Screen Evolves Mainstay Product To Meet Market Demands

Our industry was put on red-alert approximately two and half years ago in respect of the approaching seismic shift in the use of broadcast technology and the colossal impact it would have on the industry; in particular on the traditional broadcast manufacturer.

Indeed the IABM at their 2013 Annual Conference exposed us to 'The Telecoms' who, in one of the more unsettling panel presentations, warned us that they were coming and in the dawn of a new era, could achieve with IT what we've all done so competently for decades with dedicated hardware.

Despite a majority 'no' vote from the delegation on whether this was considered a very real threat or not, the confidence in that actually being the case swiftly withered.

Those manufacturers still pinning their hopes to that 'no' vote, I fear may be in grave shape right now; possibly irretrievably so.

Data from industry reports explicitly reveals that whilst media consumption is on a rapid rise, the time the consumer spends sat in front of a traditional TV is dropping away at an extraordinary rate.

We can't afford to ignore the significant percentage of consumers switching, and what's more pertinent sticking with alternative platforms to view content.

And a quick look at who is rolling out some of the most popular content gives an insight into the future; web streaming services heavily feature as a strong contender.

The transition from traditional to alternative platforms is steadily ramping up and we must adapt product for the rapidly changing technical requirements before the need for the current more conventional solutions diminish too drastically.

Screen, however, is no stranger to having to rise to the challenge of considerable technical advancements.

With the advent of HD, much of the industry understood the need to reduce the threat of the viewing experience being devalued by poor subtitles and so turned to Screen's Polistream Black transmission system – a proven solution for transmitting high-definition subtitles.

This is a trend which has continued throughout the HD rollout across the world.

The Polistream BLACK system from Screen uses DVB Bitmaps at sub-pixel level to generate high quality subtitles and its decoder technology is already there for producing them in 4K.

The burgeoning ability of delivering premium video services over the internet to television and other connected devices has also presented a new and altogether different challenge for anyone providing accessibility services for viewers.

Screen's OTT and web subtitling system offers a method for served web video playback that guarantees that subtitles are always displayed in the style intended regardless of the video player being used.

Over and above these technological transformations, business models and consequently the needs of broadcasters and facilities have more or less been turned on their head. Adapting to this has in many ways proven to be more of a challenge to suppliers like Screen than the change in technology itself.
Screen has had to remodel the delivery of its mainstay product Polistream in order to satisfy the current requirements of its customers.

Traditionally supplied in our rackable universal 1U case, Screen has had to broaden the methods of provision of its subtitle delivery system.

Still available in its conventional 1U arrangement, Screen's Polistream solution will soon be available in certain configurations in either a Virtual Machine form, or available for customers to install on their own hardware, labelled as a Bring-Your-Own-Device or Off-The-Shelf option.

To broaden the appeal further to smaller facilities and short-term projects, Screen has also announced what it's calling its OPEX option where a complete Polistream subtitling delivery system can be supplied purely on a rental basis.

Screen will be exhibiting at IBC on stand C49 in Hall 1 and is available to discuss new Polistream configuration and delivery options – or indeed any of your subtitling requirements.

www.screensystems.tv

This article is also available to read at BFV online.