VoD is gaining popularity.

According to Digital TV Research, the number of subscribers of SVoD streaming services (Subscription Video on Demand) is rising very quickly and is estimated at 248 million by the end of 2016. It means almost a 40% increase compared to 2015 (177 million). The predictions are also promising, because this number is to increase to 428 million in 2021. The global market is dominated by two American giants, Netflix and Amazon. Together they are raking in more than half of the users and this trend is expected to continue until 2021. The business is very profitable - the Netflix income in 2015 totaled $ 6.37 billion and for the year 2021 it is expected at the level of $ 13.14 billion. Other companies providing this type of services will probably show a proportional increase.

SVOD subscribers (x1000) divided among the two most popular platforms and the rest,
along with the expected numbers for 2016 and 2021

The fact perfectly reflecting trends in SVOD services can be the situation in the US. The number of SVOD subscribers is practically the same as the number of households. There are 6 other operators, with the strongest Hulu, HBO Now and Showtime, which compete with the two giants (Netflix and Amazon). Despite the dominance of Netflix and Amazon, the rest of the market players have their advantages, because some of them are directly associated with producers of movies and TV shows. This way they can exclusively distribute their original content, including the greatest hits.

The popularity of SVOD in the countries of Eastern Europe is lower than in the US, but is growing almost as fast. The biggest operators now begin to implement offers prepared for these countries. So, local operators are currently an important part of the market there.

The numbers of SVOD subscribers (x1000) in the countries of Eastern Europe
and the predictions for the coming years

In Poland, the number of SVOD users at the end of 2016 is about 1.75 million, and is expected to grow to 3 million in 2021. Despite the fact that Netflix has been providing its service in Polish only since September this year, it has already reached a dominant position. The popular local competitors are connected with television broadcasters. The examples are IPLA connected with Cyfrowy Polsat and Player.pl from TVN Group. Amazon is implementing its service in Poland, as well.

Modernization of DVB-T antenna system in a multi-family building.

One of Krakow's housing associations decided to modernize its MATV system for the reception of DVB-T digital terrestrial television. So far, the installation received broadcasts in the UHF band (ch. 21-60) and FM radio. Now the association wants to extend the range of channels by adding DVB-T MUX-8 and DAB+ radio multiplex transmitted in the VHF band (ch. 5-12). The four-story building with 4 apartments on each floor has four staicases.

All the broadcasts have to be received by one master antenna set and distributed to 64 antenna outlets located in the apartments. The extension of the system by the VHF band (174-230 MHz) requires the replacement of some components and/or application of new ones. One of the new components is the DAB / DVB-T Antenna DIPOL 7/5-12 A0710, shown in the diagram below.

The signals in the FM/VHF/UHF bands are distributed in a passive network composed of RF splitters and taps

The active components of the system include channel amplifiers TERRA at440 R82511 and at422 R82509, and broadband amplifier TERRA ma400 R82520. The at440 R82511 four-channel selective amplifier equalizes levels of 4 digital multiplexes in the UHF band (there could be used two twin-channel amplifiers TTERRA at420 R82510 instead). The TERRA at442 R82509 twin amplifier is a new component that filters and equalizes antenna signals in VHF-3 band (two DVB-T multiplexes). The multiband amplifier ma400 R82520 with three independent paths (FM, VHF&DAB, UHF) allows for final amplification of the signals in the UHF and VHF bands, as well as for the amplification and injection of radio signals broadcast in FM band.

The signals are distributed in a passive network composed of RF splitters and taps. On each floor there is 4-output tap connected directly with Signal R694130 subscriber outlets. The cabling is made of A-class coaxial cable RG-6 Tri-Shield DIPOLNET E1220_500.

Outdoor LTE antenna, channel aggregation.

LTE Advanced is a further extension of the LTE standard. Owners of devices compatible with LTE-A can theoretically reach transfers up to 300 Mbps, which is possible by carrier/channel aggregation, even in different frequency bands.

The download speed up to 300 Mbps and upload speed up to 50 Mbps is enabled by the connection of two channels, also in different frequency ranges, for example in the 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz frequency bands. LTE Advanced uses 20 MHz wide channels in the LTE FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) standard, with division of the channels between the download and upload parts.

In many cases where the mobile device is at a longer distance from the base station or is shadowed by various obstacles there are problems with adequate signal strength. Usually the problems can be solved by connecting the modem to a suitable external/outdoor antenna. Sometimes such an antenna can also be used for the improvement of the communication with a concrete base station offering e.g. the advantages of LTE-A standard.

Fiber-optic technology in CCTV systems - line topology with cut points.

The question of the possibility to connect several camera points (poles) using one fiber optic cable is one of the most frequently asked by installers. There is such a possibility, but this option should be chosen by more experienced installers equipped with the right tools.

The cable that is run through the points must have an adequate number of fibers - at least 2 fibers for each point. For example, 5 poles will need at least 10 fibers, so the application of a 12J cable (with12 fibers), or, for redundancy, a 16J or 24J cable. However, an excessive redundancy will be the reason of unnecessary effort, so it is better not to exaggerate.

One of the options to run a multi-fiber cable through the camera point is to cut it on the pole, separate two fibers for connecting the local transmission device and splice the rest of the fibers led to the next pole. This leads to the following conclusions:

Welding scheme for 12J cable and five CCTV poles - total of 38 splices

The approach requiring cutting and splicing all the fibers may seem illogical, but many installers using professional and quick welding machines opt for such a solution, because it can be applied to any type of the cable (as opposed to the options described below), without paying attention to its structure, such as strengthening elements, central tube (if exists), its diameter etc. In addition, this approach allows the use of most of the commercially available joint/cable boxes.

Quick snapshots from surveillance video.

Sometimes the video recording(s) concerning an event must be supplemented by screenshots in the form of still shots. In the case of recordings from Hikvision CCTV recorders, they can be easily obtained with the use of the VSPlayer software. In addition to the playback of recordings, the software has other useful features. One of them is the functionality to create snapshots.

The Capture window is used for setting parameters of snapshots taken from video footage

Snapshots can be taken from any recording performed by Hikvision devices. The process of their creation is automated, the user can specify the following parameters:

Region of interest (ROI) in K1676 Sunell camera.

Sunell cameras from ECO series allow for configuration of ROI. This feature enables the user to single out a part of the image which will be transmitted in higher quality than the rest of the frame. Normally, such a fragment is particularly important from the point of view of surveillance objectives concerning a specific place, which imposes higher requirements for image quality. The application of the ROI function is recommended in the case of links with lower bandwidth preventing the transmission of the full picture in the highest quality. As a result, the most significant portion of the frame still contains all the necessary details, while the remaining part is compressed with lower quality settings.

In the following screenshot the image parameters have been deteriorated enough to see the difference between the selected area and the rest of the frame (1920x1080 @ 25 fps, bitrate of 512 kbps). The ROI covers the smaller box and a small area around it.

Screenshot of an image from Sunell SN-IPR54/04ZMDN/M(II) K1676 camera with active ROI function.
The ROI covers the smaller box and a small area around it, providing much better image quality.

The current firmware (v3.0) allows for configuration of one active ROI for the primary or secondary stream. The image quality in the ROI can be set from 1 (bitrate of 1 Mbps) to 5 (bitrate of 5 Mbps). So, the bandwidth saving depends on the average bitrate of the whole video stream, taking into account the size of the ROI and the image quality within it. The user can create up to 8 zones, each with individual ID/name and selected quality level, and quickly switch the ROI to a preset area.

Support for AHD cameras in HD-TVI DVRs. TurboHD 3.0 DVRs can support a number of video systems. By default, they can cooperate with HD-TVI and CVBS cameras. They automatically detect the video system of a camera and set the suitable recording parameters. In the case of AHD cameras, the user must change the setting of the required input to AHD in the menu of the DVR. The change takes place for the pair of the neighboring inputs. Additionally, the DVRs can support one ( M75205 ) or two IP cameras with resolution up to 1080p... >>>more

AHD and HD-TVI cameras connected to TurboHD 3.0 DVR

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