Traditional televisions have travelled a long path, from being seen as a novel form of entertainment, to being a default medium whilst the air of change engulfed  the way we consume content.

We have reached a stage where we not only submissively consume content but also broadcast content of our own via  Live TV shows  or via streaming services. Broadcasting live TV is called live or cloud playout and scheduled broadcasting of content via satellite or cable is popularly known as Traditional playout.

What is a Traditional Playout?

Traditional playout is just another term to refer to traditional television. It refers to the process of broadcasting content to households, an age-old system. 

In traditional Television, content is delivered through a scheduler via cable or satellite to the audience. A host of softwares was used for managing content, scheduling and for publishing.

How is Live or Cloud Playout different from Traditional TV?

Earlier, the major challenges to overcome for  any traditional TV broadcaster were :

• Video latency
• Video quality
• Quality of service
• Cost

For several years, these fundamental and technological challenges were unavoidable and involved a huge amount of cash flow to broadcast media via satellite. However, rapid innovation in technology added the FIFTH PRIORITY in the above mentioned list  – Flexibility. This fifth priority in the list allowed the ability to experiment with new business models and make changes rapidly at low cost and peril.

The flexibility to experiment gave birth to a new mode of broadcasting content named Cloud playout.    

Live or cloud playout is designed as a collaborative cloud-workspace to manage and plan content 24/7. It allows you to launch your live TV & audio channel as well as broadcast pre-scheduled on-demand content sequentially in real-time on the internet.

Cloud playout allows maximum flexibility. It helps transfer contents or set-up live streams easily by scheduling and organizing between libraries & playlists.

With the invention of cloud playout, broadcasters had the flexibility to take advantage of new video codecs, container formats, etc. Cloud TV began offering an alternative to long and locked hardware refresh cycles.

Live playout can be useful in the following ways:

• It emphasizes more on terrestrial distribution
• It offers enhanced audience and fan engagement
• It gives control on content piracy
• It helps optimize cost
• It increases operational efficiency through automation
• It offers the flexibility to modify anything anytime 

Why choose Cloud Playout over traditional?

Sophisticated Content Management

Cloud playout software help broadcasters support multiple-format content for their end users. The flexibility of uploading bulk content in real time with multiple imports helps broadcasting businesses to manage the channel log and enhance the quality with a good encoding speed.

High compatibility

Traditional playout solutions were not attuned with all types of devices and hence blocked the connectivity of the potential consumers with relevant content. However, cloud playout software allows end users to enjoy superior compatibility with any kind of device as well as formats. It delivers the content according to the preferences of the end users.  

Cloud playout reduces device dependability and several technical issues that were often encountered in traditional playout methods.

Latency

During the process of signal encoding or decoding for streaming media, a few frames of delay occurs depending on the encoding category and codec parameters and that leads to latency.  

Proper monitoring and controlling of parameters can minimize the latency. Live playout solution meets the channel’s operational requirement and thus helps control its latency.

Muvi Playout – An End to End Playout Solution

Muvi playout is a broadcast playout software that allows you to launch your own Live TV & audio channel. It allows you to broadcast pre-scheduled on-demand content consecutively in real-time over the internet. You can also schedule both on-demand content and live feeds on multiple linear channels utilizing advanced scheduler of Muvi Playout. It seamlessly works with web, android, iOS, and smart TVs.  Start a 14 days free trial and get a complete idea on how to broadcast live TV.