Video streaming: Expanding Destinations - Page 1 of 2

By Peter J. Brown

Beaming Internet Protocol (IP) video via satellite either live or via the store-and-forward method for both fixed and mobile services is no longer a rare event. While the desktop PC may still be the primary destination for video streaming over IP, the range of destinations for video over IP rapidly is expanding. Computer-centric business models for video streaming in the enterprise sector involving corporate training and Web conferencing continue to gain steam, and yet video streaming is gradually extending its reach into new arenas as well, including the whole realm of home entertainment.

So how mature is IP video over satellite today? "Overall, while I think the IP video itself, the process of packaging and displaying the video is pretty mature, the supporting network infrastructure has not matured yet," says DC Palter, Mentat's vice president of sales and marketing. "Specifically, the QoS [Quality of Service] mechanisms needed to support high-quality video, the signaling mechanisms and the multicast infrastructure needed to support broadcast-like distribution, are all still evolving."

"A very low-cost ubiquitous IP receiving infrastructure is required for economic viability. And that is only stage one-reception," says Karl Rossiter, senior vice president of new media networks at TVNZ Satellite Services Ltd. in Auckland, New Zealand. "Stage two, the return and request path, may have to rely on terrestrial infrastructure for a long time yet. Completely new uplink control technologies would be required to avoid interference if satellite access is to be common place."

Steve Vonder Haar, digital media analyst at Texas-based Interactive Media Strategies, says companies are hesitant to invest in this new technology, and yet, "Many companies are quickly developing an appetite for Webcasting and are seeking additional networking muscle." He adds that satellite providers face a real challenge in the enterprise sector. To date, they have realized only marginal success with any form of enterprise Webcasting over satellite.

"While MPEG-4 Part 10 will probably drive the growth of IP video, it is the MPEG-2 legacy issue that influences MPEG-4 uptake within the established broadcasting fraternity," adds Rossiter. "The supply of affordable receivers with enough processing power is the current limiting factor."

"The issues are much more on the network side than [on] the satellite itself. IP video simply runs over IP, and whether the link is satellite, wireless or terrestrial is mostly irrelevant to IP," says Palter. "However, one of the advantages of satellite is the ability to provide dedicated bandwidth for the connection whereas IP video over the Internet would likely experience quality limitations."

Business Television-related activity is certainly a pivotal force in the emerging IP video realm, and yet there is little evidence of any large-scale migration to IP-based video distribution platforms to date.

"This evolution is happening slowly," says Jon Kirchner, vice president of strategic product marketing at Loral Skynet. "We have to keep in mind that not all corporate cultures have embraced the desktop experience as opposed to the collective or communal TV type experience."

"The dynamic here is pretty obvious. We are talking about two different internal customers. With TV, the buyer tends to be the corporate communications department. When it shifts to IP, that is more slanted toward the IT department where the [chief technical officer] tends to slow it down," he adds. "It comes down to a capital and expense issue. With respect to IT upgrades of this type, we are seeing hints of it, but it is not there yet."

To address the needs of the enterprise sector, in early 2004 Loral Skynet is rolling out its DVB-RCS-based SkyReach platform with hub technology from Montreal-based EMS Technologies. "We want to help organizations create a path for an evolution to IP, and we want to augment the transition by being creative about the enabling capability," says Kirchner. "Our plan is to partner with organizations at the IP services layer rather than engage in developing applications as we move away from SCPC/MPEG-2 to MPEG-4/IP applications."