Investments Rising in Adaptive Bitrate Gear and Transcoders

CAMPBELL, CA - A rise in OTT and multiscreen TV is pushing pay-TV providers to transition their traditional, broadcast-focused video processing environments into ones that can ingest, process, deliver, and decode video content from multiple sources. This is due to competition and content heating up, according to Jeff Heynen, principal analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research. He goes on to say, "At the same time, content owners and studios are also adjusting their workflow and video output to support multiscreen and streaming services. The net result of these transitions is steady investment in the platforms necessary to optimize video streams for a growing list of end devices and formats."

Heynen's comments are based on Infonetics Research latest report, "Broadcast and Streaming Video Equipment and Pay TV Subscribers," which tracks pay-TV subscribers and video equipment sold to telco IPTV, cable and satellite providers.

Broadcast and Media Streaming Video Market Highlights

• The global broadcast and streaming video equipment market topped $2 billion in 2012 and is forecast by Infonetics to grow about 12 percent in 2013


• Projected to grow by more than 1/3 by 2017, adaptive bitrate (ABR) origin and packaging servers are key components in the efficient delivery of over-the-top (OTT) content, especially as more pay-TV providers and content


• delivery networks move to ABR streaming


• More and more, transcoders are being used to prepare linear broadcast and file-based content for distribution directly to subscribers


• Telco IPTV subscribers have the highest 2012-2017 CAGR (17 percent) of any pay-TV subscriber segment