next-generation cross-browser, cross-platform and cross-device plug-in for delivering Microsoft .NET-based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web. The .NET framework is an integral component of the Microsoft Windows operating system that provides a programming model and manages the runtime for Web services, Web applications and smart client applications.

To create a content-delivery system, -Setanta engaged Microsoft and Microsoft partner EMC Conchango, as well as Irdeto and Swarmcast, to build Setanta-i using the Silverlight, the .NET framework, and partner technologies from Swarmcast and Irdeto.

This new delivery system has a premium front-end interface that is backed by a powerful back-end. It enables Setanta to deliver HD video with cost-effective, advanced streaming and provides subscribers with high-resolution interactivity.

With Setanta-i, Setanta said that its subscribers now have video-streaming services akin to having the best seats in the house. Avid sports fans can now watch their favourite matches in HD Windows Media Video (VC-1) format without the frustration brought on by buffering, espe-cially during the most crucial moments of the games. And, if they have missed a particular match, or simply want to relive the winning moments, a huge library of on-demand content awaits their selection.

This new system also offers a wide array of personalisation options that not only add to the entertainment value but also increase the excitement of watching the games online.

On the UK homepage, for example, subscribers can watch live streams of four channels simultaneously on miniature display or watch one on full screen.

Sports fans following and keeping tabs of various events taking place at the same time can, while watching a live match in one window, open -another window showing real-time scores in other matches. They can also select the games they wish to follow and only the scores from those matches will be displayed. Moreover, these subscribers can -select upcoming sporting events that they would like to record for later viewing and create video playlists of favourite sports moments.

With the modern, slick Setanta-i service developed by EMC Conchango, subscri-bers are not only spoilt for choice, but also enjoy a greater scope to cus-tomise viewing options without detracting from their experience of the content.

Setanta has also added to this sophisticated, feature-rich interface, a second one that presents free content to casual visitors and a third, which can be used for the Web pages of other sites to present syndicated news and content from Setanta.

These front-end interfaces are sup-ported by an effective back-end. With software from Irdeto and Swarmcast, Setanta has upgraded and enhanced the content-delivery infrastructure that would stream content to the new interfaces. The software from Irdeto enabled Setanta to build a new infrastructure for ingesting sports content and preparing it for distribution over the Internet, while the software from Swarmcast optimises streaming media for delivery using hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).

Setanta, EMC Conchango and Irdeto are thus able to create a client-server connection that ensures a smooth, buffer-free, high-quality video stream. Furthermore, emanating from this powerful back-end content-management system is a linear channel that feeds sports content to external websites using the syndicated Setanta interface.

The software from Irdeto also integrates with the Setanta customer care-and-billing systems, ensuring that customers can access the protected content to which they have subscribed, and are billed appro-priately for the services used.

With its new content-management -system feeding content to the station’s different channels, Setanta has gained better content-delivery efficiency and greater flexibility to bundle services, and cross- and up-sell these services.

Stephen Michael, director of New Media for Setanta Sports, said: “As a broadcaster, I think we’re fairly bold in embracing these new technologies. The Silverlight and Swarmcast are both fairly new, but I think people will see that what we’ve created in Setanta-i is a market-leading product.

“We hope our customers will agree that we’ve built a great interface. One of the things ... really great about it is that it doesn’t get in the way of your enjoyment of the content. That’s one of the things that will make Setanta-i a great service for sports lovers.”

MTV Network’s enterprise asset-management system, ALIAS, consists of two components: A client application; and a Web application. The client component, which is used and managed by MTVN library services, was upgraded and rewritten in June 2008 using the .NET Framework.

Creative and marketing teams use the Web component across MTV’s brands to search and assess company archives. This application required major upgrading and a new look as MTV transitions into a digital workflow. It needed to be enhanced to include digi-tal asset-management (DAM) functionality.

MTV worked with Microsoft and Microsoft partner Vertigo, to redesign ALIAS by utilising Silverlight’s extensive Rich Internet Application (RIA) capabilities. With half of its users on Macs and half on PCs, the content provider needed a solution that could work smoothly across platforms. Silverlight’s ability to support a cross-platform user base provided the solution.

Stewart Frey, vice-president for MTV Network’s production and operation systems, together with his development team, also wanted the revamped website to deliver a rich user experience, including a drag-and-drop feature for previewing asset contents online.

Equipped with .NET skills, the deve-lopers on the team were able to get everything ready within four months. MTV was also able to decrease the learning curve of these developers who did not have to learn a whole new development user interface but was able to work within their familiar Microsoft Visual Studio development environment.

As Silverlight uses Web services to interact with the database, the team created a set of Windows Communication Foundation-based Web services, which have proven very versatile and made it possible to build a very thin client. These reusable Web ser-vices form a resource for other applications going forward.

The development team is looking towards future H.264 support in Silverlight to help simplify the work process and provide a player that can sit within MTV’s whole set of front-end tools.

With the enhanced asset-management system, MTV’s ALIAS has evolved into a digital solution. Not only has this solution brought about greater efficiencies, improved workflow, easier usage but, very importantly, the increased efficiencies also translate into reduced costs.

 

 

 

 

 

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