Exterity highlights IP connectivity for stadia
One company to keep an eye on out in Vegas is Exterity, which among other things is highlighting how its enterprise IPTV communication systems are helping ensure that the French stadia for Euro 2016 are fully up to connected spec.
Exterity IPTV systems, which use the existing IP network of a stadium for TV and video communications, are deployed at: Grand Stade Lille Metropole; Stade Oceane, Le Havre; Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint Etienne; and Stade Velodrome, Marseille. The four stadia are all hosts of Euro 2016, and are now fully equipped with HD ready end to end IPTV systems. These consist of Exterity DVBS and DVBT TV gateways, AvediaServer, an IPTV Server platform for applications that includes systems management, scheduling and VoD, and AvediaPlayer Receivers, set-top boxes essentially that decode streams from IP networks for use on displays, TV screens or desktops. Combined, all this kit means that fans will be able to view content such as live TV, match recordings and advertising on multiple screens in VIP rooms, as well as in the stadium public areas. There is also scope for the teams to improve player training via access to live and on-demand match footage.
Other soccer stadia with Exterity installations include Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, while the company has also been intimately involved with golf tournaments such as The Open and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, several F1 teams and tracks, and various projects at the London Olympics, including providing a unique Olympic Games TV service for the National Olympic Committees.
Hopefully they’ll be talking more about this out at the show. Certainly they’re happy to talk a lot before it.
“Sport is big business, and so are the stadiums it’s played in, so it is vital to use technology to create an outstanding experience for fans while also delivering new revenue opportunities,” says Colin Farquhar, CEO, Exterity. “With IPTV, sports venues can create their own internal TV channels showing highlights, pre- and post-game coverage, and access to other on-site events and event-specific services via a customisable, branded on-screen interface. This breadth of content enables venues to deliver a fantastic experience for visitors, while providing a far more powerful means with which to promote corporate sponsors, giving sports venues a real edge over their competitors.”
The company is keen to point out that enterprise IPTV is a scalable solution too, though, and is an appropriate deployment for lower league activities as well. Farquhar’s reasoning is that one of the many benefits of deploying IPTV is that the users can very quickly recoup their investment through the extra revenue that derives from tailored services and content. Flexibility is also a bonus.
“As sports venues continue to expand the range of different events that they host, their TV and video needs will change accordingly – from in depth, multi-channel match day coverage to fully branded corporate conferences during the week, for example,” he says. “IPTV can deliver the most appropriate services over the existing IP network; something that traditional analogue networks simply cannot achieve.”