By Jenny Priestley
Published: September 7, 2023 Updated: September 8, 2023
Annette Hopland, product owner at Appear, tells TVBEurope why she believes SRT will continue to gain traction as the standard evolves, and suggests vendors shouldn't always rush to be first to market. What impact has the pandemic and its continuing aftereffects had on the company's approach to R&D and product development? Our approach to R&D [ ]
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Annette Hopland, product owner at Appear, tells TVBEurope why she believes SRT will continue to gain traction as the standard evolves, and suggests vendors shouldn't always rush to be first to market.
What impact has the pandemic and its continuing aftereffects had on the company's approach to R&D and product development? Our approach to R&D is that we always design products that are simple to use, make a real difference to our customers, and provide the highest functionality through a combination of modular hardware and software - and other than needing to collaborate remotely, the pandemic had no impact on that approach.
However, the pandemic did magnify existing semiconductor shortage issues and caused disruptions in supply chains and logistics. When the pandemic hit, broadcasters faced two problems: needing to create more content for viewers in isolation, while also keeping their own personnel safe while producing that content. This accelerated the rise in remote production and demand for solutions, like Appear's X Platform, that enable remote workflow adoption for remote production, leading to an appreciable uplift in demand for our X Platform. With all our test and verification tools already available remotely, we were well equipped to manage this transition pre-pandemic, enabling us to continue serving our customers throughout the pandemic.
What are the biggest challenges you are facing in R&D and product development/deployment in the current landscape? We think the greatest challenge is always answering the question: Out of the ten things you could do, which three should you do, and how do these interact with each other and your existing solution portfolio? One of the ways we've addressed this is by transforming our internal infrastructures and test methodologies to support continuous delivery in the most relevant fields of R&D.
Another challenge is to avoid putting being first to market too high on your wish list. We aren't always first to market, but we do everything we can to make sure we're the best on the market. SRT is an example of where we want to be: because we understood the importance of hardware-accelerated SRT early, we were first to launch a non-server-based solution and we believe we are and will stay best-in-class too.
Talent acquisition is another ongoing challenge; hiring enough developers to maintain our customer demands and skillsets requires an ongoing focus on recruitment in an otherwise competitive pool.
Where do you see the most opportune areas for innovation in your area of the market, and what tech/solutions will drive that development? We see the live sports contribution market as a real hotbed of innovation. The convergence of cutting-edge technologies such as advances in 5G connectivity, AI-driven video analytics, and cloud-based production solutions are truly transformational. These innovations enable broadcasters to match transport cost with content value with faster, more reliable, and cost-effective sports broadcasting, real-time data analysis, personalised viewer experiences, and immersive content. As a leading provider in this domain, we are leveraging these opportunities to drive the development of our solutions and enable our customers to provide better consumer experiences.
What are you working on currently that excites you as a product team, and what can we expect to see at IBC 2023? SRT will continue to gain traction as the standard evolves and as the cost advantages of deploying SRT over the public internet become increasingly obvious. At IBC 2023 we will demonstrate how our focus on efficiency and elegant engineering enable us to be the global leader in live event contribution. The on-site team will share updates on initial trials of hardware accelerated SRT and demonstrate project deployments with major media enterprises.
We're also working with several tier-one operators to assess their cloud strategies and in some instances de-cloudify' their media workflows. Our NEO Series is used by several operators, including Sappa and A1 Croatia, as an on-premise solution to optimise their approach to media infrastructure. This on-premise live transcoding solution assists broadcasters and operators through the intricate process of technological realignment. By facilitating the transition from cloud to on-premise or hybrid, these organizations can redefine their strategies and achieve cost and performance efficiencies in the process.
Most recent headlines
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
Back to All News
Legoshi and Haru's Story Reaches Its Finale: BEASTARS Fin...
By Jenny Priestley 
