Column Sjoerd Vogt: ONLINE VIDEO COMING OF AGE?

Streaming Media Europe 2010 took place in London last month over three packed days. Five well-attended Workshops and the new Content Delivery Summit were on the Wednesday 13th October – with the BENELUX countries particularly well represented - as sponsors, delegates and panellists. Jet-Stream was the top sponsor for the Content Delivery event; which turned into a highly productive and animated series of keynotes and discussions between content owners and delivery partners. The EXPO, the main Streaming Media Conference, and the new Online Video Strategies featured event all took place on the Thursday and Friday of the same week. With over 100 speakers, and a very impressive 60% increase in delegate numbers at this year’s conference and EXPO, it is clear that broadcasting over IP is now becoming mainstream, and meeting the expectations from office and home users for the seamless multi-screen experience is what is now driving our nascent industry.

As well as state-of the-industry keynotes from YouView, Red Bee Media, BT, Brightcove and Zattoo, Streaming Media’s EXPO showcased some of the best of the global online video industry’s supply chain. The event also played host to the European Streaming Media Readers’ Choice Awards, which received 12,700 votes over the summer. The winners in all 13 categories were announced and awarded at the Show, and the full winners’ list is available at www.streamingmediaglobal.com. Jet-Stream, NedStat, Quadia and Zoom.in were amongst the finalists, and Schiphol-based Intrasonics were the event Sponsors.

Central to the Conference Programme included issues relating to IP infrastructure and how this can be made to cope with the expected exponential increases in traffic and content over the coming years; Search versus Recommendation is dealing with the proverbial needle in the haystack ; Convergence of the IPTV walled garden with free-for-all OTT while still maintaining QOS; comparisons between the different forms of smooth streaming; and workflow integration of traditional broadcasting with the streaming to multiple screens and devices. Inevitably, HD and 3D also got a mention.

Details for the 2011 event will be announced later this month.