The beauty of broadcast contribution - and the vital role of encoders posted: 31/05/2017
by R mi Beaudouin, VP marketing, ATEME
We have all witnessed the impact that broadcast contribution has had on television - whether we're aware of it or not. To most people, they might have just noticed an increase in the number of live events they see on TV, but for those of us with a deep understanding of the industry and its associated jargon, we know this to be broadcast contribution.
Compare today's landscape with what we were used to 10 or 15 years ago and you get a good idea of its impact. Back then, there were fewer live sports broadcasts available for viewers to sit down and enjoy, and news shows were mainly limited to presenters dictating the stories of the day from inside a studio space. Nowadays, however, there are so many live sporting events being broadcast at any one time that it would be impossible to watch them all, while news shows have become far more dynamic and ambitious, with journalists reporting live on location from all over the world.
Broadcast contribution is the technical term for the process that allows live streams from pretty much any geographical location to be sent to a studio and then to the viewers' televisions, and it's transformed into a booming market. The sales of broadcast contribution encoders - just one part of the overall contribution network set-up - are set to reach in excess of $320 million this year, and as more companies seek to implement their own broadcast contribution networks, figures such as these will continue to increase sharply.
Why has broadcast contribution reached such widespread popularity?
As competition among broadcasters continues to get fiercer, they need to try and stand out from the pack by being more adventurous in the way their content is delivered, and broadcast contribution is an effective way of doing so. By taking journalists, presenters and pundits out of the traditional television studio and positioning them live on the ground, right at the heart of the news story or event, the viewer can enjoy an increased sense of atmosphere and excitement - the next best thing to actually being there themselves.
Take a live football broadcast, for instance. Almost all broadcasters now choose to have a host of football pundits at the stadium who discuss their thoughts and predictions before, during and after the match, and some even choose to have an expert or presenter located on the side of the actual pitch during half-time. This gives the viewers at home unprecedented, immersive access to what's unfolding on-screen.
This technology is not new: broadcasters have been capable of live broadcast contribution for years now, but the explosion of high-speed, highly available bandwidth has been the catalyst that's enabled them to fully realise its benefits. The emergence of 4G and 5G networks means that anyone can easily broadcast from pretty much anywhere, and this isn't just limited to professional cameras or OB trucks either - broadcasters can even use their mobile phones for broadcast contribution.
ATEME Management System - Based on Open Source, Built for Video Operations
What hasn't changed, however, is the significance of the encoder within the wider broadcast contribution network process.
Why are encoders so important to broadcast contribution?
Live broadcast contribution encoders are the tools that compress the video and audio signals taken from the original source (be it a camera, OB truck or the venue itself) before transmitting it over to the studio. If a broadcaster's workflow involves moving the signals between various studios, it is the encoder that's also responsible for compressing the stream for transport.
On a fairly basic level, encoders are a vital part of the overall contribution process because they are largely responsible for making sure the broadcast gets to viewers as quickly as possible. Although it is virtually impossible to deliver a broadcast to television that is live to the exact millisecond, viewers also don't want to watch something that has a significant time delay and could be seen as out-of-date by the time it reaches their screens. This is where encoders come in: by compressing the pure signals into something much smaller, there's less data to transmit back to the studio which also means less time before it arrives on viewers' screens. This ultra-low latency also enables remote production, or the stay-at-home production model. Broadcasters bring back multiple, uncompressed or lightly compressed feeds over fibre, then edit the stories on their own premises. Staff are more productive because they are in familiar and comfortable environments, and they also save travel and accommodation costs.
More importantly (at least from a broadcaster's perspective), it allows video to be compressed and transmitted into a number of different codecs, including the much-talked-about HEVC. This is still a relatively new technology which allows for better video compression with far less bandwidth required, while improving the video quality in terms of resolution, contrast, frame rate and colour.
HEVC can also be used for live transmission of the latest formats including high definition (HD), 4K or ultra HD (four times the quality of HD) and high dynamic range (HDR), and although there are very few native 4K or HDR broadcasts happening at this point, having an encoder that's capable of doing so allows broadcasters to remain future-proofed. Certain encoders even allow pay-as-you-grow support, so businesses are only spending what they need to depending on the desired quality of their broadcasts.
As the burgeoning world of broadcast contribution continues to impact the way that live events, news stories and more are covered, the role of the encoder in thi
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
The beauty of broadcast contribution - and the vital role of encoders posted: 31/05/2017 
