A new approach: Vitec shares how to maximise the in-person experience with IPTV
By Myriam Calaber, sales director at Vitec.
This year we’ve seen internet protocol video, or IP video, play an increasingly significant role in enabling advanced broadcasting capabilities while enhancing venue experiences. During a huge year for sport, including Euro 2024, the Olympics, Paralympics, and men’s and women’s T20 cricket World Cups, IP video has optimised experiences at stadiums, arenas and event spaces throughout the jam-packed calendar. The technology has been used to broadcast information and live feeds to screens throughout facilities, keeping athletes, staff, and spectators informed while enabling live streaming coverage to smartphones, tablets, computers, and TVs in real time.
Hosting global events involves massive infrastructure overhauls that require significant capital investments for the host city or country. It is for this reason that leaders in the private, public and non-profit sectors who must collaborate to host events such as the Olympics are so interested in adopting systems that are reusable and reconfigurable before, during, and after events.
This is true for all operational factors associated with producing large-scale spectacles, but it is especially salient when it comes to leveraging video content. Today, viewers at live events expect video experiences that replicate the quality they receive at home, even when on the go and inside the venues. As a result, IP video has emerged as a critical consideration for leaders responsible for new facility construction – as well as those who are updating existing venues.
Outdoor stadiums and indoor arenas hosting different sporting events – from track and field to gymnastics – are often enormous. Despite their size, venues tend to struggle to meet demand for seats at premium global events. As a result, even expensive seats can have obstructed views. By increasing the number of screens throughout the stadium, IP video can enhance the viewer experience or enable people to enjoy live content on their devices because WiFi or wired connections can display live events anywhere in the venue.
Integrating signage across IP video infrastructures
Beyond delivering moving images, IP video can be integrated with digital signage systems to show scores and provide interactive maps as well as wayfinding services for out-of-town visitors who may not be familiar with the local geography.
This helps attendees find amenities and navigate multiple venues, which is crucial when hosting various events. More importantly, however, is the role that IP video and digital signage play during emergencies. IP video screens and digital signage assets can quickly switch from showing action on the field – or promoting concessionaires – to displaying simple, intuitive messages and directions that can ensure venue safety for everyone.
Well-crafted and designed emergency management notifications can work very well for attendees regardless of language or cultural background by displaying moving arrows and intuitive video iconography. Best of all, IP video systems can be managed from remote, centralised locations to ensure timely and accurate communication.
With IP video, there’s no need to touch each TV or display screen physically. Everything can be controlled centrally, allowing managers to focus on content rather than technical issues when time is of the essence.
New economics of venue-based video management
IP video optimises resource allocation across the event-management lifecycle to deliver significant financial benefits. The reusability and redistribution of IP video equipment across venues and cities provide enduring economic value. Rather than discarding equipment and other resources after the event, local and regional leaders can repurpose network, routing, screens – and other aspects of IP video – to be used for future live events or entirely different applications. This enhances cost efficiency and sustainability over time.
IP video is simply a more adaptable and flexible video distribution system than legacy technologies. It allows venues to leverage existing infrastructure and swiftly reconfigure video setups, minimising the need for extensive and environmentally taxing physical installations. It also enables the integration of diverse technologies and services, including digital signage and interactive features. These integration capabilities enhance the overall fan experience while streamlining resource usage by eliminating the necessity for separate systems and equipment without duplicating efforts that would expand the project’s carbon footprint.
Future developments
While we will continue to see incremental improvements in hardware encoders and decoders, codecs, screen resolutions, and more, there are also other innovations in the works. With the huge proliferation of displays seen on sites, synchronisation challenges – when one screen is not displaying exactly the same content at the same time as another – are now more much more evident than before. The latest solutions are moving this sync process from the headend to the edge devices, allowing for more endpoints to be synchronised at scale. Such systems allow rapid changes to be made ‘on the fly’.
We are also seeing increasingly large complexes utilising these technologies. An IPTV solution allows venues to synchronise content across different buildings on site – whether that be separate training facilities, shops and retail areas, hospitality areas and more – all using one single system. This opens more opportunities to maximise engagement.
Expectations have risen, and it’s up to venue operators to ensure they continue to deliver seamless performance, engaging content, and zero black screens/failures. We expect to see more venues opting for advanced, flexible systems that can help sports venues deliver to support the all-important in-person fan experience.